Which CPU should I pick?

[nixthewiz]

Okay so I bought myself an i5-2400. Came out to be around $130 tax included.

The thing is now I'm torn between returning using the i5 or returning it and going AMD. I'm looking to get another 8GB of DDR3 ram and motherboard for the i5. Which will put me well over $200 for the upgrade.

Microcenter has several AMD bundles that fits my budget better. They have the FX 6100, FX 4100, Phenom II X6 1045, and Phenom II X4 965. So which AMD CPU is best for gaming?

I know i5 is better but really is not an option for me since the total cost is too high. I'm leaning toward the 965 so I can save the money for a future GPU upgrade.

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

Well, honestly, my first question is why did you buy the i5 in the first place if you knew you wouldn't have the money to buy the other parts to be able to use it?

Anyway, the 965 BE is the best AMD gaming option.

Don't even think about any of the FX CPU's (a 965 BE will beat them all in gaming) and the 1045T is 700Mhz slower at stock that the 965 BE and the extra 2 cores are meaningless for gaming.

 

[nixthewiz]

I bought the i5 and then realized that Intel mobos are so expensive.

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

I bought the i5 and then realized that Intel mobos are so expensive.

OK, that's cool, I guess.

The 965 BE it is then.

 

[nixthewiz]

Best answer selected by nixthewiz.

 

[nixthewiz]

Thanks for the help. Off to Microcenter tomorrow.

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

You're welcome.

 

[nixthewiz]

How much power do I need for the 965 BE? My current PSU is 430W Antec.

I'm planning on running this with

8GB DDR3 RAM
1x 750GB 7200RPM HDD
GTX 550ti.

Would the current PSU be enough?

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

The GPU is the most important part there, really, and Nvidia recommends a 400W unit for a 550 Ti. OC'ing the 965 WILL add to that requirement a bit, though.

You should be ok with that unit, but I wouldn't OC to the moon with it.

 

[nixthewiz]

Not willing to overclock to the moon. I'm not going anywhere 4Ghz or above. Seems like my current PSU should work. Thanks.