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Forums - PC Discussion - Building an AMD PC... a few questions

Soleron on 22 November 2009
Xelloss said:


 Fanboyism is silly, the fact is performace and value between the competitors runs in cycles. Has been that way for years, its not "which ccompany is better"... its "which company is better today"

 Not quite a couple years ago, I built an Intel/Nvidia system. No regrets, and I have since upgraded my 8800GT to a GTX275. Yay.

 If I were building a system today, it would be AMD/ATI hands down. But by the time I feel the need to build a new one, it might be Intel again....

 

 The fact is, these days software/driver issues are usually ironed out quickly by any of the companies. Bad products do happen, but none of the aforementioned are known for putting out crap.

This. A lot.

Decide your budget for each part, then choose the best value part for your price, regardless of manufacturer. Don't leave it until the next big thing, and don't buy based on brand for no reason.



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jefforange89 on 22 November 2009

With respect to drivers: http://gizmodo.com/373076/nvidia-responsible-for-nearly-30-of-vista-crashes-in-2007

Granted, this is a few years old, but interesting nonetheless.



Wii/PC/DS Lite/PSP-2000 owner, shameless Nintendo and AMD fanboy.

My comp, as shown to the right (click for fullsize pic)
CPU: AMD Phenom II X6 1090T @ 3.2 GHz
Video Card: XFX 1 GB Radeon HD 5870
Memory: 8 GB A-Data DDR3-1600
Motherboard: ASUS M4A89GTD Pro/USB3
Primary Storage: OCZ Vertex 120 GB
Case: Cooler Master HAF-932
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate x64		 Extra Storage: WD Caviar Black 640 GB,
WD Caviar Black 750 GB, WD Caviar Black 1 TB
Display: Triple ASUS 25.5" 1920x1200 monitors
Sound: HT Omega Striker 7.1 sound card,
Logitech X-540 5.1 speakers
Input: Logitech G5 mouse,
Microsoft Comfort Curve 2000 keyboard
Wii Friend Code: 2772 8804 2626 5138 Steam: jefforange89
CaseyDDR on 22 November 2009
Xelloss said:


 Fanboyism is silly, the fact is performace and value between the competitors runs in cycles. Has been that way for years, its not "which ccompany is better"... its "which company is better today"

 Not quite a couple years ago, I built an Intel/Nvidia system. No regrets, and I have since upgraded my 8800GT to a GTX275. Yay.

 If I were building a system today, it would be AMD/ATI hands down. But by the time I feel the need to build a new one, it might be Intel again....

 

 The fact is, these days software/driver issues are usually ironed out quickly by any of the companies. Bad products do happen, but none of the aforementioned are known for putting out crap.

If you are talking about building what's best now, I can maybe see ATI as that new card (if you can find it) absolutely destroyed the 295gtx (as read per recommended user), but my god AMD doesn't even come CLOSE to intel in processing power at ANY level. 



The Halo francise is the most overrated bland game to ever hit the console market. It provides a bad name to all FPS that even showed effort at creating an original entertaining plot.

I probably have more ps3 games than you :/ 

jefforange89 on 22 November 2009
CaseyDDR said:
Xelloss said:


 Fanboyism is silly, the fact is performace and value between the competitors runs in cycles. Has been that way for years, its not "which ccompany is better"... its "which company is better today"

 Not quite a couple years ago, I built an Intel/Nvidia system. No regrets, and I have since upgraded my 8800GT to a GTX275. Yay.

 If I were building a system today, it would be AMD/ATI hands down. But by the time I feel the need to build a new one, it might be Intel again....

 

 The fact is, these days software/driver issues are usually ironed out quickly by any of the companies. Bad products do happen, but none of the aforementioned are known for putting out crap.

If you are talking about building what's best now, I can maybe see ATI as that new card (if you can find it) absolutely destroyed the 295gtx (as read per recommended user), but my god AMD doesn't even come CLOSE to intel in processing power at ANY level. 

Actually, at pretty well any pricepoint below 200$ for the CPU, you're better off with an AMD than an Intel CPU.



Wii/PC/DS Lite/PSP-2000 owner, shameless Nintendo and AMD fanboy.

My comp, as shown to the right (click for fullsize pic)
CPU: AMD Phenom II X6 1090T @ 3.2 GHz
Video Card: XFX 1 GB Radeon HD 5870
Memory: 8 GB A-Data DDR3-1600
Motherboard: ASUS M4A89GTD Pro/USB3
Primary Storage: OCZ Vertex 120 GB
Case: Cooler Master HAF-932
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate x64		 Extra Storage: WD Caviar Black 640 GB,
WD Caviar Black 750 GB, WD Caviar Black 1 TB
Display: Triple ASUS 25.5" 1920x1200 monitors
Sound: HT Omega Striker 7.1 sound card,
Logitech X-540 5.1 speakers
Input: Logitech G5 mouse,
Microsoft Comfort Curve 2000 keyboard
Wii Friend Code: 2772 8804 2626 5138 Steam: jefforange89
CaseyDDR on 23 November 2009
jefforange89 said:
CaseyDDR said:
Xelloss said:


 Fanboyism is silly, the fact is performace and value between the competitors runs in cycles. Has been that way for years, its not "which ccompany is better"... its "which company is better today"

 Not quite a couple years ago, I built an Intel/Nvidia system. No regrets, and I have since upgraded my 8800GT to a GTX275. Yay.

