Big Dilemma at hand...which upgrade to choose?

I'm upgrading my system(processor+mobo+ramn) after five years. I recently won a gift cheque of Rs 5000, which is unfortunately valid upto the end of may(this month).

I'm willing to use that gift cheque+ Rs13500 of my cash.(Total Rs 18500)

I have enlisted a few options that I may use to upgrade:

Option1:
Intel core i5 2400 Rs 9000
Intel DH67BL Rs 5300
G Skill Ripjaws 4Gb Rs 2200
FSP Saga II 400w Rs 1700

Total: Rs 18200

Option 2:

AMD Athlon X2 260- Rs 3200
G Skill Ripjaws 4Gb Rs 2200
FSP Saga II 400w Rs 1700
(Will buy an AMD 990 series chipset motherboard later in june and then upgrade
to enhanced bulldozer the next year)
Total: Rs 7100

--------X---------

Which one of these options will be better?
Because if I buy a sandybridge now, I lose any chance to upgrade to bulldozer, if its better. At the same time I can't buy my whole system in june, since my rs 5000 gift cheque will become invalid then.

SO what do i do?? BIG DILEMMA!!!!!

waiting has no end. buy sandybridge.

Get the FSP SAGA II 500W @ 2.1K. Otherwise the Sandybridge config looks more promising and you can opt for it.

My biggest fear: Buying sandy bridge and next month i hear, " Sandy Bridge can't stand a chance to AMD's bulldozer".....I hope I dont have to hear that If I buy Sandy bridge now!!!

That is why i thought of config 2 as an alternative....

Sandy Bridge looks promising , but what about the future, with Bulldozer not very far away....??? That is the big question in my mind.

^^ what if bulldozer fails to compete with Sandybridge ???

Dude technology changes from day to day, if thats the case then its hard to decide & rely on something.

Better off today, instead of tomorrow. If you Surely require a Bulldozer then get a AM3 Motherboard & AMD Config.

AMD is well known for older generation support too, so AMD can be trusted here.

from the leaked slides, BD will at best compete with SB. so go with SB. & if you keep waiting for BD to get affordable, the next thing that will popup in your mind will be: Should i wait for Ivy Bridge & i bet this thought will come. so forget AMD & get what is ruling the PC world now. also try & get Z68 based board. so at least you can overclock the proccy without having to replace the motherboard.

get the 4gb ram and a psu (corsair VX550 or GS 700 or TX 750v2,if funds permit) with 5k gift cheque...they will both be required for the next config....wait till bulldozer reviews are out(prolly June 6th)...then...indulge :twisted:

how about this (if you are into gaming):

AMD Phenom II X4 955
A decent 880G based mobo for some 4k-5k
G Skill Ripjaws 4Gb Rs 2200
FSP Saga II 500w
(Will buy an AMD 990 series chipset motherboard later in june and then upgrade
to enhanced bulldozer the next year)
Sapphire HD5770

Thanks everybody for their suggestions !

mukherjee said:
get the 4gb ram and a psu (corsair VX550 or GS 700 or TX 750v2,if funds permit) with 5k gift cheque...they will both be required for the next config....wait till bulldozer reviews are out(prolly June 6th)...then...indulge

I was thinking of that only.......but instead of the psu u mentioned, I was thinking about the FSP one and the 4 gig ram....But unfortunately was coming to around a total of Rs 4200 or 4300(couldnt utilise full 5k)......so thats why i added an amd dual core to the list and thought of upgrading the whole thing when enhanced BD comes out.....

desiibond said:
how about this (if you are into gaming):

AMD Phenom II X4 955
A decent 880G based mobo for some 4k-5k
G Skill Ripjaws 4Gb Rs 2200
FSP Saga II 500w
(Will buy an AMD 990 series chipset motherboard later in june and then upgrade
to enhanced bulldozer the next year)
Sapphire HD5770

Dats a really great config....but i'm really concerned about the huge power consumption of the phenom :-(

huge power consumption? its 95W for Phenom/Athlon II. so till you get a efficient PSU, you don't need to worry about the individual power consumption.

also Core i5 2400's TDP is 95W.

Sam said:
huge power consumption? its 95W for Phenom/Athlon II. so till you get a efficient PSU, you don't need to worry about the individual power consumption.

also Core i5 2400's TDP is 95W.

Dude check the sandy bridge and phenom reviews. You will get to know how what power guzzlers phenoms are.

BTW TDP is the max power that the cpu can use. Actual usage might be much lesser than it.

