So I'm upgrading my PC after a couple years.
Current specs are:
Athlon II x2 245 @ 3.6ghz
Radeon 5750
MSI 785gm-365
4gb ddr3 1333
And I'm wondering what the best route to take is. Should I stick with AMD, get a AM3+ board and wait for bulldozer, or pay up for an i5 2500k? I do a fair amount of heavy computing along with some gaming. Rendering, transcoding, some dirt2, etc. Is the i5 really all it's cracked up to be? I've seen benchies, of course, and it seems to beat even the Phenom hexacores more often than not. But, it is extremely expensive compared to any Phenom.
Should I get the 2500k or does a Phenom ii x4 for half the price give acceptable performance for my needs?
Or should I wait for bulldozer? Does anyone even know the release date?
Or should I wait for Ivy Bridge? Any news on this?
There is no incentive for me to stick with AMD to reuse the mobo because this mobo and processor are going into an XBMC build in a couple months anyway.
And what do you guys think of this z68 mobo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128495
Its specs seem great: Virtu (I transcode), USB3/SATA3, SLI/Xfire with x16/x8, HDMI/DVI out... I don't see anything negative.
Or should I upgade at all?
Current specs are:
Athlon II x2 245 @ 3.6ghz
Radeon 5750
MSI 785gm-365
4gb ddr3 1333
And I'm wondering what the best route to take is. Should I stick with AMD, get a AM3+ board and wait for bulldozer, or pay up for an i5 2500k? I do a fair amount of heavy computing along with some gaming. Rendering, transcoding, some dirt2, etc. Is the i5 really all it's cracked up to be? I've seen benchies, of course, and it seems to beat even the Phenom hexacores more often than not. But, it is extremely expensive compared to any Phenom.
Should I get the 2500k or does a Phenom ii x4 for half the price give acceptable performance for my needs?
Or should I wait for bulldozer? Does anyone even know the release date?
Or should I wait for Ivy Bridge? Any news on this?
There is no incentive for me to stick with AMD to reuse the mobo because this mobo and processor are going into an XBMC build in a couple months anyway.
And what do you guys think of this z68 mobo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128495
Its specs seem great: Virtu (I transcode), USB3/SATA3, SLI/Xfire with x16/x8, HDMI/DVI out... I don't see anything negative.
Or should I upgade at all?