Building new core system, torn between Intel and AMD

[cjja81]

Hi all,

I am wanting to upgrade my old lga 775 system running a q9400 and two 4870's. My budget is as close to $600 as possible for CPU, RAM, motherboard and GPU. I intend to use it primarily for gaming, and want a system that will be a worthy upgrade from my old system, and something that will allow an upgrade path that keeps it future-proof for the next several years.

Here are the three options I'm considering:

Option 1:

CPU: i5 3450
MoBo: MSI z77ma-g45
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 8G
Cooler: Scythe Kozuti
GPU: Radeon 6950
Cost: $617

Option 2:
CPU: i3 3220
MoBo: ASUS P8Z77-V LX
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 8G
GPU: Radeon 7950
Cost: $576.29

Option 3:
CPU: Phenom II x4 965 BE
MoBo: MSI 990FXA-GD65
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 8G
Cooler: Scythe Kozuti
GPU: Radeon 7950
Cost: $595.97

Please provide opinions on the strengths/weaknesses of each, which one seems to be the best "bang for buck", or suggestions for better builds in the similar budget of $600.

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[fire r a g e]

The second one will give you a better gaming experience due to the better GPU.

 

[TheBigTroll]

second one but id get a asrock h77m motherboard if you dont plan on doing any crossfire in the future. it will save you quite a bit. it will save you enough to get a nice i5 3450

oh and i would also suggest a 7870 instead of a 7950 given how close they are in performance and how far they are in prices

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127681

 

[cjja81]

Thanks to both of you for your replies!

TheBigTroll, I've priced out both the MSI and the Asrock boards you recommended, and the MSI is competitively priced with the AsRock boards, at least in Canada. I can get the MSI board for $104.99, and can't find any offerings from asrock with h77m for less than that.

Also, I compared the radeon hd 7870 with my dual 4870s, and it seems that the memory bandwidth might make the card slower than my original setup.

Here is the site I used for comparison:

http://www.hwcompare.com/12239/radeon-hd-4870-x2-vs-radeon-hd-7870/

Thanks again for the feedback!

 

[TheBigTroll]

you should have told me that you were canadian. im canadian....

memory bandwidth isnt a major factor since the GPU is so much more powerful than your 4870s

price match this board at ncix. you should shop there
http://www.computervalley.ca/ga-h77m-d3h/0818313014450/gigabyte-ultra-durable-4-classic-ga-h77m-d3h-desktop-motherboard-intel-h77-express-chipset-socket-h2-lga-1155-micro-atx-1-x-processor-support-32-gb-ddr3-sdram-maximum-ram-crossfirex-support-serial-ata/600-serial-ata/300-raid-supported-controller-2-x-pcie-x16-slot-2-x-usb-30-port-hdmi?siteID=8BacdVP0GFs-mL4wKUD8UkD_oVCqZosiGg

 

[blazorthon]

Thanks to both of you for your replies!

TheBigTroll, I've priced out both the MSI and the Asrock boards you recommended, and the MSI is competitively priced with the AsRock boards, at least in Canada. I can get the MSI board for $104.99, and can't find any offerings from asrock with h77m for less than that.

Also, I compared the radeon hd 7870 with my dual 4870s, and it seems that the memory bandwidth might make the card slower than my original setup.

Here is the site I used for comparison:

http://www.hwcompare.com/12239/radeon-hd-4870-x2-vs-radeon-hd-7870/

Thanks again for the feedback!

The 7870 is faster than the 4870X2. Ignore HWCompare, they don't test the cards, they just makes guesses that often do not reflect real-world gaming performance.

 

[spat55]

Hi all,

I am wanting to upgrade my old lga 775 system running a q9400 and two 4870's. My budget is as close to $600 as possible for CPU, RAM, motherboard and GPU. I intend to use it primarily for gaming, and want a system that will be a worthy upgrade from my old system, and something that will allow an upgrade path that keeps it future-proof for the next several years.

Here are the three options I'm considering:

Option 1:

CPU: i5 3450
MoBo: MSI z77ma-g45
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 8G
Cooler: Scythe Kozuti
GPU: Radeon 6950
Cost: $617

Option 2:
CPU: i3 3220
MoBo: ASUS P8Z77-V LX
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 8G
GPU: Radeon 7950
Cost: $576.29

Option 3:
CPU: Phenom II x4 965 BE
MoBo: MSI 990FXA-GD65
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 8G
Cooler: Scythe Kozuti
GPU: Radeon 7950
Cost: $595.97

Please provide opinions on the strengths/weaknesses of each, which one seems to be the best "bang for buck", or suggestions for better builds in the similar budget of $600.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Option 2 for me, the best GPU and a rather good CPU, I'd rather a i5 though with something like a 7870 if you could I think but either a i5 with Radeon 7870 or option 2.

 

[blazorthon]

I'd go for option 3. With some CPU overclocking, it'll be between an i5 and an i3 in CPU performance, but it still has the best graphics of those three options.

However, either of the other options would also be good, although option 2 might suck in BF3 MP.