GeekyBoy said:
Thanks everybody for their suggestions !
I was thinking of that only.......but instead of the psu u mentioned, I was thinking about the FSP one and the 4 gig ram....But unfortunately was coming to around a total of Rs 4200 or 4300(couldnt utilise full 5k)......so thats why i added an amd dual core to the list and thought of upgrading the whole thing when enhanced BD comes out.....

u are welcome

Well,u can try the vx450 or cxseries...cx430v2....

Its always better to invest in a bigger and more efficient psu as ur needs will grow with time...and u will surely outgrow ur originally calculated power requirements.....

and as for the amd dual core part...its a waste imo....put that money into the psu...believe me...its totally worth it

Wait for a month and we'll know the true picture regarding Bulldozer.

If you ask me, I can't see it demolishing Sandy Bridge in terms of brute performance. But yes, I can see it edging Sandy Bridge in terms of performance/price like AMD usually does in the sub $250 segment.

If you want to buy now, then Sandy Bridge is the way to go. Period.

GeekyBoy said:
Dude check the sandy bridge and phenom reviews. You will get to know how what power guzzlers phenoms are.

yup, Phenom II is older generation. It was released way back in 2009. and Sandy Bridge came in 2011.

ico said:
Wait for a month and we'll know the true picture regarding Bulldozer.

If you ask me, I can't see it demolishing Sandy Bridge in terms of brute performance. But yes, I can see it edging Sandy Bridge in terms of performance/price like AMD usually does in the sub $250 segment.

If you want to buy now, then Sandy Bridge is the way to go. Period.

yup, Phenom II is older generation. It was released way back in 2009. and Sandy Bridge came in 2011.

+1

@ OP
And since ur gift card expires in may...the ram and a psu is the best u can do with it...they will be required,come sandybridge or bulldozer

Ok, I guess I'll buy sandy bridge for now...realised that I need quick sync badly.

So what would be the best(read cheap and reliable) store in chandni to get my new stuff?

Unfortunately FSP Saga is not available...if I do not get COrsair CX400 also, then what should i take as a psu...please reply fast, i will be buying it today...it should power atleast an HD6850, which these two already do(fsp n corsair cx400)

Please....!!!!! Its urgent

what are you located?

GeekyBoy said:
Unfortunately FSP Saga is not available...if I do not get COrsair CX400 also, then what should i take as a psu...please reply fast, i will be buying it today...it should power atleast an HD6850, which these two already do(fsp n corsair cx400)

Please....!!!!! Its urgent

You can consider Tacens supero 600w if budget allows, it's a good psu, its modular with fsp as oem.

Budget is max 2.5 to 3k :-(

Skud said:
what are you located?

Kolkata

^^Where are you going to encash that gift card? Which shop?

Skud said:
^^Where are you going to encash that gift card? Which shop?

Dats why I had enquired earlier for a good shop...but no one answered :-(

Couldn't get you: its a card or cheque or what?

Its a card......actually functions the same way a debit card does...

I think you will have a hard time encashing that in Kolkata. First contact the shops and see whether they accept the same.

ico said:
Wait for a month and we'll know the true picture regarding Bulldozer.

wat if bulldozer fails to compete with SB?

mailme.manju said:
wat if bulldozer fails to compete with SB?

then get Sandy Bridge. simple.

^^yeah, why bother about future so much.

Its better if someone explains this ...

Whats is Futureproof really meant by ???

Proof that future exists :lol:

Guys, jokes apart, please suggest a psu between 2k to 3k....I'm not getting FSP Saga nor Corsair CX400 in Chandni!!!!

Corsair CX430 or CX500. Last time I check out the 430 was available. Should be around 2.5k.

GeekyBoy said:
Guys, jokes apart, please suggest a psu between 2k to 3k....I'm not getting FSP Saga nor Corsair CX400 in Chandni!!!!

SeaSonic S12II 520 @ Rs.3500

OP has to search real hard to get a Seasonic in Kolkata. Even FSP is not that easily available and highly overpriced in case they are available. M D Computers quoted me 2.9k for the 500w model in April. I was almost knocked off!!!

Skud said:
Corsair CX430 or CX500. Last time I check out the 430 was available. Should be around 2.5k.

I got a quote of Cx430 from vedant at RS 2.4k, but many people here suggested against it.... :sad:

Its not bad, only problem is the absence of 80+ certification which CX400 has. I have one installed in a Athlon II X4 system. No probs.