AM2 4600 X2 & SLI 7900GTX's or AM2 FX-62 & 7950GX2?

[sony3127]

[/i]I am currently researching for my next build which I will put together in the next month. I already have all the other components beside the CPU and Video Card(s) nailed down. I have a set amount of money obviously, and with that I have a decision to make. Should I go with an AM2 Athlon 64 4600+ X2 and two 7900GTX's in SLI? or should I get the AM2 Athlon 64 FX-62 with the XFX OC'd 7950GX2? Both solutions will cost me the same in the end... but I just can't decide on with setup. The former having seemingly more video card power and less CPU power, and the latter having more CPU power and a less video power than the other. To give you an idea of what I'm actually doing with the machine so as to make a better suggestion; I play lot's of games, go on the internet, backup DVD's, listen to music, ect. The usual stuff. Some of the games I play for instance are BF2, Civ IV, AoE III, CoD2, SW: EaW, SW:BFII; and I plan on getting GR: Advanced Warfighter soon, and R6: Vegas when it comes out. Oh, and so you know if or where there may be some bottlenecks if any; some of the other components I've already chosen are the ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe mobo, Thermaltake Armor case, Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-550 PSU, ZALMAN CNPS9500 w/ 92mm Fan HSF assembly, and CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800 memory. I also have a WD 250GB 16MB SATAII and WD 74GB Raptor, an Audigy 2 that I will be putting into this build from my previous PC. Sorry this is so long, but I just want some good feedback and I might be able to answer some questions up front. THANKS IN ADVANCE!

 

[BaronMatrix]

If you can afford an FX62 and a 7950GX2, GO FOR IT. I would personally trade the FX for a 5000+. It not far behind and is much less. With the difference you can get a couple more GBs RAM and a second LCD(cheap).

 

[RichPLS]

I differ from BM's pov in that gaming is more GPU intensive than CPU intensive...
So if option #1 is better in your words graphic wise, then that is clearly the better choice...
Option #2 (Baron's choice) based on the overpriced FX-62 paired with a fast dual GPU card being in your words graphically slower, will ultimately give you lower FPS in games, which by your usage stated, is what you are looking for...
Thank me later with greenbacks...

 

[Godiva]

I would go with the 4600+ and a 7950GX2, don't waste your money on sli or the fx62.

 

[BaronMatrix]

I differ from BM's pov in that gaming is more GPU intensive than CPU intensive...
So if option #1 is better in your words graphic wise, then that is clearly the better choice...
Option #2 (Baron's choice) based on the overpriced FX-62 paired with a fast dual GPU card being in your words graphically slower, will ultimately give you lower FPS in games, which by your usage stated, is what you are looking for...
Thank me later with greenbacks...

What? I said keep the GPU and lower the CPU.


The 5000+ will power 1600x1200+ just as well with that sick GPU. And it will be $4-500 less.

 

[RichPLS]

My bad, performes ritualistic chado while letting you perform Seppuku! Here is your kozuka! :lol:

 

[sony3127]

Really? You don't think either are worth it? Why not? I'm kinda of actually starting to lean towards the AM2 FX-62 & 7950GX2 because as I have been reading on various sites it seems that the only thing limiting high end GPU's is the CPU. So if I got the 4600 X2 w/ two 7900GTX's in SLI I would never really see it's full potential. Where as the FX-62 should have plenty of power and the 7950GX2 seems to be able to handle pretty much any game at high res and still maintain more than playable FPS. What do you all think? Oh and one more thing I just thought about... if I get the 7950GX2 now, then later when quad-SLI is supported I could always get another and have QUAD-SLI! Easy expansion and upgrade, and then maybe the only other thing I'll need is more RAM. Hmmm... it's sounding like I have a solution. =D ANY FEEDBACK IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!

 

[crazywheels]

games are more gpu intensive, fx62 will help some i don't think you would notice that big of a difference. i would go with 4600 x2 since you said you rip a lot of dvds

 

[angry_ducky]

I say Conroe with a DX10 video card. Conroe comes out July 14th; you said you were planning to build in about a month. The DX10 video cards should come out later this year.

 

[sony3127]

I see what you mean about the two 7900GTX's in SLI and needing more GPU power than CPU power for games; but you think the 4600 X2 would be better for ripping DVD's than the FX-62? You do realize that I mean the AM2 FX-62 which is two 2.8GHz 1MB in duel core as opposed the 4600 which is two 2.4GHz and 512K in duel core right? I don't see how the 4600 would be better in that respect... but maybe I'm mis-understanding what you're saying. If so, then I'm sorry. Also, if anyone thinks I'm wrong about the GPU setups and the performance differences please let me know!

I haven't really considered a Conroe setup since I'm really more of an AMD man, but that's not a bad idea. An AM2 FX-62 is around $1050 so I should be able to get a good Conroe for that amount of money. I'll have to get a different mobo of course, but then which one do I get? I really like the nVidia 590 chipset based mobo's, but there aren't any Intel boards with that chipset as far as I know. What would be comparable?

As far as DX10 cards... when, what, and how much is still TBD so that almost makes me want to wait a little longer and just put off this build until they release. I mean it's not like my current system sux... it's a 939 4000+ w/ 2GB DDR400 and a 7800GTX... but I'm ready to sell it and upgrade again! lol ANY ADVICE?

 

[azncoduyen]

Your current build right now isnt bad... why dont you just wait a couple of months before upgrading... its never too late anyway besides if you upgrade now and than later see that the conroe is actually a good chip, you ll regret spending money on the highly priced amd (that is if the price cut isnt much)

 

[Heyyou27]

If anything save money from the FX62 and get an X2 4800+ with dual Geforce 7950GX2s! (If you have a large enough monitor) Or wait for Conroe.

 

[sony3127]

I know, I know... but I've had this system now for a year and I usually do a new build every 6 months. I sell my old system and save up a little bit more money then build the latest stuff. I've already found someone to buy my "old" one and I've got the money now. Anyway, in 6 months when the DX10 cards come out I'll probably be specing out another build. Call me crazy, but I do it because it's fun and quite frankly, I can. You know you would too! I build and repair PC's for a living so when I start building PC's for customers that have all the newest stuff on them it makes me want it. lol I know that I could probably stick with the system I have, but I still need to figure out what to get. Besides, now I have a customer that wants me to build him a similar system and I still need to make the choice. THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL THE FEEDBACK! THIS FORUM IS GREAT!

 

[Fagaru]

hold back until conroe and spend 1000 on the best conroe i believe, itl pwn the fx-62, im also an AMD guy but u have to accept it, conroe is gonna pwn, it has all hte latest technology... im gonna have to give it to intel this time , but yeah id go for the 7950gx2 and a conroe extreme edition and then down the road get quad-sli, and then u will be happy and have a ticklish feeling when u have quad-sli pwnin pcs the 2 7900gtx's

 

[michaelwolfson]

 

[Fagaru]

how much are you selling ur pc?