# Sandy bridge or Bulldozer dilemma



## hector (Aug 3, 2011)

Hi Everyone

This is my first post on the forum. Found this forum really good for some expert advise. 

Well I am in bit of a confusion right now. Need you guys to help me out.
I am planning to upgrade my current system with something than can handle all upcoming games (at 1600x900 and all high settings), Photoshop CS5 (with 3d), Premier pro and some other graphics softwares.

My current system specs are:


cpu|C2D 2.8GHz E7400
ram|Kingston 800MHz DDR2 2Gbx2
mobo| Asus P5kpl G41
gpu| XFX 6790
hdd | Seagate barracuda 500GB, WD 750GB 5400rpm
display| Smasung SM2033
psu| FSP saga II 500W
case | CM Elite 430
Now I am planning to upgrade to i5 2400 + H67 intel mobo + G.Skill 1600MHz 4gbx2 + corsair F40 ssd. this config is costing me 24K which is comfortably in budget. But the bulldozer rumors are really tempting me. If Bulldozer beats i5/i7 in gaming at similar price point, It will be the stuff for me to buy. Also 8 cores will help a lot in other apps like Photoshop etc. 

So the question is should I buy i5-2400 straight away or save up some more money for the bULLS!? Also will my current power supply be sufficient for Bulldozer? as I will be overclocking.


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## topgear (Aug 3, 2011)

^^ edit and correct that table - the config is not visible to others

You can't OC a intel core i5 2400 and H67 mobo - for OC intel config you''ll need a K series SB cpu and P67/Z68 mobo.

My suggestion is if you can wait then wait for BD cpu - but I'm not sure how long you'll have to wait though ( 19th spet rumored release date )  BD will compete with current SB cpus and the starting price would be around $300 cpu 

BTW, let us know how far you can strech your budget as 990FX mobos costs above 12k


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## hector (Aug 3, 2011)

topgear said:


> ^^ edit and correct that table - the config is not visible to others
> 
> You can't OC a intel core i5 2400 and H67 mobo - for OC intel config you''ll need a K series SB cpu and P67/Z68 mobo.
> 
> ...



Sorry  Its corrected now. 

Yes I am clear about that I wont be able to overclock with the i5-2400/H67 but its the reasonable choice at the time. I love to overclock but this time I am convincing myself over a turbo boost 

So if you are saying there is no Bulldozer that will be priced at arround $200-220, then I'm gonna have to forget about the ssd.

BTW how about sandy bridge E? when is that coming?


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## Deleted member 118788 (Aug 3, 2011)

AMD will replace Phenom with Bulldozer. Bulldozer Top Model Will Be Price $300 there will be other three models price below $300. Sandy Bridge E is expected for November to tackle Bulldozer. It Will Be Ultimate Show Down Between Fastest AMD Processor & Intel Fastest Processor  Till Date. One With Correct Pricing Will Win.


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## Cilus (Aug 3, 2011)

Your current config is good enough for now. So wait for the Bulldozer launch. When launched it will obviously bring down the prices of the current configs. $ 300 is the price of top end 8 core Bulldozer module which will as per rumors will perform better than the 2600K by a reasonable margin. Bulldozer 6 core and 4 core modules will be available in lower price and sub 10K components will be there.
And regarding 990FX based mobo, MSI already has 990FX-GD65 available @ 9.4K in Kolkta. They also have 990FX-GD80 @ 11.4K. I have a chat with the MSI distributor in Kolkata and found out that piece of info.


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## hector (Aug 3, 2011)

Cilus said:


> Your current config is good enough for now. So wait for the Bulldozer launch. When launched it will obviously bring down the prices of the current configs. $ 300 is the price of top end 8 core Bulldozer module which will as per rumors will perform better than the 2600K by a reasonable margin. Bulldozer 6 core and 4 core modules will be available in lower price and sub 10K components will be there.
> And regarding 990FX based mobo, MSI already has 990FX-GD65 available @ 9.4K in Kolkta. They also have 990FX-GD80 @ 11.4K. I have a chat with the MSI distributor in Kolkata and found out that piece of info.



Thanks @cilus and @Geek-With-Lens for reply.

Going by the performance of phenom II it seems like Bulldozers will eat current SB i7/i5's in multi threaded apps if Architecture is any better. My only doubts are gaming performance as they only use 4 cores at max. 

Also will my current psu FPS SAGA II 500W will be able to run Bulldozer (not the highest spec one) with overclocking. I read somewhere than they are 94 watts. Only the highest spec one is 125 watt.


