I spent the past few weeks driving myself nuts trying to figure out what the best system overhaul would be for my limited budget (350-375 for cpu/mobo/ram). I read this message board a lot and a few others so I was already pretty much in the KNOW about how Intel is the smart choice to go with right now at just about any dollar amount but only having owned AMD to this point in my life I felt compelled to stick with them in the hopes Phenom would be a success sometime next year. My problems with going the AMD route though were...
A. Couldn't decide between the 5000 BE and 6400+ BE
- newer but slower tech vs. faster but hotter and on the verge or being obsolete tech
-was thinking I could upgrade to Phenom assuming AMD worked things out next year
B. Couldn't decide on a proven SLI mobo or a brand new (possibly not very good) AM2+ mobo
-Would I ever want to use SLI? vs. not liking to buy something without knowing if it's good first as I don't get to upgrade often
C. Feeling like a dumbass based on the articles I was reading and what everyone was saying.
Well yesterday the sum of all my research was just too much to deny anymore so I said what the heck and ordered my first ever Intel system.
I ended up getting
E6750 combo w/ACF7 Cooler which added only like $14
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819115029
GA-P35-DS3L (which is now out of stock again so I got lucky)
http://www.newegg.com/product/...p?item=N82E16813128059
and A-DATA Extreme Edition 2 x 1GB (wanted the Crucial Ballistix but was too lazy to order from Fry's to match the price of these)
http://www.newegg.com/product/...p?item=N82E16820211174
The only thing I am worried about is the ram but I googled the model number and found a good review which said it is actually slightly faster than the Ballistix so who knows. The items won't arrive until Thursday so I won't be able to tell you my impressions until then but I feel really happy with the purchase already. With an AMD system I think there would have still been a lot of doubt in my mind. I am sure this setup will do everything I need at stock then will be able to have some fun ocing as well down the road. Only part that sucks is I am gonna be stuck with a 8600gt for now but hope to get an 8800gt within a few months. This should be a HUGE upgrade for me because I am one of the momos still running a 754 system, a pretty fast one at that but still this should be a whole new era for me lol. Anyway just thought I'd describe my experience since I've been posting cheese all over the place lately.
A. Couldn't decide between the 5000 BE and 6400+ BE
- newer but slower tech vs. faster but hotter and on the verge or being obsolete tech
-was thinking I could upgrade to Phenom assuming AMD worked things out next year
B. Couldn't decide on a proven SLI mobo or a brand new (possibly not very good) AM2+ mobo
-Would I ever want to use SLI? vs. not liking to buy something without knowing if it's good first as I don't get to upgrade often
C. Feeling like a dumbass based on the articles I was reading and what everyone was saying.
Well yesterday the sum of all my research was just too much to deny anymore so I said what the heck and ordered my first ever Intel system.
I ended up getting
E6750 combo w/ACF7 Cooler which added only like $14
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819115029
GA-P35-DS3L (which is now out of stock again so I got lucky)
http://www.newegg.com/product/...p?item=N82E16813128059
and A-DATA Extreme Edition 2 x 1GB (wanted the Crucial Ballistix but was too lazy to order from Fry's to match the price of these)
http://www.newegg.com/product/...p?item=N82E16820211174
The only thing I am worried about is the ram but I googled the model number and found a good review which said it is actually slightly faster than the Ballistix so who knows. The items won't arrive until Thursday so I won't be able to tell you my impressions until then but I feel really happy with the purchase already. With an AMD system I think there would have still been a lot of doubt in my mind. I am sure this setup will do everything I need at stock then will be able to have some fun ocing as well down the road. Only part that sucks is I am gonna be stuck with a 8600gt for now but hope to get an 8800gt within a few months. This should be a HUGE upgrade for me because I am one of the momos still running a 754 system, a pretty fast one at that but still this should be a whole new era for me lol. Anyway just thought I'd describe my experience since I've been posting cheese all over the place lately.