Final Words
Most users that email questions about building a computer system are planning to build a midrange computer system. With a price range of $700 to $1700, this covers a huge number of potential choices. AMD's Phenom II has certainly leveled the competitive playing field in the midrange in recent months. With Phenom II AMD can now effectively compete throughout the midrange, at least to just under the price point of the Intel i7-920 at about $285. Core i7 still wins over any AMD CPU, but all the Core i7 parts have really been high-end up to now.
Looking at the current AMD and Intel CPU prices it easy to say with confidence that you can pick a price where both AMD and Intel compete and find roughly comparable performance from either manufacturer. Even the old "overclocking exception" no longer applies, as the 45nm AMD Phenom II parts are just as overclockable as the best Intel processors. That is very good news for potential AMD buyers.
So far so good, but then comes the $64,000 dollar question: with Intel LGA-1156 due to be announced next month should you buy one of the recommended midrange systems or wait for i5? Unfortunately, we don't have a clear answer for this question, and the answers we do have will not be satisfying to all readers.
If past experience is anything to go by, an announcement of i5 next month may mean it is still months before the new socket 1156 chips and boards are readily available in the market. In addition, early versions of new socket boards like the upcoming socket 1156 often take a while to mature; there are often issues with early boards with a new socket and chipset that take some time - and a few BIOS updates - to resolve. Prices for early adopters are also normally higher than where prices settle once the market pipelines are filled. Early adopters pay more, and since midrange buyers are not normally early adopters they should be less inclined to wait.
Finally, we don't yet have hard performance numbers to truly judge whether i5 is a large performance step forward or merely a technology refresh with a minor impact on performance. We have seen both from Intel in the past and we are still not far enough from the Pentium 4 to blindly trust that new Intel technology will push the performance envelope. We will have answers to the performance question in a few weeks, but that may or may not be a clear-cut answer. All of which leads to our conclusion.
If you are in the market for a new midrange system now you should buy it now. This is particularly true if you are planning to buy an AMD midrange system. Values are at an all-time high and i5 will not likely change the value equation much since Intel already controls the top performance spots. Intel does not have a history of "giving away" performance; they adjust prices when competitive pressures force them to.
History has proven that technology is always evolving and performance is always improving. Those who wait for the latest and greatest usually gain nothing and merely lose the waiting time for the newer technology. Whatever you buy today is almost always improved upon soon after you buy it. If value is good, as it is now, you have no real reason to wait and little to gain. If you have to have the latest then nothing we can write here will likely dissuade you from waiting for LGA-1156, but all indications are that socket 1366 will continue to be the performance king for a while yet.
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JimGrapes - Friday, December 18, 2009 - link
I'm wondering why the lower power (95w) i7 860 and the 1156 board isn't suggested in this article and others. Seems to provide a similar performance at less wattage and heat.Halcyon666 - Wednesday, November 18, 2009 - link
Why is it nearly every component listed in this buyer's guide is now more expensive than when it posted back this summer?Isn't this stuff supposed to go down in price over time?
skytophall - Saturday, November 21, 2009 - link
Ya, I noticed that also. I do know that memory sticks have gone way up in price. They were real cheap last summer. I am told that price fluctuations in memory are expected. Such is life.kenfar - Tuesday, October 6, 2009 - link
I built the AMD performance system using everything that was specified in the guide with the exception of the RAM which was not available. Went with the same RAM except used OCZ Heat Pipe.Now about 3 weeks after build and everything has been running fine. The computer about a week ago started shutting down mysteriously every so often. Now it will only boot up for about a minute and then goes to shut down.
Any ideals?
megananda06 - Monday, October 5, 2009 - link
really thanks for these guides, since sometimes we really hard to find the right options here in indonesia ...thanks once again
liquidboss - Friday, August 28, 2009 - link
The Super Talent memory recommended in the Intel Performance Midrange section is discontinued. Anyone have another suggestion for a similar price?tbement - Thursday, August 13, 2009 - link
I have heard that cable length is a problem with the OCZ ModXStream power supplies when used in the Three Hundred (where the ps is at the bottom of the case rather than the top). Is this just a rumor or an actual problem with this pair?bhougha10 - Thursday, August 6, 2009 - link
Sorry, was actually talking about the AMD Mid Range Base System Total for $1079 that doesn't include the oper system, speakers, etc. Wouldn't you be so much better off going with the system I quoted from a benchmark perspective (Gamming is what I am looking at)bhougha10 - Wednesday, August 5, 2009 - link
This system below was from direct computer makerand was 100 bucks less. $970 total. I am pretty sure it would bench mark better then the recommended one and we would have 100 bucks to play with. Get a better case, etc. I am just wondering as the the I7 would be better for gammers.CASE: New! CoolerMaster Elite 310 Mid-Tower Case with See-Thru Side Panel
Neon Light Upgrade: NONE
Extra Case Fan Upgrade: Default case fans
POWER SUPPLY Upgrade: 700 Watts Power Supplies (SLI/CrossFire Ready Power Supply)
CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-920 2.66 GHz 8M L3 Cache LGA1366
COOLING FAN : Intel LGA1366 Certified CPU Fan & Heatsink
MOTHERBOARD: (3-Way SLI Support) MSI X58 Pro Intel X58 Chipset CrossFire DDR3 Mainboard
MEMORY: 3GB (1GBx3) PC1333 DDR3 PC3 10666 Triple Channel Memory (Corsair or Major Brand)
FREEBIES: None
VIDEO CARD: ATI Radeon HD 4890 1GB DDR5 PCI-Express Dual DVI-I & TVO (Major Brand Powered by ATI)
Wesley Fink - Wednesday, August 5, 2009 - link
You need to compare apples to apples. The system you quote makes no mention of a monitor, speakers, keyboard, mouse, or Operating System. That makes it comparable to our our base system price, which is $738 - or some $230 less. I would certainly hope you could upgrade to a Core i7 for for $230.