To AMD or Not AMD that is the question

[jediphx]

I am going over various upgrade options and I havent built a new system in about 4 years so i way behind the times. Which is better to go with nowadays?

I was looking at either a Core 2 Duo E4400 or a AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+

 

[adairusmc]

I would go with the core2duo and overclock the hell out of it.

 

[myocardia]

If you'll be overclocking, get the E4400. If you won't be overclocking, they're nearly identical in speed.

 

[ethugholla]

Be different, go with AMD.

I believe that if you get one of those AMD motherboards (not sure which chipset..) you can upgrade to the newest technology (after you save all that money for going for a lower-end proc).

Unlike Intel, where the P35 supposedly can only handle up to Penryn.

 

[Cookie Monster]

Originally posted by: ethugholla
Be different, go with AMD.

I believe that if you get one of those AMD motherboards (not sure which chipset..) you can upgrade to the newest technology (after you save all that money for going for a lower-end proc).

Unlike Intel, where the P35 supposedly can only handle up to Penryn.

Thats not true. You will be needed AM2+ or AM3 to support the upcomnig phenoms etc. Unless im wrong

 

[Accord99]

Originally posted by: ethugholla
Unlike Intel, where the P35 supposedly can only handle up to Penryn.

Asus's P965 motherboards and some of its 975X motherboards support Penryn:

http://event.asus.com/mb/45nm/

 

[ethugholla]

I was referring only being applicable until Nehalem rolls around. I don't think most 965 and P35 chipsets will be able to run it.

 

[BitByBit]

Originally posted by: Cookie Monster
Thats not true. You will be needed AM2+ or AM3 to support the upcomnig phenoms etc. Unless im wrong

Yep, you're wrong.

Phenom CPUs will come in Socket AM2 and Socket AM2+ flavors, which means that they should be drop-in replacement for owners of Socket AM2 systems.
Link

AMD has announced[citation needed] that Socket AM3 processors will be able to run on Socket AM2 motherboards, but not vice-versa. AM3 processors will have a new memory controller supporting both DDR2 and DDR3 SDRAM, allowing backwards compatibility with AM2 and AM2+ motherboards. Since AM2 processors lack the new memory controller, they will not work on AM3 motherboards.
Link

The X4 and X2 will be Socket-AM2/AM2+ only and are 100% backwards compatible with current AM2 motherboards.
...
Phenom will work in current Socket-AM2/Socket-1207 motherboards with a BIOS update, but it loses the ability to run its Northbridge and CPU cores at separate voltages/clock frequencies.

Link

OP: You can't go wrong either way. By going AM2 now, you have the option to upgrade to Phenom at the end of the year. On the other hand, we don't know for sure how Phenom will perform, although I am confident it will provide Core 2 with some solid competition.
Personally, I'm going to drop in a Kuma around December/January, and then upgrade to AM3/Shanghai at the end of 2008.

 

[Keysplayr]

AWESOME!!!!! My P5N-E SLI (650i SLI) with bios 0608 or later supports 45nm CPU's!! BONUS!!!!!

And "Not to AMD".

 

[solofly]

If you're building from scratch Intel is far better choice than AMD.

 

[MarcVenice]

Solofly, and why is that? Haven't you heard about AMD taking back marketshare from Intel? And why that is happening? Coz amd owns the lower segment of cpu sales. If you're on a budget, am2 + cheap x2 is a pretty good deal.

 

[Keysplayr]

Marc, not for anything, but what in the world does "marketshare" have to do with an individual's purchase of a platform? An individual is not concerned with how many CPU's/Chipsets (regardless of budget,mainstream,high end) AMD or Intel has sold or how much market share is traded back and forth. The individual cares about price/performance/upgradability of current investment. From a price/performance standpoint, as Solofly has stated, Intel is a far better choice right now. Core 2 Duo's prices are very reasonable at this juncture compared to AMD's offerings. And lets not forget overclocking.

And about upgradability of said platform. What do we have to go on with AMD's offerings? We have NO clue. AMD isn't giving out enough information about anything. It's all hush hush and it could well mean they have NOTHING worth looking into. We haven't heard a peep about how well Barcelona will perform. No benches, no nothing. Intel on the other hand is being much more forthcoming these days with their performance numbers. Intel is an easy choice right now. Don't defend AMD on the basis of marketshare, that does not compute in this situation. If you were talking about Stockholders, then it would apply.

 

[SickBeast]

People seem to be forgetting about the Xeon 3210 that costs only $250 and is a better overclocker than the Q6600.

I would not bank on Barcelona if I were you. If you want a cheap system, go with AMD. If you want a CPU that will last you 5 years, get a quad core intel chip.

Barcelona will surely have its own platform when it's released. Sure it will run on AM2, but it won't be as fast as it will be on a new chipset.

