which of the two?

gamerdude1989

gamerdude1989

gamerdude1989

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hi guys

Ok, got a new pc build set in stone here. already got Intel i5 2500k rig, now i want an AMD build.. nothing extreme, but got to be good....

I am currently stuck between two motherboards and cant decide which to get...
Ive got my eyes on Asrock 990fx Extreme 3 am3+ motherboard.. because i am loving the all black colouring....

But there is also the Asrock 890fx Deluxe5 am3+ board, also being black. i like it...

Now the 890fx is slightly more expensive than the 990fx, the extra £20 odd quid saved would be good, but with the 990fx being slightly cheaper, is it still worth getting?

i am hoping to get it, saving me some cash, as im not wanting to spend an absolute bomb on this.. i already have a gaming rig, and just want an AMD machine too....

AMD Fx-6100 all the way for me i thinks :D
 
Hi there,

May I ask why you specifically want an AMD rig? As you can imagine, an Intel Sandy Bridge system (even one using a lower-end i5 like the 2.8GHz 2300) would be considerably better in most tasks than an FX-6 Bulldozer.

This review compares the performance of many sandy bridge CPUs (including the 3.0GHz i5 2320) to the performance of Bulldozer FX-6 and FX-8 CPUs.
 
Hi there..

Well to be honest with you, i have always been an AMD fan..
Loved the Athlon 6400 when that was around, loved the Phenom II generation too..

But when i built my i5 2500k, i got the cpu for a good price from a computer shop owner friend, so knowing how spectacular it was, i went with that..

Dont get me wrong, i love my i5 2500k, but i have always found intel to be a little on the warmer side compared to AMD, and not to mention the anoying push and twist cpu cooler clamps, i ****ing hate them.... not long ago, after over a year of being build, my xigmatek cooler decided to pop off the cpu and drop down on my graphics card, shorting it out and frying it, unfortunately taking out my second card too.. dont ask how, i dont know, but it did...

And lately i have been reading about the fx-6100, and after a new patch.. i recall it being something like KB2645594 schedular driver patch, or something like that.. has corrected all the issues that make the bulldozer such a "waste".... the fx-6100 was actually benchmarked to be about 8 - 10% faster than the i5 2500k, both of stock clock speeds, concidering the AMD is factory at a lower clock speed....
I cannot remember exactly where i see this, as it was about a month ago, but i do remember seeing it on a couple of different sites, so it gave me a bit more "belief" into the story.....
and besides.. the bulldozer when stated "not good for gaming".. it was only slightly slower than the allmight Phenom II.. so how can it possibly so bad??
 
I agree with you about the Intel CPU clips - they are really poor and fiddly, any third party cooler maker that uses them really should be ashamed. The AMD stock coolers are much more securely attached.

However, if you consider that a good quality third-party CPU cooler which uses a backplate-type mount (so completely bypassing the issue with the intel pushpins and provides an extremely secure hold) can be had for £22-26 (this one or this one) and either will allow you to overclock a sandy bridge k-series cpu to 4.5ghz, then this shouldn't be a dealbreaker - especially if you are spending £200+ on the main parts.

as for the temperature, it was certainly the case that the 1st generation 45nm i5 and i7 intel chips ran pretty hot and needed some decent cooling when overclocked. however with the 32nm 2nd gen i5 and i7 cpus, this has changed quite a lot:

the stock intel i5 2500k according to this review draws a maximum of 62.2W at 100% load. In contrast the Bulldozer FX-4, FX-6 and FX-8 use a lot more - see here. Since this extra CPU power draw translates into more heat needing to dissipated from the CPU, then with the same cooler the AMD chips will run quite a bit hotter than the Intel Sandy Bridge quads.

As for the new Bulldozer patch, this re-review seems to indicate the update doesn't really boost performance too much. Here is another review with the new updates.

Finally, I think when people say Bulldozer "isn't good for gaming" they are not talking in absolutes, but mean it in comparison to the other CPU options for a gaming system. Yes, a gaming system will generally be fine with a Bulldozer CPU playing modern games (just like how an i5 750 or Phenom II X4/X6 is fine for playing most modern games). However when in the same price range you can pick up a i5 2500K (which is significantly faster in games than the FX-8) then the Bulldozer doesn't seem a great option in context.
 
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