Can't determine! Sandy Bridge i3, AMD FX-series, or AMD Llano?

[wajed]

Basically, I don't want to waste money. So, the basic idea was to get the cheapest Intel Sandy Bridge CPU (i3-2120), a good future-proof motherboard, and maybe a cheap dedicated video card.

The reason is: Ivy Bridge CPUs will work on the motherboard, and 2 years later, I can get the latest Ivy Bridge for cheap and use it.

The problem: it's expensive compared to a Llano set-up. Maybe getting a Llano, and getting a whole new system later would be better than getting this Intel system, and upgrading it later.


What do you think?

AMD :-
AMD A6-3650 : £69.20
AMD boards are mostly around £50-£60
I don't need a dedi. GPU (at least for now)
OCable?

Intel :-
Intel i3-2100 : £85.00
Intel boards are mostly higher than £130
I need a dedi. GPU
Not OCable

AMD FX-series seem like an option also, but I haven't researched that yet.

AMD seems to be the way to go... Yes, I won't get to upgrade to the next generation APU, but it offers great performance (greater than Intel, I think) for now, and is much cheaper than going with Intel. But maybe there is something I'm missing, what is your opinion?

 

[Zap]

If you know an Ivy Bridge quad core CPU is in your future but you can't afford it now, just go for a lower end socket 1155 for now. It doesn't even have to be a Core i3. You can get a Pentium Dual Core G600 or G800 series. The 800 series is just like the Core i3 but without Hyperthreading, and you save a few bucks. For most "futureproof" (I hate that term) motherboard, get a cheaper but decent Z77 chipset board and call it a day.

 

[mfenn]

What is the intended use of the system? That will help us determine what the best course of action is.

 

[tynopik]

the cheapest sandy bridge is a celeron

 

[Puppies04]

Intel boards are mostly higher than £130

I don't know where you are shopping but you are way out there.

Z77 boards start at £78 at scan
Z68 boards start at £65

That is if you want to grab a board that will enable you to overclock in the future, if not you could "slum it" with a Matx H61 for £35

 

[wirednuts]

i wouldnt even think about "futureproofing" unless youre talking about making an upgrade in 6 months or so. 2 years? forget about it, by then if you need a faster system you will be getting a new mainboard, cpu and ram most likely.

ive spend extra up front to make upgrading easier down the road, but its always a waste. just buy the best bang for buck you can get, and worry about what you want later, later.

 

[aaksheytalwar]

i wouldnt even think about "futureproofing" unless youre talking about making an upgrade in 6 months or so. 2 years? forget about it, by then if you need a faster system you will be getting a new mainboard, cpu and ram most likely.

ive spend extra up front to make upgrading easier down the road, but its always a waste. just buy the best bang for buck you can get, and worry about what you want later, later.

this

 

[mfenn]

i wouldnt even think about "futureproofing" unless youre talking about making an upgrade in 6 months or so. 2 years? forget about it, by then if you need a faster system you will be getting a new mainboard, cpu and ram most likely.

ive spend extra up front to make upgrading easier down the road, but its always a waste. just buy the best bang for buck you can get, and worry about what you want later, later.

So true. :thumbsup:

 

[Nawlins]

ive spend extra up front to make upgrading easier down the road, but its always a waste. just buy the best bang for buck you can get, and worry about what you want later, later.

Well heck. I should just have bought a Dell or Hp or Gateway then. I'm getting ready to build (as soon as the parts arrive) a mid-range (I think it's mid-range) computer because I thought it would be on par pre-built "high end" computer but at a cheaper price.

2 years from now when you do an upgrade, you will only need 3 parts-CPU, Motherboard, GPU if you already have a quality case, powersupply, and ram and optical drive.

Am I making sense here?

 

[T_Yamamoto]

^^
What he's trying to say is, it'll save you money in the long run because you wony have to replace a lot of components. Only the CPU mobo and gpu

 

[wirednuts]

cpu, mobo, ram and gpu. so yeah, go nuts on the case and power supply. and heck, since sdd's are much more reliable the hdd's i suppose you can splurge on that too (however, at some point there is going to be a price war on those and we will see ridiculously low prices)

buying midgrade is fine, nawlins. thats what im suggesting. buy stuff that is good quality and not slow, but do not pay a premium for an extra 10% increase in speed. its just not worth it. and try not to look at too many benchmarks. so many times they trick you into thinking your extra money spent means a lot because that bar goes like 4" farther to the right then the next step down, yet in reality you would never be able to tell the difference.