AMD CPU question and HD video card

[richardphat]

Hi,
I somehow feel it is time to upgrade and get another desktop PC.

I am still informing myself about new AMD CPU the FX series and the current Phenom series.

That being said, my new dekstop will not be designed for a serious gamer.

Furthermore, I'll content myself with an upgrade over my ahtlon 64 x2.
It will serve as multi purpouse, video rendering, CAD modeling and render, play few games like SH4, Skyrim at medium settings.
And I feel I will need to multi task process soon or later.
And FRAPSing video is something I do quite much.

Now, I have seen negative feedback about the FX and where phenom CPU could still do the job over the FX.

However, I am limited in budget, about 400-450$. The only thing I need to buy is the motherboard, cpu, ram and PSU and maybe a new video card.

I really have no clue which CPU suits the best for my use.

Now completely off subject
Also, is buying a new video card worth over a Powercolor HD5750 512mb ?
Here is the spec http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131331
If the budget for the new one is 160$?

I have read some post saying that some HD6xxx series is just a rename of certain HD5xxx.
If I were to buy, I am looking for a significant change. I will certainly not buy one if it's not.
Also, openmind for NVIDIA.

[Dowly]

You're in somewhat similar position than I am CPU wise:

AMD Athlon X2 64 6000+ and 4GB DDR2 RAM on a ASUS M2N AM2 socket mobo

Today, I ordered new parts and settled to:

AMD Phenom II X6 1100T Black Edition 3.3 GHz
12GB 1066mhz DDR3 Kingston RAM
Asus M4A87TD/USB3 AMD 870 AM3 ATX

Final costs was ~335 euros (~$437)

[Arclight]

The new Bulldozer chips aren't really good for gaming, can be actually slower for gaming than the previous Phenoms. But since you want to do all the other stuff, they're certainly something to consider. They do very well in heavily threaded applications. Can't say for certain since I don't use these apps, but I bet the rendering and modeling stuff can profit from it.

But since you're working on a budget, I'd try to just get the fastest CPU you can afford, regardless of what architecture it is based on. New architectures are generally a step forward, but the older stuff still "gets the job done" as you say.


For graphics, can't really say. Not at home, kinda tricky to go delving through comparisons and reviews right now. But for Nvidia my recommendations start at GTX560 (or 460, but it's kinda obsolete with the 560). Those cards come in at 200-250, so I'd say stick with what you have now and see how that turns out. If it's not to your liking, you could always save up some more and upgrade GPU later, at least then you're sure it will be a good improvement.

[richardphat]

Here are the topics I have found and read about phenom x4 and fx

http://forums.electronicarts.co.uk/battlefield-3-pc/1463375-phenom-ii-x4-925-vs-fx-4100-a.html

http://forums.amd.com/game/messageview.cfm?catid=259&threadid=155756