CPU and mobo suggestions for an out of date enthusiast

[David Qualter]

Hi Everyone,

To get right to the point; I want to upgrade my PC. I used to be an enthusiast but I haven't kept up with all the goings on in the PC world. I built my first PC four years ago which includes an AMD 64 3400+ and a Epox (cannot remember model details) motherboard with 1.5gb of Corsair Ram and a Nvidia Geforce 6800.

So as you can see I need to update the PC. Overall she is still trucking on, perfectly fine for general computer use but she is completely overwhelmed by new games like Far Cry 2 and Crysis. My main problem is that I haven't kept up with PC hardware in roughly two years. I missed out on the inclusion of dual and quad core cpu's and the motherboards that support them.

So I humbly ask you for your knowledge of Cpu's and motherboards. When I was still in the "know", AMD was king. My understanding is that now Intel is king. Is this correct? And if so, which CPU would you recommend to me for a mid-high end pc? And of course a motherboard which will support it.

Essentially;

Should I go with AMD or Intel?
What CPU models are considered the best with a price range of 250-350?
And the above question in relation to motherboards with a pirce range of 150-200.

Thank you for any suggestions and advice,

Dave.

 

[Mictlantecuhtli]

I'm not going to suggest any particular brands/models. Which mainboard you should choose depends on what you need - for example, FireWire for home video editing, two network adapters, more than two PCI slots for some devices, SLI/CrossFire support, ...

Take a look at TechSpot PC Buying Guides, there are a lot of options available. Maybe too many for some...

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

For your budget, I'd recommend the E8400 and the Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3L. The main thing you need is a new video card. There are a lot of options in the market right now and frankly speaking, it would all depend on what resolution you're going to game at. For any resolution below 1680x1050 and above 1280x1024, the HD 4850 would be your best choice. For below 1280x1024, the HD 4830 is an excellent deal, as is the 9800GT. The above is assuming you're going to turn up all the in-game quality settings to maximum, including AA and AF.

 

[zipperman]

Read MBD stats

You don't have to buy asus (My recomendation) but their website
will help you decide.
This is the way to start as it"s important to know if it will accomade
Your additional hardware.Video type the most important.for todays monitors.
Thats for Video cards not internal.
As for CPU i suggest Intel.The best the board will use.

 

[mica3speedy]

well depending on what you do, look at either the e8500 and maybe spend a little more on the motherboard, or look at the q9550 if you do a lot of multi-tasking, video encoding, ect. Both will be good at gaming, with the e8500 being a little better for current games. Future games will make better use of quad cores though.