Upgrading from a E2180 to i5 or i7, need help deciding

Ovreel

Distinguished
May 15, 2010
18
0
18,510
Hello, Right now I'm running:
Intel E2180@3.0Ghz
4GB AData ram
ATI Radeon 4870
Gigabyte P35-DS3L

I think it's about time I get an upgrade, and right now Frys has some good deals on an i7-930 with the MSI X58 Pro-E Motherboard for $309, and they have some decent prices on ram.
Originally I was looking at upgrading to the i5-750, with 4gb of Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1600, and the Gigabyte P55-UD3P motherboard. Right now both setups would be roughly the same price, but I'm told some i5-750 deals should be coming soon.

Any advice on how I should go about this? I would like the motherboard to be able to run Crossfire so I could just double up on my 4870s when needed. USB3.0 and Sata 6gb/s would be nice, but I suppose they aren't mandatory.
 

Ovreel

Distinguished
May 15, 2010
18
0
18,510
APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Within the next month or two, I'm getting antsy but in no real rush :kaola:
BUDGET RANGE: ~350-450 before rebates is my limit

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, some video editing (fraps footage), movies, schoolwork. Main games I play are - Dark Age of Camelot, Team Fortress 2, Global Agenda, Half life games, and I'm sure a new MMO will be thrown in there soon.

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, case, OS, Hard drive, Video card, power supply (Corsair TX-750)

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg.com, Tigerdirect.com, Zipzoomfly.com, Frys.com, open to other suggestions as well, using bing.com/cashback
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:US, Washington State

PARTS PREFERENCES:This will just be an upgrade of my current PC (my first build ever), so the only experience with the brand of parts I'm upgrading are with Gigabyte, Intel, and A-Data. I'm willing to try new brands though.

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe, if necessary SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Crossfire for when it's needed in the future, if I choose to get another 4870 instead of a newer card.

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1680x1050 main monitor, 2nd monitor is 1920x1080 (this is generally only used for movies, homework)

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Preferrably quiet

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
These are the parts I've been looking at so far

Intel Core i5-750

Gigabyte P55-USB3 Motherboard

Corsair PC12800 RAM - 4GB, DDR3, 1600MHz, Core i5, Dual Channel, Class 9

The sale at Fry's is offering these two options, no i5 at the moment though

Intel® Core i7 Processor 930
& MSI X58 Pro-E Motherboard
Bundle Combo


And

Intel® Core™ i7 930 Processor
& Asus P6T SE Motherboard
Bundle Combo



I hope I included everything! :)
 
AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Thuban 2.8GHz 6 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103851

ASRock M3A770DE AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157176



There, that beats the dogshit out of any i5 processor, and for less money. You could get a somewhat better mobo for like $20-$30 more, but I'm just trying to prove a point here. The only thing that buying an Intel CPU does is guarantee that you're paying 40% more for name recognition alone.
 

Ovreel

Distinguished
May 15, 2010
18
0
18,510
Fry's came out with a new deal today:

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition
Gigabyte GA-MA790XTA-UD4 Motherboard

Both for 185 after rebate

I jumped on that deal