Is it worth the money?

[vibrantxxninjas]

Hi everyone,
I am currently running a dual core and was wondering if it would be worth it to upgrade to a quad core with a new motherboard combo or would it just be worth it to stick with my current cpu and get a new motherboard for crossfire

current system:
core-i3-550 @3.2GHZ
Sapphire 6870 OC @975/1150
4GB DDR3
550w PSU

i was wondering if this cpu and motherbaord combo would be worth the money or if it would just be a waste
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=165182&CatId=4297

if the link doesnt work for anyone its a phenom II X4 955 BE @3.2 GHZ paired up with an ASUS M4A79XTD EVO AMD 790X Motherboard for $230

so would it be worth the money or would i not get really all that much for the 200 bucks compared to what i have now?

and if not would this be a good motherboard to pair up with my current cpu?
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5367162&CatId=4725

its an ASUS P7P55 LX motherboard for $140

so overall what would be the best bang for the buck option for me to upgrade?

thanks in advance

 

[mosox]

Don't upgrade anything yet.

 

[vibrantxxninjas]

not even my motherboard? i probably wont upgrade till the summer anyways but i wanted to get a motherboard atleast to do crossfire cause right now i have a crappy ass intel mATX mmotherboard

 

[mosox]

Keep that, AMD will release a new socket in June. The prices will go down anyway.

 

[Wisecracker]

Hi everyone,
I am currently running a dual core and was wondering if it would be worth it to upgrade to a quad core with a new motherboard combo or would it just be worth it to stick with my current cpu and get a new motherboard for crossfire

current system:
core-i3-550 @3.2GHZ
Sapphire 6870 OC @975/1150
4GB DDR3
550w PSU

i was wondering if this cpu and motherbaord combo would be worth the money or if it would just be a waste
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=165182&CatId=4297

if the link doesnt work for anyone its a phenom II X4 955 BE @3.2 GHZ paired up with an ASUS M4A79XTD EVO AMD 790X Motherboard for $230

so would it be worth the money or would i not get really all that much for the 200 bucks compared to what i have now?

and if not would this be a good motherboard to pair up with my current cpu?
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5367162&CatId=4725

its an ASUS P7P55 LX motherboard for $140

so overall what would be the best bang for the buck option for me to upgrade?

thanks in advance

I'm a big fan of that motherboard but if yah wish to make a move you should check this out.

And lookee here.

 

[vibrantxxninjas]

I'm a big fan of that motherboard but if yah wish to make a move you should check this out.

And lookee here.

WHAT???
so if i get an AM3 socket motherboard it will actually support there next line of AM3+ CPU's?

wow, i wish intel did this with their lga 1156 and 1155 sockets :S

 

[popatim]

AMD's stance is firm that it offers no support for AM3+ on AM3 boards. Doing so may void any warranty.

If you're going to spend $140 bucks on a motherboard you might as well get an AM3+ board with full support in my opinion.

 

[Wisecracker]

WHAT???
so if i get an AM3 socket motherboard it will actually support there next line of AM3+ CPU's?

wow, i wish intel did this with their lga 1156 and 1155 sockets :S

That's not just an AM3 motherboard ...

It's an 890FX with 42 PCIe lanes off the north bridge (meaning you may Crossfire x16/x16) with a dedicated PCIe lane to the USB3 controller (which provides full theoretical bandwidth) and 4 PCIe lanes to the south bridge 850. The 790X only has 22 PCIe lanes off the north bridge, x8/x8 crossfire, no USB3 and no SATA 6Gb/s.

AMD also does not ""support"" over-clocking (while selling unlocked processors) and core un-locking. Don't worry about the FUD. The MSI 890FXA-GD65 AM3(+) is a great bargain, OEMs have had months of testing engineering samples to incorporate necessary changes for future processors, and the 890FX places you in position for a nice upgrade down the road when that 'new price smell' of Bulldozer Zambezi has dropped significantly.

Also -- you are right at the limit with your PSU for a Crossfire of your HD6870 (which should give you great scaling, btw). If you plan to OC your video cards and CPU (why not? :lol: ) you will need to plan for a power supply upgrade.

 

[vibrantxxninjas]

That's not just an AM3 motherboard ...

It's an 890FX with 42 PCIe lanes off the north bridge (meaning you may Crossfire x16/x16) with a dedicated PCIe lane to the USB3 controller (which provides full theoretical bandwidth) and 4 PCIe lanes to the south bridge 850. The 790X only has 22 PCIe lanes off the north bridge, x8/x8 crossfire, no USB3 and no SATA 6Gb/s.

AMD also does not ""support"" over-clocking (while selling unlocked processors) and core un-locking. Don't worry about the FUD. The MSI 890FXA-GD65 AM3(+) is a great bargain, OEMs have had months of testing engineering samples to incorporate necessary changes for future processors, and the 890FX places you in position for a nice upgrade down the road when that 'new price smell' of Bulldozer Zambezi has dropped significantly.

Also -- you are right at the limit with your PSU for a Crossfire of your HD6870 (which should give you great scaling, btw). If you plan to OC your video cards and CPU (why not? :lol: ) you will need to plan for a power supply upgrade.

oh alrighty sounds like a great deal to me

and also yes thankyou i was aware that i would have to upgrade my PSU... i just wanted a motherboard and cpu so that im ready to go crossfire some time late this year is my plan

 

[popatim]

Me I keep wonderig why they dont hype it more? They just say supported and not full supported. We already know why they don't say offically supported...

