AM2, AM3, or Conroe?

[jshuck3]

This has sort of been talked about so hopefully I don't get yelled at for asking it again.

I've got a buddy who's looking to upgrade his aging system next month. With Conroe now out there (or very soon) my recommendations are kind of in chaos right now. I want to stick with AMD, but the numbers on Conroe are amazing.

He wants a system that will last for 3 years. AM2 is supposed to be forward compatible with AM3 (whenever that comes out, 07?), but an AM2 board won't support HT 3.0 or DDR3. Those in the know, will AM3 offer real competition to Conroe and will it offer that competition on an AM2 board?

OR, should I suck it up and recommend an Intel product? Will a Conroe purchased today last for 3 years even against the AM3 when it's released (if I was to put a new Intel chip in then w/e that might end up being)?

I don't want to recommend something knowing it's going to be "obsolete" in a couple months and he's leaning towards AMD.

Thanks.

 

[Just4Ever]

I'm pretty sure that it's still way to early to say anything definite about AM3 except that it will be able to fit in an AM2 board. My guess is that AM3 won't be out until early '08 even though the article says late '07. But who knows?

Link

I'm going to be building a new system in a month as well and I plan on going for a Conroe rig (assuming I can get my hands on one). Right now Conroe is a very strong competitor and I think that it will easily last me for a couple of years even in the face of the completely uncertain power of AM3.
Even if AM3 trumps Conroe it doesn't matter because Intel will already have out the quad cores anyways. I think Conroe is a safe bet because right now it is the best CPU out and switching to Intel might not be bad, especially if they keep up the good work!

 

[BlingBlingArsch]

see if any cpu can last 3 years then its conroe, its blazing fast not too expensive and except for slightly higher temps than i was expecting it seems to have no flaws. if ur buddy wants to save some money and upgrade in 12-18 months again then am2 is a good budget option aswell.

 

[Furen]

Overclocking at all? How much does he plan on spending on the CPU? Conroe Motherboards will be like 50 bucks more and the CPUs may have a small price premium initially (depends on volumes, I'd expect around 10%, though). Of course, if he plans on spending lots of money then Conroe is certainly what you wanna recommend for him.

 

[jshuck3]

No overclocking. Just wants a good machine that will last for 3 years and play games really well.

 

[Xonoahbin]

Originally posted by: jshuck3
No overclocking. Just wants a good machine that will last for 3 years and play games really well.

Without overclocking, AMD can't match and Conroe takes the cake easily. In that case, go with Conroe, it will be pretty future-proof (2-3 years) and it will be an excellent system.

 

[beggerking]

nothing really last > 3 years but Conroe is the best you can get for now.

 

[Furen]

Originally posted by: Xonoahbin

Originally posted by: jshuck3
No overclocking. Just wants a good machine that will last for 3 years and play games really well.

Without overclocking, AMD can't match and Conroe takes the cake easily. In that case, go with Conroe, it will be pretty future-proof (2-3 years) and it will be an excellent system.

I beg to differ. If not overclocking then AMD's parts will be competitively priced until you hit the $300+ segment. I think Conroe gets scary once you hit 2.8GHz+ and this requires overclocking (or lots of cash). Either CPU will work well in games and any money you save by going AMD can go into the video card, which is what really makes a difference.

 

[dexvx]

Originally posted by: Furen

Originally posted by: Xonoahbin

Originally posted by: jshuck3
No overclocking. Just wants a good machine that will last for 3 years and play games really well.

Without overclocking, AMD can't match and Conroe takes the cake easily. In that case, go with Conroe, it will be pretty future-proof (2-3 years) and it will be an excellent system.

I beg to differ. If not overclocking then AMD's parts will be competitively priced until you hit the $300+ segment. I think Conroe gets scary once you hit 2.8GHz+ and this requires overclocking (or lots of cash). Either CPU will work well in games and any money you save by going AMD can go into the video card, which is what really makes a difference.

An E6300 is $190ish and matches or exceeds the $250 AM2 X2-4600

 

[Fox5]

Originally posted by: jshuck3
No overclocking. Just wants a good machine that will last for 3 years and play games really well.

Not going to happen. Tell him just to go for a cheap system now, and a cheap system in a year or two and he'll get better than he would be spending lots of money now.

Without overclocking, I don't think AM2 or Conroe will last 3 years and play games well. Now then, a Conroe overclocked to >3ghz should be just about the fastest thing out there until 2008, however that's discounting 64-bit which seems to knock off a good 15-30% off of conroe's performance.

An E6300 is $190ish and matches or exceeds the $250 AM2 X2-4600

And AMD has both the x2 3500+ and 3800+ for cheaper than that.

 

[FelixDeCat]

Originally posted by: beggerking
nothing really last > 3 years but Conroe is the best you can get for now.

..and how!

Youll regret going AMD at this time.

 

[dexvx]

Originally posted by: Fox5
Not going to happen. Tell him just to go for a cheap system now, and a cheap system in a year or two and he'll get better than he would be spending lots of money now.

3 years ago the best system is a A64 3500+ or so with a GeForce FX5900. That combo can still run ALL the latest games at 1024x768 with medium settings.

Originally posted by: Fox5

An E6300 is $190ish and matches or exceeds the $250 AM2 X2-4600

And AMD has both the x2 3500+ and 3800+ for cheaper than that.

The x2-3600 wont be available for at least 2 months. The X2-3800 is slated to be only 10% cheaper than the E6300. E6300's price/performance and performance/watt is still unbeatable. Not to mention all the $$$ in electricity going E6300 over the X2-3800 over the years.

