Ah, stuck back in the Stoneage, I see... how ancient of you. I've had USB3 for a while now and it is super quick compared to 2.  You know, you can get a PCI-E card with 2 or 4 USB3 ports for just a few bucks, so it's an inexpensive way to enjoy the higher transfer speeds until your next major upgrade.

Yes, I have a couple of AMDs that are faster than the i7 920, so it would be the place to start.. and of course, a new mobo with SATA3 and USB3, DDR3 RAM... all the good stuff.  Who knows DDR4 might be out by the time you're ready to build... and something from Intel to top the Haswells. I've got a i7 4770K on a Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD5H with 10 SATA3 ports and 10 USB3 ports, so it'll rock the casbah with speed to burn.

I really wanted the Gigabyte GA-Z87X UD7-TH because it had some interesting SSD/HDD related features and 2 on-board Thunderbolt ports, but the company I ordered it from messed me around, saying  it was discontinued and no longer in stock. 'Twas bullshit, though, given it is the latest model from Gigabyte  Discontinued my arse, they just didn't want to sell it to me at the advertised price, which was significantly lower than any of their competitors. 

Thing is, they're still advertising it for $320.00 and taking orders at that price... they just email prospective customers later with a 'not available' apology and offer an alternative... which I rejected because they had nothing comparable at a reasonable price.  I got the last laugh, though.  I lodged a written complaint regarding deceptive trade practices with the ACCC and Consumer Affairs.

Anyhow, I have all I need to get started with the build now.  The Thermaltake Level 10 case arrived about 10 mins ago, so I might have a snooze for a couple of hours before getting stuck into it... gotta cannibalise some parts out of this rig to complete it so will be off line this evening, me thinks.

AMD is in your future...

Nope ....it'll be Intel ...that benchmark site I linked to shows where the value is ....

I have nothing against AMD processors as they have served me well over the years, especially the 8 core FXes, and I could have upgraded to an AMD FX9350, which rivals some Intel offerings, but for my latest build I went with Intel and got the highest rated 1150 socket CPU I could get.  Like they say, a change is as good as a holiday, and while sticking with AMD would have saved the cost of a new mobo, I'm more than happy to have paid the extra to have made the switch to Intel. 

I had thought of switching a couple of builds back, just to experience the speed many spoke of regarding thr i7, but the additional cost for a new mobo was always the dissuading factor.  Not this time, though!  These days I spend nothing other than on rent, utilities and food, so what's left gets stashed away to my 'puter fund'... and being the fund had a bit in it this time, I decided to bite the bullet and go i7.  Thing is, I'm back to a single income household [my niece and I will live independently of eachother], and my'puter fund' will take much longer to build, meaning future upgrades will be fewer and farther in between..

Oh well, this current upgrade should future-proof me for a few years, being high-end to begin with, so I'm not too concerned.  BTW, I didn't get started on building this new rig... fell asleep yesterday arvo about 2ish and didn't wake up again 'til 1.50am the next day.  Don't usually sleep that long... ever... must've needed it, though... and I'll be going back for another 3 - 4 hours at posts end... still feel a bit wearied.

For now. AMD could come out with a CPU that beats any I7. I wouldn't bet against it.

Jafo has good taste in posters, too.

Kona...I live in the 'Real World' [tm]. It's entirely irrelevant who 'might' do what - when.

If you consistently choose Ferraris [because they are good/fast] you don't rush off and buy a Porsche instead because someone thinks they 'might' be faster/better tomorrow.  Tomorrow never comes....

I live in the real world as well old friend. There was a time when AMD had better processors than Intel. That time will come again.

Speaking of USB3....I do have something with it/them...my Laptop does...it's the newest machine, afterall...currently with 8.1 ...complete with crashes and network conflict issues....good old MS and its crap OS.  Clearly 8.1 is NOT better at all.

I think I'll be pissing it off...sooner than later...and sticking with 7...

I have an AMD FX8350 that beats 'some' i7s, but it is way off beating the more recent Haswell series.  The AMD FX 9350, which must be liquid cooled, comes closer but still no cigar.  To date, Intel beats AMD for speed every time, which is why it is the CPU of choice for those seeking performance over price, but I did read that AMD is working with a new architecture which has shown promising results thus far.

The problem AMD has faced in recent times is working with an older architecture that hasn't allowed for great expansion going forward, which has allowed Intel, with greater developmental resources, to leap farther ahead in terms of performance.  However. AMD's new architecture may see leaps forward in terms of speed to truly rival Intel. 

It remains to be seen, and I'd like to see AMD come up with a CPU that truly rivals the best Intel has, but in either event, whether they do or not, AMD do manufacture great CPUs and they're not going away any time soon.  AMD does have a dedicated market and it will continue to push the envelope in the endeavour to close the gap, and at the end of the day, it is a matter of preference and what best suits a user's needs.  I have an Intel machine for the first time in 10 years, perhaps, but it doesn't mean I will get rid of/sell off my AMD rigs.  No, I will still use and cherish my AMD rigs because they continue to serve me well.

I wouldn't go blaming Windows 8.1 for your "crashing" issues just yet.  It could just as well be hardware issues, as my mother discovered with her Asus machine.  As it turned out, the network adapter was the wrong one for that laptop, and the RAM was also underpowered... each should have been in 2 models down, not her machine.  Naturally it was Asus' responsibility to fix it, and once done the machine runs as it is supposed to. 

So yeah, 'tis worth checking out... to be shure to be shure.

8 crashed less...and 7 didn't.

The specs for the lappy are more than good enough...it's an i7 3610QM at 2.3 with 4gig - 64bit OS

ASUS R500A.

Aw I dunno, something's not quite right there. I have 8.1 on 3 machines and have not had an issue.  One of those machines is an ASUS 11" laptop that began as Win 8, updated to 8.1, and it plays fair on that... no crashes or hiccups to speak of.  And it's not a high-powered machine, not even close.

You know what yrag would say... so let's assume you did [f**k it up, that is] and need to reinstall 8.1 to get it right.

Seriously, I have installed OSes that just didn't work right from word go.... crashes, freeze-ups, stuff just not working right... and a complete reformat and reinstall often fixed everything.  Could be the same on your "lappy", the drive needs a proper wipe before trying again.  It has worked for me and is worth a try before "pitching it to the sh!thouse", as my dear old dad used to say.