amd 1090t vs 2500K Sandy Bridge

[dawp]

considering upgrading my daughters system and need some advice.

she going to school for graphic design and the system she has now is a core 2 duo with a abit ip35 and an e6750 proc. since abit went under, there really isn't any support for the board. I'm not too sure what software she needs for school but I would think in her like a work the more cores the better.

both the chips are close in price and speed and was trying to decide what would be better for her.

 

[Jovec]

Not all GHz are created equal . The speed of a CPU is (roughly) determined by the amount of Instructions Per Clock (IPC) times its clock speed. Intel has a large IPC advantage over AMD currently, so even though their listed clocks are close, the 2500k is noticeably faster at practically everything and is the better CPU to choose given your criteria.

Review this AT Bench comparison (be mindful of higher/lower and which is better for a given test if you are new to Bench):
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/146?vs=288

 

[996GT2]

I would definitely go with Sandy Bridge. Core i5-2500 or i7-2600 are both good if you don't plan to overclock, or the corresponding K versions if you do.

If you are really on a budget, an Athlon II X4 is a good choice.

 

[jacktesterson]

I would definitely go with Sandy Bridge. Core i5-2500 or i7-2600 are both good if you don't plan to overclock, or the corresponding K versions if you do.

If you are really on a budget, an Athlon II X4 is a good choice.

If he's on a budget, I'd go with a Phenom II X6 1055T myself.

 

[996GT2]

If he's on a budget, I'd go with a Phenom II X6 1055T myself.

A 1055t is currently $180 at newegg, which in my opinion is too close to the cost of a Sandy Bridge i5 to be worthwhile. Why Pay $180 for a 1055T when a Sandy Bridge i5 will kill it in performance? In fact, I only paid about $170 for my i5-2500K on launch day by getting a Microcenter combo with a Gigabyte P67 board.

An Athlon II x4 640 can be had with a decent entry level mobo for <$100 in a Microcenter combo deal. There's a big enough cost difference between an i5 and a 640 to justify the lower performance of the AMD chip.

 

[Stuka87]

If you are on a budget, I say go with a Phenom II quad core, as opposed to a dual core.

Sandy Bridge chips certainly are faster, no arguing that. But when it comes to building a cheaper system, AMD still holds that area pretty well.

 

[BD231]

You'd be a fool to go AMD at this point, tech heads are just waiting for AMD to realize this and make some change's. Paying close to $200 for *any* current AMD CPU is an absolutely ill advised decision.

The Phenom I/II had its day and unfortunately for us its no longer carries the price to performance ratio it once did. It'd be one thing if AMD was handing out their X6 chips at $150 or below but that's simply not the case. If you're thinking long term for a cpu you should jump on the the 2500k hands down, you will not get more longevity out of any current chip on the market.

The only thing AMD really had going for them in the value department was their Phenom II x3 which is now not even being made. Now all you can get is their cache castrated Athlon II x4 chips which are considered the weakest multi-core cpu's on the market right now. AMD is just plain long in the tooth at the moment, don't bother with them until they've lowered price's, cut the crappy Athlon II line and release a new arch.

 

[Nintendesert]

Don't go with AMD, I've been a fan of theirs and still am, I like competition in the marketplace, but their products just don't get anywhere close to the performance of the new SB chips.

 

[Xellos2099]

You'd be a fool to go AMD at this point, tech heads are just waiting for AMD to realize this and make some change's. Paying close to $200 for *any* current AMD CPU is an absolutely ill advised decision.

The Phenom I/II had its day and unfortunately for us its no longer carries the price to performance ratio it once did. It'd be one thing if AMD was handing out their X6 chips at $150 or below but that's simply not the case. If you're thinking long term for a cpu you should jump on the the 2500k hands down, you will not get more longevity out of any current chip on the market.

The only thing AMD really had going for them in the value department was their Phenom II x3 which is now not even being made. Now all you can get is their cache castrated Athlon II x4 chips which are considered the weakest multi-core cpu's on the market right now. AMD is just plain long in the tooth at the moment, don't bother with them until they've lowered price's, cut the crappy Athlon II line and release a new arch.

Well, i think MC is still givign away motherboard for buying soem amd processor. $200.00 for a x6 and a motherboard is not a bad deal. In program that support x6 processor, the amd x6 really shine.

 

[Castiel]

Well, i think MC is still givign away motherboard for buying soem amd processor. $200.00 for a x6 and a motherboard is not a bad deal. In program that support x6 processor, the amd x6 really shine.

Even if the program will take advantage of the 6 cores SB's IPC will push it ahead with just 4.

 

[StinkyPinky]

IMO the "higher end" AMD cpu's are now all obsolete.

 

[Castiel]

IMO the "higher end" AMD cpu's are now all obsolete.

