Stick it out with AMD, or change to Intel?

[CHHš Aethon]

I think I have reached the limit of my knowledge on the issue, so I am looking for opinions...preferably from people who have open minds and are not Intel or AMD fanboys.

Ok, so AMD seems to prefer developing sidways rather than forward, I am wondering if changing to Intel is worth it or not.  The reason I ask is that the most powerful AMD Bulldozer chips can be overclocked with surprising ease, and I already have a platform designed to swap one out directly.  I am also CPU-bound, with a good bit of GPU power left to free up, I believe.

Here are the specs on my present system:
Phenom II X4 965 Deneb @ ~3.8 ghz (not much of an overclock, but it is 100% stable)
Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD7
8GB Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1333
2 x EVGA GTX580
Western Digital Caviar Black 1.5TB Sata 3
Windows 7 64-bit (Home Premium)
Other specs not really related, so I will cut short my PC's brag sheet.

My two options, as I see it, are:
1.  Purchase AMD FX-8150 and overclock it (direct drop-in) @ $270 USD
2.  Purchase Intel processor/motherboard/triple-channel memory of some sort (would cost a lot more, but no hard figure as I am not sure it is even worth it yet)

So...considering the above system, would you consider it worthwhile to change the motherboard, CPU, and memory for this?  If so, consider the following: You are saving up cash to move 4,000km to another country, and spending a ton will delay the move; would you still consider it worthwhile in the long run?

Edited for linky goodness.

[F22-sama]

I would say save up until a larger overhaul. Bulldozer was nice at getting big overclock numbers but not a great performer as the Sandys and with your current setup, I see no reason why not waiting for the Ivys to come out before even considering getting new setup.

IMO saving up cash going aboard is just better than buying hardware that are not "that much" of an upgrade. Wait and see just seems better than rushing for Sandy-E.

[thEClaw]

Why not buy this one? AMD FX-4100. Half the cores, same 3.6GHz, probably a lot easier to overclock due to the decreased number of cores and only 110$, so quite cheap for a processor. I would consider that a very good "short term upgrade" - unless you desperately need 8 physical cores on your processor.

A switch to Intel would cost you about 400$, at least. And if you want to have the newest stuff, you will need to spend at least 600$ (although I don't even know if there are any cheap versions of the new processors out yet). The new boards are quite expensive.

On the other hand...by looking at your machine I guess that you tend to spend a lot of money for it. Get an Intel, there is no way around it.

[CHHš Aethon]

Well, the main reason that I was considering the Dozer upgrade is that I can already run everything on max settings, 1900x1200, average 40-50 fps (more on simpler games; WOT runs over 60fps on max, which is irrelevant with my monitor).  I am mainly thinking of just loosening my current CPU bottleneck a bit for PC-killer games that might come out in the next couple years, then start saving up for an upgrade to take place a year or so after I move (maybe two years from now).

So...with that two-year timeframe in mind, would you consider it worthwhile to make a minor upgrade now and wait for whatever comes after Ivy Bridge/Bulldozer?

[F22-sama]

My WOT runs at the same speed using a 4.5Ghz 2600k. It is seriously poorly optimised single thread application, doubt a even better CPU would make a huge difference until Wargaming gets their acts up and fix the performance issues. Running 1440x900 to 1980x1080 and getting exactly the same framerate is rather stupid. After frontal fire and orbit bombardment with 6 T92s, this is the worst issues.

[7.[WD]Ragor]

(...)
So...with that two-year timeframe in mind, would you consider it worthwhile to make a minor upgrade now and wait for whatever comes after Ivy Bridge/Bulldozer?

Yes.
 
But if I have no performance issues at all atm I wouldn't upgrade. I would wait for an upgrade until I need it... (aka a new game is out and I have performance issues with it)

[F22-sama]

Combined with the current console game milking trend and PC games are simply ports making hardware upgrades less of an issue then before. Not a great thing if the hardest game to run is still MWLL 0.4.0 on Crysis original.

[Ralux]

Why not buy this one? AMD FX-4100. Half the cores, same 3.6GHz, probably a lot easier to overclock due to the decreased number of cores and only 110$, so quite cheap for a processor. I would consider that a very good "short term upgrade" - unless you desperately need 8 physical cores on your processor.

Are you serious? He would loose about 10-30% performance as the fx-4100 only has two "real" cores/modules (1 module = two integer cores sharing almost everything, thus not two real cores) compared to the 4 real cores of his x4 965... Bulldozer is just a massive fail for desktop PCs.

