Move to AMD smart?

[tomste2300]

Would switching to an AMD setup now be a smart move? I want to upgrade and use my current C2D cpu / board in another build, so I'm thinking that picking a new socket might help me upgrade more easily in the future. While I know the Phenom II x4 955 is getting beat by the Q9550, if I switched to an AM3 socket I would be able to get tri channel ram (is this true? After some forum searching it's looking like AM3 boards can't do tri channel...only Intel's i7 socket boards can), DDR3 and an actual upgrade path for the next two or so years.

Is this worth switching to, or should I buy another 775 board and a Q9550? My current DS3R only has PCI-e x16, so I could buy a cheap board and get 2.0.

I would love to get an i7 setup, but I don't have the funds right now. On the flip side, a cpu + mobo + ram switch might put me in the price range of an i7 build.

Current rig specs are -

C2D E4400
Gigabyte DS3R (rev. 1.0)
2gb (2x1gb DDR2 800)
HD 4870 1gb
Fortron 500w


Thanks!

EDIT: After browsing through newegg I have a question. Do some mobos only take Phenom II x4s, or would those boards take any kind of AM3 socket cpu? If the latter is correct, then two years from now I would have to buy a new mobo again when they moved on to x5, etc. That isn't right, is it?

 

[IH8U]

Another option would be to get a new AM3 board now, as they can be had for less than $100. My $.02

MB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128392
$80 Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3P
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103649
$120 Phenom II 720 (can unlock the 4th core after a BIOS flash)
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231180
$65 G.Skill DDR3 1333 2x2GB
PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341012
$50 OCZ 500W

or you can upgrade your current rig, and run it for a while.

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017
$200 C2Q Q6600 (older, but still good)
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227420
$47 OCZ Blade DDR2 800 2x2GB
PSU: same as above.

 

[sighQ2]

People don't need quads, expensive, or end of life systems.

AM3 is new, still rolling out and will be until at least end of 2010.

You don't need to go broke to have a good pc.

Peripherals fit everywhere, any brand. You only need focus on cpu, mobo, ram, video.

cpu
Phenom II 550BE or 720BE

mobo
Gigabyte MA790XT-UD4P

ram
2x2 gigs = 4 gigs DDR3

vid
ATI Radeon HD-4850

PSU
600 w or higher for future upgrade potential. (700w)

= THE other question you asked is about socket AM2+ mobos. AM3 cpu's are backwards compatible with socket am2 mobos, so the am3 cpu will work there too and use ddr2 ram. but a sok am3 mobo will not accept an am2 cpu. so am3 cpu will work in either am3 mobo or am2 mobo. (am3 cpu's have a dual IMC mem controller that will use either ram).

The future in AMD hardware is all AM3. You could buy a sys cheap with am2 parts; but soon you would be in same situation you are now - except for the angle that am3 cpu will work in am2+ socket. So it is better to go for AM3 PARTS.

I am planning to buy same sys I outlined above. w a Ph II 550 Black Edition dual core cpu.

That's the basics.

AMD does not use triple channel ram. It is not needed either. It helps if you realistically assess your personal needs - what you really need for your real world computing needs.

people don't need ......... i7 .... people think they need that. what you need is a decent videocard and 4 gigs ram.

You can use some parts from your old system.
case, psu, hdd, etc. peripherals.

hope this helps get you started on your research.


I also hope this does not become an idiot flamewar.

 

[joedoe]

+1

I got something like the above, with the 720BE OCed @3.5GHz,
but a GTS 250 nvidia instead. Snappy system in everything
with no problems whatsoever. Huge value for money!

 

[Wisecracker]

Would switching to an AMD setup now be a smart move?

Yes. Both from a price and performance standpoint.

While I know the Phenom II x4 955 is getting beat by the Q9550, if I switched to an AM3 socket I would be able to get tri channel ram (is this true? After some forum searching it's looking like AM3 boards can't do tri channel...only Intel's i7 socket boards can), DDR3 and an actual upgrade path for the next two or so years.

The PhIIs preform quite well against against the Core 2 Quads - don't know where you heard otherwise. For the most part "tri-channel" ain't all that

.... should I buy another 775 board and a Q9550? My current DS3R only has PCI-e x16, so I could buy a cheap board and get 2.0.

