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Age old debate AMD vs Intel

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Originally posted by: konakona
I think he probably means with anything non-gaming related, which is true as he puts it. He did recommend AM2 for budget gaming in another thread anyway.
Click to expand...

Well, according to AT's benchies (excluding gaming), the Q9650 generally beats the X4 940 by ~ 10%, except for the MS Excel Monte Carlo simulation, where the Q9650 nearly doubles the X4 940's performance. In some of the benchies, the $225 X4 940 even beats the $325 Q9650.

How is this "wipe the floor"?
 
Originally posted by: WaitingForNehalem
Originally posted by: Imager
Originally posted by: WaitingForNehalem
Originally posted by: Imager
Originally posted by: Flipped Gazelle
Originally posted by: Imager
ok, narrowed it down to two options for my new PC - which CPU to get for a lot of video/movie burning and gaming, lotsa multitasking.

AMD Phenom?II X4 940 Quad-Core

or

Intel® Core? 2 Quad Q9550 @ 2.83GHz 1333FSB 12MB L2 Cache 64-bit

I go new about every 4yrs or so.
Click to expand...


Read AT review.

If you can afford Core i7, that would be the way to go if you want to keep the same system for 4 years.

The Q9550 is a bit faster than the PhII X4 940.

The PhII X4 940 is cheaper than the Q9550.

You could get the X4 940, and an AM3 motherboard, and DDR3 memory, and have a future-upgradeable platform. The question is, will there ever be an AM3-compatible CPU that is faster than the top S775 CPU (Q9650)? I doubt it, but who knows?

Edit: If you plan on using an aftermarket cooler, Ewiz has the PhII X4 920 oem for $175.

Edit #2: AMD is introducing another PhII model this month, so you might want to wait a little longer, to see if the newer model interests you, or drives prices down on current PhII's.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the quick reply. I seriously looked into the Core i7 and wanted to go that route, however that put me at about $300-400+ more then what I was able to price the other two at. Actually I think the AMD actually ended up being about $500 or so less, cause that was even about $200 less then the Q9550. I could easily wait another month or so - no biggie on that. Just trying to really narrow it down.

Main current PC (in sig) that I wanted to pass down is now farked up and I need to spend some cash to fix that up which makes the above purchase that much tighter.
Click to expand...

Core i7- $200
mobo- $170 AR
ram 6gb ddr3- 56 AR

How is that expensive? In fact, it's barely more than a Core 2. People need to let go of Core 2 and move on. Hate to break it but Core 2 is DEAD.
Click to expand...

Great prices on those...for ONE day sales, hehe.
With normal prices, it came out to be about $300 or so more then then Core2 Quads, and $500 or so more then the AMD.

My current rig is going to cost a little to get back and running it seems so I need to also take that into effect now.

BTW - what is the AR?
Click to expand...

1 day sales? $500 more? Where are you shopping, ripoff.com? The MSI X58 PRO was $169.99 AFTER REBATE for over a month. The RAM was $57 for a couple of days but there is still 6GB of Corsair DDR3 1333 for $70 AR. Core i7 is regularly $230 everyday at MicroCenter.
Click to expand...

What I was trying to say was that the price difference for the entire package was about $500 difference. The 1 day sale was in an answer to a previous poster that said he found the deal, yet it was a 1 day sale.
Where have you seen the 6GB Corsair DDR3 for $70 at? $89 was the cheapest I've seen it for. Now that same Mobo is $199, so yes 1 day sales (give it take). ha ha

Lets talk avg prices of every day here, not sales of specific days. if that is the case, one may need to order the parts piece by piece on different days/months to get the certain deals.
 
Originally posted by: aigomorla
Originally posted by: deimos3428

So as long as the premium on an upgrade path is small, that's the way to go. If an upgrade path is expensive, it's probably not worth it.
Click to expand...

then your implying he should get an amd?

Because the LGA1366 has the most expensive upgrade path.
The LGA775 is a dying upgrade path.