I suggest you wait for Ivy bridge in April and upgrade then. At least that's what I'm going to do. Oh and there's no need to buy new RAM, 8gb should be more than enough. The RAM speed does not matter, 1333MHz is enough, more MHz won't increase your performance noticeable.

If you cannot wait buy a 2500k and a decent MB, OC it to 4,5GHz and you'll stomp the most expensive Bulldozer while still going the cheaper way (probably..)

So...considering the above system, would you consider it worthwhile to change the motherboard, CPU, and memory for this?  If so, consider the following: You are saving up cash to move 4,000km to another country, and spending a ton will delay the move; would you still consider it worthwhile in the long run?

Is your life more important or your gaming PC? Considering this I'd sell one of those gtx580s...
Don't let your hobby interfere one of the most important decisions you're going to make in your life.

[CHHš Aethon]

Thanks for the replies, guys.

As for impacting my life/what is really important...gaming, inline speed skating, and riding my motorbike are the three things I live for; the bike and inlines for when I want to get out and enjoy the real world, and the gaming for when I want to go somewhere they cannot take me.

Anyway, this would not be a huge setback or anything; I am just trying to gauge whether or not I would be able to reduce the bottleneck enough with the Bulldozer to make it worthwhile (through overclocking), or if I should just hang on to my dough and start saving for the big hit.

The thing that has me thinking this is, I can play games now with beautiful graphics and no issues, but once I get my stash of cash and move, that cash will be set aside for emergencies/surprises/etc. until I have my healthcare insurance up and running.  So, I would prefer to make the upgrade now, or in 1.5-2 years.  I just do not know if it will be worthwhile to make the small upgrade now, or if I should just hold off. 

[=CJW= Bin Fish]

Bulldozer is slower that Phenom 2 at single threaded apps

[ratbuddy]

You already have some DDR3, so you could probably sell your mobo/CPU and upgrade to a 2500k for less than $150.

Bulldozer isn't even worth looking at, unless you feel sorry for AMD and want to give them some pity cash.

[Hartsblade}12th VR{]

Great info in this thread!  Aethon, I hope you don't mind if I jump in and ask a related question while you have folks thinking about AMD related upgraded.

I have similar hardware:

CPU:  AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb OC'd 3.7GHz
Motherboard:  MSI 790FX-GD70 AM3 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard
RAM:  G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB DDR3 1333 (PC3 1066) 7-7-7-21 (T2)

Notice that my MoBo is only an AM3 not an AM3+ motherboard so even if I was looking at Bulldozer (which I'm not), I would need to uppgrade the MoBo as well.  Also my RAM, while DDR3, is a bit behind the times speed wise (RAM these days as high as DDR3 2400 (PC3 19200) ), so I a MoBo upgrade might also include a RAM upgrade as well.

So keeping in mind that money is a factor, the highest CPU upgrade available with this current MoBo is the AMD Phenom II X6 1100T Black Edition Thuban for about $200.  My question is, with minimal overclocking, what kind of performance increase could I expect and would it be worth it?

Thanks in advance...

[Mitchpate]

The Core i3 2100 outperforms some of the high-end Bulldozer chips.  If that doesn't make the Intel/AMD decision a simple one I don't know what will.

[CHHš Aethon]

Thanks for the info, guys...I think I will just save my cash for now, and upgrade in another year or two.

[=CJW= Bin Fish]

Great info in this thread!  Aethon, I hope you don't mind if I jump in and ask a related question while you have folks thinking about AMD related upgraded.

I have similar hardware:

CPU:  AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb OC'd 3.7GHz
Motherboard:  MSI 790FX-GD70 AM3 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard
RAM:  G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB DDR3 1333 (PC3 1066) 7-7-7-21 (T2)

Notice that my MoBo is only an AM3 not an AM3+ motherboard so even if I was looking at Bulldozer (which I'm not), I would need to uppgrade the MoBo as well.  Also my RAM, while DDR3, is a bit behind the times speed wise (RAM these days as high as DDR3 2400 (PC3 19200) ), so I a MoBo upgrade might also include a RAM upgrade as well.

So keeping in mind that money is a factor, the highest CPU upgrade available with this current MoBo is the AMD Phenom II X6 1100T Black Edition Thuban for about $200.  My question is, with minimal overclocking, what kind of performance increase could I expect and would it be worth it?

Thanks in advance...

You would see no improvement in anything that used less than six threads. A thuban is a deneb core with two extra cores and a slightly better imc. It is not worth the jump. Would be better to hold on to that deneb and do a full platform jump later on. What are you needing or wanting to upgrade for?