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so having determined my motherboard to be on it's last legs, i'm browsing for replacements ahead of black friday deals and see that AMD processor/motherboard combos are significantly cheaper then Intel. it's been a long time since i've researched this stuff, so i wanted to ask opinions of the knowledgeable techies here.

i'm currently running an asus p7pssd-e mobo with intel core i7 860 proc and 8 gigs ram. looking to replace all three and basically all i care about is not losing preformance. i'm a gamer and 3d modeler, but i have a decent vid card already. (well, it's ok... not critical replacement, at least.)

so, amd processors? what about other mobo brands like gigabyte or MSI? ram thoughts?

why do you need to replace the ram? as far as i remember, intel still offers the better bang for the buck. i'm currently using an 8320fx CPU, but i don't do much on my computer.. so i can't tell you how well it fares.

if you just want to maintain performance, why not buy a new motherboard? it'd be cheaper.

if you want budget go amd. if you want the best go intel. amd top processors still struggle to compete with intel processors several generations old.

this is the latest from intel.......

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116901

i'm not sure about their desktop line, but i think the haswell CPUs should be better for power efficiency.. which is what you want if your computer is on all the time.

got it. thanks guys.

and i can't find one of my my mobo's, or one that uses the same socket as my processor, available. so, replace.

you could probably find a motherboard for $50 on ebay. i would have upgraded to an i5, but i had a free motherboard from last year's black friday, so i just went ahead and got an 8320fx.

btw, getting the coolermaster aftermarket HSF is totally worth it.. my core temps are about 28C idle.

A decent 990FX board (Asus SABERTOOTH 990FX R2) and a FX8320 or similar are fast.  But, they do suck an awful lot of power and produce a lot of heat.  I ran a 8320@4.5GHz and it was pumping out about 200W of heat. 

Intel is a lot more efficient - a Haswell i5 will wipe the floor with the FX8320, but only uses about 35W.  :o

The choose whether you should take an AMD or an Intel processors is really depending on your preferences. Indeed, Intel processors are more efficient with energy and produce less heat, but the AMD ones are cheaper.

Currently I'm using a MSI mobo, and I don't have anything to complain about. It's working great, allthough my ethernet cable isn't really fitting 100% in it. I don't know what caused that, but it haven't fell out of the mobo or something.

thanks guys. because i am on a budget, i'll likely go with AMD hardware. newegg is having some nice prices on that anyway. thanks.

i don't even need my 8320.. it's running idle at 28c too, so temps arent too bad.