Making a plan for a new rig, deciding on AMD or Intel

If it isn't already obvious from my sig, I've always been an Intel guy. I'm familiar with building and overclocking Intel-based pc's, and most of the pc's that I work on for clients use Intel processors.

Now, with that out of the way...

I'm starting to plan for a new pc that I'll most likely be building around the beginning of next year (before you say "that's too far away!"- don't worry, its a habit of mine to plan this far ahead ) Up until very recently, I've been dead-set on this plan: Get a 640 or 650 (or the Cedar Mill equivalent, most likely), and go for 4+ ghz, most likely on a custom water system (possibly high-end air.) I want to wait until motherboards with the 975x chipset come out, because I want to have the ability to use SLI or Crossfire, and I want to have the option to upgrade to Conroe when it comes out, and after prices stabilize. I want to use 2gb of ram. I'll be replacing the "Megatron" pc in my sig (which will become my file server), so I should see a bump in performance immediately. And I'll have the option to add in another video card for some SLI/Crossfire action later, as well as upgrade to an entirely new series of cpu. And- I also want 64-bit support.

I've never really given much thought to trying out AMD, although for a while now I've seen how well the athlon 64's and now, X2's are doing in benchmarks. The fact that they run cooler than Intel is also appealing. I've been wondering if this may be a good time to try out the "other side," so to speak. Like I said before, I don't have much experience at all with AMD, but I'm more than wiling to learn something new.

As far as pc usage, I am primarily a gamer. I do like to run other programs while I game occasionally, and during non-gaming usage times I normally have several programs open at once. The ability to multitask better is one thing that I really liked when I first upgraded to an HT processor. If I were to go with AMD, I think I may be more interested in an X2 processor, as I'm already so used to HT. I'm not sure how I would fare with a normal A64- then again, it may not make a major difference. Feedback?

So yeah, everyone always says that AMD is better for gaming, and the benchmarks prove it. Here are my main two concerns. One- price. On the intel side, I can get a 640 for $214, a 650 for $271. 2gb of decent DDR2 can be had for as low as $184 (PQI Turbo, pc2 5400- which has gotten some pretty decent reviews.) For AMD, we are looking at $347 for a X2 3800+, or $368 for a 4000+ San Diego. 2gb of decent (non-pc 3200) DDR costs just over $300 for either Mushkin pc4000 or Crucial Ballistix, also pc4000. I wouldn't want anything slower than that. Edit: I also just found that a 3700+ San Diego costs $267, not bad. I'm assuming that it would clock just as well as a 4000+? That could be a slightly cheaper option as well.

(edit: another question. I know what sort of a performance increase I should get with my intel option over my current 2.4c @ 3.3, but am not 100% sure what sort of performance increase I'd get with either of those AMD chips- overclocked of course- or how it would compare to the 6xx, overclocked.)

The other concern- upgrade path. Both will (or already does) have the option for SLI (and/or Crossfire?) However, as of now it seems (to me) that Intel has the better upgrade path once 975x is released, because of Conroe (and they're sticking with the same socket.) I'm not entirely sure, but it looks like the current AMD sockets are to be phased out and replaced with the M2 socket sometime soon. Is there any sort of decent upgradability with the current sockets, or would I have to wait for M2- and if so, when is it going to be released (and will it make going AMD even more expensive?)

Basically, I'm trying to decide if going AMD will be worth the extra cost, and if I'm going to be getting myself into a limited-upgrade situation. Or, if I should just stick with my initial plan of 975x - 6xx series cpu - Conroe upgrade.

by this time next year these price "issues" will be another story.

the thing i suggest is you to figure out what platform you really want. and decide your build from there.

Well, I'm hoping to be able to build it within a few months (january/february of next year at the latest, finances willing,) so I'd guess that the pricing probably won't change a whole lot.

Basically, what it boils down to is deciding between (what is supposed to be) more performance and more cost (AMD) vs. less performance and less cost, with the capability of upgrading to more performance at the end of next year (Intel.) I've been looking at benchmarks and reading around, and am still trying to come to a conclusion. Looking at how the various processors compare stock to stock is one thing, but I don't know how they would compare overclocked- say, a 640 or 650 at 4+ghz, vs a 3700+ or X2 3800+ at 2.4, 2.5, or above. The overclocked performance diffrences may be completely different than at stock. That's the big question that I can't seem to find an answer to. That, and an accurate timeline for when AMD is bringing out their new socket/how much life the current socket has in it.

I can't dispute that AMD has an edge in gaming, but the performance differences has been highly overrated by the AMD fanboys. It's not that much if compared to similarly overclocked high end Intel systems. A few extra FPS is not noticeable if compared side by side in real life. AMD does have a lead in SLI, but you might be wise to see how the ATI crossfire shakes out. The main thing that keeps me from building a high end AMD system is the motherboard chipsets. Intel chipsets are still the best and most stable. That and the fact that I do lots of other things besides gaming.

Maybe you can think about Yoanh dual core Pentium-M

Thanks for the replies guys

Right now I have to admit that an X2 3800+ and SLI board are looking pretty tempting, despite the extra cost. However, things may change. My finances are pretty much going to force me to wait on the build for a few months (my wife and I are in the process of buying a house at the moment, woot!) By the time I have the cash ready, 975x and Cedar Mill/Presler should be out, and perhaps there will be more info on Conroe. Even if finances do permit, I'll probably wait until that chipset/processor combo is released before I make my final decision.

Sorry dude, once you buy that house, you won't have any extra cash for years. The wife will have a million things to buy to "fix" up the house into a nice little nest. Been there done that. Quick, do the upgrades now or start hiding money in a secret Swiss bank account.

lol

The funny thing is, I'm the one with the biggest plans for the house...of course, most of those plans revolve around setting up a home theatre in the basement

I'd probably do the new build now if not for those pesky downpayments and closing costs that are looming in my future- d'oh!