AMD 64 vs PCI Express

**pquinn** · September 8th, 2004, 11:11 PM

I am in the process of purchasing a new computer primarily for gaming and imaging. I am having a problem deciding between the AMD 64 3400 and an Intel 540 with PCI express. I would like to look a couple of years down the road towards a day when I upgrade the video card etc. Does anyone have any ideas on which route is likely to give the most reward?

**HeadBand** · September 8th, 2004, 11:20 PM

personally i would go with the intel there will be 64-bit processors that will run on this platform down the road so if you needed 64 bitness you could just upgrade the cpu but if you wanted a pci-express graphics card or ddr2 memory you would have to upgrade the motherboard on the amd system also and since it is a socket 754 you may have to upgrade the cpu also....i'm not sure if many if any socket 754 boars will support pci-e

**tony_j15** · September 9th, 2004, 02:56 PM

Welcome to TIMO! How much do you want to spend? The AMD route will be cheaper, plus AMD cpu's do better for gaming.

**pquinn** · September 9th, 2004, 09:48 PM

I'm not so concerned with the actual cost. I have a budget and both seems to fit. The question is which will allow the greater flexibility in a couple of years?
Is the 64 bit processor the way or is the PCI express the way. At this time they are mutually exclusive, so I must choose....

Thanks for the replies...

**EpyonMelee** · September 9th, 2004, 10:19 PM

64

**beppodmime** · September 9th, 2004, 10:29 PM

I have a quick q, pquinn, could you possibly wait til later this year/early next year? I'd honestly hold onto your money for just a bit longer, and wait for nVidia to release a nice PCI-X mobo with SLI in mind, all the while watching the prices of the 6800GT's drop little by little (or the 6600GT's, I imagine two of those in your box would stomp). I definately see this in the Socket939 future, probably sooner than later.

That's currently what I'm waiting for before I decide what I want to do with my box.

**pquinn** · September 9th, 2004, 11:34 PM

I've been waiting for about six months already to see what happens between the two. You are correct, the best scenario would be to have PCI-e WITH the AMD 64. If I had any idea when that is to happen I may just wait...waiting is HARD no Doom3 on my present system, Far cry works well but Doom is the first game that my system just will not handle...wait wait wait...

**camaro** · September 9th, 2004, 11:50 PM

Don't ever worry about upgradability of a mobo. When your CPU will need upgrading in a year or more there will be a new chipsets out with new features and you will want to get a new mobo anyway.

I got a Abit NF7-S a year ago and it was the shiznit. Got a 2500+ knowing if I need more I can put a 3200+ in there. Well guess what. I'm probably getting A64 when I upgrade next. Sockets change all the time. This is the 3rd time I bought one of the lowest rated CPUs for a certain socket in hopes of upgrading just the CPU and I always get a mobo with the new CPU.

Buy the best now and never worry about upgradability.

**Siliconjunkie** · September 10th, 2004, 12:07 AM

When comparing apples and fish, I always choose bread.

AMD64 vs PCIX? A processor vs a bus? What are you comparing?

**RamonGTP** · September 10th, 2004, 02:39 AM

I don't think he's comparing PCI express with the Athlon 64. I believe he's comparing :

INTEL w/PCI Express
OR
AMD Athlon 64 without

I personally would go with the A64 becase im into games and do more of the stuff that AMD is better at. People may make the argument that 64bit isn't much of an advantage today, but I can say the same thing about PCI Express.

**ShawnD1** · September 10th, 2004, 02:43 AM

Originally Posted by pquinn

AMD 64 3400 and an Intel 540 with PCI express

On-die memory controllers (AMD 64) give amazing performance gains. PCIe has yet to have any sort of advantage over AGP. Even the fastest video cards out don't come close to using all the bandwidth 8x AGP has to offer.

I would get the AMD 64.

**pquinn** · September 10th, 2004, 09:08 AM

Ramon GTP hit is right on. As there is no AMD Mobd with PCIe and there is no Intel 64 bit processor, I must choose between the two or wait for PCIe to come to the AMD world. If I go with AMD it will mean that when PCIe comes to AMD I must replace the AGP video card as well as the processor and Mobd wheras if I go the other way I can replace the Mobd and Processor alone.

**MarcwithaC** · September 10th, 2004, 10:48 AM

don't think about flexibility for the furture for upgrades and what not, by waiting around youll never buy.....something bigger and better is always on the horizon, the amd chip is an awesome chip that will be awesome for a while, regaurdless of what is coming out in the next few days..............don't be a fool to the computer worlds marketing.........

**RamonGTP** · September 11th, 2004, 01:55 PM

You wont NEED to replace your AGP card unless for whatever reason you feel like spending money just to have the latest interface but get no real performance gain. It will be quite sometime before we see PCIe cards outperformaing their AGP8x counterparts by a significant margin.

As far as waiting for PCIe to come to the Athlon64... That may not be a bad idea depending on what you've got right now. If you have something thats adequate enough to hold you over for a while (I doubt it will be too long before we see PCIe for A64 systems) then wait it out.

**originel** · September 11th, 2004, 01:58 PM

I'd go with the A64. There was an article on either anandtech, hardocp, or THG that did some tests using AGP4x, AGP8x, and PCIe. Turns out that they all performed about the same, which says that AGP8x isn't even used to it's full potential, much less PCIe. There really is no reason to go PCIe unless you are doing an SLI system using the 6x00 series nvidia graphics cards.

**zen** · September 14th, 2004, 07:58 PM

Originally Posted by originel

There really is no reason to go PCIe unless you are doing an SLI system using the 6x00 series nvidia graphics cards.

Which would be a little fun. Yes Originel?

**cysus** · September 14th, 2004, 08:10 PM

I vote...
64 bit Nocona Xeon system

**Sypher** · September 14th, 2004, 09:38 PM

pci express sinces its the inevitable future

**RamonGTP** · September 15th, 2004, 03:45 PM

Originally Posted by Sypher

pci express sinces its the inevitable future

As is 64bit processing

**Stick32** · September 15th, 2004, 04:41 PM

I was in the same place you are a month ago... I ultimately decided to go with the Intel solution since it offered the greatest possibility's for future upgradeability (sp? or is that even a real word ;-)

So far i'm happy. Just be careful when you go shopping for power supplies I ended up geting a mobo that required a 24 pin ATX 12V power connector. caught me completely by suprise