Upgrading my computer

I'm looking at upgrading my computer also, from an old socket 939 Athlon x2 4800+. I hear u DDR memory is very slow also. I can play darksiders 2 with 25-30FPS, TIME TO UPGRADE.

Choosing the AMD route is cheaper, the AM3+ mobos are not as expensive and the 1155 mobos with comparable features and if the 1155 is dead the AM3+ is a bunch cheaper then the 2011 sockets. with you wanting to keep using your current AMD CPU, I would go with the mobo and memory and upgrade to steamroller when it comes out. the Steamroller will not be a record breaker, but will be cheaper than a comparable Haswell Core, similar to the FX8350 and i5 3570k, and do very well in games.




as far as Future proofing

I do not now the minds of AMD or Intel, but trying to prepare for something a year or more out is hard to do. from what I read the Broadwell (5th Gen Core from Intel) will be a SoC which will, from what I understand, a brand new socket to accommodate the the integrated Ethernet, Thunderbolt, and USB3. and as far as the excavator goes it is highly likely that it will be a AM3+ chip as well because they are just advancing the architecture for Bulldozer and Piledriver and not drastically altering the chip.


As far as buying a AMD system because of the consoles running AMD
the choice to run an AMD x86 chip in the consoles was more of a choice to get more games to be made on consoles. I am sure AMD is hoping that companies that do multi platform game engines (Cryengine, Unreal, Frostbite, etc) will try to better adapt the game engine with the FX cores. if they and others do start to incorporate these advancements for AMD, AMD might pull ahead 10% over Intel; but they will be so close in performance we will still be talking about AMD is better for this game (metro 2033) and Intel is better for that game (Battlefield 3). either way AMD and Intel Chips will do very well in gaming conditions.




What I am doing
I was planning to upgrade later this year to a new system with steamroller, but someone I know wanted a cheap computer for internet surfing and videos so they are buying mine. so I am disappointing that I could not of waited for the Steamroller to come out to go straight to that.
I am personally left with the choose from FX8350 and the I5 3570k. a local store https://www.microcenter.com/ (they are all over the place so check it out) is having a sale currently for Local pickups. the i5 with an ASRock z77 is going for $220 with tax (including a -$40 with CPU/MOBO combo).





Conclusion
I led u both ways with Intel and AMD, but with you wanting to use your current system and make small upgrades over the next few months I would go with AMD. if you want to put out the extra cash and get the "Dead" 1155 with a i5 or i7 that is on sale that would be good also.



link: AMD Metro 2033 bench. http://teksyndicate.com/videos/amd-...s-3820-gaming-and-xsplit-streaming-benchmarks





PS. the steamroller Chips might come with a free game with the never settle bundle, similar to the A10 and A8 trinity APUs with SimCity. something to consider.
 
The outgoing Intel CPUs/chipsets/motherboards are looking like the real bargain at the moment, if you don't mind the "dead" socket thing. You can build a kick *** machine for a very tempting price if you shop around, and it will perform everyday computing tasks faster than the AMD equivalent and at least equal it in gaming prowess.
 
If you want to take the AMD route, the FX6350 or 8350 will do you well. They wont future proof as well as Intel, but they will last you for at least 3-4 years.
 
1155 may be a "dead socket", but a 3570K will still keep you going for many years to come.

Socket 1156 and 1366 are still decent and they're years old now.

Yeah, a dead socket really means nothing in terms of performance. It just means it will be considered an older socket.
 
Sorry JC, it was directed at OP's reasoning behind dead sockets. AMD CPU's also require updated boards, even though the socket may physically house the CPU.

AM2 > AM2+ > AM3 > etc..

There are no guarantees that a new CPU will work with an older motherboard. Chances are if you ever purchase a new CPU; you will also find a need in getting a new motherboard, regardless of whether it's AMD or Intel.
 
Sorry JC, it was directed at OP's reasoning behind dead sockets. AMD CPU's also require updated boards, even though the socket may physically house the CPU.

AM2 > AM2+ > AM3 > etc..

There are no guarantees that a new CPU will work with an older motherboard. Chances are if you ever purchase a new CPU; you will also find a need in getting a new motherboard, regardless of whether it's AMD or Intel.

Haha I didnt think it was. I was just confused, and if it was directed to me, what it meant lol.
 
Well its really gonna focus on what you want to do with your computer. Bear in mind that the i5 3570k is a Quad core with no Hyper Threading vs the FX-8350 which is an 8 Core processor. As far as gaming goes, if your strictly going to game and you dont do too many multi-threaded tasks or plan on maybe extreme overclocking/wanting to overclock in general, the i5 might be a better choice for you because out of the box, its going to perform slightly better in gaming. Now like you see in Metro Last Light which uses 6Threads, you will see some better performance from the FX 8350 especially if you enjoy overclocking because it has 8 cores to do whatever tasks you need. Also from what I have heard and read, the AM3+ Mobo's will be compatible with the next gen chips coming from AMD so you can always add a new one in if your not happy with it when they come out.

If your looking for more future proof, both are pretty equal in options though I will say an AMD mobo and the 8 Core FX 8350 might be a slightly more appealing deal to you because those extra cores will help in games that use more than 4 threads (Which is still pretty limited but will probably start seeing more in the near future).
 
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