gendoikari1

January 25, 2010 at 1:34pm

The 975 is nice, but I'd like some more triple-core Phenom IIs for a budget build (there are only two, and both of them are sub 3GHz). 

Honorary Family Member:

Phenom II x4 925 2.8 GHz

XFX Radeon HD 5870

8GB G.Skill DDR2-800 RAM

ASUS M3A32-MVP Deluxe 

Seagate Barracuda 750GB HDD  

 

andy_wh2000

January 25, 2010 at 12:37pm

I'm in a dificult situation right now with my current build. I'm at the point of choosing a processor and its between a high end phenom or an i5. I'm split because the i5 could easily outperform a 965 but with the higher system price point. Especially if overclocked. On the other hand if I consider the future if computing amd might have things right. How many tasks will be offloaded to the gpu? Will the central processor really be the most important piece of a system in the coming years. Another benefit of amd is that you can count on the AM3 socket to be around for a while. So I could easily upgrade to the next budget processor in a year or two at a $200 pricepoint that will match the performance of todays expensive i7s. So which is the smart route. A long term socket interface that'll boost performance over years at a budget with money left for a high end gpu. Or a high end system now with the price point to match that will be incompatible with hardware a year or two from now?

Trooper_One

January 25, 2010 at 12:19pm

I recently indulges on a Core i7 860 (along with the other necessary peripherals).  While I'm impressed with its speed and performance, it also took out a good chunk of my wallet ( I had to buy a new mobo which was around $160, DDR3 RAM for another $100).

I'm kinda regretting the purchase as I could've build a lower, yet still impressive, AMD Phenom II x4 940 Black Edition and save half o what I spent.  I don't game as much as I used to.  My previous C2D 6750 was doing pretty good already so I'm sure the AMD 940 would've preformed equally or better.

Unless the price significantly comes down with Intel, I think I"m going with AMD for my next built.

lien_meat

January 25, 2010 at 10:20am

I don't believe AMD is really trying to compete on a speed basis with intel at all (now or in the close future), instead ONLY really focusing on budget builds, making performance a non-feature...and I'm actually thinking that they may never try again.  I like what I hear about bulldozer, but I'm not believing for a minute that the chip is going to be significant by the time it's released, given how well the i cores are doing and what intel likely has planned for that year.  I have always been an AMD fan, but I just don't believe they are ever going to be competitive performance wise again against intel.  It makes me sad. I would LOVE to be proven wrong, just dont' think it's ever gonna happen.

Sebie Kay

January 25, 2010 at 9:47am

No surprise here.  AMD has become known for sub-$300 procs.  Ok, so they can't fly with Intel.  But why buy a 747 when all you need is a Cessna? 

For me, the old Athlon x2 3800+ paired with a Radeon 4850 (CPU bottle neck in this setup) suits me just fine: DVD's, casual gaming, and spreadsheets.  If this is the extent of demand I place on my hardware, why should I jump for a CPU that costs more than my whole computer?

 However, if I were a hardcore gamer.... I would shy away from AMD and stick with an i5 or i7, with a 5870, of course!

 

Just my 2 cents 

-=Do unto others... THEN RUN!!=-