No. If gaming is your thing buy a 720BE and an AM3 790(G)(F)X. If you can wait a month or so AMD should have a new chipset under great anticipation (the new sb800 still 'on' for late summer ??) which may further drive down current prices on AM3 motherboards.

PCIe Gen2 is not a magic pathway to gaming nirvana however you may see a boost of 5-10% in certain situations - primarily at higher resolutions (let's say 19x12 and up) with multiple video cards in highly textured games.

I would love to get an i7 setup, but I don't have the funds right now. On the flip side, a cpu + mobo + ram switch might put me in the price range of an i7 build.

That's not going to happen. An AM3 motherboard, microprocessor and DDR3 will cost less in total than the i7 cpu itself.

.... Do some mobos only take Phenom II x4s, or would those boards take any kind of AM3 socket cpu? If the latter is correct, then two years from now I would have to buy a new mobo again when they moved on to x5, etc. That isn't right, is it?

AMD AM3 microprocessors have both a DDR2 and DDR3 integrated memory controller (for the time being) and will work (for the most part) in any AM2+ (DDR2) motherboard and (almost) all AM3 (DDR3) motherboards (some may require a BIOS update).


What you need is a budget and a plan. I would suggest it include designs in Crossfiring your HD4870 (before they all disappear). So. What initial investment do you want to make ?? How much money do you want to spend ??

 

[Reynod]

The DS3R is a good overclocker and can support a decent FSB stable.

Consider pushing the E4400 on a good overclock in the short term to decrease the CPU bound effect on some of your games.

A single 4870 on a PCIE 16 lane bus isn't a significant issue ... the cpu is more likely the current problem for you.

That mobo will also support either a cheap 65nm quad (Q6600 / 6700 if you can find one and overclock it) or a Q9450 / 9550 ... I don't like the lower level "Celeron" quads personally.

A small overclock on one of the above quads - getting slightly above 3Ghz will give you a much improved experience.

I'd also consider getting 2 more 1 Gb sticks of cheap RAM now ... top it up to 4Gb.

Cheap solution in the short term for you - 4 sticks should be stable if you don't push them too hard.

Keep old E4400 for a great little HTPC ...

Alternative is a new SLI LGA775 board for a 45nm quad and a second 4870 or going to i7 and having to get DDR3 RAM (3 sticks of 2GB) a decent mobo and a 920.

I'd be worried the extra expense wouldn't be worth it in terms of being much faster than a fast LGA775 based quad ...

So I suggest you try to push the old dear a bit harder and get the most out of it.

Have a look at the E4400 overclock posts - use search.

 

[Scotteq]

if I switched to an AM3 socket I would be able to get tri channel ram (is this true? After some forum searching it's looking like AM3 boards can't do tri channel...only Intel's i7 socket boards can)

Only the Intel chip does triple channel memory. But for desktop applications, you wouldn't notice the difference.

That's not going to happen. An AM3 motherboard, microprocessor and DDR3 will cost less in total than the i7 cpu itself.

This statement is overblown - An i7 920 is in the mid $200's, and from a performance perspective will handily trounce a PHII in any CPU benchmark you care to name. This is another topic that has been done to death. Sure - You could buy a cheap POS board for $50, cheap RAM, bottom trawl to find a PHII on sale and get something that works. But you end up with a cheap computer that performs much less well and will need replacing sooner than if you had simply bought a quality setup to begin with.

Price does not necessarily equal value.


And speaking of price/value: For the OP - IMHO, your current setup is perfectly good. If you must have a new processor, you could also simply buy a Yorktown or Wolfdale and keep everything else you have. For a gamer, I'd recommend an E8400 - roughly $170 at Newegg. Or your could overclock your current rig.... FOR FREE. And particularly to a gaming situation, I do not see where changing to AMD (or anything, to be honest) is going to buy you much. At most, you may want a second GPU in Crossfire if you play demanding games at higher resolutions.


Alternatively - Just like any other point in the history of the Industry, both companies have new products in the pipeline. Interesting stuff, too - PCI controller directly on the CPU, etc...


What I would recommend is WAIT. Save Your Money. Overclock if you need. Think about a new build later this year.