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## Cilus (Aug 3, 2011)

First of all it is not true that all games use only maximum of four cores. Battlefield Bad Company can use 6 cores effectively. Crysis 2 has support for 8 cores and going by this treand, future games will definitely support more than 4 cores.
Regarding overclocking, it is not true that a more powerful processor needs more power. Although Bulldozer is having more transistors that the current Phenom II, but it has almost same level of power consumption, 95W for the quad and 6 cores (same as current Phenom II X4) and 125W for the 8 cores (Same as current Phenom II X6). The reason is more efficient power management design and die-shrink to 32 nm fabrication process from 45 nm of current Phenoms.


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## topgear (Aug 4, 2011)

hector said:


> Sorry  Its corrected now.
> 
> Yes I am clear about that I wont be able to overclock with the i5-2400/H67 but its the reasonable choice at the time. I love to overclock but this time I am convincing myself over a turbo boost
> 
> ...



I've said the starting price of BD cpu will be $300 - actually I meant to say the launch price of the top models will be that but we would gt cheaper models later for sure but as I've already told for those $200-220 models we will have to wait a bit 

SB-E is coming on Nov 2011 ( or Q1 2012 ) - though there's still no confirmation on actual release date 



hector said:


> Thanks @cilus and @Geek-With-Lens for reply.
> 
> Going by the performance of phenom II it seems like Bulldozers will eat current SB i7/i5's in multi threaded apps if Architecture is any better. My only doubts are gaming performance as they only use 4 cores at max.
> 
> *Also will my current psu FPS SAGA II 500W will be able to run Bulldozer (not the highest spec one) with overclocking*. I read somewhere than they are 94 watts. Only the highest spec one is 125 watt.



Saga II 500W will handle BD cpu easily but for actual power consumption of BD cpu we will have to wait for some benhcmark by some of the reputed hardware related websites - so until then hold your horses


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## hector (Aug 8, 2011)

Thanks guys!

I've decided to wait untill Bulldozer's launch. I am changing my psu for now to Corsair GS800 probably coz I'll be adding another card in crossfire leter. What do you guys say?


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## vickybat (Aug 8, 2011)

^^ If you have crossfire in mind, i suggest you to ditch the idea of getting GS series and go for TX series instead.

*Corsair TX 850-v2 @ 6.8k* will be ideal for you and can easily support two 6970's without breaking a sweat. The efficiency in the tx series is commendable cause of its 80+ bronze certification and will result in lesser electricity bills than GS series.


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## hector (Aug 8, 2011)

vickybat said:


> ^^ If you have crossfire in mind, i suggest you to ditch the idea of getting GS series and go for TX series instead.
> 
> *Corsair TX 850-v2 @ 6.8k* will be ideal for you and can easily support two 6970's without breaking a sweat. The efficiency in the tx series is commendable cause of its 80+ bronze certification and will result in lesser electricity bills than GS series.



That is gonna be way outta my budget mate. My budget is 5.5k or 6k at max. Is GS series bad or inefficient in any way? Which one of TX series I can get within my budget. I dont care for electricity bill. I use my computer only at night (4-5 hrs a day).


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## coderunknown (Aug 8, 2011)

^^ GS series is good but not build for multi GPU rig. it can hold no doubt but to be safe, get something from TX series.


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## topgear (Aug 9, 2011)

hector said:


> That is gonna be way outta my budget mate. My budget is 5.5k or 6k at max. Is GS series bad or inefficient in any way? Which one of TX series I can get within my budget. I dont care for electricity bill. I use my computer only at night (4-5 hrs a day).



for 5.5k you can opt for TX650v2 which will handle 2x HD6870 with ease as it can deliver 636W on it's +12v


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## hector (Aug 9, 2011)

topgear said:


> for 5.5k you can opt for TX650v2 which will handle 2x HD6870 with ease as it can deliver 636W on it's +12v



How about TX750 @6K


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## Cilus (Aug 9, 2011)

TX 750 V2 is a very good choice at 6K budget. Go for it. It can hold up a HD 6950 Crossfire setup.


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## hector (Aug 9, 2011)

Its decided then. TX 750 it is 

BTW how much I cat get for a month old FSP SAGA II 500w and XFX 6790? 
Asking here coz havent got access to 'Bazaar'.


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## topgear (Aug 10, 2011)

hector said:


> How about TX750 @6K



did not knew that TX750v2 is so cheap - I thought it'ts more than 6k but if you are getting this at 6k get it asap 

Regarding Bazzar Section access send a PM to ico


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## Tenida (Aug 10, 2011)

Yes.

