Upgrade Path & Advice Please

[memnoch_thedevil]

Hi all, I recently built a AMD system, so that my son could have a computer in his room to watch movies and play games on. Well, I decided to sell off most of my E8500 setup, and make the jump up to either an AM3 setup or an i7 setup.

At first it was a no brainer, i7, especially with the thought of getting in on the Big Deal, with Intel's program, but that looks like it will probably be missed this time around.

Any way, forgoing cost, meaning for what I have spec'd out, an AMD Phenom II X4 955 and a Core i7 setup will roughly be about the same price, and close enough to not really matter.

So after realizing that, I figured once again i7 was the way to go. Then I started noticing the articles on i5...and being a new chip socket, which means another board, and most likely AMD's next offerings will be drop and go, I am starting to wonder if Phenom II should be the path I take this time around.

Another question about that would be if I did go Phenom II any reason to get a 955 over a 940 BE, (mainly because I am fairly sure both would be sufficient enough to hold me off to the next round of chips) if they essentially clock the same, I could save the coin, and possibly drop in another 4890 for xfire, with the recent price drops on those cards.

I had planned on ordering parts next week, and begin building again, but now I am a lot more uncertain as to which way I should go. As for holding onto the cash, and waiting until i5 and P55 boards, well let's just say it probably safe to assume that it would be gone by the time the newer stuff came out, and I wouldn't be able to build at all lol...Unless it will be here before the middle of next month.

Thanks for thoughts and info!

 

[Zero82z]

i5 will not replace i7. LGA1366 will be around for a while, as will new CPUs for the socket. Intel's future 6-core CPUs will also only be available for the LGA1366 socket. So if you go i7, there will still be drop-in upgrades for a while, until Sandy Bridge comes out in 2011 (based on current roadmaps).

 

[Cecil]

i5 is just going to be the more budget friendly setup to i7, not a replacement for it.

I went from a i7 920 to a phenom 940, the i7 was hands down the best, as expected. The 940 was just for some fun.

How much are you looking to spend? Id say get a 920 D0, a high end Gigabyte or Foxconn X58, and 3x2gb Super Talent Chrome 1800 cas 7s. If thats too much, then the 3x2gb OCZ Platinum 1600s, and an open box board from newegg (last three Ive gotten were )new never even opened), or a Foxconn Flaming Blade GTI if you want a new board.

 

[memnoch_thedevil]

Well I am actually thinking about doing a micro build, so I was looking at the new MSI X58M board...looks clean, had some decent reviews, and over clocks pretty well too...I kind of either want to build my own case or mod the mini p180 lol

I know that i5 isn't replacing i7, I just meant that with it around the corner, and early reviews showing it pretty much even with an i7 @ lower volts, less heat etc...I thought maybe I should wait for it instead, but I don't think I can wait that long lol...

 

[Cecil]

I7 overclockin is mostly chip, and very little to do with the board (up to 200BCLK). Any X58 will take a 920 to 4Ghz, so when picking your board, just look for the features you want.

If you are looking for a good mATX board, I would suggest the DFI JR. Ive only had bad issues with MSI, mostly having lots of over-voltage, and not all the voltage adjusts I like to have.

 

[Zero82z]

I know that i5 isn't replacing i7, I just meant that with it around the corner, and early reviews showing it pretty much even with an i7 @ lower volts, less heat etc...I thought maybe I should wait for it instead, but I don't think I can wait that long lol...

Well, the 6-core chips won't be available for the i5 platform, so you might want to consider that as well.