 

[Bateluer]

Something to consider, availability.

When does your friend want to build this machine? Core 2 Duo is a nice chip, but it won't make much of a difference if you can't actually buy it. We'll know more on this in a few weeks, but Intel's already said only 25% of their production capacity is going to Core based chips (Core Duo and Core 2 Duo). Granted 25% of Intel's capacity is a lot of capacity, but Dell and other OEMs have first dibs on those. We enthusiasts and DIYers get whats left.

 

[Furen]

Originally posted by: dexvx

Originally posted by: Furen

Originally posted by: Xonoahbin

Originally posted by: jshuck3
No overclocking. Just wants a good machine that will last for 3 years and play games really well.

Without overclocking, AMD can't match and Conroe takes the cake easily. In that case, go with Conroe, it will be pretty future-proof (2-3 years) and it will be an excellent system.

I beg to differ. If not overclocking then AMD's parts will be competitively priced until you hit the $300+ segment. I think Conroe gets scary once you hit 2.8GHz+ and this requires overclocking (or lots of cash). Either CPU will work well in games and any money you save by going AMD can go into the video card, which is what really makes a difference.

An E6300 is $190ish and matches or exceeds the $250 AM2 X2-4600

The E6300 will be AT LEAST $190 (this will depend on availability) and will, for the most part, match the 4200+. Sure it'll be faster more often than not but it'll be close enough. The problem is motherboards. Cheap motherboards are just not available quite yet so he'd have to pay an extra 50 bucks for the motherboard. Like I said, saving 50 bucks on the motherboard and a bit on the CPU will allow him to buy a better video card, which will certainly be more important than the CPU in gaming.

 

[imported_Imp]

Originally posted by: Furen

Originally posted by: dexvx

Originally posted by: Furen

Originally posted by: Xonoahbin

Originally posted by: jshuck3
No overclocking. Just wants a good machine that will last for 3 years and play games really well.

Without overclocking, AMD can't match and Conroe takes the cake easily. In that case, go with Conroe, it will be pretty future-proof (2-3 years) and it will be an excellent system.

I beg to differ. If not overclocking then AMD's parts will be competitively priced until you hit the $300+ segment. I think Conroe gets scary once you hit 2.8GHz+ and this requires overclocking (or lots of cash). Either CPU will work well in games and any money you save by going AMD can go into the video card, which is what really makes a difference.

An E6300 is $190ish and matches or exceeds the $250 AM2 X2-4600

The E6300 will be AT LEAST $190 (this will depend on availability) and will, for the most part, match the 4200+. Sure it'll be faster more often than not but it'll be close enough. The problem is motherboards. Cheap motherboards are just not available quite yet so he'd have to pay an extra 50 bucks for the motherboard. Like I said, saving 50 bucks on the motherboard and a bit on the CPU will allow him to buy a better video card, which will certainly be more important than the CPU in gaming.

Good point about the motherboard. Just scanned Anand's article, and it seems like boards will be at least $130+ ($55 ASRock is not a serious option). Average AM2 boards are the "standard" $90. So considering this and price gauging (good ole supply and demand), AMD price cuts, AM2 seems like the best option for the average (on budget) user right now. By Christmas, prices will likely settle.

 

[dandragonrage]

ASRock ConroeXFire is ~$80, not sure why Anand didn't include it in that article.

 

[dexvx]

945 boards do not officially support Conroe.

However, that is moot, because obviously some OEM's have made them Conroe compatible. With a board like the Asrock/Gigabyte 945 Conroe boards (starting as low as $65), price/performance IS in favor of the E6300.

 

[Furen]

Originally posted by: dexvx
945 boards do not officially support Conroe.

However, that is moot, because obviously some OEM's have made them Conroe compatible. With a board like the Asrock/Gigabyte 945 Conroe boards (starting as low as $65), price/performance IS in favor of the E6300.

Like I said, the 4200+ is what you should really compare to the E6300, and it has yet to be released (I've heard that the Allendales will come out 2 weeks after the Conroes, not sure if this is true or not). Overall price/performance at stock is pretty even if you can get a decent enough Core 2 motherboard for cheap (since AM2 mobos start at around the same price). Overclocking is Intel's, though, and so is power draw (by 10-20W, I'd guess).

 

[OatMan]

Within a month you don't have much choice.

the only conroe you will likely find is the X6800. AM3 won't see the light of day this year so thats not an option.

If you have the money want buggy first gen tech jump into Conroe, you won't be dissapointed, but you'll deal with a few growing pains.

AM2 is mature and painfree and has way more options in the short term, but it may be hard to get the 2x1MB cahe dual cores as they have been killed.

My advice (for what little its worth)

wait a few months to see if newer MB for conroe start to come out and availability allows for decent conroe street prices. If not - Go with AMD.

Keep in mind that Conroe MBs will carry a steep price premium compared to AMD also, especially if Conroe availability is weak. Right now an enthusiast system with a theoretical E6600 (still vaporware from the customer standpoint) is around $550 for MB and CPU. Lukily the value RAM seems to rock pretty good so you can save a ton on the RAM. If your considering the X6800 then price is no object so this part is not relevant.

I don't think Conroe is a viable mainstream or even enthusiast option perhaps even until '07 unless your in the ultra high end side of the spectrum. This is based on rumored notions of Intel's shipping schedules which is all speculation. If Intel ramps faster than expected this would be very different. But that won't happen within the next month, so based on your criteria the shipping schedule is irrelevant.

Good luck! Its nice to have options. For the last few years there really hasn't been much for enthusiasts. The choices have all been AMD.
Good luck!