Determining AMD or Intel for the future

[joker577]

Since I'm building this new gaming rig with the future in mind, by the time these rigs we are all planning to build on here are outdated will 6 cores (i.e. AMD phenom II x6 1100T) be finally utilized or is it just smarter to go ahead and get the i5 4 core?

 

[billj214]

That's like asking if 64 bit OS is worth going for over 32 bit OS! My vote is definitely for the i5 Sandy Bridge with Z68 motherboard. I think you can find plenty of articles on Tom's showing the difference in 4/6 cores including the latest article with comparison to single core on all platforms.

Good Luck.

 

[anti-painkilla]

AMD as far as we know, make their CPU's compatible with previous motherboards, so for future upgrades they can be good. Intel however brings out a new chipset with each gen. Which, as annoying as it is, they seem to work better together then AMD.

The best way to future proof, i believe, is to build a system that wont need to be upgraded anytime soon, and with Z68 mobo as bill stated is probably the best option. If you did want to go AMD, i personally would wait for Bulldozer.

If the rig is for gaming, 4 cores is ample with most games never using more than 3 cores.

 

[Outlander_04]

Right now its smarter to go ahead with an i5 quad.

Future proofing is impossible IMO . This years top end PC will perform as well as next years mid range . The year after that it will be entry level .

Economically the smart move is to by the midrange now , ignoring overpriced top end parts , which will do the job for a couple of years . And then build again starting from scratch saving maybe your case and PSU

 

[addison]

I would wait for AMD bulldozer.