Which CPU?

[farinha]

Hi everyone.

I'm considering to buy a new build. I'm tired of my P4 Prescott 2.8GHz slowliness.
I must confess that I'm an ignorant in the matter, all I know is that I've been told that AMD has better performance/price ratio. So I'm considering buying this CPU:
- AMD PHENOM II X4 955 BE Quad-Core 64Bits 8MB BOX SKAM3
I don't want to spend more money than this AMD CPU costs.

Is there any Intel CPU that has the same price and better performance. By the way I'm considering overclocking the CPU so keep that in mind.

By the way, which motherboard do you recommend for both AMD and Intel build? I don't want nothing too expensive but good enough to do a good overclock on the CPU.

And how about RAM, any brand in particular? I'm considering buying 4GB, don't need more than that.

Thanks in advance for your replies.

 

[Mündo]

what are you intending to use the computer for?

 

[farinha]

A bit of everything. I don't game much but I'm planning to do so, specially FPS and PES. So gamming, while downloading stuff from the web and having folding running.

Actually I would like some suggestions about which CPU, Motherboard, Graphic card, RAM and PSU to buy.

My budget is 800€ give or take.

Thanks a lot.

 

[veg1992]

Intel's that compete with the Phenom II 955 CPU are any of the Core i5's and the LGA 1156 Core i7's. I've seen they are a bit more expensive outside the US compared to the AMD counterparts sometimes, but check every store in your area, and look out for promo deals.

 

[farinha]

Yes, they are more expensive here in Portugal.
The one that I've found that has almost the same price as the AMD that I've mentioned is the Intel Core i5 750 2.66GHz 8MB BOX. Does it has more performance that the AMD?
What's the difference between the LGA 1156 and 1366? If I buy a motherboard with socket 1156 I'll be able to upgrade my processor to a 1366 LGA? I guess if I buy a LGA 1156 processor it will be more difficult to upgrade the processor in a couple of years. Am I right? That's why my first choice was an AMD, the cost and future proof.

Which motherboard do you recommend for an AMD configuration? Don't want to spend more than 130€.

Thanks for your help.

 

[veg1992]

Core i5 is faster.

As of right now, we don't really know where LGA 1156 is even going, all we know is that LGA 1366 will be getting the 6 cores with the Hyper-Threading, making 1156 almost obsolete in terms of future expansion.

 

[farinha]

Ok, so it's not a good move to buy a 1156 processor. The problem is, the 1366 processors that I've found are 70€ more expensive than the AMD one, that's why I'm tempted to buy an AMD with an AM3 socket. Is AMD going to release a new socket or there will stick with AM3 for a long time (in tech time line)?

Thanks.

Ok, this is what I'm considering buying:
- Mobo: Asus M4A79XTD EVO AMD790X SKAM3
- CPU: AMD PHENOM II X4 955 BE Quad-Core 64Bits 8MB BOX SKAM3
- Mem: GSKILL KIT 4GB DDR3 1600MHZ RIPJAW (CL7)
- PSU: Corsair CMPSU-750TX 750W
- Graph: Asus GTX275 896MB DDR3 PCI-E

Any suggestions?

Thanks for your help

 

[farinha]

Anyone please?

Thanks.

 

[Muffin Man]

yes, those are some really good picks. although, i would go with an ati card so that later, you could crossfire two of them, since that mobo only supports crossfire, not sli.

the ati equivalent of the 275 would be the hd 4890, and most likely, if you find one it will be a good bit cheaper than the 275 too.

 

[farinha]

Well, I'm not planning to SLI or Crossfire, I'm not an intense gamer. And I would prefer to buy an NVIDIA since it has better support in Linux. Which mobo do you recommend then?

Thanks for your help.