Confused on which platform to choose

I have been a happy owner of the Conroe series Core2duo E6600.

Now i have decided to bid adieu to this great performer and move on to a new platform.

The usual dilemma as with other people is whether i should go for corei5 or phenom2 x4.

Other than this i must say that i don't have a graphics card and that is why my mind is heavily bent towards the amd platform as it offers a great IGP in the form of hd4200 which will easily whet my hd fetish and easily accomplish rounds of PES and FIFA which are the games i usually play.

Aprt from that i have another dilemma - the choice of ram and processor from the phenom 2 x4 lineup.
I have a great set of ddr2 ram - 4 gb corsair dominator 1066mhz.
Now there isn't much difference in the performance of ddr2 and ddr3 and thus i am not able to make a decision whether to stick to these ram and buy a AM2+ mobo or rather go for a complete overhaul and buy AM3 mobo and ddr3 ram.

The problem in choosing processor is that there are 2 choices: Phenom 2 945 or phenom 2 955be. The price difference is 1.6k and the difference in overclocked frequencies(which i am sure i'll do) won't be much. Apart from the 955 being easier to overclock because of unlocked multiplier there isn't much in favour of 955 and 945 also comes in a 95w TDP variant which i hope is readily available.

Also during overclocking i won't be using multipliers much as raising the ht raises the overall speed of the system and is thus preferrable.

On a totally different step, the i5 rig will be better and that has been proven in many benchmarks though not by much.But i will be missing out on the IGP and it's feature rich boards are a tad expensive.

Last but not the least the budget:

CPU + Mobo (if i stay with ddr2) = 17-18k , it also means you'll have to suggest an am2+mobo.

CPU + Mobo + Ram(ddr3) = 21-22k

I hope i have explained everything clearly and i think most of you will be suggesting the amd rig rather than the i5. however i will be able to procure a cheap gcard to act in place of the absent igp in the i5 series so please give it a thought too.

No point going to amd Phenom II when ur cpu+mobo budget is above 12k. It wud be a waste of money.

Since ur total budget is 22k max nothing to worry and forget amd .

Just sell ur old cpu+mobo+ram 1066mhz 4gb for 5k-8k max. Since ur ram is high quality u may get 8k by selling ur old stuff.

That increases ur budget by 5-8k. Total budget now wud be 27k -30k.

Core i5 750 - 10.5k
Gigabyte GA P55 UD2 - 6.7k
2x2gb DDR3 1333mhz Transcend - 5.2k
Total - 22k

So moolah left now is 5k-8k

Ati 4350 - 2.3k
Ati 4670 - 4.2k
ATI 4850 - 6.5k

Total - 24k / 26k / 28k

I wud have advised PhenomII x4 had core cpu+platform not been similarly priced to PhenomII x4+Am3 mobo .

No point in going with DDR2 now. People r not going for DDR3 now because of performance. They r going for future upgradability , and better price/performance DDR3 rams when DDR3 prices wud fall and DDR2 prices wud rise further. U may save some moolah on DDR2 mobo+ram but u'll repent it later.

Why do u need an igp ? Don't u have a ATI 4870 ?

Wait for other to give their opinions .

actually the budget comes to this after i have sold off my existing hardware and the 4870 has already been sold so 27k is out of budget, only 23k max

Then also it is cool. No problem

Core i5 750 - 10.5k
Gigabyte GA P55 UD2 - 6.7k
2x2gb DDR3 1333mhz Transcend - 5.2k
Total - 22k

Ati 4350 - 2.3k
Total - 24.3k
If u can't afford it then also no problem.

It is still better than any amd rig at that price and u said "however i will be able to procure a cheap gcard to act in place of the absent igp in the i5 series so please give it a thought too."

Procure the cheap igp for now but don't settle for anything other than i5 and DDR3 at this price.

Well that's my opinion . Wait for others to post their opinions

thanks anubis for the prompt suggestions. however i am still inclined towards amd and am waiting the amd gurus to post here. the main reason is that it will take about a month for me to procure that gcard and till then i will be rigless.

so therefore if i have to wait for 1 month for my rig then i better wait arnd 2-3 mnths and wait for the 32nms to appear on the scene. what say

u want to settle for 32nm dual cores core i3 and core i5 ?

won't there be quad cores in the 32nm processors in the i5 series

you have dual core i3 with hyper threading iirc. so 4 virtual cores.

Agreed on this point...

Get this combo..

AMD Phenom II X4 955 B.E. 3.2Ghz @ 9.1k
Biostar TA790GX 128M A2+ @ 5.9k

Gr8 combo, only 15k..

one question save the money and spend amd 550 x/2 with biostar 790 gxe 128 mb can be unclock to quad


and u can buy extra gpu card ati 5770 for dx eye candy in future proof

i was thinking of update ddr3 ram but cannot afford ddr3 ram so stick to ddr2 old ram and i was happy with performance at quad core unlock

that why i save cash for spend my own house income also plan for dx 11 card soon

U expect dual core core i3 and dual core core i5 5xx, 6xxx to snatch the crown from quad core core i5 7xx?

Cant say about CPU but definitely go with DDR3 setup.

Now a single stick of DDR2, 2 GB ram comes around for Rs. 2200 and 2GB DDR3 Rs. 2600; only Rs. 400 difference.

+ 1 for Anubis.

Going for core i5 is better than Phenom II at that price.

the 955 be isn't available for 9.1k in chandigarh here lynx has it for 10.5k

can you tell me where is it available for so cheap because i am getting 945 at this price

i meant real quad cores not logical. so is it positive that no more quad cores will come out on the i5 series especially 32nm ones.if that's the case then it makes it even more favourable a case for me to go for amd as amd's am3 socket is future proof at least for the next 2 years

Thats correct. But I am not too excited by those as they cost some $100-110 where you all ready have TRUE quad core processors.


Go with an AM2+ mobo with a 955 instead of a 945 as that unlocked multi is worth the 1.5k.

i5 aint all that faster that you should sell off you old hardware and buy new DDR3 and stuff....