Intel i3 build vs AMD Phenom II X6

[Theolonious]

The AMD Build -
Processor: AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Thuban 2.8GHz Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor
Mobo:MSI 970A-G45 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

The Intel build -
Processor: Intel i3-2100 3.1ghz
Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 LGA 1155

What's with both -
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333
COOLER MASTER eXtreme Power Plus RS500-PCARD3-US 500W
Seagate Barracuda ST3500413AS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s
I already have the Coolermaster HAF mid-tower and a disc drive

And a 6850 or a 6870 when I can afford it.

I have a $430 budget for the memory, mobo, processor, and power supply. I'd love to squeeze a hard drive in there as well. Which build should I go with? Do you have something better? I'n quite open, and I'd love a build that I could upgrade the processor of later, as well as add crossfire cards(or SLI, if you find me a good deal with some nVidia cards) later.
If one of you could do something better that meets those requirements, I'd love you forever! The best reward I can offer is an admin spot on my now rather popular minecraft server, carrotflowers.enterminecraft.com is the website for it.
Thank you all so much! Sorry for posting so often, i'm really indecisive, and this is a lot of money for me to be spending!

[_dangtx_]

any chance you could use your old hdd and get a better psu like an antec or corsair

id say i3 and squeeze in a 6950.

hell go caseless or use onboard for a couple weeks if need be

reward? nonsense!

but we'd appreciate it if you folded with us!! :)

[Kommie986]

I'd go with AMD. The AM3+ socket is still very new, so in the future you can upgrade easily.

Newegg.com - ASUS M5A97 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS (I personally like Asus, but as they say "YMMV")
Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Thuban 2.8GHz 6 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor HDT55TFBGRBOX
Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Blue WD3200AAKX 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive (I personally like WDC, but once again "YMMV")
Newegg.com - CORSAIR Builder Series CX500 V2 500W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
Newegg.com - XFX HD-677X-ZNFC Radeon HD 6770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

It's a bit above your budget, but if you intend to game on this PC, it will suffice. Also, if you do not wish to go above budget, then you'd have to go with your original motherboard (MSI) as the Asus one does not have onboard video.

$490 before taxes and shipping (if applicable) and after MIRs ($30 MIRs).

[Theolonious]

Originally Posted by Kommie986

I'd go with AMD. The AM3+ socket is still very new, so in the future you can upgrade easily.

Newegg.com - ASUS M5A97 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS (I personally like Asus, but as they say "YMMV")
Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Thuban 2.8GHz 6 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor HDT55TFBGRBOX
Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Blue WD3200AAKX 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive (I personally like WDC, but once again "YMMV")
Newegg.com - CORSAIR Builder Series CX500 V2 500W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
Newegg.com - XFX HD-677X-ZNFC Radeon HD 6770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

It's a bit above your budget, but if you intend to game on this PC, it will suffice. Also, if you do not wish to go above budget, then you'd have to go with your original motherboard (MSI) as the Asus one does not have onboard video.

$490 before taxes and shipping (if applicable) and after MIRs ($30 MIRs).

Anybody else have opinions on this build? I think I'll be going with it if nobody has any objections. It looks perfect for my needs, although I may actually go with the 6850 instead, although it would raise my budget a bit more. Thank you!

[_dangtx_]

since you wont need,from what you said, the 8 cores of dozer later on for rendering and such purposes, id still want a 2500k later on if the i3 is not enough.

though id get that right off the bat..:)

[Theolonious]

Originally Posted by _dangtx_

since you wont need,from what you said, the 8 cores of dozer later on for rendering and such purposes, id still want a 2500k later on if the i3 is not enough.

though id get that right off the bat..:)

But I don't think I'll be able to upgrade for a long while, and when I do, the dozer will be out. If I go with an 1155, I'm kinda locked in, and if I go with a 1366, I'll be spending so far out of my budget...

[_dangtx_]

1155 is supposed to take ivy bridge cpus. id go with z68 just in case. and the i3 or 2500 right away and forget ivy.

either or, happy building maite!

[PerryC]

I personally don't see anything wrong with that build at all. Bulldozer should be out in the next month or so, but you will get a few good years out of that build.

[Theolonious]

How worthy would the upgrade to the 6850 be worth it?

[Kommie986]

AMD Radeon HD 6790 1GB Review

HWC hasn't reviewed the 6770 yet, but I guess it's comparable to the 6790. AMD Radeon HD 6790 1GB Review

What resolution do you intend to play at?