Quad-Core Rig (intel or AMD...?)

xpyrofuryx

Okay, as you might have seen in a recent post of mine I am building a new rig. It is going to be Quad-Core. I havent yet bought the motherboard or CPU yet so its still a throw-up between AMD or Intel. I am a fan of AMD so they have an edge on me. Anyway I narrowed it down to three options:

1. AMD Phenom X4 Agena 9500 + MSI Platinum AMD 790FX

2. AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Black Edition + MSI Platinum AMD 790FX (then get the Phenom 9550 later)

3. Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @2.66Ghz + some intel motherboard

 

If I did go with the Intel one, what board should I get? It needs to support 2 Crossfire cards (HD3870s), PCI-E 2.0 (for the HD3870s) and have good overclocking potential. Any suggestions?

And please dont just post soemthing like "AMD suxxorz g0 Intel!" I hate that sh$t...

Arndur

Well AMD owns ATI so it might run better idk. In Januray a driver will be avaible to allow for 4 hd 3800 series cards. Plus intel is dumping socket 775 AM2+ will still be useable through 2009.

Spathotan

Any Intel X38/X48 chipset supports PCI-E 2.0 and Crossfire, and obviously the Q6600, these are from $209 to $299. I personally own the Q6600 and I will tell you right now you wont be much happier. Also...im sure you saw my post in your original thread...dont buy the damn Phenom right now, wait till the xx50 series in January.

However, putting a Phenom in a 790FX board and running two 3800 cards will slay a equal grade Intel/Nvidia/ATI setup, as the new 3800 cards and 790FX chipset allow for awesome scaling of multiple cards, something Nvidia hasnt gotten right since SLI came out. Even to this very day SLi is shitty, worthless, and going nowhere. Whereas Crossfire is now CrossfireX, and 2 cards now really feel like two cards.

CleffyII

If you go AMD, then wait until January atleast.  Who knows how AMD will update the phenom and 790X.  It may be a bad implementation.  Right now the real key thing to wait for with Phenom is the unlocking of the L3 clock.  The L3 lock is a huge limiting factor in the Phenom and the update may keep the lock from what I heard.  Not to mention all the other goodies that aren't exactly done yet.  Not to mention SB700 south bridge comes in 2008.  You no longer have to have those useless ATA ports.

xpyrofuryx

Spath, you say you have the Q6600 and are not all that happy? Isn't the Q6600 just two E6600 slapped together therefor it should perform at the speed of an E6600 on all apps except ones that take advantage of the quad cores in which case it'll be faster. Also if I go with the Q6600 I will be overclocking big time (3.6Ghz+) I heard that'll get me performance of a core 2 extreme. Is this not true? Also I'd be using an intel X38 board so that'll give damn good OCing and stability plus then it'll be a Intel/Intel/ATI combo so shouldnt that work better?

Omega3

You can get a dual core for cheaper and its power wil be more effciently used.

Quad cores won't be necessary for home users until mid 2010.

generally speaking Intel > AMD and Nvidia > ATI.

There really is no reason to got for an AMD/ATI rig unless you like to ride the wekeast horse available on the market.

 

numatic

2010? What are you smokin? By the end of 2008 you'll see a huge jump in quad cores being widely utilized. The only upgrade you'd need is MAYBE a new video card depending on what you got at the moment.

If you're going the quad route right this moment, go intel. But i'd say wait until January for the new Phenom to see how it stocks up.

Right at the moment, yes dual cores are your best bang for your buck.

Spathotan

No. I said you wouldnt be much happier, as in the Q6600 beats just about anything out there except the $1000 Extremes. Intels current crop of Quad Cores are really Dual-Dual cores, but that dosent mean they suck, they still crush the Phenoms.

Omega3

Originally posted by numatic


2010? What are you smokin? By the end of 2008 you'll see a huge jump in quad cores being widely utilized. The only upgrade you'd need is MAYBE a new video card depending on what you got at the moment.
 

Not for the home/game users.

Dual cores are barely being utilized by christmas games, and the Core2Duo has been out for a year already.

I stand my ground: quad core won't be necessary or even useful for the home/game users before mid 2010.

if you are doing image/photo editing however, ofc you are right....

daelnor

For the OP...I agree on the hold on the phenom thing. I have a feeling they are going to kick into gear in a couple months, but as of right now I'd pass on them.

X38 board for intel, and careful on the mobo itself, not all of them I have seen are pcie 2.0, and not all support ddr3.

As far as overclocking and such, from what I have seen I like the high end Asus board, it seemed pretty pimp. Haven't worked with any yet though, so I can't tell you from experience.

D.