Upgrade vs new build

[Dantrag]

Hi guys,


I'm wondering if I should upgrade my current rig soon_ish or wait awhile and get a bulldozer rig around the new year... upgrading would also be alot cheaper (£500)

I'm running a rather old rig. It has been upgraded twice already ( X2 4600+ => X2 6000+ => X4 940BE).
I will be overclocking the upgrade also..
The rig won't be using a raid setup.
The rig is used for daily use, multi media, gaming and 3DSMAX/Terragen 2

Current rig:

X4 940 BE @ 3.7 ghz cooled by a zalman CNPS
Asus Crosshair formula II mobo
4gb DDR2 ram
GTS 250 1gb gfx card

Upgrade:

X6 1100T (3.3ghz hexacore)
Same mobo
4gb extra ram for a total of 8gb..
HD 6970 (Due to an ok deal and also might keep it for the nextgen rig after)


Bulldozer rig:

Octacore bulldozer
Hi end mobo
8gb or 16gb of DDR3
HD 6970 (or mid range nextgen)
Probably an SSD/StorageHDD combo


The upgrade should give me the boost I'm looking for but not sure how long it will last.. I'm not sure what the rendering boost will be like for 3DSMAX and Terragen 2. I know the bulldozer would be a huge upgrade (well lets hope anyway) but I'm not sure the X6 will give render times much of a boost.
Would the upgrade be worth it? It would need to keep up until the bulldozer platform has matured abit (say a year or one and a half..)

Any input is welcome =)

 

[Leeky]

I'd definitely wait for a BD build later in the year, as it will smash even the upgrade to pieces.

If you're overclocking it is in my opinion very hard to even recommend a X6 1100T when you can get more than adequate performance from a cheaper 1075T/1090T CPU.

If it was me I would be waiting.

 

[red1776]

Hi Dantag,
I am somewhat in the same boat you are in. I use 3DSMax 2012,AutoCAD 2012,Photoshop Extended CS5, High res gaming, and Adobe Creative suite CS5. I am running a Phenom X6 and it will increase your performance on rendering times and performance. (it is actually very fast) (you can have a look at my specs to get an idea of what I am using) I fortunately have a MB that is Bios flash-able to take the BD which is what I am going to do. Being this close to the release of the BD release however, I would say wait for BD and base a build on that if you are looking to have a bit of (future proofing)....I hate that term! anyway, considering the type of intense software you use, and assuming the BD is what we have read thus far, I think waiting a month or two would be the wise path.
My 2 cents worth.


**** to add to Leek's input. The x6 line are all the same CPU, you are just paying for a higher factory clock. As you said you will be OC'ing , you can get the 1055T or 1075 T and move it to 4.0Ghz+. They all go to the same place speed wise.***

 

[Dantrag]

Yeah it would be a 1075T probably, the shop only had 1100T in stock when I was making the list ^^
Bios flash will give me X6 no BD for it, as its socket AM2+. Also if I upgrade I can use the left over parts to build an extra rig with the rest of the stuff I have lying around. would give me a P2 266 mhz firewall/router, X2 6000+ rig and a X4 940 rig.. adding the X6 in a years time would give me alittle render farm to play with. The BD platform will be more mature by then also.. And a last pimpin' for the old girl would be nice..

I also checked some more reviews on the X6 to give me an idea what the upgrade would do.. should be ok for another year or so.. I'll just need to think about it =)
any further input is welcome ofc

thanks so far guys