*Corsair TX 650 V2@5.1K
Corsair TX 750 V2 @ 6.1K
Corsair TX 850 V2 @ 6.8K
*
Price quoted from MD Computers, Kolkata.


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## hector (Aug 10, 2011)

topgear said:


> did not knew that TX750v2 is so cheap - I thought it'ts more than 6k but if you are getting this at 6k get it asap
> 
> Regarding Bazzar Section access send a PM to ico



Checkout @lynx-india.com

And I just got access of Bazaar after my 10th post. thanks!


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## topgear (Aug 10, 2011)

^^ congrats - now put your old stock on Bazzar section 



Tenida said:


> Yes.
> 
> *Corsair TX 650 V2@5.1K
> Corsair TX 750 V2 @ 6.1K
> ...



that's great though they have not updated the website - thanks for this anyway


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## d6bmg (Aug 10, 2011)

Tenida said:


> Yes.
> 
> *Corsair TX 650 V2@5.1K
> Corsair TX 750 V2 @ 6.1K
> ...



That's too good. People with  high budget should go for TX850 V2 for future proof config.


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## ico (Aug 10, 2011)

I'd say go for Sandy Bridge. 

Waiting has no end.


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## d6bmg (Aug 10, 2011)

ico said:


> I'd say go for Sandy Bridge.



Isn't it too early to comment? 
As bulldozer isn't released yet & it will be 8 core cpu, so it (may be ) better than sandy bridge processors, which have 4 cores-8threads at max.


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## sukesh1090 (Aug 10, 2011)

> it will be 8 core cpu, so it (may be ) better than sandy bridge processors, which have 4 cores-8threads at max


how come that be true,when SB i5 quad core can easily beat amd hex core phenoms.what matters is architecture,which seems to be the real plus point of BD.


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## Cilus (Aug 10, 2011)

The reason is Bulldozer is based on a completely new architecture, not some modified Phenom II architecture. AMD Thuban or 6 core phenoms share the same architecture of the older quad core Phenom II and all of them are based on existing K9 architecture. So a 6 core Bulldozer module can't be judge by the performance of a 6 core Phenom II module.


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## sukesh1090 (Aug 10, 2011)

^^ yes brother i wanted to same thing that it is quad core or hex core the main thing which matters is architecture.


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## hector (Aug 10, 2011)

Cilus said:


> The reason is Bulldozer is based on a completely new architecture, not some modified Phenom II architecture. AMD Thuban or 6 core phenoms share the same architecture of the older quad core Phenom II and all of them are based on existing K9 architecture. So a 6 core Bulldozer module can't be judge by the performance of a 6 core Phenom II module.



Exactly. That is why I have decided to wait untill Bulldozer's launch. If BD performs atleast on par with SB in gaming at similar price point I'm sure it will perform hell lot better in multithreaded tasks.


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## Skud (Aug 10, 2011)

Must be. With just a month to go for it's release, it's better to wait.


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## Hustlerr (Aug 11, 2011)

I am w8ing for it too gonna buy pc in oct with budget around 50k


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## d6bmg (Aug 11, 2011)

hector said:


> Exactly. That is why I have decided to wait untill Bulldozer's launch. If BD performs atleast on par with SB in gaming at similar price point I'm sure it will perform hell lot better in multithreaded tasks.



Let see where the starting Indian price goes.


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## topgear (Aug 11, 2011)

The starting price must be under 10k for sure and if BD can perform really well we will see a price drop on core i5 2500k and core i7 2600k


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## ico (Aug 11, 2011)

Hustlerr said:


> I am w8ing for it too gonna buy pc in oct with budget around 50k



Time to start playing Team Fortress 2 then.  It's free now too.


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## hector (Aug 11, 2011)

topgear said:


> The starting price must be under 10k for sure and if BD can perform really well we will see a price drop on core i5 2500k and core i7 2600k



Yup  thats the second advantage of AMD! They make others to price their stuff lower  which is again beneficial for us.


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## d6bmg (Aug 11, 2011)

topgear said:


> The starting price must be under 10k for sure and if BD can perform really well we will see a price drop on core i5 2500k and core i7 2600k



Well, here is my trick. I am planning to buy i7-2600K in oct-nov range. I too, expecting a sharp fall in i5 & i7 processors after the release of bulldozer


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## topgear (Aug 12, 2011)

^^ I think you might re-consider your decision once BullDozer hits the market - let's just wait and see who wins the the performance and price battle first


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