Upgrading PC

[auggybendoggy]

Guys,
In a few months I'll be spending some money to upgrade my Q6600 (4 gb) PC.

I have a few questions and I'm hoping someone here will have some wisdom to share. Is AMD (say the 8350) a stable system or can I expect lots of crashes with it? I've always used intel but I've built a few AMD's in the past for friends who wanted to save some money.

When I did build them, they seemed to work ok, but of course all I did was install the OS and perform updates. I never tried installing a DAW or any other hard working software like Sony Vegas on such a system.

Sure would appreciate the advice.

Thanks,

Auggy

[GroovinDJ]

If you can be 100% certain that all the software and hardware you'll be using on that PC now and in the future will work with an AMD CPU then go ahead and save a few $$$.

I think that with Intel you can be pretty sure....but not so with other CPUs.

[auggybendoggy]

Groovin,
Thanks for the response. That makes me worry a bit. Have you had bad experiences with AMD?

[auggybendoggy]

Does anyone have any insight on the AMD FX 8350? I'd like to know if this would be a good choice in comparison to an i7.

[cpechet]

Can't speak to your question as I am an Intel user but I did want to say that I love your user name… My favorite Star Wars satire included this character..

[auggybendoggy]

LOL Cpechet,
Isn't that actor hilarious when he looks at the camera and rolls his eyes because of something Fluke says! LOL!

[cpechet]

It’s the best… Honestly, whenever I see anything even remotely associated with the SW franchise I think of it… Can’t help myself… Wish they would do an updated version about Lucas selling the SW assets to Disney for 4bb… Now THAT’s worth a good eye-roll !!

[Strophoid]

I think stability wise AMD are just as reliable as Intel, that's not an issue. What is an issue is whether or not AMD is really cheaper than Intel.
See this topic: clicky.

Make sure you read the gearslutz link JSChild posted in his last reply as well.

[Steve Fogal]

I was under the impression this Intel VS AMD debate, at least at one time, was more about 'compatability' with other hardware, such as audio interfaces etc...?

I know my Aardvark cards run a lot better on my current Intel machine than my older AMD machine...but then again, that's comparing a 2.5 Ghz Intel quad core against a 1.6 GHz AMD single core. Regardless, the Aark drivers have been more stable on Intel.

I would imagine/hope that such incompatability issues have, or at least are becoming a thing of the past...Still, if I were to ever build another AND 'or' Intel, I'd research for any incompatabilities with my hardware anyway, as I personally haven't heard otherwise.

[Strophoid]

I would expect such incompatibilities are caused by the firewire chip used on the motherboard, not by the make of the CPU.
Of course a different CPU needs a different motherboard, but I don't believe all AMD socket motherboards have bad firewire chips :p

[Steve Fogal]

Yeah... I can't remember what my exact AMD single core 1.6 GHz CPU is, but I do remember the motherboard (ASUS A7V266-E) has a Via chipset, and Via at that time period (the VST 5 era) was getting a very bad rap.

My older AMD machine still works...Not long ago I brought it back to life, just so I could experiment with it as a midi receiving, VSTi running, audio sending, slave machine to use with my current Intel quad machine...yes, even with the dreaded Via chip set on mobo using Aardvark cards. This, in spite there were reported issues with Via & Aardvarks. Experiment was a total success, but soon realized I could really use more power...thus, I built a replica of my 5 year old spec'd Intel quad machine to use as my midi/VSTi slave instead

Just go's to show, not all reported incompatabilties are neccessarily show stoppers in the real world, but sometimes only snags, as in my case.

[Ajigato]

At least my own AMD systems (several) have been very good for DAW-use, too. Especially the current 6-core workstation. Will probably move to FX8350 or some later version some day, but so far my 6-core can easily handle everything I need to do. No compatibility etc. issues. Those were, as someone said, the curses of ancient VIA and other exotic chipsets, and a thing of a past now.