Need CPU suggestions

[The Mailman]

current rig in sig

I'm making a new work computer for my office and off the bat bought a AM2 mobo figuring I could throw my 5000+ in there and it would be perfectly fine for the apps. i would be running

now i have to buy a new cpu for my main rig, of course.

I have an asus socket 775 mobo laying around i can throw in my current rig if I went intel (right?) and of course have my current AM2 mobo if i stay with AMD. the purposes of my computer are occasional gaming and mostly multimedia.

my options:
- AMD 9500
- AMD 9600 (for like $170)
- upgrade from 5000 to 6000+ or 6400+
- go intel?

i understand that intel is clear cut better on performance testing, but in eraelity i dont game enough (at least right now) to need a $600 CPU or anything like that

what should i do? upgrade to 6 series? quad core? go intel?

i guess i have a budget of $200 and will be ebaying this

keep in mind i run x64 Vista......would rather not format and install x32......

 

[MarcVenice]

This is all rather confusing. What exactly are you doing and what do you want ? I don't know what kind of s775 mobo you've got, but if it supports the e2180 cpu, then just buy one of those, and use it in your new office computer, and just keep your x2 5000+ because for your 'occasional' gaming needs, it's plenty fast.

 

[The Mailman]

well my office computer is a matx case, and i only have 1 matx mobo (the am2 one) so the office computer HAS to be socket AM2

the 775 mobo i have is an Asus P5GD2 Deluxe (not sure if that would work?). i have this an my MSI AM2 mobo and have to pick a new cpu for one of these, whichever that is

really its X2 6000+ vs. X4 9600 vs. Intel something

 

[Tempered81]

yeah i recommend e2xxx with overclock like marcvenice said.

50 bucks

 

[The Mailman]

e2xxx is better than a 6000+ for gaming?

 

[MarcVenice]

When you overclock a e2xxx to 3.0ghz it will be equally fast if not better then a 6000+, yes. And sure as hell a lot cheaper too. You don't really need that much horsepower though, a e4500 would be just fine too, if you don't fancy overclocking.

 

[Tempered81]

you could take an e2160/80 to 3.0 or 3.2 and it would be faster than any AMD consumer chip for gaming.

 

[The Mailman]

how about multi-tasking, how would an e series fare against the X4's and all that jazz

 

[narreth]

a quad core will always beat a dual core in multi tasking

 

[The Mailman]

e2160's will do vista x64, right? just want confirmation. im pretty sure im reading the specs right but i just haven't kept up with intel since i switched to amd....

looks like im going to scrap my workstation and put the parts back on ebay....intel FTW, took a while but after going over benchmark after benchmark i just cant justify sticking with them any more

e2160 ill go with for the workstation, right?
ive got my eyes on a q9300, when do those come out? and what should i get in the meantime to hold myself over? another bargain bin e2160?

 

[hennethannun]

So you are committed to putting your 5000+ in the new office PC and buying a new processor for your main rig? Is that really the best option. I understand you office pc must be the matx AM2 board, but can't you just grab a second AM2 cpu for <$60 and be done with everything? your 5000+ is still plenty fast for most people, and spending several hundred dollars on a new setup probably won't net you very much of a performance increase.

I guess i'm still a little confused on exactly what you are doing. you clearly have access to lots of motherboards, but what about other components? are you buying new ram/gpu/hdd etc etc? If it really is just a question of buying one new processor, and you are happy with your current setup, then it seems like the cheapest solution is most preferable. But if you want to build a new burner to replace your current main rig, then intel is the way to go (E21x0/E4x00 series if you want a cheap, overclocked solution and E6xx0 or E8400 if you want better stock performance). Of course, this assumes your LGA 775 motherboard can handle the newer intel processors, which is not the case. off the top of my head I have no idea what chips the 915P chipset will support, but i suspect that it is a rather small subset of the LGA 775 processors. Which would again suggest that staying with a cheap AMD solution may work better for you.

and yes, any and all of the processors mentioned so far should be vista X64 compatible.