Rowdee

Ok, the question here is, with Vista coming out next month, Im ready for something new. Currently using the following...

Asus A8N-SLI w/ FX-55
2 gigs Corsair XMS ddr3200
BFG 7950GT-OC
Creative Aud. 2ZSPlatinum
Logitech Z5500 speakers (using Toslink conn)
These are the most important things. Ive been an AMD guy for a long time, but that Core2 Ex looks sweet. I use my comp mainly for games, music and and bill paying. Lots of games tho. So I wonder if there is any point in going to an Intel proc. The AM2s seem just fine, then theres the price thing. Im not really concerned about the cost. I can build what I want. But, is there something on the horizon here that might change things? Also, if I go AMD, what mobo should I use? Ive always used Asus boards. But, sometimes change is good. I welcome your opinions. This will be a major build and I want it to stay in the game for a while. Thx.....Rowdee

$SOLID$ Necro

Quote: Originally Posted by Rowdee Ok, the question here is, with Vista coming out next month, Im ready for something new. Currently using the following... Asus A8N-SLI w/ FX-55 2 gigs Corsair XMS ddr3200 BFG 7950GT-OC Creative Aud. 2ZSPlatinum Logitech Z5500 speakers (using Toslink conn) These are the most important things. Ive been an AMD guy for a long time, but that Core2 Ex looks sweet. I use my comp mainly for games, music and and bill paying. Lots of games tho. So I wonder if there is any point in going to an Intel proc. The AM2s seem just fine, then theres the price thing. Im not really concerned about the cost. I can build what I want. But, is there something on the horizon here that might change things? Also, if I go AMD, what mobo should I use? Ive always used Asus boards. But, sometimes change is good. I welcome your opinions. This will be a major build and I want it to stay in the game for a while. Thx.....Rowdee

Right now, clock for clock, Conroe is faster by 30-40% than AM-2 across the board in gaming and other apps! (And you can reach 3.6-4.0GHZ with Intel with air cooling, AMD's struggle to reach above 3.0~3.2GHZ)

AMD won't be able to catch up till the release of there quad core in mid to late 07, it will supposedly work in most current AM-2 boards with nothing more than a bios update.

If you are thinking of going AM-2 anyways, the ASUS "Crosshair" motherboard is among the top choices.

ASUS CROSSHAIR ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail at Newegg.com

Or you can get the one just a notch below it, M2N32 SLI deluxe, it has a very good rep too.

If you are into tweaking to get the last ounce of performance possible, then look no further than the DFI LP for AM-2 (This would be my personal choice!)

DFI LANPARTY UT NF590 SLI-M2R/G ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail at Newegg.com

ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail at Newegg.com

For Intel, the E6600 is the best "Bang for the buck" with 4MB cache and a default speed of 2.6GHZ, I have mine doing an easy 3.6GHZ all day long at near stock volts, and have been able top push it to nearly 4.1GHZ with "Chilled air" during bench testing.

http://forums.pcapex.com/pcapex_dail...tml#post601187

To put the performance into perspective, my AMD 939 Opteron at 3+GHZ took a bit over 26 seconds to run 1 MB of "Pi" wich is a very good indicator of raw CPU and memory power (AM-2 does not realy perform that much better than 939, 1-2%)

I am in the 12 second range now with the E6600...nuff said!

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