Anyone notice Gigabyte not jumping on the am3 bandwagon? why would they want no part of running BD on am3? What trade-offs are users going to have to make to use BD in the old socket? What will they lose?

hmmmm.

 

[vibrantxxninjas]

hey what abouut this board? for $99 looks pretty similar in specs except it runs in x16/x4 as opposed to x16/x16
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6089064&CatId=5538

tiger direct doesnt list its full specs... here is MSI's full specs on that board i just linked on tigerdirect
http://www.msi.com/product/mb/870A-G54.html#?div=Detail

so is that one worth it or is it better to pay an extra $40 for the x16/x16 MSI motherboard?

also how much of a performance hit would i see with x16/x4 crossfire?

 

[Wisecracker]

hey what abouut this board? for $99 looks pretty similar in specs except it runs in x16/x4 as opposed to x16/x16
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6089064&CatId=5538

tiger direct doesnt list its full specs... here is MSI's full specs on that board i just linked on tigerdirect
http://www.msi.com/product/mb/870A-G54.html#?div=Detail

so is that one worth it or is it better to pay an extra $40 for the x16/x16 MSI motherboard?

also how much of a performance hit would i see with x16/x4 crossfire?

That's a tough one.

The 870 is a good board but hardly offers the performance of the 890FX. The GD65 at $100 less cost performs at a level comparable to an Asus Crosshair.

The 870 northbridge only provides 22 PCIe lanes (with the standard 4 lanes to the southbridge) so if the CrossFire is x16/x4 there would be a great deal of 'resource sharing' going on within the system.

The other thing that stands out from the PCIe lanes is the PWM -- the 870 is 4+1 and the GD65 is 8+2. There aren't really additional circuits to the CPU, the 8+2 is really (4+1) + (4+1) but this does help better smooth and regulate power delivery, especially when over-clocking.

And I suspect the GD65 would be substantially better in that department --- probably 300MHz+ with the system clock if you were so inclined.

Me I keep wonderig why they dont hype it more? They just say supported and not full supported. We already know why they don't say offically supported...

Anyone notice Gigabyte not jumping on the am3 bandwagon? why would they want no part of running BD on am3? What trade-offs are users going to have to make to use BD in the old socket? What will they lose?

hmmmm.

So ... yah got nothing (but fear, uncertainty and doubt).

Asus, MSI and even AsRock beat GB to market with multiple solutions in AM3/AM3+ CPU support -- pretty big Fail on the part of Gigabyte after stepping up with x6 Thuban support. And I hope you realize that current Gigabyte AM3+ Motherboards are most likely little modified beyond dying the socket black.

I think it's kinda sad they had to scramble out with this ...

GIGABYTE is introducing a new line of 16 “Black Socket” motherboards previously unveiled at CeBIT 2011 that offer support for AMD’s next generation 32nm AM3+ CPUs and are based on current generation AMD 800/700 series chipset-based motherboards.

Wanting to ensure users their motherboard is able to take advantage of all the performance enhancements that AMD’s upcoming AM3+ CPUs have to offer, GIGABYTE has equipped their entire line of AM3+ CPU ready motherboards with a new black colored socket, making it easy to spot for AM3+ support. In addition, GIGABYTE “Black Socket” series offer full backwards compatibility with AMD’s current generation AM3 socket CPUs, allowing for painless migration to the AM3+ CPUs when they become available.

Wow. Previously revealed at CeBIT and a new black colored socket. :lol: If there were advanced revisions to their 800/700 series motherboards (other than a new black colored socket) don't yah think they would promote them?

And to answer your FUD:

1) Turbo2; and
2) Power-gating.

If an individual is over-clocking, Turbo is the first thing they will turn off in the BIOS -- and if they are not over-clocking, why would they purchase an FX Bulldozer Zambezi, anyway?

Power-gating a module at idle might save a few watts but if your interest is 'Green' you should simply put your rig to sleep after a few minutes of idle. And besides, even at idle video card(s) would most likely exceed any power savings from power-gating CPU modules.

 

[vibrantxxninjas]

That's a tough one.

The 870 is a good board but hardly offers the performance of the 890FX. The GD65 at $100 less cost performs at a level comparable to an Asus Crosshair.

The 870 northbridge only provides 22 PCIe lanes (with the standard 4 lanes to the southbridge) so if the CrossFire is x16/x4 there would be a great deal of 'resource sharing' going on within the system.

The other thing that stands out from the PCIe lanes is the PWM -- the 870 is 4+1 and the GD65 is 8+2. There aren't really additional circuits to the CPU, the 8+2 is really (4+1) + (4+1) but this does help better smooth and regulate power delivery, especially when over-clocking.

And I suspect the GD65 would be substantially better in that department --- probably 300MHz+ with the system clock if you were so inclined.

wow man thanks your helpin me out a lot here... you sure do know your motherboard info... if it wasnt for you, i would've just got the 870, but looks like its really worth it to get the 890FXA.

one more question.

how is MSI for support on their products? cause i really can't tell you how many times ive been screwed over by companies due to their lack of care for customers

thanks again for all your help so far