AM2 Motherboard or Intel the way to go...and why?????

[opsman001]

I am building a new system that will include an AMD X2 4200 (65W) and a BFG7600GT and I am looking for a system that I can upgrade in the future as video cards drop in price. The area that is driving me nuts (sometimes the web has too much info) is the motherboard and memory. I have not done any overclocking in the past, but I am also not against experimenting and learning that arena. What are some good, stable motherboard/memory options that will deliver general duties as well as good gaming, but will not break the bank. Should I be looking for 590 chipset, or will 570SLI work for future upgrades? Has anyone out there tried the Epox 590 board yet? It is now backordered at Newegg, but still no reviews (the 570 board seems solid, with good reviews). Is Asus overpriced at the 590 level (just jumped up by 9 bucks)? Also, I am seeing a bit about a few memory manufacturers changing their chips to cheaper onles lately, therefore not getting the performance that they once produced. Any insight out there will be greatly appreciated.

 

[opsman001]

Followup to the system:

AMD x2 4200 (65w) Windsor
BFG 7600GT 256 MB
2 WD 250GB Cavier SE16 SATA 3.0Gb/s (Raid Setup)
Antec Truepower Trio 650
Coolermaster Centurion RC-534

 

[BUFF]

if you're looking at 590s then this may be of use.
http://techreport.com/reviews/2006q4/nforce590sli-am2/index.x?pg=1

of course we're all going to say look at Intel Core 2 Duo ...

 

[opsman001]

OK then... I have always been on AMD's side and I have to say that over the past 2-3 years I have not been following the details as close as I use to. I do know that C2D is getting better write ups and Intel is on top again...these two giants seem to trade off every so often.

I also see that most here are on Intel's side. Can people point out the pros and cons to help me with a more informed decision on my first build in 3 years? I am upgrading from an Athlon 2800, 80G WD, 1G PC2100, TI4600 Video Card. These were all on the upper scales at the time.

So, I am open to real suggestions with some good backup information. My final decisions are in the proc/momo/memory (1-2G) areas....you know the minor stuff.. .

I also cant break the bank here. Possibly in the 500-600 range for the proc/mobo/memory.

Thanks to all

 

[BUFF]

I also cant break the bank here. Possibly in the 500-600 range for the proc/mobo/memory.

$s, £s, €s ?

 

[opsman001]

$500-$600 U.S. dollars

 

[WitsEnd]

I'd think that would be manageable depending on your expected outcome. If you are wanting to overclock, and therefore want the fastest and best timing RAM, that will destroy that $600 figure. But assuming you don't want to OC then you can get a E6400 Intel Core 2 Duo chip from NewEgg for $222, several mobos to choose from in the $100-200 range, and also 2GB of DDR-2 ram can be found with a rebate for $200-ish, though $225 is probably about the bottom end for quality ram.

I'm new to the world of Intel, having been absorbed by AMD for the past several years so I can't really make any specific brand recommendations as to motherboards. As far as price shopping goes, once you get some ideas from the experts here about the specific brands/components you want I'd suggest that you visit NewEgg.com and ZipZoomFly.com and just watch for rebates and sales--they happen every day, literally.

 

[ms2005]

It's pretty much back to the days ot Athlon Xp vs P4, AM2's have more value for limited $ - but if you have lots of $ Intel owns the high end.

I am running an AMD X2 4800 and it runs everything with decent frame rates - and they are cheap now.

There is generally only a few % diffence in MB performance with same chipset. Even the 570 is only a few % lower than the 590. Just look at features you need.