The AM2 is the only budget orientated upgrade class..
Click to expand...
Quite clearly, the Phenom II has both a better upgrade path and price point than the Core 2 offering, at similar performance. It's the better choice right now unless you have a specific need for an Intel chip.
 
Originally posted by: deimos3428
Originally posted by: aigomorla
Originally posted by: deimos3428

So as long as the premium on an upgrade path is small, that's the way to go. If an upgrade path is expensive, it's probably not worth it.
Click to expand...

then your implying he should get an amd?

Because the LGA1366 has the most expensive upgrade path.
The LGA775 is a dying upgrade path.

The AM2 is the only budget orientated upgrade class..
Click to expand...
Quite clearly, the Phenom II has both a better upgrade path and price point than the Core 2 offering, at similar performance. It's the better choice right now unless you have a specific need for an Intel chip.
Click to expand...

If you buy for "upgrade path", you deserve what you get.
 
Originally posted by: Markfw900
Originally posted by: WaitingForNehalem
CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail $69.99 AR

MSI X58 PRO Intel X58 Core i7 Extreme/Core i7 Socket 1366 PC3-10600 (DDR3-1333) ATX Motherboard Retail $169.99 AR
Click to expand...

Its still $295 for the 920 unless you live near a microcenter....I got my 940 BE and motherboard for less than that, and $49 for 4 gig memory (PC-8500) So its still ~200 more for the I7.
Click to expand...

Why compare two different generations in tech? X48/C2D is what you would compare to PII, as the performance is similar.

 
Originally posted by: Markfw900
Originally posted by: WaitingForNehalem
CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail $69.99 AR

MSI X58 PRO Intel X58 Core i7 Extreme/Core i7 Socket 1366 PC3-10600 (DDR3-1333) ATX Motherboard Retail $169.99 AR
Click to expand...

Its still $295 for the 920 unless you live near a microcenter....I got my 940 BE and motherboard for less than that, and $49 for 4 gig memory (PC-8500) So its still ~200 more for the I7.
Click to expand...

You and Imager need to shop around. ZipZoomFly- Core i7 920 $267.99 AR FS
 
Originally posted by: WaitingForNehalem
Originally posted by: Markfw900
Originally posted by: WaitingForNehalem
CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail $69.99 AR

MSI X58 PRO Intel X58 Core i7 Extreme/Core i7 Socket 1366 PC3-10600 (DDR3-1333) ATX Motherboard Retail $169.99 AR
Click to expand...

Its still $295 for the 920 unless you live near a microcenter....I got my 940 BE and motherboard for less than that, and $49 for 4 gig memory (PC-8500) So its still ~200 more for the I7.
Click to expand...

You and Imager need to shop around. ZipZoomFly- Core i7 920 $267.99 AR FS
Click to expand...

Again tho, that's with MIR. Most prices are about $290 before any MIR's. Who knows if you even ever get them...I get some and some never come. You can't use a MIR to compare prices unless it's an INSTANT rebate! Those may also not be options when I'm ready that day.

$288
$170
$70
total $530 (yes I rounded). Now throw in a case, psu, 2TB of storage, a burner, and at a bare minimum an ati 4850.

if the price can be $1500 or under then Core i7 is the way I should go I guess...
 
If you buy for "upgrade path", you deserve what you get.
Click to expand...
On the contrary, if you buy strictly based on performance, instead of gauging what you actually need and planning ahead, you'll always pay more than you require. You don't seem to understand the concept of a budget.

 
If you want to keep a system for 3-4 years, the cost of invetsing in an I7 is worth it. An OC I7 920 will be top notch for at least 2 years. If you upgrade every 2 years, I would do PII over Core2. With PII you'll have the option of using faster chips later if you choose to. But considering the encoding and the length of time you look to keep the system, inversting in anything other than a I7 doesn't make much sense. If you shop well you should easily be able to reduce that cost over a PII to less than $400.
 
Originally posted by: classy
If you want to keep a system for 3-4 years, the cost of invetsing in an I7 is worth it. An OC I7 920 will be top notch for at least 2 years. If you upgrade every 2 years, I would do PII over Core2. With PII you'll have the option of using faster chips later if you choose to. But considering the encoding and the length of time you look to keep the system, inversting in anything other than a I7 doesn't make much sense. If you shop well you should easily be able to reduce that cost over a PII to less than $400.
Click to expand...

