Thinking of Intel

[Merlin]

I have NEVER owned anything but AMD but with recent events I am seriously thinking about Intel..I know nothing about the chipsets or who makes a good solid Intel board out there. I most likely will not venture into OCing just yet but I am planning to upgrade from my current system to something more up to date sometime this summer. I have no clue where to start with Intel so any help would be good.

[werty316]

Do you care about SLI? Yeah, I don't either so a nice P35 would be a good choice. I personally like the Abit IP35-Pro. Another great board is the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS4.

Depending on what you'll use your computer for the E8400 is a great choice for a CPU.

[maj0r_pawnage]

x38 ftw

[Merlin]

PLease compare these two sets....GIGABYTE GA-P35 DS3L solid capacitor with a Core 2Duo E 6550 Conroe VS. ASUS M2N32 SLI-Deluxe Wireless Nforce 590 with an X2 Brisbane. The prices come out very close for each set up and I was going to pare each with Corsair Ram and a Corsair 550W PSU. Which is the "longer lasting" upgrade??

[Zertz]

The C2D will destroy the AMD system.

[markkleb]

OCing is the key here. If you are not going to OC than getting a faster CPU would help you better. I got a X2 6400(3.2Ghz stock) and a FX 62(2.8 Ghz stock) for $150 each.

mobo matters if you may go SLI,Crossfire, or single GPU

Biostar Tforce 570 SLI is a killer board, I got a few from Newegg for $49 (open box)
I just picked up a Biostar Tforce 590 for $119

Im staying with AMD till I die

[stopthekilling77]

OCing is the key here. If you are not going to OC than getting a faster CPU would help you better. I got a X2 6400(3.2Ghz stock) and a FX 62(2.8 Ghz stock) for $150 each.

mobo matters if you may go SLI,Crossfire, or single GPU

Biostar Tforce 570 SLI is a killer board, I got a few from Newegg for $49 (open box)
I just picked up a Biostar Tforce 590 for $119

Im staying with AMD till I die

commendable, but Intel is kicks AMD up and down the field as far as X2 versus C2D technology.

go Intel right now and get the best performance your money will buy you. i have no experience with the p35 set of motherboards, as i have a 680i set myself. what i HAVE heard is that the p35 boards run cooler, so i'd go with one of them!

[markkleb]

I build with Intel as well (look at my last 2 mods) I have friends going for 8Ghz with Intel, also have friends building with Skultrail.
BUT!
In my experience Intel may bench faster and may OC higher, BUT I run my comps 24/7 and would rather they last a long time than run a tad faster and burn out sooner. I do not notice much difference when using Quad cores over dual cores or I dont know many people running 4Ghz 24/7 either.

Here is a Great example of wasted money (except for a VERY tiny percentage of people)
http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.h ... VzaWFzdA==

Value should matter.

LOL, I just realized this is under the Intel Mobo section, il shut up now. Sorry

INTEL FTW!!!!

[DaddyRabbit]

PLease compare these two sets....GIGABYTE GA-P35 DS3L solid capacitor with a Core 2Duo E 6550 Conroe VS. ASUS M2N32 SLI-Deluxe Wireless Nforce 590 with an X2 Brisbane. The prices come out very close for each set up and I was going to pare each with Corsair Ram and a Corsair 550W PSU. Which is the "longer lasting" upgrade??

I would definitely go the Intel route

If the rigs you posted above are stretching the budget then I would spend the extra $20 on an E6750 vs the E6550 especially if not overclocking.

Otherwise X38/48 with the E8400 is shweet (or the E8400 with the P35 board if Crossfire is definitely not expected).

[Merlin]

So if I don't plan on Ocing at all the Intel C2D E6550 2.33GHZ Conroe at $169 is still better than the X2 5000 Brisbane 2.60GHZ at $100 ?? Is Intel really whomping AMD that bad that the 2.6 AMD performs so badly as to be worse than a slower CPU at almost 40% higher price? I just want to make sure I understand correctly here that is why I ask for verification.

[markkleb]

OK, I dont want a flame war and this is just my opinion but for Merlin, AMD is the way to go. If you are NOT going to OC (something Intel is better at) you can get this and it will be quite a bit faster than the Intel you listed.
CPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819103191

Mobo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 813128014R

If you take a look at Toms you can see real comparisons.
http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu_2007. ... &chart=418

And not to forget Legit Reviews as well
http://www.legitreviews.com/article/490/1/
Remember the AND is now LESS $ so its an even better deal

[DMB2000uk]

@marklebb: lol, we don't flame here, and just because this thread is in the Intel Mobo section doesn't mean it has to be a one sided story.

@Merlin: Performance wise it makes sense to go with markkleb's suggestion, you will have a faster PC with the AMD dual core. Makes a nice change to be suggesting an AMD rig.

Just remember that overclocking Intel is easy, and even the stock cooler can handle mild overclocks with ease. It's the one factor that would make the Intel look better.

Dan

[Merlin]

I read the Legit article but it is from April. The two CPUs I listed above Intel E6550 2.3 at $169 on New egg and the X2 5000 2.66 at $100 on New egg the intel will OC to what?? and the AMD to what ?

Those benchies on Tom's show the E6550 performing better than even the 6000 AMD.

