Build Advice Has anyone bought complete AMD system with last year? If so why?

Why I bought an AMD setup..

Getting back on track...

Pure and simple - bang-for-buck!

I had a limited budget for my first real new build and I desperately needed the most power for the CPU and Graphics. I also needed to make sure there was head-room for future upgrades when I could afford more.

I have since gone from 4GB to 12GB Ram and have bought a second 5770 for crossfire at much reduced prices than a year ago - great vision by me. And I have to say I have never looked back. My system gives me everything I wanted and will still be powerful enough for my needs over the next couple of years.

This was just before Sandy Bridge and the new NVidia range so my choices were more simplified.

I am looking to build a cheaper but powerful backup system just in case. For my budget I am again leaning towards an AMD solution. I will get the A8 3850 which negates the need for a dedicated GPU in my backup system. It is by far the best solution for my requirements and budget.

If money was no object I would build a top-of-the-range Intel system - but money talks right now (or rather the lack of it).

 

Went AMD for my HTPC, mITX motherboard with a slower dual core CPU and onboard video capable of 1080p playback. It was a little cheaper than an equivalent Intel system and I happened to like the Zotac motherboard which was not available with an Intel socket.

 

I'm looking to change over to AMD with my next build or two.
Plan to give the family my current media pc (i5 670, gigabyte mitx board etc) And replace it with a nice llano system
And if I were to replace my current i7 920 setup completely, I'd go AMD, probably hex core phenom, maybe bulldozer.
Yes it may not be as powerful, but I want one, I have fun with them, simples.

 

Thanks for all your posts.

It really does seem that appart from a few users wanting fun, something different, ecc or going for bulldozer

( best answer in thread imho )

does seem price is a dominant factor. It sounds like everyone here is a bit more relaxed about any extra 10% performance boost or whatever and just want a decent computer at a decent price. and fair play to that.

 

Yep I did before with an i5 at 2GHz 1V, but I really wanted a mini-ITX board since I got a free mini-ITX case

Tbh I'd probably go for a Brazos board over a Cele now if I wanted mini-ITX again, but it depends on driver compatibility. If only Intel made Atom D2800 boards with more than 2 SATA they might be useful, cause those 32nm chips are cooooool.

 

Yes indeedy.

That is the only reason I went with AMD when I built my current system in '07. I managed to build a rig which would happily stomp through almost any game on high (admittedly my res was 1440x900 at that point) without issue.

The CPU I bought at that time was simply stunning Athlon FX2 7750+ Black Edition which, considering its price point at that time, was one of the best bang-for-buck CPU's around in my (albeit biased) opinion but even now it's still running smoothly (admittedly a truly, truly shite motherboard (Sapphire PURE Crossfire 770) has forced me to drop the overclock it was happily running with on the old Asus board which I killed with an untimely slip of a screwdriver) although it does tend to get a tad chuggy these days but it's still capable and the only reason I haven't upgraded is money (but that's been sorted out on here nicely ).

I'll agree and admit that if money was no object then I would be building almost exclusively Intel machines right now but it simply isn't an option. However it would be extremely tempting to go Bulldozer, there's that tiny little fanboy in me still hoping that the supposed Windows8 optimisation turns into the dominant monster some people hope it will be and hell, who wouldn't want 8 cores!

Another point to make note of is that a neighbour of mine is still running a mates old single core 3500+ (Orleans) and it suits his needs well enough. There seems, in my experience at least, to be some truth to the longer life of AMD components.

tl;dr It's all about the price. Matching performance between AMD and Intel (especially at lower tiered price points) means a price difference of considerable amounts.

 

Haven't built a new machine in ages but still use my old s939 X2 for occasional games (GTL doesn't run on Win7 64 bit) and HTPC use in the Bedroom.

Will look and see if BD performance increases with Win 8, or go with a Hex core Phenom II in my next build purely down to £££'s

 

Bulldozer hits 4.5 on the stock heatsink, btw. Just thought you should all know that.