Thanks! My goal is still stay well within my budget of $1500
 
Originally posted by: Flipped Gazelle

How is this "wipe the floor"?
Click to expand...

Its called overclocked.

If you account the Q9650 as an E0 and how most of them could do 3.6 with stock heat sink on stock voltage, yes i call that wiping the floor.

Originally posted by: aigomorla

But you know the top two would wipe the floor off even an upgraded AM2 package if you packaged the top two correctly. :T
Click to expand...

Dont even get me started on the D0 revision. :X

If you factor overclocking the Intel, no, AMD has no chance, you can even ask mark.

And gaming on an AMD vs C2D, unless your eyes can pick up every last detail, your not gonna see the difference, and if your the type that does, then ur gonna need more then 1500 dollars for this system if you want your games perfect. And your gonna need the i7 Since it handles monster GPU cards in pairs without discrimination of motherboard chipset.



If your seriously budget orientated, 4yrs upgrade is not a path for you. Maybe 1 yr upgrade going on mid to lower tech.

If your really set on 4yr upgrade, intel will pwn AMD at the top.


Unless your a hardcore intensified gamer, you shouldnt look at AMD. You'll need the budget offset anyhow on your gpu sector, which is why im recomending it.

In aspect of gaming on the two machines You wont notice it once again... Gaming is more GPU orientated, then cpu orientated unless your running a crap resolution. Once u got quadcores, its basically all you'll need for a while.

C2Q
Q9550 65W version or E0
Giggy P45-UD3P
4gigs of anything cheap but DDR2 800

i7:
i7 920 D0 <--- WAIT FOR IT
Giggy or Asus X58 series board
Gskill Pi Ram DDR3 1600 3x2gb.

Depending on what you do, and if you overclocked, i think both could probably last 2-3yrs, the i7 would make 4 if you overclocked.
 
Originally posted by: aigomorla
Originally posted by: Flipped Gazelle

How is this "wipe the floor"?
Click to expand...

Its called overclocked.

If you account the Q9650 as an E0 and how most of them could do 3.6 with stock heat sink on stock voltage, yes i call that wiping the floor.
Click to expand...

"Wipe the floor" implies a HUGE advantage. Perhaps you don't completely understand the idiom of "wipe the floor" - IDK. A Q9650 at, for example, 4 Ghz will beat the X4 940 @ 3.8 Ghz, no doubt. The advantage isn't that large, though, in most cases.

Of course, if you have the $$ to afford a Q9650 (nearly 50% more than X4 940), you really should be buying i7 anyway.
 
Originally posted by: aigomorla
Originally posted by: Flipped Gazelle

How is this "wipe the floor"?
Click to expand...

Its called overclocked.

If you account the Q9650 as an E0 and how most of them could do 3.6 with stock heat sink on stock voltage, yes i call that wiping the floor.

Originally posted by: aigomorla

But you know the top two would wipe the floor off even an upgraded AM2 package if you packaged the top two correctly. :T
Click to expand...

Dont even get me started on the D0 revision. :X

If you factor overclocking the Intel, no, AMD has no chance, you can even ask mark.

And gaming on an AMD vs C2D, unless your eyes can pick up every last detail, your not gonna see the difference, and if your the type that does, then ur gonna need more then 1500 dollars for this system if you want your games perfect. And your gonna need the i7 Since it handles monster GPU cards in pairs without discrimination of motherboard chipset.



If your seriously budget orientated, 4yrs upgrade is not a path for you. Maybe 1 yr upgrade going on mid to lower tech.

If your really set on 4yr upgrade, intel will pwn AMD at the top.


Unless your a hardcore intensified gamer, you shouldnt look at AMD. You'll need the budget offset anyhow on your gpu sector, which is why im recomending it.

In aspect of gaming on the two machines You wont notice it once again... Gaming is more GPU orientated, then cpu orientated unless your running a crap resolution. Once u got quadcores, its basically all you'll need for a while.