IMO not obsolete just overpriced. The 1100T should be 199.99 and the 1055T should be like 99.99

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Do you know what softwares she uses? That would help in picking the best components, but as others have said SB has the current performance crown, the only questions are

1. Will the software she uses take advantage of hyperthreading 2400/2500 vs 2600. If her apps can take advantage of an 8 thread processor then the extra $100 for the 2600 would be well worth it.

2. Do you want to overclock? If so get a 2500k or 2600k if not save a few bucks and get the locked versions

 

[Hacp]

Stick with the current PC. I've been using a dual core laptop for college since forever and I have not had any problems in terms of speed.

 

[BD231]

Well, i think MC is still givign away motherboard for buying soem amd processor. $200.00 for a x6 and a motherboard is not a bad deal. In program that support x6 processor, the amd x6 really shine.

Yeah but the thing about those micro center deals is that they typically give you a very poor quality motherboard. Not saying it wouldn't work for his daughter, but overclocking might very well not even be an option with some of the boards they hand out. Athlon II is a dead end that's already way behind, x6/x4 Phenom II's have some reach in the multimedia department but not enough to justify their current price tag.

Things are seriously out of balance right now and while I've never owned an Intel system that wasn't given to me freely (I'm an AMD fan) their current product line is extremely unappealing at this point. Six cores for folding would be great but the cheapest black edition part isn't even remotely close to a good deal.

Everyone knows you pretty much defeat the purpose of going AMD by stripping it of its value. Intel has done exactly that with Sandy Bridge, in fact I might go Sandy myself ....

Just sucks that buying a motherboard for an intel chip is a complete rip off. I still don't understand why Intel motherboards are so expensive considering how often they swap socket types. There's something fishy about the premium on Intel boards.

 

[mosox]

You'd be a fool to go AMD at this point, tech heads are just waiting for AMD to realize this and make some change's. Paying close to $200 for *any* current AMD CPU is an absolutely ill advised decision.

The Phenom I/II had its day and unfortunately for us its no longer carries the price to performance ratio it once did. It'd be one thing if AMD was handing out their X6 chips at $150 or below but that's simply not the case. If you're thinking long term for a cpu you should jump on the the 2500k hands down, you will not get more longevity out of any current chip on the market.

The only thing AMD really had going for them in the value department was their Phenom II x3 which is now not even being made. Now all you can get is their cache castrated Athlon II x4 chips which are considered the weakest multi-core cpu's on the market right now. AMD is just plain long in the tooth at the moment, don't bother with them until they've lowered price's, cut the crappy Athlon II line and release a new arch.

Yep

 

[drizek]

AMD needs to come out with a $129 multiplier unlocked Thuban.

 

[Castiel]

AMD needs to come out with a $129 multiplier unlocked Thuban.

I don't see that ever happening

 

[drizek]

I think the problem is that they don't want to cannibalize sales of Bulldozer. GF isn't going to be using the 45nm process for anything else though, so they might as well just make a ton of cheap Thubans in the meantime.

 

[Castiel]

Problem with Thuban's is there 130W TDP. Overclocked they put out A LOT of heat. I'm not sure why they haven't perfected a 95W X6

 

[drizek]

When Thuban first came out there was a deal to get it for around $150 on newegg, but I didn't' buy it because i had one of the early 780G boards that had problems with high wattage CPUs. I was also put off by the high idle current draw compared to the X4s and X3s.

 

[Fox5]

Are you reusing parts? An AMD system can still use DDR2, if the old system used that. Motherboards are cheaper too, you can get an AMD motherboard capable of using any AM3/AM2+ processor for as low as $50 at times, and find incredible deals on cpu/mobo combos.

But performance wise, the Intel cpu will destroy the AMD system. Most graphics programs aren't really multi cpu heavy anyway, except for video and 3d. (you didn't say what type of graphics design she's doing!) I'd say a large amount of memory would be more helpful, and a solid state drive just to make the system feel fast. You could add in another drive for storage and programs, but depending on how familiar she is with computers, she might not like having to change the install location for any programs she installs.

 

[richierich1212]

Depends on your budget. If it's tight, you can use the current DDR2 with a DDR2 mobo that's compatible with an AMD X6 and use that, like this Gigabyte motherboard:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-394-_-Product

But yeah, 8GB of RAM will most likely help the most. And DDR3 is pretty cheap right now. I got 8GB for $80 last month. I would sell the current CPU/Mobo/RAM and see how much budget you have after and go from there.

 

[ShadowVVL]

It depends on the school, some schools will make you use an apple that they provide you.If not then a athon II x4 or what ever cpu fits you budget.

I use a athlon 64 x2 5600+ with onboard nvidia 6150 graphics and it works fine for graphics design in photoshop cs3 and illustrator cs3.

 

[QuackPot]

The 2500K is a faster CPU than that AMD. But don't get the "K" as I doubt overclocking will be needed and you'll save some money too.