TheFailGrenade

I was planning to make a build (see below sig) and I was wondering if I could change the CPU for something cheaper. I want to get it as close as possible, but the CPU + Mobo combo is getting a bit expensive.

I will use the PC for gaming (but not Crysis, more stuff like GTA4) and surfing mostly.

I don't mind AMD either.

Thanks!

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tylerand

The AMD equivalent would be am AMD Phenom II X4 955. However you certainly don't need a processor that powerful to run GTA4... You'd be just fine with a 3 core processor, however if you truly want an i5 equiv' then that's your best bet.

You can get a cheap combo for under $250.

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TheFailGrenade

That's no BE, right?

Is the 9650 any good? I heard it was great for OCing, but I have no experience with AMD.

It's just that living in AUS greatly restricts my choice, and looking at this sheet of prices here, they only have the 955 BE and the 965.

However the 965 is about $100AUD cheaper than the i5, so that would be prefered if I didn't need the i5.

Thanks!

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tylerand

Ohh, you're in Aus, didn't even notice. Yeah, living outside of America can make things hard at times, it's been a lot easier recently then in past times to get good prices in Canada.

Anyway, yes it's the 955 BE. Considering how close the 955 BE is to the i5, i'd honestly just go for that and skip the 965. Not sure what the price difference between the two is. The 955 is also a pretty nice overclocker. The 9650 is seriously lacking in Cache that the 955 has, which is what would sway me to buy the 955 (actually, there's no doubt about it, i would rather wait a bit to save money and get the 955 over the 9650 just because of the cache).

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TheFailGrenade

Oh.

See the biggest problem there is the 955 BE is only about $10 cheaper, and compared the two and the performance difference didn't seem worth it.

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Skylit

i5 is the best your going to get for the price. If you have a 775 socket motherboard laying around that supports quads, get a q9550. They compete with the phenom II's. AMD 955/965 BE are a tiny bit more powerful though due to L3 cache. q9550 has a massive 12mb l2 though lol.

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NrGx

i5 750 > Q9550 > X4 955

(Clock-for-clock which is only thing anyone should care about assuming they overclock)

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Q9550 @ 4.0GHz

exad

Hmmm... yes, clock for clock, you're right but the advantage of AM3 vs S775 is indisputable. Price of AM3 Motherboard and DDR3 vs price of DDR2 and Motherboard is a no brainer. Not to mention the X4 955 is still cheaper than the Q9550 and in in overall AM3 system, it certainly surpasses it.

Since you already have DDr3 memory O/P I would suggest just getting an AM3 board and CPU and recycling the DDR3. It would cost ~$300CAD. Not sure what that is in AUS.

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Sig Changed.

Exad.

TheFailGrenade

Thanks guys.

No, I don't have a 775 board lying around, so I think the i5 will be the best way to go for price.

But i5 definitely beats 955 BE in performance, right?

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Skylit

correct.

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I am 40% addicted to Counterstrike. What about you?