C2Q
Q9550 65W version or E0
Giggy P45-DS3P
4gigs of anything cheap but DDR2 800

i7:
i7 920 D0 <--- WAIT FOR IT
Giggy or Asus X58 series board
Gskill Pi Ram DDR3 1600 3x2gb.

Depending on what you do, and if you overclocked, i think both could probably last 2-3yrs, the i7 would make 4 if you overclocked.
Click to expand...

Thanks dude!

The "lasting" 4yr is a guide line since I try and spend a bit more on better parts when I purchase the PC, then try and make it last as long as it possibly can. I've upgraded GPU's a ton in the past, but lately (sure I love to game) havn't had as much time, so I've played the games occassionly. Crysis even played on my current system...not great, but it made it, haha.
I've got some work issues, and family medical issues, so that's why the $1500 is a budget that I need to stick to and still get what I want/need.
I really didn't think I could get a core i7 with everything else i needed for the $1500 budget, that's why I leaned towards the other two CPU's as a choice.
I do realize that more and more it's harder for a PC to last 4+ yrs. But I'm one to try and push it as long as possible.
 
Originally posted by: Flipped Gazelle
Originally posted by: aigomorla
Originally posted by: Flipped Gazelle

How is this "wipe the floor"?
Click to expand...

Its called overclocked.

If you account the Q9650 as an E0 and how most of them could do 3.6 with stock heat sink on stock voltage, yes i call that wiping the floor.
Click to expand...

"Wipe the floor" implies a HUGE advantage. Perhaps you don't completely understand the idiom of "wipe the floor" - IDK. A Q9650 at, for example, 4 Ghz will beat the X4 940 @ 3.8 Ghz, no doubt. The advantage isn't that large, though, in most cases.

Of course, if you have the $$ to afford a Q9650 (nearly 50% more than X4 940), you really should be buying i7 anyway.
Click to expand...

You have good points, but in most applications we do minus gaming a 4ghz Yorkfield is not something to look down on. And in apps, it would wipe the floor off an AMD.

Ive had 5 last year in total which clocked from 4->4.2

And the Q9550 isnt expensive, the E0's clock just as well as the Q9650, and the 65W probably run cooler then the AMD if kept at stock.

Imager i made a mistake on the board recomendation for lga775,

i meant to say the giggy UD3P.
 
for the giggy I see the GIGABYTE GA-EP45 and the GIGABYTE GA-EP45T both seem to be about the same with the non "T" actually have more available memory, which the one is actually cheaper for some reason - other then that I don't see a difference in the models.
 
Originally posted by: Imager
for the giggy I see the GIGABYTE GA-EP45 and the GIGABYTE GA-EP45T both seem to be about the same with the non "T" actually have more available memory, which the one is actually cheaper for some reason - other then that I don't see a difference in the models.
Click to expand...

the UD3P is one hell of a board.

Thicker copper core board, stable as a rock. (make sure your bios is updated).
If you want a board to last you 4 yrs, this is most definitely the best candidate.

http://i125.photobucket.com/al...orla/Wons/IMG_1272.jpg

My most recomended LGA775 board for budget orientated.
 
I'd say get the Phenom II X4 920.
Wouldn't bother with the 940; you can OC the 920 just fine.

Or if you want to go higher end, i7 920.

And this is coming from a happy s775 Q9650 owner.

I really wouldn't go i7 yet personally though; it's not worth how much more it'll cost you over the AMD platform IMO, especially consider you'll never notice the difference for gaming for years to come still.
If you do an insane amount of video work & don't mind pushing your budget, then go i7.
 
Originally posted by: n7
I'd say get the Phenom II X4 920.
Wouldn't bother with the 940; you can OC the 920 just fine.

Or if you want to go higher end, i7 920.

And this is coming from a happy s775 Q9650 owner.

I really wouldn't go i7 yet personally though; it's not worth how much more it'll cost you over the AMD platform IMO, especially consider you'll never notice the difference for gaming for years to come still.
If you do an insane amount of video work & don't mind pushing your budget, then go i7.
Click to expand...