IF the E6550 will OC to close to 3+ GIG with me just changing a setting in BIOS that may be something I would do. I just don't want to get into the heat problems and have to plan what case I am able to use around my OCed heat monster. Also the AMD is $70 less, that gets me the AMD CPU and a 450W Corsair PSU for the same money as the Intel CPU by itself.

Part of the problem for me is I don't even know the "players" in chipsets for Intel...I know the P38 is good but what about the others...Intel.etc? There are soo many MOBO to choose from I have difficulty sorting out the chaff. I know that GIGABYTE and ASUS are both hard to mess up with but what about MSI, ABIT, and all the rest?

[DMB2000uk]

To make the AMD route worthwhile, you'd have to go with the 6400 (like marklebb suggested). While it is $10 cheaper than the E6550, it would negate your getting the PSU for the same price idea. Factoring in overclockability potential... takes it back to intel.

It's not a clear cut answer either way, and with how high you'd have to put the FSB to get 3GHZ from the chip (because it starts at 333Mhz, so it would be 428Mhz FSB) I'm not convinced that it'd be as simple as set and forget. You'd have to coax it out, but it should be mostly doable.

Dan

[markkleb]

@marklebb: lol, we don't flame here, and just because this thread is in the Intel Mobo section doesn't mean it has to be a one sided story.

@Merlin: Performance wise it makes sense to go with markkleb's suggestion, you will have a faster PC with the AMD dual core. Makes a nice change to be suggesting an AMD rig.

Just remember that overclocking Intel is easy, and even the stock cooler can handle mild overclocks with ease. It's the one factor that would make the Intel look better.

Dan

Dan you have a gift for words, nicely said.(I tend to babble)

(remember Merlin you said you most likely wouldnt OC, if OCing is an option its Intel FTW!)

[Methious]

A lot of people are getting 3.1-3.2 on the X2 5000 black on the same motherboard I use, the Asus M3A 770 chipset, their also having good luck with the Gigabyte 770 and all the 790 chip set boards.

When it comes to the 5000 and 6400 Black editions you have to have your own cpu cooler they don't come with one, if you go with the 6400 you'll need a big cpu cooler (zalman 9700, thermalright 120 ultra been doing them good), the 6400 is a 90nm cpu and needs good cooling, over clocks easy to 3.52 no significant heat increase and easily remains stable at 1.375 vcore on my machine (that's .025 less than the stock 1.4 vcore the board defaults to).

The 5000 black is a 65 nm cpu and pushes less heat, but if you intend to reach 3.1-3.2 you have to increase vcore producing more heat so you still need the big honkin cpu cooler. The 5000 we've hit 3.0 with little effort and heat wasn't a major issue. Me I'd rather have the X2 6400 and heavier cpu cooling for longevity reasons. Extended over clocking of cpu's (IMHO) for a 24/7 speed shortens the life span. Mild over clocks on AMD I've been running for years with no damaged equipment.

Last I checked the mobo/cpu/cooler for the 6400 ran about $300 on the egg, the 5000 ran about $250. It's pretty good bang for buck, it runs every thing I ask it to with out lagging, dragging or compromised performance. Paired with the 8800gt I got recently I can push 400 FPS Lightsmark2006 (OC video/stock CPU), and close to 12,000 on 3dmark latest version. Not exactly Intel quad performance but not quad prices. Some of the Intels close to same setup running 14,000 14,500 on 3dmarks so there is a performance difference, just not enough for me to go the extra money.

There's a lengthy thread about it down in the AMD Motherboard forum if you feel like browsing it.

[Crazy guy]

There's no need (i think) to buy an Intel rig just because of C2D's success.AMD also is doing fine.Maybe they aren't as powerful as C2Ds but they get the job done pretty well.Just wait for the AM3 , i would say if you can wait.

[Merlin]

I know this is the old Ford Vs. Chevy argument but lets continue. I want to buy an upgrade that will last a little while. If you look at what i have now and figure that I like to play Half Life 2 and Never winter knights and throw into the mix that I am not an experienced over clocker so I won't get the high side of Ocing and I want to go with a Micro ATX form factor for space saving reasons, Is Intel really worth the extra $ 80 or so dollars. Right now I have two setups saved in my NewEgg wish list...the first is http://www.newegg.com/product/product.a ... 6813131172 with http://www.newegg.com/product/product.a ... 6819103228 and the second is the Intel http://www.newegg.com/product/product.a ... 6813131237 with http://www.newegg.com/product/product.a ... 6819115029

I plan on running the same Ram in either one http://www.newegg.com/product/product.a ... 6820145176
and my video card is still the 7600GT I have now but I hope to upgrade that later to the 8 series. I know some of this is speculation but DDR3 is here now and AMD is launching their AM2+ socket and I have no idea what Intel has in the pipe for the Dual Core stuff. Looking to the future and what I do with PCs what would you do. Part of my love for this discusion is that I learn and when I have the money it easy to spend it where I want.

[DMB2000uk]

You could always argue that Intel has the better power usage, but it's only something like 20w difference between the two.
In games the intel is about 10-15% ahead.
The two processors are pretty much neck and neck when it comes to performance in other apps (intel wins some, amd others)

Factoring in the fact that mATX boards usually have little if any overclocking options, and it becomes clear that you should go with the AMD purely because it's cheaper.

Dan

[markkleb]

Thats a harder desision than the first post. The 2 CPUs are a lot closer (I think the Intel is better)
Either one would be really nice.

Now on to the memory, this is a much better deal for memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820220174
(they may as well give it away for free)