 

[masop]

Yes. Both from a price and performance standpoint.

While I know the Phenom II x4 955 is getting beat by the Q9550, if I switched to an AM3 socket I would be able to get tri channel ram (is this true? After some forum searching it's looking like AM3 boards can't do tri channel...only Intel's i7 socket boards can), DDR3 and an actual upgrade path for the next two or so years.

The PhIIs preform quite well against against the Core 2 Quads - don't know where you heard otherwise. For the most part "tri-channel" ain't all that

.... should I buy another 775 board and a Q9550? My current DS3R only has PCI-e x16, so I could buy a cheap board and get 2.0.

No. If gaming is your thing buy a 720BE and an AM3 790(G)(F)X. If you can wait a month or so AMD should have a new chipset under great anticipation (the new sb800 still 'on' for late summer ??) which may further drive down current prices on AM3 motherboards.

PCIe Gen2 is not a magic pathway to gaming nirvana however you may see a boost of 5-10% in certain situations - primarily at higher resolutions (let's say 19x12 and up) with multiple video cards in highly textured games.

I would love to get an i7 setup, but I don't have the funds right now. On the flip side, a cpu + mobo + ram switch might put me in the price range of an i7 build.

That's not going to happen. An AM3 motherboard, microprocessor and DDR3 will cost less in total than the i7 cpu itself.

.... Do some mobos only take Phenom II x4s, or would those boards take any kind of AM3 socket cpu? If the latter is correct, then two years from now I would have to buy a new mobo again when they moved on to x5, etc. That isn't right, is it?

AMD AM3 microprocessors have both a DDR2 and DDR3 integrated memory controller (for the time being) and will work (for the most part) in any AM2+ (DDR2) motherboard and (almost) all AM3 (DDR3) motherboards (some may require a BIOS update).


What you need is a budget and a plan. I would suggest it include designs in Crossfiring your HD4870 (before they all disappear). So. What initial investment do you want to make ?? How much money do you want to spend ??

Regarding the following comment...

[That's not going to happen. An AM3 motherboard, microprocessor and DDR3 will cost less in total than the i7 cpu itself.]

Although I'm a long time amd faithful, I have to point out something. The Intel Core i7 920 Boxed Processor can be had for $200 plus tax at MicroCenter (stores only, not online). At that price, there is no way in hell a Phenom II CPU/MB/MEM together is going to cost under $200. Just my 2 cents.

-- MaSoP

 

[tomste2300]

Thanks to everyone who has replied already - I really appreciate all the comments and suggestions so far. Here's the deal:

My brother's computer died on him recently (an old AMD 3200 build), but his hd is fine. I have a new psu lying around that I never used, along with an 8600 GT that came out of my main rig when the 4870 came in. What I want to do is take the E4400, DS3R and ram and give them to him, then build myself a slightly better computer. Basically, this has given me a reason to continue upgrading. He just left for camp yesterday and will be gone for the week, and since he's wanted his computer fixed for a long time, I thought I'd surprise him when he got back.

I have Windows Vista 64-bit and would definitely like to bump my ram up to at least 4 gbs. I use my computer as a HTPC for my room (I have it hooked up hto my HDTV via HDMI), and game at both 1280x1024 and 1920x1080 (HDTV). I need a cpu that can keep up with my 4870. I especially liked the crossfire idea that somebody had, and will probably do that on down the road.

I have a couple of questions though:

1) The closest Microcenter is a couple of cities away, but it may be worth it to call them and see if they still have that deal going on.

2) How good is a 720BE, and does the fourth core unlock 100% of the time with the flash? What is the ghz on it?

3) I think I would like to stick to the AM3 socket if I went AMD, along with a AM3 only board. Would it be bad to go with a Phenom II x4 955, or is the price / performance not worth it?

3) Call me timid, but I've always been hesitant in overclocking my cpu, especially because I've never been fully confident in my knowledge on how to do it. I've read through the guides posted here and on the anandtech forums, but I've still been kind of confused.

