Upgrading...

[manicmike]

After years of good use, my old PC, which I gave to my wife, barely works.

It has a Core 2 Quad on an ASUS Striker II Formla mobo... problem is that only one of the PCIe slots functions properly, the network adaptors work when they damn well feel like it... for all intents and purposes, it's dead.

Since I have about a $300 budget, I was going to put in

BIOSTAR TA 990 FXE Motherboard - $130
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138341


G-SKILL RIPJAWS 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600 - $47
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314


I am trying to choose between the AMD Phenom II X4 965 Quad Core ($120) and the FX 4100 ($110), and I'm kinda considering the Phenom II X4 975 Quad Core OEM ($130), but I was hoping for something with a fan.

Phenom II X4 965 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727

FX-4100 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103996

Phenom II X4 975 OEM - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103924

The FX would put me at $287, the 965 at $297, and the 975 OEM at $307 (but still in need of a heatsink/fan)

I have an FX-6100 that works great with how I have my PC set up and tweaked, but I hear a lot of forums bashing the FX-4100 vs the Phenom II(s). If I went with the OEM 975, I'd probably grab a heatsink/fan for $20-$25, so would the potential benefits of the 975 over the 4100 or 965 be worth the extra $30-$35?

Expected purchase date: By next weekend
Retailer: NewEgg (possibly Tiger Direct if it's a Phenom, they have "Up to 22% off" on Phenoms this week)

 

[gary1]

i3-2120 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115077
G.SKILL RAM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=4176827&SID=axrzpsrcttxu
ASUS P8Z68 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131781

 

[computernewb]

hi.

you might want to read this thread for phenom ii x4 965 vs fx 4100.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/328766-31-4100-phenom

You will not notice a real life difference between a 965 and a 975. Therefore i would get the 965 and save $30. If youre not going to overclock, you can just use the stock heatsink/fan. also OEM has a shorter warranty. I believe its 30 days.

you can also save some money (about $50) by getting a motherboard with a 970 chipset
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157280

my choice would be the 965 + the motherboard above + your ram for 247$

 

[nekulturny]

The Phenom II is a better choice than the FX, you can easily clock up the 965 to match or exceed the stock 975 speed or even the clock speed of a 980 which is 3.7GHZ. Although as you can see by my sig I didn't do that myself. Up to you.

I know everyone is bashing the FX CPUs, they aren't totally off their rocker for doing so.

An FX-4100, like the i3 gary suggested is not a true quad core. They are dual cores that "pretend" to have 4 cores. While the i3 is better at doing this, a well balanced system prefers a true quad core CPU, which you would have in a Phenom II.

See here: The long and short of it is, almost every program that calls more than 2 cores into play the Phenom II beats the i3, considering both are about the same price, well.. Do I need to say it?

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/289?vs=362

 

[manicmike]

Thank you both.

 

[manicmike]

Best answer selected by manicmike.