New AMD Build...

[Kirano]

Hey all.

So, as mentioned in this thread, my computer arrived at Uni somewhat battered and I find myself needing to buy a new set of 'core' components; CPU, mobo, Graphics Card, RAM.

Though as an aside I will using my computer for gaming (and would like it to be a good gaming machine) I will mainly be using it for designing and running computer models and physics simulations. I was thinking of going for as many cores as possible, as I'm looking at developing multi-threaded models, so had my eye on the X6 1100T, coupled with maybe the ASUS Crosshair V 990X board, some good DDR3 1333Mhz RAM (2x4Gb perhaps...) and then a HD6970 to cover the gaming side of things.

The immienent arrival of Bulldozer throws a slight spanner in the works. I really can't do without a working computer for much longer (a week at the most) but obviously there's not much point dishing out for the most expensive AMD chip money can currently buy if something better will be coming out at that price point in the near future! While there's no 'apparent' damage to my current CPU, my cooler (the Tuniq Tower) was loose inside of the case, having been completely dislodged by a massive blow to the side of the box in transit. I already know that the Graphics Card isn't working correctly and I'd be amazed if the long term durability, if not the capabilities of the other components, hadn't taken a hit as well. I'd be reluctant to put my old CPU back into the new system, if it's likely to blow when I start stressing it with intensive simulation runs...

Is there likely to be a Bulldozer release that will surpass the 1100T at it's current price point? Is it worth waiting? And how does the rest of the new components I've suggested look? I'll admit, I don't know much about who are the 'good' manufacturers of GPU's (apart from XFX - my experience with XFX graphics cards is they usually last a year before dying ) and memory, so any suggestions on that front would be appreaciated as well?

With much gratitude to you for your advice and suggestions in advance,

Kirano

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

You will know about Bulldozer in the next few days. I suspect an FX8000 series processor might be faster but there are some indications there might be issues. If you are spending decent money I would go for a Core i7 2600K or the cheaper Xeon E3-1230 if you don't need an IGP.

The Phenom X6 1100T is not worth the price premium over the Phenom II X6 1090T especially if you intend to overclock. Aria also had the Phenom II X6 1055T for around £108 recently.

Also,do you really need PCI-E 2.0 16X/16X Crossfire ability??

If you are running a single card setup I would get one of the following motherboards:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/gigab...-%28x16%29-atx

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/asus-...-%28x16%29-atx

There is noise about AMD releasing the HD7000 series GPUs in the next few months. An HD6950 2GB can be had for around the £200 mark and is better value than an HD6970 IMHO.

[Kirano]

Thanks for your quick reply Cat-The-Fifith...

At the moment, I'd say my budget will be in the £600-700 mark, though this could go up a few hundred pounds higher (inland Revnue tell me I'm due a tax-rebate, so I could probably put some of that into it as well ) Tbh, I haven't done much research into Intel CPU's because it seems such a minefield - so many different core-i brandings and sockets... If I were to go Intel, what board would you recommend for either of the two processors you mention?

Do I really need an IGP if I'm going for a higher end card like the HD6950 or above? What kind of benefits would it provide?

I guess I chose the Crosshair board because of the automatic overclocking features, having rarely tinkered with clock speeds due to not understanding how to do it properly/being wary of damaging something, but having mentioned the Crossfire ability, it does seem a little overkill...

Whenever I upgrade, I always find myself in a position where there is better stuff due to come out soon. :/

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Check the link for the build guide in my signature. I will be updating it this week but I am waiting for Bulldozer to be released. The IGP can be used for Quick Sync video encoding with supported software although it is worse quality than using HandBrake for example.