I like how the intel chips can run DDR2 or DDR3, plus they're available now at a reasonable price. A 45nm Penryn is probably as good an upgrade path as Barcelona is in and of itself. :beer:

 

[SerpentRoyal]

Abit IP35-E for $72 and E2160/E4300/E4400 for +$80. Overclocked Intel @ +3.0GHz will wipe out any current AMD rig. Plus board will support Peryn. I doubt that you'll find a capable overclocking AMD combo for less than $120.

 

[MarcVenice]

We're not talking overclocking, and e4300's don't come for 80$, not even 80+ If he does overclock, I'd say Intel any time of the day.

Anyways, I used the markershare argument to show that those cpu's are all being sold, and that's not because Intel is offering the same price/performance in the lower marketsegment. And wether those mobo's do or do not support newer cpu's is irrelevant. We're talking budget here, if he want's budget now, he isn't going to buy an expensive agena in a few months time And it's a toss of the coin, if agena does rock, buying an am2 mobo now is only a bonus. Kinda like how you bought your p5n-e sli.

 

[SerpentRoyal]

Originally posted by: MarcVenice
We're not talking overclocking, and e4300's don't come for 80$, not even 80+ If he does overclock, I'd say Intel any time of the day.

Anyways, I used the markershare argument to show that those cpu's are all being sold, and that's not because Intel is offering the same price/performance in the lower marketsegment. And wether those mobo's do or do not support newer cpu's is irrelevant. We're talking budget here, if he want's budget now, he isn't going to buy an expensive agena in a few months time And it's a toss of the coin, if agena does rock, buying an am2 mobo now is only a bonus. Kinda like how you bought your p5n-e sli.

Fry's had E4300 last week for 78 and change. E2160 is around $80 if you use GOOG. Why try to save $, and then dismiss the overclocking potential of C2D? I would still recommend C2D even if the OP would buy from DELL. Pin-Mod anyone? Free core speed with absolutely zero sacrifice in system stability.

The Intel solution saves $ and provides very good performance. Your AMD recommendation doesn't compute!

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: MarcVenice
We're not talking overclocking, and e4300's don't come for 80$, not even 80+ If he does overclock, I'd say Intel any time of the day.

Anyways, I used the markershare argument to show that those cpu's are all being sold, and that's not because Intel is offering the same price/performance in the lower marketsegment. And wether those mobo's do or do not support newer cpu's is irrelevant. We're talking budget here, if he want's budget now, he isn't going to buy an expensive agena in a few months time And it's a toss of the coin, if agena does rock, buying an am2 mobo now is only a bonus. Kinda like how you bought your p5n-e sli.

I've been know to buy a CPU on the cheap to tide me over until the next gen CPU's come out.
You could spend @30 extra bucks on a motherboard with a "greater upgradability" and spend 30 less on the cheapo CPU. Heck, even the "Celeron" C2D's like a Celeron 440 kicks arse for around 65 bucks.

 

[jediphx]

ok say I go with the e4400 and plan to OC which of these mobos is best choice?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...p?item=N82E16813127031

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...p?item=N82E16813128057

 

[JustaGeek]

To me it is:

TO WAIT, or go with Intel now.

If you can wait, hold your horses - I am curious myself what's cooking at AMD in terms of new CPU's.

They should be out soon.

 

[SerpentRoyal]

Originally posted by: jediphx
ok say I go with the e4400 and plan to OC which of these mobos is best choice?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...p?item=N82E16813127031

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...p?item=N82E16813128057

You can get the Abit IP35-E at MWAVE for $72 AR.

 

[SerpentRoyal]

Originally posted by: JustaGeek
To me it is:

TO WAIT, or go with Intel now.

If you can wait, hold your horses - I am curious myself what's cooking at AMD in terms of new CPU's.

They should be out soon.

I doubt that AMD will sell anything that can keep up with 3.0GHz C2D for less than $80.

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: jediphx
ok say I go with the e4400 and plan to OC which of these mobos is best choice?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...p?item=N82E16813127031

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...p?item=N82E16813128057

You tell us. Why is there @ 30.00 difference in the prices? What features does the more expensive board have over the 90 dollar board, and are those features something you would need? If not, go with the cheaper board of course.

I'd go with the Gigabyte out of the two. The Abit board doesn't seem to offer more of anything over the Gigabyte, AND the GB has one more PCI- x1 slot. Not that we will ever use them at this rate.

 

[jediphx]

yeah i was leaning towards the gigabyte option as well I have had good experience with both brands but that double booting review for the abit got me worried

 

[SerpentRoyal]

It's part of the P965 and P35 protocol. Blame it on Intel.

 

[Killrose]

I myself am going the AMD route. I have nearly all my components I bought cheap on ebay and here to replace my old epox 8RDA+/Barton mobile setup. However, I have not bought the AM2 Motherboard yet due to the fact that Motherboard makers can't be trusted to release a working bios for excisting AM2 boards.

Remember, though a Phenom, or whatever AMD AM2 chip might "drop in" to your AM2 socket, it is still upto the Motherboard manufacture to release a bios to truly support it! :frown: