Which computer should I use?

[Thegeek]

Hi, geeks!

With me, I never have any money. It takes me a while to buy anything over £50. Anyway, my Mum gave my her old desktop computer because she brought a new laptop. It's fully working and everything.

Specs of the AMD machine is:

Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H AM2+
AMD Phenom 9550 Quad-Core Processor (Agena)
1GB of DDR2 memory
80GB HDD seagate

The PC that I'm using now is:

Intel q8300
4GB of DDR3
BIOSTAR G41D3
XFX HD6850
650W PSU
500GB WD HDD

Now, I checked up the motherboard specs and I think the AMD would be the best choice. Better PCIe(2.0), can handle more memory than the BIOSTAR, more Sata ports, eSATA port, RAID support and AMD CPUs are cheaper and the AMD CPUs have integrated memory controllers, right? And more. If I do pick AMD, then I was going put my HD6850, PSU and HDD in the AMD machine. Also, I will be buying more DDR2 memory since it's dirty cheap.

So what do you people think?

 

[o1die]

I recomend a ddr3 board for either cpu. Sell your old 1 gb stick of ddr2 and make the switch.

 

[Raiddinn]

Last I checked, DDR2 isn't that cheap compared to DDR3. Indeed, the DDR3 is probably cheaper due to the high supply.

Non-USA locales might be different, though.

My wife's computer uses DDR2 and her per stick cost is $25 for 667 2GB sticks whereas my DDR3 RAM is $20 per stick for 1333 sticks that are 4GB per.

In any event, I don't see a super big reason to change anything at all. I didn't find a direct comparison easily online, but the q8400 handily beats the AMD 9650 in a test that I did find.

 

[Thegeek]

If I wanted to change the memory in the AMD machine to DDR3, would I have to change the CPU with it having a integrated memory controller in the die?

What would be the best CPU for a AM2+ motherboard with DDR2 memory? I play games like Dragon Age and Skyrim. Nothing like battlefield or COD, even though in my opinion, CODs specs are not that high.

 

[o1die]

Am3 processors work with ddr2 on your old board. Here's a "cpu support" list: http://www.gigabyte.us/support-downloads/cpu-support-popup.aspx?pid=3193.
Lots of good choices in the phenom II column. Pick a budget and vender. I live in the usa, so I won't recommend anything specific. Save your old cpu in case you need to flash the bios for the newer cpu to post.