A new i5? build.... or at least 1/2 of one

[Bengalengel]

Hello,

So I think it is finally time to update my socket 939 based system to something more current! After doing a bit of research, I think I am going to wait until the new i3, i5, and i7s come out using the LGA-1156 sockets with the more affordable P55 chipset mobos. However, I have a bit of a nice problem in that I have to spend $580 within the next week! Can you help me decide, or point me in the right direction on what to buy so that it will be compatible with a P55 mobo when they come out? I will need all other components besides a case, unless you would recommend getting a new case as well. I am not sure about this one.

I like to play the occasional game - I love the total war games (they allow me to release my inner megalomaniac) - and also use MATLAB, photoshop, illustrator, and pymol among others. I will also be doing some manipulation with high resolution (super big TIFF files) images as well. So I would describe my ideal build as one or maybe two rungs down from the "enthusiast" level.

All help is appreciated and if you have an alternative idea I would love to hear that as well.

Thanks

[Khalil]

What happend to AMD? The Phenom II are awesome.

[Bengalengel]

I know I know, where is my loyalty right? I guess I will have to change my avatar.....
Is there a strong case for going AMD right now? From the little research I have been doing it seemed like intel has the top of the line wrapped up right now.

[LeftyAce]

So I would describe my ideal build as one or maybe two rungs down from the "enthusiast" level.

intel has the top of the line wrapped up right now.

I'm not an AMD expert, but for someone on a budget, they have solid performance/$ right now. Intel may have the top of the line, but that doesn't mean they have the whole range locked up. Khalil's the resident AMD guy, so he can probably give you advice on good bang for your buck.

EDIT: Of course, if you want to go Intel, we're not going to stop you :-)

[Force Flow]

Honestly, I stopped going with AMD when they started changing sockets every few months or so. I'm not sure if they finally settled on a more long-term socket now or not.

[Bengalengel]

Lefty Ace - Like I say I am open to alternatives. Although my general take on things is when I see the first 10+ chips on the benchmarks being intel chips that lowers my hopes for having an AMD rig that will be high end (first 1-2 yrs), midrange (3rd year), and then serviceable (4-6 yrs from purchase). Seeing that makes me think there is something inherently inferior about the current AMD models. If there wasn't, why would they give up that segment of the market? Assuming that is true, that means that there is likely a new socket/chipset in the works to keep up with intel which would make my rig obsolete faster and make it more difficult to upgrade.

This bridges to FFs comment about socket changes. It seems that intel is doing something similar with the 1366/X58 to 1156/P55 right? I remember when they released the i7 in November. I thought there would be twice as many options for this socket-mobo configuration by now.

[tomtoon]

Originally Posted by Force Flow Honestly, I stopped going with AMD when they started changing sockets every few months or so. I'm not sure if they finally settled on a more long-term socket now or not.

they still do afaik. AM2+ came out last year with AM2, just before in 2007, now they have released AM3, at the end of last year.

This bridges to FFs comment about socket changes. It seems that intel is doing something similar with the 1366/X58 to 1156/P55 right? I remember when they released the i7 in November. I thought there would be twice as many options for this socket-mobo configuration by now.

You are right, however i5 is going to be aimed at mainstream market, and i7 well just tech enthusiasts who have the money

[glc]

I am admittedly Intel-biased, always have been, and probably always will be. However, Intel is at a point right now where I have a hard time recommending an Intel build for the long haul. The Socket 775 offerings, as good as they are, will be made obsolete by 1156 and the upgrade path in 775 will basically be shut down. The 1366/X58 i7, which benchmarks above everything, including AMD's top offerings, is just not a socket and chipset that looks like Intel will have long-term support for, and it's quite costly. The way I see it, an AMD build right now is competition for 775. We shall see what happens when 1156 comes out.

[Khalil]

Originally Posted by tomtoon they still do afaik. AM2+ came out last year with AM2, just before in 2007, now they have released AM3, at the end of last year. You are right, however i5 is going to be aimed at mainstream market, and i7 well just tech enthusiasts who have the money

AMD has not been changing a lot of sockets, the AM2 and AM2+ have been around going on 5 years I am not sure what Force Flow means by "changing sockets every few months". AM3 just came out and AMD will be sticking to it for a while, probably 3 to 4 years. The best part about it is all those AMD sockets are backward compatible.

[tomtoon]

Yh, thats what I like about AMD.

Why can't Intel do that??

[Force Flow]

AMD's flagship sockets have been 754, 939, AM2, AM2+, and now AM3. Now that I look at the actual release dates, each one hung on for a couple years before the next one came out. I guess it just seemed shorter

Intel's flagship sockets have been (during that time) 479, 775, and now 1366

[Bengalengel]

glc: yes I agree, and this is why I want to 1/2 build right now. And I believe I read somewhere that AMD is coming out with their next chipset in Q1 2010.

So with the Lynnfield chipset - the 1156, I loose some capacity with memory. Can anybody help me understand this? I can still get DDR3 but just not as much? not as fast?

Thanks

[glc]

X58 supports triple channel ram, P55 will be dual channel. This shouldn't have much effect, if any, on the performance. You lose very little right now running a X58 in only dual channel.