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Intel i5-2500K vs AMD Phenom II 970. FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!

DragonPupDragonPup Registered User regular
edited February 2011 in Moe's Stupid Technology Tavern
So my current motherboard, processor and RAM are over 3 years old now. I have a nice sized tax refund coming so I was looking to upgrade these parts of my system. I want to keep the total under $500.

Currently the best bets seem to be either the 2500k or 970, but it has been a looong time since I had to research processors. As a related topic, who makes good motherboards these days? I don't need SLI/CrossFire support, and plan to use my current ATI 5770 on the new board.

Thanks!

"I was there, I was there, the day Horus slew the Emperor." -Cpt Garviel Loken

Currently painting: Slowly [flickr]
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Posts

  • kleinfehnkleinfehn Registered User regular
    edited January 2011
    Most likely intel's i5. Until AMD comes out with Bulldozer intel is sitting pretty well when it comes to CPU power.

    kleinfehn on
  • webguy20webguy20 I spend too much time on the Internet Registered User regular
    edited January 2011
    the 2500k overclocks like a champ. mid 4ghz on air

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  • Macro9Macro9 Registered User regular
    edited January 2011
    Hands Down the i5.

    I won't even bring overclocking into the mix because it just wouldn't be a fair comparison between the two.

    As far as the motherboard. Just look into a brand that carries a good warranty and has the features you desire.

    Decent 1155 boards without SLI/Crossfire run a little over $100.

    The i5 2500k is $180 at Microcenter.

    This Gigabyte motherboard is $99 at Microcenter right now.

    A nice 2x2gb set of DDR3 1600 can be had for about $60.

    That's around $340 before taxes. That leaves you some wiggle room if you were to want a better GPU or a SSD.

    Macro9 on
    58pwo4vxupcr.png
  • PirusuPirusu Pierce Registered User regular
    edited January 2011
    Yeah. Go for the i5. I love my PII965 (Same processor as the 970, just a base clock difference), and while it's a GREAT chip, the new Sandybridge stuff is amazing.

    And as far as mobo manufacturers: Go for ASUS or Gigabyte. I hear certain ASUS P67 boards are having issues, so maybe go with Gigabyte.

    Pirusu on
  • DragonPupDragonPup Registered User regular
    edited January 2011
    Thabks for the advice so far. Is Windows 7 smart enough that if I drop the old hard drive onto the new system that it won't go into seizures and die?

    DragonPup on
    "I was there, I was there, the day Horus slew the Emperor." -Cpt Garviel Loken

    Currently painting: Slowly [flickr]
  • TychoCelchuuuTychoCelchuuu PIGEON Registered User regular
    edited January 2011
    DragonPup wrote: »
    Thabks for the advice so far. Is Windows 7 smart enough that if I drop the old hard drive onto the new system that it won't go into seizures and die?

    No, not really. Do a clean install.

    TychoCelchuuu on
  • DragonPupDragonPup Registered User regular
    edited January 2011
    Then it is a a good thing I have an external terabyte drive.

    DragonPup on
    "I was there, I was there, the day Horus slew the Emperor." -Cpt Garviel Loken

    Currently painting: Slowly [flickr]
  • DragonPupDragonPup Registered User regular
    edited January 2011
    There goes my plans to grab the stuff tonight.

    DragonPup on
    "I was there, I was there, the day Horus slew the Emperor." -Cpt Garviel Loken

    Currently painting: Slowly [flickr]
  • Monster Robert!Monster Robert! Registered User regular
    edited January 2011
    I'm an AMD fan, but not a fanatic by any means, so I get quite a laugh from that news post.

    And it's a reason I try not to early adopt.

    Monster Robert! on
  • GnomeTankGnomeTank What the what? Portland, OregonRegistered User regular
    edited January 2011
    DragonPup wrote: »
    There goes my plans to grab the stuff tonight.

    Thanks for posting this. I was about to order my SandyBridge upgrade including a P67, now I'll wait.

    GnomeTank on
    Sagroth wrote: »
    Oh c'mon FyreWulff, no one's gonna pay to visit Uranus.
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  • ShensShens Portland, ORRegistered User regular
    edited January 2011
    I wonder if that is why Newegg has all the Asus P8P67 boards as discontinued right now. Aside from all of the early BIOS issues they were having.

    Shens on
  • jinkumabutajinkumabuta Registered User regular
    edited February 2011
    Because intel screwed up and left a hardware bug in the current p67 and h67 chipsets:
    The SATA 2 controllers basically get parkinsons over time.

    As far as anyone knows, they're going to recall every board sold and fix them whenever they figure out how.
    The rank and files estimate their losses in the gazillions.

    jinkumabuta on
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