I need an opinion on a budget upgrade

[dmennis]

As the title displays, i wanted advice and experience feedback with the following cpu's Amd phenom black edition 965 3.4ghz 6mb l3 cache AM3 and the intel q9550 2.8ghz 12mb l2 cache LGA 775. What should i get performance wise?

Currently my core specs are 6gb of crucial 1066 DDR3 memory (i know it's not great) and i am using an LGA 775 core 2 duo e8400 at stock 3.00 ghz. And i am using an xfx radeon HD5770. Also using a 600-watt ocz Power supply. Also using a zalman 9600 cpu cooler.



This is the Yorkfield Q9550 i was thinking about upgrading to since i already have an LGA 775 motherboard.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115041&cm_re=12mb_L2_cache-_-19-115-041-_-Product


However, i stumbled upon this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130249
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727

I can get these for 250$ and since i already have DDR3 memory (i feel like just keeping the ram) that i can convert to amd and i had plans of buying another HD 5770 of the same model to crossfire and would only roughly spend 400$ on this.

I understand some people are biased with intel and amd, i try to be open minded. I just wanted you guys' feedback on my decision performance wise. I'm just not clear on would the yorkfield at a 12mb l2 cache be better? or the phenom II with a 6mb l3 cache be better?

I'm personally leaning toward the amd upgrade, since i can take advantage of xfire?

 

[Emperus]

Assuming gaming as your primary objective, my recommendation is to stick with your current processor and upgrade to a better video card..

 

[tecmo34]

Here is a comparison between the two CPU's: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/102?vs=50

The x4 965 shows slight performance increase across the board. With that said, I would make the switch to AMD for 1) better performance at a lower upgrade cost and 2) you get out of a E.O.L. Socket with greater upgrade paths (X6 CPU's & ability to use CPU on AM3+ boards).

 

[dmennis]

yeah, its for gaming

 

[tecmo34]

Here is a comparison between the E8400 & X4 965 for your review: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/102?vs=56

 

[dmennis]

Thanks tecmo, i appreciate the help. It looks like me converting wouldn't be THAT much of a big difference for gaming? Though i noticed other apllications the phenom outperformed it out of the water. Also for crossfire should i get a better card to pair with the 5770?

 

[tecmo34]

1) You are correct the E8400 is similar in performance in gaming but the X4 965 is better across the board.

2) If you currently have a 5770, I would look to upgrade to a second 5770 for better performance. The other option would be sell the 5770, use the money from it and your money you have for the upgrade to get a 6850 or 6870. This will get you a better single card setup, which you could upgrade to Crossfire down the road, as well.

 

[dmennis]

could i buy the 6850 and pair it with my 5770?

 

[dmennis]

Well, i'd mighth ave to upgrade the power supply too

 

[tecmo34]

I don't think your motherboard supports mixed cards, so it won't be a good idea doing so .

Yes... If you plan to go with two 6850's, you will need an upgraded PSU. Going with two 5770's, you will be fine with your current PSU.

 

[dmennis]

Thank you so much. My final question is i've been knit picking an keeping a detail on differen't variables. For example my Video card is Pci e 16x 2.1 . From experience, my motherboard is only pci express 2.0 and works fine. Though, i have no problem with the Amd motherboard i am buying now only supporting 2.0 . However, would it be a problem using crossfire on a motherboard 2.0 compliant with cards that are 2.1? I don't mean to sound like a pain in the ass i just don't want any complication setting it up

 

[dmennis]

for crossfire that is

 

[tecmo34]

Yes, the motherboard will work just fine with a PCIe 2.1 Graphics Card. The card is backwards compatable with all if the PCIe x16 slots. Meaning, you could run the card on a PCIe 1.0 x16 slot and be fine.

 

[dmennis]

thanks, you've been a big help today

 

[tecmo34]

Not a problem, glad I could help out