2 Rigs In Mind - Need To Choose! :(

[ammyt]

...After all this is life, all about opportunity costs.

Rig1:
AMD FX-8120 Zambezi 3.1GHz $199.99
CORSAIR Vengeance (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1600 CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9B $89.99
BIOSTAR TA990FXE AM3+ AMD 990FX $129.99
XFX HD-695X-CNFC Radeon HD 6950 2GB $269.99
Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-750 750W $99.99
TOTAL $789.95

Rig2:
Intel Core i5-2500 $209.99
CORSAIR Vengeance (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1600 CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9B $89.99
GIGABYTE GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3 $117.99
XFX HD-695X-CNFC Radeon HD 6950 2GB $269.99
Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-750 750W $99.99
TOTAL $787.95

One might think, "What? Not the AMD vs. Intel thingy again!".
Well I am very serious about this particular build. It is not about AMD vs. Intel, I'm neither a fanboy for both. I am a fanboy for low price = high quality, and I've used Intel processors for the whole entirety of my life. I am really interested about having an AMD FX 8 Core processor, very appealing to me, but as I continue reading benchmarks, I'm dazzled by the fact that the 8 core monster falls behind the older quad core rival.

About the build, I am looking for some economical mid-high end gaming rig that can stand for the next 2-3 years. Which shall I go for?

 

[zolton33]

Definitely go with the i5 more upgrade options plus better if you game.

 

[prototype18]

get the i5 2500k!!! not the normal one.

Where are u buing from ? At microcenter they have i5-2500k for 190 $ so search a bit more b4 buying!

Also why do u need 16 gb ram ? get 8 insted and get a HSF cooler

 

[ammyt]

To be honest, I'm into the hype of getting an Octa-core processor, that's it.
Secondly, I don't want to have the costs exceeding $800.

 

[ammyt]

get the i5 2500k!!! not the normal one.

Where are u buing from ? At microcenter they have i5-2500k for 190 $ so search a bit more b4 buying!

Also why do u need 16 gb ram ? get 8 insted and get a HSF cooler

You can't imagine the amount of time I spent searching! You can simply not imagine it.
The prices listed are all newegg prices, and the reason I'm getting a 16 GB RAM is that I want the rig to stand up for the next years. Will it do so by only 8 gigs?

 

[zolton33]

With an intel rig i'd drop down to the 1333 ram as the 1600 could void your warranty. The 8 core other wise known as the bulldozer chips are not performing as they should right now. Windows 7 is not very compatible with them. Windows 8 is supposed to be better to them and microsoft has promised a fix for them in 7 but right now they just are not very good for gaming. If you plan to game i really suggest the i5 2500k. Its the best gaming cpu right now to be honest.

 

[ammyt]

With an intel rig i'd drop down to the 1333 ram as the 1600 could void your warranty. The 8 core other wise known as the bulldozer chips are not performing as they should right now. Windows 7 is not very compatible with them. Windows 8 is supposed to be better to them and microsoft has promised a fix for them in 7 but right now they just are not very good for gaming. If you plan to game i really suggest the i5 2500k. Its the best gaming cpu right now to be honest.

Roger.
What is the difference between them? Does the i5 blow away the FX by miles or just by few meters? If Windows 8 is going to fix them, then I have no problem running the-not-fastest-but-hyped-with-8-cores rig.
Yes I already got that 1600 issue already solved in my Excel table (I used copy-paste in my post from my AMD rig).
Again, can 8Gigs live for the next 2-3 years?

 

[zolton33]

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html

Keep in mind this is one benchmark. You can see the i5 2500k is rated at 6739 and the 7123. Gaming wise they do not use all the cores so smaller more powerful cores will give you better performance in gaming. Overclocked the i5 2500k leaps above the fx 8120 by a good bit. For gaming the 2500k is considered the king cpu right now.

Will windows 7 fix the compatibility issues? Will 8 be able to better use them? At the moment its really a big gamble. Plus this year they are each releasing new cpus the piledriver from amd and the ivy bridge cpus from intel. Will these be better or worse? I don't know for sure. But at the moment the 2500k is the most recommended cpu for gaming and the amd chips do well in video editing and such where more of the cores can be utilized. So it comes down to what you will use it for mainly.

 

[ammyt]

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html

Keep in mind this is one benchmark. You can see the i5 2500k is rated at 6739 and the 7123. Gaming wise they do not use all the cores so smaller more powerful cores will give you better performance in gaming. Overclocked the i5 2500k leaps above the fx 8120 by a good bit. For gaming the 2500k is considered the king cpu right now.

Will windows 7 fix the compatibility issues? Will 8 be able to better use them? At the moment its really a big gamble. Plus this year they are each releasing new cpus the piledriver from amd and the ivy bridge cpus from intel. Will these be better or worse? I don't know for sure. But at the moment the 2500k is the most recommended cpu for gaming and the amd chips do well in video editing and such where more of the cores can be utilized. So it comes down to what you will use it for mainly.

So best way is to wait and see.
I need to get my rig ready in July-August.

 

[zolton33]

Its not really a wait and see. Right now they are not performing as well as they should. They could be fixed but then again they could not thats the gamble of going with the fx chips you may end up with this fixed and if so great if not then you know the alternative. And this is why most suggest the intel chips over them at the moment. Which is hard for me as i generally like amd chips but honestly they just aren't up to par. And amd has stated they are no longer trying to compete with intel in high performance and as such their chips will all generally fall short of the intel counter parts. Its just the way things are i'm afraid.

 

[vitornob]

In the hype to get an octo-core? Dont think about the number of cores, with the FX line we just learned that number of cores mean nothing...

 

[prototype18]

You can't imagine the amount of time I spent searching! You can simply not imagine it.
The prices listed are all newegg prices, and the reason I'm getting a 16 GB RAM is that I want the rig to stand up for the next years. Will it do so by only 8 gigs?

As you are gaming and u want it to last 2-3 years 8Gb will do the job.

Better to get 8Gb ram and get the I5-2500K so u can OC it and achieve better performance in Games related to CPU.

Also your GPU is powerful and will handle tons of games.

U wont see any difference in 8 and 16 gb gaming rig.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ram-memory-upgrade,2778-8.html

Take a look at this benchmark and realise what u should do .