Hey Everyone

 

Im thinking about upgrading my current unRAID setup to a faster processor to possibly take advantage of some of the new virtualization features in version 6. Unfortunately my current motherboard (ECS A885GM-A2) is not compatible with the current generation of AMD processors. This means I will also have to upgrade my motherboard. Luckily I have found two cpu mobo combo options that won't break the bank. I wanted to make sure there are not any compatibility issues with either option. I also would like to hear the advantages of going with the more expensive 6 core processor vs 4 core processor. My current system has a dual core AMD processor, which I think is around 3.0 Ghz if memory serves me.

 

Option 1 $134.98:

mobo - http://www.microcenter.com/product/423652/GA-F2A88XM-D3H_FM2-FM2_mATX_AMD_Motherboard

CPU - http://www.microcenter.com/product/427566/A10_7700K_38_Ghz_Black_Edition_Boxed_processor

 

Option 2 $159.98:

mobo - http://www.microcenter.com/product/366425/GA-990FXA-UD3_Socket_AM3_990FX_ATX_AMD_Motherboard

cpu - http://www.microcenter.com/product/401797/FX_6300_Black_Edition_35GHz_Six-Core_Socket_AM3_Boxed_Processor

 

 

Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

If your goal is excellent virtualization performance, I'd go with an Intel Haswell based system.  Since you're buying a new motherboard, NOW is the time to make that decision.

 

It'll cost an extra $150 or so, but the higher performance is almost certainly worth it.  A Core i5-4670 easily outperforms any of the AMD processors you're looking at ... especially on a "per core" performance level.    And if you spring for a Core i7 unit, the 4790k nearly doubles the total performance of the AMDs and quadruples the per core performance.

 

Thanks for the reply garycase. I will take it under advisement. Im not planning on any hardcore virtualization projects. My main goal is to run a mythtv backend for an HDhomerun network tuner, which from my research has to be run in a vm. If I can save some money on the MB CPU purchase that will help offset the purchase of the tuner.

The Intel/AMD choice is really pretty simple:  If you want the lowest cost, go with AMD;  if you want the best performance, go with Intel.

 

Personally, if I wanted a low cost setup, I'd still go with a Haswell system, but just use a lower-end CPU ... so I could trivially upgrade to whatever performance level I might need in the future with a simple CPU swap.

 

An H97-based board would let you use any current Haswell CPU as well as the forthcoming 5th gen chips.  Here's a reasonable one for $60:  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157547

 

... then it's just a matter of choosing how much performance you're willing to pay for ... anything from a Celeron G1820 ($45.99 -- PassMark 2872) to an i7-4790K ($339.99 -- PassMark 11,237).    Something like an i3-4330 ($134.99 -- PassMark 5073)  might be a good tradeoff for what you want now ... about the same performance level as the AMD 7700K you're looking at (PassMark 5295), but with the ability to more than double your performance by simply switching to a Core i7 if you should later choose to.    And note that the i3-4330 is FAR more powerful "per core", as it achieves that level of performance with only 2 cores (the AMD has 4), AND is much more power efficient (54w TDP vs. 95w for the AMD).