 

[Scotteq]

My brother's computer died on him recently (an old AMD 3200 build), but his hd is fine. I have a new psu lying around that I never used, along with an 8600 GT that came out of my main rig when the 4870 came in. What I want to do is take the E4400, DS3R and ram and give them to him, then build myself a slightly better computer. Basically, this has given me a reason to continue upgrading. He just left for camp yesterday and will be gone for the week, and since he's wanted his computer fixed for a long time, I thought I'd surprise him when he got back.

In that case, if it were me then I would simply buy my brother a new mobo and processor, and fix his rig.





....and then set it up so I can switch his monitor so it can be run off of *my* computer. Because it's an immutable Law Of Nature that you can't do anything for your brother without f*cking with him too...

 

[Wisecracker]

Using the $200 MC *in-store* price is quite disingenuous for comparative purposes.

Asus 790GX AM3 / Phenom 550BE combo: $190

Today (July 14) Phenom 550BE combo took the place of the $190 Phenom 720BE combo at that price point (the 720BE combo went UP in price $25).

Throw in $65 worth of DDR3 1600 and the OP will be good to go on that Asus AM3 with 2xPCIe x16 slots, firewire and eSATA. Hardly a *cheap POS board*. The OP could throw in a second HD 4870 1Gb for Crossfire and come in around $400.

But that would be disingenuous on my part because he would also need a new OCZ power supply for $45 (with Promo Code EMCLVMR42) bringing his total investment to $450 or so.

