Core i3 530 vs X4 630

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Does the 6950 still run on a 133 bus ?

It seems so:

http://www.techpowerup.com/cpudb/667...ium_G6950.html

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The more I look at this the more the cost is going to come down to CPU + motherboard.
There's been a lot of AMD motherboard that are very nice and cheaper than intel boards, while the amd cpu's have been slightly cheaper.
Add the totals together and we keep on recomending amd systems for a low cost build.

If Intel make the cpu's cheaper and the motherboard costs come down a big chunk, then it may change.

The current excessive pricing is what has annoyed me about the current P55 motherboards. They have less functionality left on the motherboard when compared to their AMD equivalents but cost more and have less features for a similar price. If anything they should be cheaper!!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

It seems that AMD are going to be releasing some new CPUs at the end of the month:

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/...2357579,00.asp

If the article is accurate a new IGP may also be released soon!

[scaryjim]

I think it's fairly common knowledge that AMD are preparing the 800 series chipsets and they will incorporate a new IGP. I'd speculate that it'll be a die-shrunk 4350, so 80 shaders - if that's true it should give them another significant leap in IGP performance (although we may now be getting close to IGPs being limited by memory bandwidth, rather than pure horsepower).

[DanceswithUnix]

In terms of genuine fusion silicon, Atom 2 is already out there proving it can be done. AMD are working on their version, which I assume will take the form of a monolithic die, but won't be launching it for a year yet, according to general rumour. Which leaves Clarkdale as the only decent-performance CPU + GPU package available, regardless of how it's been put together.

The AMD part is indeed a monolithic die, and I think it should be a very interesting part if GPGPU ever takes off. Until then, AMD already have good cheap IGP platforms so I think the silicon area is better spent on more cache or cores, and I don't see any sense in AMD fusing their IGP to the CPU.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The Core i3 540 trades blows with the X4 925 in many games and is only slightly ahead of the X2 550BE in gaming performance:

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu...-review_9.html

The Athon II X3 435 also is ahead of the Pentium G9650 in most of the gaming benchmarks too!!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Looks like the good old X3 720 is a better choice for gaming over a Core i3 530:

http://en.inpai.com.cn/doc/enshowcon...88&pageid=6461

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I hope the cost of the processors does drop a bit:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/produc...d=6&subid=1671

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/produc...d=6&subid=1672

The motherboards don't seem that cheap either:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/produc...d=5&subid=1124

[UseItNow]

I hope the cost of the processors does drop a bit:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/produc...d=6&subid=1671

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/produc...d=6&subid=1672

The motherboards don't seem that cheap either:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/produc...d=5&subid=1124

Was looking to upgrade a HTPC to this but the price is putting me off.

[pp05]

i3 530 chips offer good balance between general purpose computing and bit more grunt when you occasionly need it. Factor in ddr3 and mobo... it's a lot..

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Finally the cost of the motherboards is starting to drop as you can get a few for between £60 to £70. It would still be nice to have a few £40 to £50 H55 motherboards though. However socket 1156 is supposedly EOL in Q1 2011 which means it will have a very short lifespan.

[pp05]

Finally the cost of the motherboards is starting to drop as you can get a few for between £60 to £70. It would still be nice to have a few £40 to £50 H55 motherboards though. However socket 1156 is supposedly EOL in Q1 2011 which means it will have a very short lifespan.

Cat it might be EOL but those who build a system around it now (non-gaming), they will be served well for a few years no..?

[watercooled]

1156 is going EOL next year? That's a very short lifespan for a CPU socket!

[shbris]

wtf already!! so go with 1366 chips or go amd? (for my summer mobo/cpu/ram upgrade)

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

wtf already!! so go with 1366 chips or go amd? (for my summer mobo/cpu/ram upgrade)

Socket 1366 is EOL Q3 2011 so it has a longer lifespan.

TBH, I would get a secondhand Q6600 or Q6700 for the time being! Intel Sandy Bridge and AMD Bulldozer are out next year so it would be better to get one of these processors IMHO.

AFAIK, the first iteration of AMD Bulldozer is meant to be on socket AM3.