That's just it, I don't know if I'm gonna see all that much difference in speed, and/or be able to stay within my budget getting a core i7.
 
Well, as has been mentioned, upgrading for years ahead is impossible.

Hence why i mainly recommend the cheaper Phenom II setup.

It'll be more than fast enough for you for a good while, & will keep your budget lower.
You can theoretically afford to upgrade sooner then, if you ever feel the need to.

I'm pretty confident you'll be more than happy with a nice OCed Phenom II system for a good while.
Then you can upgrade to a true 8 core CPU down the road, instead of four cores + HT.
 
it ultimately comes down to the price. if I can put an i7 system together for $1500 or under then I guess sure! ATM don't see why that couldn't last me quite a few years.

If not, I totally see your point going Phenom route
 
Originally posted by: OCguy
Originally posted by: deimos3428
Originally posted by: aigomorla
Originally posted by: deimos3428

So as long as the premium on an upgrade path is small, that's the way to go. If an upgrade path is expensive, it's probably not worth it.
Click to expand...

then your implying he should get an amd?

Because the LGA1366 has the most expensive upgrade path.
The LGA775 is a dying upgrade path.

The AM2 is the only budget orientated upgrade class..
Click to expand...
Quite clearly, the Phenom II has both a better upgrade path and price point than the Core 2 offering, at similar performance. It's the better choice right now unless you have a specific need for an Intel chip.
Click to expand...

If you buy for "upgrade path", you deserve what you get.
Click to expand...

I'm sure there are a handful of people who bought AMD's socket 940 and FX51 because it was the fastest 'today' instead of waited for s939 who'd disagree with you. 😉

But with that being said, AM2+/AM3 have a better upgarde path than s775. But, will the performance of future released products from AM2+/AM3 ever reach the performance you can get today on s775 when you overclock? S775 already performs so well when oeverclocked, I think putting much wieght in an upgarde path just doesn't make much sense in this comparrison since s775 chips can already hit 4+GHz when you overclock. That means for this upgrade path to mean anything AMD would have to release a 4+GHz chp for AM2+/AM3 for the upgrade path to ever mean anything in this case.

Anyway, what I'm getting at is sometimes upgarde path makes sense, sometimes it's not worth putting any wieght into, it depends on the situation. Right now, I don't think it matters much when comparing s775 to AM2+/AM3 based on how high you can overclock s775 chips. So unless you don't OC at all, the upgrade path shouldn't matter much when comparing the two in my opinion.

 
Originally posted by: Imager
it ultimately comes down to the price. if I can put an i7 system together for $1500 or under then I guess sure! ATM don't see why that couldn't last me quite a few years.

If not, I totally see your point going Phenom route
Click to expand...

You can easily put together a i7 at a $1500 budget, as long as you are smart about picking components and if 3 gigs of RAM is enough to get by on then get three 1 GHZ dimms and run them in triple channel memory mode. You can also save a little cash by recycling things like drives, cases, power supplies DVD burners, etc.

If I had $1500 to spend, I would damn sure have a i7.
 
Originally posted by: soonerproud
Originally posted by: Imager
it ultimately comes down to the price. if I can put an i7 system together for $1500 or under then I guess sure! ATM don't see why that couldn't last me quite a few years.

If not, I totally see your point going Phenom route
Click to expand...

You can easily put together a i7 at a $1500 budget, as long as you are smart about picking components and if 3 gigs of RAM is enough to get by on then get three 1 GHZ dimms and run them in triple channel memory mode. You can also save a little cash by recycling things like drives, cases, power supplies DVD burners, etc.

If I had $1500 to spend, I would damn sure have a i7.
Click to expand...

can't recycle because the old system is a pass down. Otherwise yeah I could do it well below 1K even then, LOL!

need the i7 cpu, mobo, ram (pref 6GB) and at a min 4850 ati, and 2TB of storage along with a dvd burner and then a psu and a case to put it all in. Da case I've been looking at is the Thermaltake Element S!
 
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