Stick with Phenom II 810 or i5-3570K?

[ajohns41]

I'm turning to the hivemind for this one - I'm torn.

Currently, I'm in the process of "rebuilding" an HP p6230y desktop I was given. It's getting moved to a new home (as in, a Phantom 410) at the end of this month, so I can start to learn the intricacies of overclocking (the case it comes in doesn't have nearly the cooling I would need).

The biggest problem I have with it right now is the motherboard - it's outdated and doesn't quite fit with what I want to do (only gets to SATA2 and lacks USB 3.0 support, both things I want). I want to get a new motherboard with SATA3 and USB 3.0, as well as an added PCI-Express slot so I can add a second Radeon 6850 in the future, if needed.

This computer currently has a Phenom II 810. I'm not entirely sure how that will overclock, but as I've never done this before, I don't need it to do anything over the top. My question is: do I stick with this processor and get a nicer AMD motherboard, or do I go all-out and upgrade to the i5-3570K and a brand new Intel motherboard? Or, to be blunt - is this processor worth keeping around for 1-2 more years, or will I end up needing to upgrade it?

Here's hoping someone can point me in the right direction.

EDIT - I'm not opposed to getting a nicer AMD CPU in the future, if I stick with this motherboard, as I'm aware mine is not at all the best I could have. Just trying to figure out if I can get away with spending a little less before my wedding!

 

[getochkn]

What kind of RAM does the system have now? You might have to upgrade the RAM, maybe the PSU as well and in the end you're probably going to end up building a new PC.

 

[jpoos]

what do you intend to use the system for? personal needs have to be the number one concern when planning a project to within a tight budget. the 3570k is a hell of alot of horsepower but may be completely unnecessary if you just intent to use it for browsing the web & the occasional casual game.

 

[ajohns41]

I put a new PSU in it when I added a first Radeon 6850 (Cooler Master Elite 460W). I'm aware that I may have to upgrade it again, but I'm hoping to avoid that for at least a little while. Maybe that's impossible?

RAM is 8GB of DDR3-1333 RAM.

 

[ajohns41]

what do you intend to use the system for? personal needs have to be the number one concern when planning a project to within a tight budget. the 3570k is a hell of alot of horsepower but may be completely unnecessary if you just intent to use it for browsing the web & the occasional casual game.

I like to play games on it, but I don't generally play brand new games when they come out and I'm pretty much okay not playing them at their absolute highest settings. Mostly, it's for web browsing, some photo editing, and the tedious process of ripping my DVD collection.

 

[JKatwyopc]

Since you are planning to use the computer as a gaming machine, you should probably upgrade to the i5 3570K. The Phenom II 810 is a quad core processor without the 6MB L3 cache and the clock speed on it is only 2.6 GHz . Phenom II processors are no better than Athlon II processors if they don't have the L3 cache. Personally, I would suggest you just start out with a completer new build and sell that computer to someone who doesn't need the extra performance. It's still good for a few more years of use as long as it's just used for basic tasks such as e-mail, web surfing and office productivity type tasks.

 

[jpoos]

ok, then perhaps forgo overclocking & consider the more conservative option of a standard i5 paired with a H series mobo. as for the future dual gpu solution consider instead taking the cash saved + cash from sale of your 6850 & put it towards something in the region of 7870/660ti, double the graphical power without any of the issues of dual card rigs.

 

[ajohns41]

Since you are planning to use the computer as a gaming machine, you should probably upgrade to the i5 3570K. The Phenom II 810 is a quad core processor without the 6MB L3 cache and the clock speed on it is only 2.6 GHz . Phenom II processors are no better than Athlon II processors if they don't have the L3 cache. Personally, I would suggest you just start out with a completer new build and sell that computer to someone who doesn't need the extra performance. It's still good for a few more years of use as long as it's just used for basic tasks such as e-mail, web surfing and office productivity type tasks.

That's what I was afraid of hearing, but I figured that was probably my best bet. Thanks.

 

[ajohns41]

Best answer selected by ajohns41.