 If I were building a system today, it would be AMD/ATI hands down. But by the time I feel the need to build a new one, it might be Intel again....

 

 The fact is, these days software/driver issues are usually ironed out quickly by any of the companies. Bad products do happen, but none of the aforementioned are known for putting out crap.

If you are talking about building what's best now, I can maybe see ATI as that new card (if you can find it) absolutely destroyed the 295gtx (as read per recommended user), but my god AMD doesn't even come CLOSE to intel in processing power at ANY level. 

Actually, at pretty well any pricepoint below 200$ for the CPU, you're better off with an AMD than an Intel CPU.

This is where I correct you and you need to read about the i5 and i7 which are very cheap at 150$ and 200$ respectively. The i5 alone blows away the phenom, no need to say so about the i7's. 



The Halo francise is the most overrated bland game to ever hit the console market. It provides a bad name to all FPS that even showed effort at creating an original entertaining plot.

I probably have more ps3 games than you :/ 

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Soleron on 23 November 2009
CaseyDDR said:
Xelloss said:


...

If you are talking about building what's best now, I can maybe see ATI as that new card (if you can find it) absolutely destroyed the 295gtx (as read per recommended user), but my god AMD doesn't even come CLOSE to intel in processing power at ANY level. 

At sane price points people actually buy at (<$200), AMD is competitive. Below $160 there's no reason to buy Intel at all. Over 95% of the market buy PCs with CPUs under $200 according to Intel data. 99% under $250.



CaseyDDR on 23 November 2009

below 160$ = i5 750 at 150$. 


Why in gods name would I buy an inferior processor? 



The Halo francise is the most overrated bland game to ever hit the console market. It provides a bad name to all FPS that even showed effort at creating an original entertaining plot.

I probably have more ps3 games than you :/ 

jefforange89 on 23 November 2009

Where are you seeing prices like that?

The cheapest I've seen is 220$ for the i5 750, and 300$ for the i7 920, compared to 190$ for a Phenom II 955.

And of course, with AMD, you also get cheaper motherboards, backwards compatibility (an older AM2 or AM2+ will take the new AM3 CPUs), cheaper memory (can use DDR2, and you don't need triple-channel kits), and what have you.



Wii/PC/DS Lite/PSP-2000 owner, shameless Nintendo and AMD fanboy.

My comp, as shown to the right (click for fullsize pic)
CPU: AMD Phenom II X6 1090T @ 3.2 GHz
Video Card: XFX 1 GB Radeon HD 5870
Memory: 8 GB A-Data DDR3-1600
Motherboard: ASUS M4A89GTD Pro/USB3
Primary Storage: OCZ Vertex 120 GB
Case: Cooler Master HAF-932
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate x64		 Extra Storage: WD Caviar Black 640 GB,
WD Caviar Black 750 GB, WD Caviar Black 1 TB
Display: Triple ASUS 25.5" 1920x1200 monitors
Sound: HT Omega Striker 7.1 sound card,
Logitech X-540 5.1 speakers
Input: Logitech G5 mouse,
Microsoft Comfort Curve 2000 keyboard
Wii Friend Code: 2772 8804 2626 5138 Steam: jefforange89
Xelloss on 23 November 2009

Yeah I have not seen those prices either. Plus the 45nm Phenoms are competitive with the i5, it really depends on the software. There is really no sane reason to rage over any supposed massive inferiorities, and the fact of the matter is - in terms of noticable performace, the spread is so small between *all* of these CPUs.

Tom's Hardware - Benchmark GTA IV 1.0.3

Tom's Hardware - Benchmark Left 4 Dead 1.0.0.5

I did not link it, but FarCry likes the Intel a lot more- you can tell the engine is optimized for it. But the most important benchmark for lots of people will be the Source benchmark (L4D).

Would be interesting to see how things stack up on Unreal engine.

Soleron on 23 November 2009
CaseyDDR said:

below 160$ = i5 750 at 150$. 


Why in gods name would I buy an inferior processor? 

Microcenter (which I'm sure you're referring to) deals in small quantities at physical stores only in those kind of CPUS. They are also US-only, and not exactly close enough for everyone to buy.

I agree, the i5 750 is a better deal than almost any AMD proc at $150. But the vast majority can't buy it at that price; Intel RRP is $196 if I recall, and the 965 BE does a fair job of being comeptitive there, winning some apps and losing others.