Feel free to compare your i7 budget to that, gentlemen.

~~~~

3) I think I would like to stick to the AM3 socket if I went AMD, along with a AM3 only board. Would it be bad to go with a Phenom II x4 955, or is the price / performance not worth it?

Strictly for gaming purposes any Phenom II Black Edition will OC to 3.3-3.6GHz (on stock volts and cooler) simply by increasing the CPU multiplier - performing equally for the most part.

The 720BE is a great chip. Here's what Anand had to say:

The question we wanted to answer in this article, “Is the Phenom II X3 720BE an alternative to the Phenom II X4 940 for a mid-range gaming system featuring CrossFireX?” We have to enthusiastically answer with “Yes!” to that question based on our experiences with the games we tested today and several others offline.

In fact, we think it even compared well to the Q9550 in our gaming tests. The Phenom II X3 720BE does not match the performance of the X4 940 or Q9550 in application testing, but it is no slouch either, especially considering the $136 price tag and overclocking capabilities. Compared directly to the $215 X4 940, we think the X3 720BE is a better value if gaming is your priority. Sure, any performance differences might be greater with a GTX 295 or 4870X2 at 2560x1600 resolutions, but we are discussing the performance capabilities of mainstream processors and video cards at two of the most popular gaming resolutions today.

When it came to actual game play experiences, our opinions still have not changed when it comes to a choice between the Phenom II or Core 2 Quad. The Phenom II processors are a better choice in Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts and Crysis Warhead due to fluidity of game play, especially with background tasks running or CPU utilization near 100%. In the four other titles, we could not tell any real differences in the quality of game play between the Phenom II X4 940, Phenom II X3 720BE, or Core 2 Quad Q9550.

 

[masop]

Using the $200 MC *in-store* price is quite disingenuous for comparative purposes.

Insincere? For someone who chooses to change platforms and go with the Core i7 920, it would make most sense to get the best deal on the processor. If it comes down to driving 30 min or an hour to save $80, than so be it. I'd do it, if I was in that position. For me, the closest MicroCenter happens to be a 20 min drive away. He may choose to go with AMD instead of Intel.

In either case, this is all a matter of choice. There is no insincerity here, just suggestions and advice for someone who asked for it due to a computer problem that he has. I really don't think anyone here is trying to steer him the wrong way per se.

-- MaSoP

 

[sighQ2]

The 955 quad clox @ 3.2. it's a BE Black Edition and oclox to near 4.
Soon 965 quad releases (August 13th) stockclok=3.4 - oclox 4ish

The Triple 720 BE clox 2.8 but oclox 3.6ish.

The Dual 550 BE clox 3.1 and oclox over 3.6 (max unknown, it's pretty new)


The unlock idea - there are no guarantees on that - it's a bonus that happens on certain mobos and certain bioses. The mobo I first mentioned supposedly does it - there is no guarantee on an unlock/quad. It's a get lucky thing - unless maybe you can play "buyer's remorse" (hahah) (not nice).
(Also, a bios update may undo or make impossible, and unlock - altho I heard Giga is moving to preserve it)

I somehow overlooked your 4870 - that's all you really need for video.

There are also Phenom II's without the Black Edition unlocked multiplier - and they are slightly cheaper - for people who will not be ocloxing. eg = 945, or 810 quads; the 710 triple; the 545 Dually.

There are many options already in the AM3 releases - and more coming.

That new chipset series that was mentioned won't be until Fall 09.

Googles will get lots of info - see websites at Legit Reviews, amdzone K10-forum, 3dGuru, and esp. Lost Circuits (best reviews)
Also cruising newegg, etc. and scheming a design for a price.
It can be confusing screening out the AM2+ mobos from the AM3 mobos - but you get better at it - note [AM3 compatible] means using an AM2+ mobo with a back compat AM3 cpu - you want an [AM3 SOCKET mobo]. The AM2+ mobos are price dropping, and the cost under $200 is actually doable - but my argument is to go AM3 period. - that's the no limitations upgrade path thru 2010. But the AM2+ is doable - you decide - I am going AM3/DDR3. That new chipset lurking in the background this Fall/09 is also a temptation - it's mainly about little features, but might be about performance too, altho there are no indicators on performance boost yet.
AMD's performance is hooked into the Platform Approach - an all-AMD sys will perform better, smoother - somelike to add Nvidia cards - if so there are Nvidia chipset mobos available too - that's the alt-platform. The true Platform is AMD cpu w AMD/ATI chipset wAMD/ATI video - and with a 4800 series video, it's the Dragon Platform.

The X chipset I mentioned first is very similar to the FX chipset - FX is high perf, no onboard video , xfire capable, strong PWM/mosfet power handling, enthusiast level - and the Gigabyte MA790XT-UD4P mimics that for 40% less cost roughly. It oclox if you want.

re Oclox - AMD'S "AOD" utility = "AMD Over Drive" makes oclox way too easy - esp. with Auto settings and a mouseclik slider. actually many settings available - but you can keep it real simple and oclox if you want to - Black Edition required.

Phenom II's run comparitively "cold" - unless you are extreme overclocking, you do not need aftermarket cooling. The stock cooler will take you to approx 3.5ish Ghz 24/7. HSF is included.

You can aftermarket lots of stuff anytime you are ready - that's a good way to plan a budget combined with the ongoing Upgrade Path. That's also what I will be doing. And that's why I want a 700ish PSU for possible future upgrades.
I want a dually to start, maybe a triple - and maybe later a quad which will come with a near 4ghz stock clock eventually. /and who nows what other improvements - it keeps getting better. The 965 quad is going to be 3.4Ghz; what's next. It might have some other mods too. But a Dual Core 550BE is very attractive at 3.1 Ghz - and games are 2 threads max.

 

[sighQ2]

"Feel free to compare your i7 budget to that, gentlemen".

Yeh, yeh. The spintel benchmarketing scene does not permit an AMD purchase. I could get nasty - but it's easier to stick to the actual facts - I know nobody who needs an i7 and unknown upgrade path at the hands of a monopoly who has been busted for antitrust globally 3 times PLUS. WHy is AMD so low priced? Ya think, it's about cheap hardware? AMD has(!) to be good - spintel's antitrust tactics have put them thru trial by fire; and it's slowly coming back on them - watch the news in Spring 2010 when the new USA antitrust legal team gets let out of the box - I will be laughing.

But o yes, you can spend spend spend and get maximal performance - for what? some fragfest game? It's a waste - all that potential in games is not noticeably or significantly higher - that left the door open for the bang for the buck, and price/performance. Some of us know; and will not be deceived by the spin and the "benchmarketing". When a highend sys costs $300 bucks less, who you gonna call. And nobody needs that high end sys either - not for gaming - and unless you are hooked into tight time schedules of a professional nature where seconds translate into hours, it's all a waste. (3d grafx effects rendering for hollywood movies, have switched to spintel - but they might be coming back to AMD where they were before.)
(I new this had flame potential). People are asking me to be "nice" - I am trying.

sigh
.

 

[tomste2300]

Thanks so much for the information guys. Yeah, please don't let this turn into a flame war - some good stuff has been said so far, and I'd like to keep it coming (this has been the most helpful info I've gotten so far).

What do you guys think about this dragon platform that AMD is pushing? Are there any actual benefits to running all of their products, or is it merely a marketing ploy. I only ask because of my 4870.

EDIT: I have found this so far, and am in the process of reading it - http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/phenom-x4-955,2278-2.html

FYI, I considered myself an AMD / Nvidia fanboy for the longest time, and just with this last computer build two years ago and video card this month did I switch to Intel / ATI, respectively. Am I now in favor of one over the other? No. I now simply switch to whatever is offering the best price / performance / potential upgrade path at the time of my upgrade. So, I'm open to anything right now.

 

[BadTrip]

amdzone = joke

 

[fazers_on_stun]

"Feel free to compare your i7 budget to that, gentlemen".

Yeh, yeh. The spintel benchmarketing scene does not permit an AMD purchase. I could get nasty - but it's easier to stick to the actual facts - I know nobody who needs an i7 and unknown upgrade path at the hands of a monopoly who has been busted for antitrust globally 3 times PLUS. WHy is AMD so low priced? Ya think, it's about cheap hardware? AMD has(!) to be good - spintel's antitrust tactics have put them thru trial by fire; and it's slowly coming back on them - watch the news in Spring 2010 when the new USA antitrust legal team gets let out of the box - I will be laughing.

(I new this had flame potential). People are asking me to be "nice" - I am trying.

sigh
.

And just a few posts earlier:

I also hope this does not become an idiot flamewar.

Leave it to Zooty to start a flamewar with himself... ADHD, much?

As for the " People are asking me to be "nice" - I am trying." - not too hard, apparently, since you got perma-banned by Ghost over at AMDZone for your continuous ad hominem attacks.

Nobody wants to read your anti-"Spintel" diatribes in a hardware thread - the OP wants information, not rhetoric. There's a sticky thread for AMD vs. Intel general discussions listed at the top, in case you failed to notice it rather prominently displayed in front of your nose...

 

[randomizer]

Yes, sighQ2 you should join in the sticky fun at the top of this forum (sticky fun?).

 

[Reynod]

Yeah ...

/looks for TIM

 

[tomste2300]

Just to give an update, I took advantage of Microcenter's recent i7 920 sale and went the i7 route. It was definitely an expensive upgrade, but I feel good about my purchases. It just didn't make sense to buy into an aging technology, or a currently inferior product that is only slightly less expensive.

So, while I wait for the PC Power and Cooling 750w psu to arrive Tuesday, the rest of the build looks like the following:

i7 920
Gigabyte EX58-UD3R
6gb Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1066
HD 4870 1 gb
22" Vizio HDTV (via HDMI)
19" Samsung LCD

Thanks to everyone for all their help in the rebuild! BTW, I set up my old computer for my brother and surprised him with it as he came back from camp today. That made it worth the cost.

 

[jimmysmitty]

"Feel free to compare your i7 budget to that, gentlemen".

