Wait for Core i3 and G300? (or AM3 + PH II now?)

[KatanaBob]

Hi!

I've been toying with the idea of upgrading to a new budget rig (new MB, GPU, CPU and RAM), since my Athlon 64 3500+ and 7800gs is starting to show their age (though I must say, they've aged gracefully).

So in essence, should I go AM3 with Phenom II and 4670/4770/4850

OR

wait for core i3 and G300?

Even if I don't want to go intel and nvidia, the prices should drop on AMD's offerings, right? Is it clever to wait?

Also... I'm really excited to see what the 5670 can do.

BTW, it's mostly for gaming and safe overclocking.

 

[Proximon]

Yes those parts are getting fairly old.

2 years ago I had a 3500+, 7900GT, and 2Gb RAM. I upgraded to an 8800GT and was somewhat disappointed... it was OK, but it really showed how slow my CPU was.

So I switched to an E8400 on a P45 board. The difference was huge. Later I upgraded to a 4870 and have been pretty happy since.

Not that I recommend a dual core on a new build now. I'm saying though that a CPU/GPU upgrade will be very significant for you. Quad core is the way to go. See my guide for more info.

I think i5 750 on a Gigabyte UD2 is a very reasonable thing to do right now:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.286408
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128405&cm_re=UD2-_-13-128-405-_-Product

 

[KatanaBob]

Thanks for quick answer!

I saw the UD2 review on Anandtech, looks like great value. But what are the tradeoffs of going mATX? I see most people use ATX. I'd still like to have 4 slots for RAM, and maybe 2-3 PCI slots. I don't really need two PCIE lanes, it's always better to just upgrade the one GPU.


More importantly, I was wondering if it might be worth waiting for PCIE 3.0. I bought an NForce3 AGP motherboard just before PCIE was released, and I've regretted it ever since. MB is great in itself, but it left no room to upgrade the GPU.

 

[Proximon]

We're not even using the full bandwidth of PCI-E 2.0 yet. And PCI-E will remain backwards compatible through it's iterations as far as I know.

I really don't see any downside for most users on mATX. If you find yourself needing two or three expansion slots for things like RAID cards or WiFi then I can see it. Most folks are content with onboard sound and a PCI-E video card though.

The UD2 will support a single double wide GPU and another PCI-E device fairly comfortably, but that's about it. I'm not a big fan of jamming two big GPUs together or another card right next to the GPU, unless it's water cooled.

 

[xaira]

id get a cpu now and wait for graffics, the athlon x3 425 is in a sweet place right now, wait for fermis bench numbers to be released, then get a gcard

 

[KatanaBob]

Basically I'm torn between 3 upgrade paths right now:

1: What I originally intended: Phenom II x720 (try to unlock last core) + Radeon HD 4850 + some decent ram + ASUS AM3 790X --> 589 USD

2: Gigabyte UD2 P55 mATX + Radeon 5750 + some decent ram + core i5 --> 714 USD

3: Super-value-in-case-I-break-something-when-building-since-it's-my-first-time-building-rig: A decent Asus AM3 785G + Radeon HD 4670 + some decent ram + Athlon II x2 240 (I can just overclock it anyway) --> 446 USD

In case you're wondering why it's so expensive, it's because it's converted from norwegian kroner. (about 5,6kr = 1 USD


Some important considerations:

1. It's for gaming and light, safe overclocking
2. I only have a Nec1770 LCD, so no gaming over 1280x1024 (why I picked mainstream GPUs) - Need a strong CPU because of that I guess
3. I can mostly use it only in the weekends and in holidays, so I'm wondering whether there's any point in spending so much on a core i5
4. I don't want to upgrade to a platform that's gonna disappear within 2-3 years. I heard Intel was gonna leave the 1156 out in the cold in 2011. I want an upgrade path for the future, like everyone else. AM3 for instance doesn't really seem to have anything new except for bulldozer, which is for server anyway.
5. It would be nice if it was cheap as possible, for obvious reasons, but also because it's my first time building.

 

[xaira]

actually, bulldozer is a new arch that will be used in both desktop and surver, magny cours will be server only, and what do you mean you want a platform that will last more than three years, does such a thing exist?

 

[KatanaBob]

actually, bulldozer is a new arch that will be used in both desktop and surver, magny cours will be server only, and what do you mean you want a platform that will last more than three years, does such a thing exist?

Well, 775 has been around since 2004 hasn't it? Or have I misunderstood? I've kinda envied people with 775. They can STILL buy upgrades for it, while I got burned on socket 939, haha!

 

[Proximon]

Well, 775 has been around since 2004 hasn't it? Or have I misunderstood? I've kinda envied people with 775. They can STILL buy upgrades for it, while I got burned on socket 939, haha!

Not exactly. Although the socket has remained the same, you'll find that most 4-5 year old LGA 775 boards don't actually support modern LGA 775 CPUs.

If you are going to be a "set and forget" kind of user get the i5 750. If you really want to tinker and upgrade as you go, your X3 720 choice would give you a far better overall gaming experience.