Upgrade my AMD to an Intel or just buy a SSD?

JEDI

Lifer
Sep 25, 2001
29,391
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i have an old AMD Phenom II X4 960T with embedded Radeon 3000 graphics and a Radeon 6750 video card. (I have 4 monitors.)
my 1TB HD is down to 90gig free.

the reason Im about thinking upgrading to an Intel is that intel mobos cache your startup programs so booting up is fast. so with an Intel, I just need a 2tb hd.
plus I get a better built in video card.
and im assuming it'll be more energy efficient. (I'm on my computer 6+ hrs/day.)

if I stick with my amd, I need a 240gig SSD and a 2gig HD. (or get a 120gig ssd?)

I just use my computer to surf the web, watch movies, and light Word/Excel.

What say you AT?
 

Ken g6

Programming Moderator, Elite Member
Moderator
Dec 11, 1999
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the reason Im about thinking upgrading to an Intel is that intel mobos cache your startup programs so booting up is fast.

:confused: Are you referring to Intel Smart Response? That needs an SSD, too.

If you went Intel, you'd need a new CPU, mobo, maybe RAM, maybe a new OS license, and an SSD. So I'd stick with your AMD. :) What's your upgrade budget?
 

JEDI

Lifer
Sep 25, 2001
29,391
2,737
126
:confused: Are you referring to Intel Smart Response? That needs an SSD, too.

If you went Intel, you'd need a new CPU, mobo, maybe RAM, maybe a new OS license, and an SSD. So I'd stick with your AMD. :) What's your upgrade budget?

oh.. didn't know that about intel.
thought it cache your startup to memory. so instead of having 4gig rams, you might have 3.5gigs and .5gigs reserved for startup?

my thought process:
instead of spending $80 on a 240gig ssd for the amd, I'd use that $ to pay for a $200 intel/mobo combo deal.

for $120 more, I get a faster cpu, better energy efficiency, and better onboard graphics.
altho I don't need a faster cpu to surf the web nor is better onboard graphics needed for what I do.
and I'm guessing ROI on energy efficiency over the AMD is years/decades?

I'm going for best bang for the buck.


edit:
in either option, I will get a 2gig hd
 
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Feb 25, 2011
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oh.. didn't know that about intel.
thought it cache your startup to memory. so instead of having 4gig rams, you might have 3.5gigs and .5gigs reserved for startup?

Sorry, no - with the amount of data involved, you'd have to have like 100GB of RAM for that to work. :biggrin:

You might be thinking of Hibernation mode, which is sort of like that, in reverse, but has the same net effect. (It writes RAM to disk when you shut down. Restoring it only takes a few seconds, and you pick up right where you left off.) It's pretty cool; I'd be surprised if the Phenom didn't support it already though.

my thought process:
instead of spending $80 on a 240gig ssd for the amd, I'd use that $ to pay for a $200 intel/mobo combo deal.

for $120 more, I get a faster cpu, better energy efficiency, and better onboard graphics.
altho I don't need a faster cpu to surf the web nor is better onboard graphics needed for what I do.
and I'm guessing ROI on energy efficiency over the AMD is years/decades?

I'm going for best bang for the buck.
Best bang for the buck is going to be adding an SSD to your current system. You can always use it with an Intel rig later anyway. I will point out that, as with any upgrade that only effects certain aspects of system performance, individual subjective experience varies based on workload. (If you don't do a lot of stuff that is I/O bottlenecked, you might not notice the new SSD's performance improvements right away.)

Although if you've got 90GB free on a 1TB HD, I might see about getting another HD in the budget too.
 

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,570
10,200
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Seagate 2TB Hybrid 7200 HDD (SSHD), and a GTX950. Fresh OS install / re-install.

Alternatively:

Pick up a G3258 (Haswell Pentium Anniv. Edition - unlocked), and an H97 mobo (ASRock H97 micro-ATX is popular), and a 120GB SSD, and then a bigger HDD. Though, I don't know how much bigger you can go, if you planned to run SRT (Intel SSD caching).

Or:

Pick up a G3258 + H81 or B85 combo deal for around or hopefully under $100, and a 2TB Hybrid HDD, and or a 240/256GB SSD and a 4TB Green drive.

If all you store on the HDD is music / movies, you can get a Green drive, you don't need a Blue or Black.

The only reason to get a Hybrid HDD, is if you are NOT getting a boot / OS SSD, and instead, want to use the HDD (Hybrid HDD) as your OS boot drive. (If you get one bigger than 2TB, you'll need a UEFI BIOS and OS.)
 
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JEDI

Lifer
Sep 25, 2001
29,391
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Not "best" just better. Probably better enough if you're a light user.

hybrid= a 2tb hd with 8gig ssd all in one.
How does it work?

the 8gig ssd = c drive and the 2tb is D drive (win7)?
or the 2tb = c drive and the 8gig ssd is just cache?
 
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biostud

Lifer
Feb 27, 2003
19,123
6,052
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If you really don't have huge amount of software get a 120gb SSD, and install all your software on that, and move your user account+data to the HDD.

But if you have the cash the go for the 250Gb SSD, since the $/GB is better and you wont have to be conservative about space.

I bought one of Corsair Accelerator Series 60GB Solid-State Cache Drive (used) for my parents computer, it has been running fine with win 7/8.1 combined with a 1TB HDD

http://www.corsair.com/en-us/accelerator-series-60gb-solid-state-cache-drive

Basically a 60GB SSD cache. I wouldn't recommend that solution today now that SSD prices are so low, except if you get a really good price.
 
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sm625

Diamond Member
May 6, 2011
8,172
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At this point it doesnt make much sense to go with less than 250GB on a SSD. I jsut saw a SanDisk Z400s 2.5" 256GB for $70, no rebate involved. Also, I have to recommend against G3258 for new budget builds. I highly recommend a skylake i3 as the floor for new builds. If you cant make that budget, then buy a refurb i5 or i7.
 

b-mac

Member
Jun 15, 2015
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I can't really recommend an SSD enough for anyone. It is probably the biggest upgrade most people would notice. Even a 120GB SSD will wow you in boot and program load time. I personally use a 256GB SSD and a 1TB WD blue.
 
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