Yeh, yeh. The spintel benchmarketing scene does not permit an AMD purchase. I could get nasty - but it's easier to stick to the actual facts - I know nobody who needs an i7 and unknown upgrade path at the hands of a monopoly who has been busted for antitrust globally 3 times PLUS. WHy is AMD so low priced? Ya think, it's about cheap hardware? AMD has(!) to be good - spintel's antitrust tactics have put them thru trial by fire; and it's slowly coming back on them - watch the news in Spring 2010 when the new USA antitrust legal team gets let out of the box - I will be laughing.

But o yes, you can spend spend spend and get maximal performance - for what? some fragfest game? It's a waste - all that potential in games is not noticeably or significantly higher - that left the door open for the bang for the buck, and price/performance. Some of us know; and will not be deceived by the spin and the "benchmarketing". When a highend sys costs $300 bucks less, who you gonna call. And nobody needs that high end sys either - not for gaming - and unless you are hooked into tight time schedules of a professional nature where seconds translate into hours, it's all a waste. (3d grafx effects rendering for hollywood movies, have switched to spintel - but they might be coming back to AMD where they were before.)
(I new this had flame potential). People are asking me to be "nice" - I am trying.

sigh
.

Actually the reason why AMDs so low priced right now is because:

1. They bought ATI and over paid for them thus putting themselves in major debt

2. Their CPUs do not perform as well overall compared to Intels.

Yes in gaming they do fine. Until its multicard gaming. But in every other task they are not able to keep up with a Core i7 therefore they have to price their CPUs lower in order to get sales and make money. Problem is that thats a very low profit margin which still has yet to show a profit.

If AMD had invested in more FABs instead of ATI they probably would have been able to make more CPUs to sell but instead they bought ATI thus causing them to take a whoping $4.8 Billion hit.

Right now its not about telling the OP to not buy AMD. Its about suggestions and one guy stated that a Phenom II/MB/RAM would be cheaper all together than a Core i7 920. Which is not true. Sure if you go with the lowest Phenom II you can, it will be cheaper. But the performance will not be the same.

Overall for the OP, if you can get either a Q6600 or Q9550. A HD4870 1GB will not be bottlenecked by either of those quads. If you do plan more than one GPU though possibly a Core i7 or high end Phenom would be wise but if you stick with one 4870 upping your CPU to a quad would benefit you just a tad more than spending more money on a new mobo, RAM and CPU for probably the same performance gains.

*EDIT*

Congrats on teh build. I am sure you will be happy with it as will your brother be happy with your old one. I did the same thing to my fiance. Now she loves my old machine to death and will never let it go.

 

[MU_Engineer]

Would switching to an AMD setup now be a smart move? I want to upgrade and use my current C2D cpu / board in another build, so I'm thinking that picking a new socket might help me upgrade more easily in the future. While I know the Phenom II x4 955 is getting beat by the Q9550, if I switched to an AM3 socket I would be able to get tri channel ram (is this true? After some forum searching it's looking like AM3 boards can't do tri channel...only Intel's i7 socket boards can), DDR3 and an actual upgrade path for the next two or so years.

Is this worth switching to, or should I buy another 775 board and a Q9550? My current DS3R only has PCI-e x16, so I could buy a cheap board and get 2.0.

I would love to get an i7 setup, but I don't have the funds right now. On the flip side, a cpu + mobo + ram switch might put me in the price range of an i7 build.

Current rig specs are -

C2D E4400
Gigabyte DS3R (rev. 1.0)
2gb (2x1gb DDR2 800)
HD 4870 1gb
Fortron 500w


Thanks!

Since you are intending to use your E4400 setup in another build, you are looking to build an entirely new unit. Going with an AMD AM3 unit would be a very good move in that case as you can generally get a better build for the dollar using Phenom IIs/Athlon IIs rather than Intel Core 2s. I wouldn't really make much of a deal about AM3 upgrade potential as it is highly vendor-dependent on shipping a new BIOS, which is a real crapshoot. By the way, the Phenom II X4 955BE is generally a touch faster than the Q9550 if you believe Tom's charts.

PCIe 2.0 vs. PCIe 1.x isn't that big of a deal. No current GPU really bottlenecks a 16-lane PCIe 1.x slot. By the time a GPU comes along that does bottleneck a PCIe 1.x, it's going to be something that requires more CPU than a Q9550 to stretch its legs.

EDIT: After browsing through newegg I have a question. Do some mobos only take Phenom II x4s, or would those boards take any kind of AM3 socket cpu? If the latter is correct, then two years from now I would have to buy a new mobo again when they moved on to x5, etc. That isn't right, is it?

No AM3 motherboard just takes Phenom II X4s. Any AM3 motherboard that takes a Phenom II X4 will take any AM3 CPU. Most AM3 motherboards will take any socket AM3 CPU from the lowest-end Athlon II X4 to the highest-end Phenom II X4. The only limitation that some motherboards have is that some of them have efficient but low-capacity VRMs that limit the motherboard to only taking CPUs at and below a certain TDP level. If you are talking about accepting future CPUs, that is dependent on the motherboard maker releasing updated BIOSes.

 

[BadTrip]

if you read he has already built his new pc.

 

[BadTrip]

well if you love amdzone so much why dont you go there.

 

[jimmysmitty]

BadTrip = Ass hat

Do we really need this? To act like kids?

Sometimes people amaze me at the level they will go on forums.