convince me to get a phenom II x4 920 instead of a 9950?

[Colt45]

Is it just me, or does it seem like there isn't enough performance advantage on the 920 to justify the price premium over a 9950?

I kinda figure the 9950 has the unlocked thing going for it too.
I dunno :-/

 

[hans007]

well the 920 can o/c a lot higher, and it uses less power

 

[Gikaseixas]

the 920 also operates at lower temps due to the 45nm fab process. The price difference is justified IMO.

 

[exar333]

Why would anyone buy a Phenom over a Phenom II anyway? Are you getting the 9950 for free? The stock performance, heat, and overclocking ability of the PHII are miles ahead of the PhI.

 

[SlowSpyder]

If you are overclocking I'd get the 920 in a heartbeat. The 9950 will overclock to the low 3GHz range, the 920 to the mid-upper 3GHz range. Not to mention it's generally faster clock for clock.

 

[Rhoxed]

the 920 is leaps and bounds better, i would definitely recommend the PHII over the 9950BE

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

Originally posted by: Colt45
Is it just me, or does it seem like there isn't enough performance advantage on the 920 to justify the price premium over a 9950?

I kinda figure the 9950 has the unlocked thing going for it too.
I dunno :-/

IMO, the difference in price is spot-on. The 920 is faster, though not by an earth-shattering amount. The 920 overclocks much better. It is also cooler and draws less power.

I replaced my 9850 @ 3 Ghz with a X3 710, with the 4th core unlocked, @ 3.2 Ghz. My system uses 60w less under full load with the X3 710 vs the 9850. That is a large and relatively easily-realized difference.

The whole unlocked multiplier (Black Edition) deal is overrated, IMO. You only need to adjust a few motherboard/memory settings in order to overclock a non-BE.

Although, as more apps become multi-core friendly, the 9950 does look better than it once did.

 

[LoneNinja]

I think the 9950 is still a good option with it's current price of $144.99. It's power consumption at stock settings isn't that bad, and I think it offers a better bang for buck at stock speeds than the Phenom II series. So I guess my argument here is, if your going for a cheap quad to run stock it's not bad, however if your looking for the best performance and overclocking results, spend the extra money on the Phenom II.

 

[exar333]

Originally posted by: LoneNinja
I think the 9950 is still a good option with it's current price of $144.99. It's power consumption at stock settings isn't that bad, and I think it offers a better bang for buck at stock speeds than the Phenom II series. So I guess my argument here is, if your going for a cheap quad to run stock it's not bad, however if your looking for the best performance and overclocking results, spend the extra money on the Phenom II.

I think a tri-core PhII would be a better budget option than any regular Phenom, if price is paramount.

 

[imported_Redmist]

Originally posted by: Flipped Gazelle


The whole unlocked multiplier (Black Edition) deal is overrated, IMO. You only need to adjust a few motherboard/memory settings in order to overclock a non-BE.

I beg to differ.

On a normal cpu you have to raise fsb and vcore to OC, since your fsb is increased your chipsets are heated and stressed as well as ram. since your vcore is increased your using more power and causing more heat.

on a BE cpu you don't need an expensive mobo with a high vcore so you save money right there and to OC all you need to do is up the multiplier on the cpu, no stress on the mobo chipsets, or the ram and you can get away with 400mghz without changning the vcore, and with these new PII's it looks like you can get more.

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

Originally posted by: Redmist

Originally posted by: Flipped Gazelle


The whole unlocked multiplier (Black Edition) deal is overrated, IMO. You only need to adjust a few motherboard/memory settings in order to overclock a non-BE.

I beg to differ.

On a normal cpu you have to raise fsb and vcore to OC, since your fsb is increased your chipsets are heated and stressed as well as ram. since your vcore is increased your using more power and causing more heat.

on a BE cpu you don't need an expensive mobo with a high vcore so you save money right there and to OC all you need to do is up the multiplier on the cpu, no stress on the mobo chipsets, or the ram and you can get away with 400mghz without changning the vcore, and with these new PII's it looks like you can get more.

You still need to raise Vcore while overclocking BE beyond certain limits. Vcore is for the CPU, not the mobo.

Drop HTT and NB to avoid putting extra strain on the mobo. Drop the divider on the RAm to avoid OCing it, if you so desire.

There is not much in the way of a premium for a "good motherboard" for OCing. I have the 4th core on my 710 unlocked and a 600mhz OC on a $99 Biostar, limited ATM by the stock cooler.

 

[Colt45]

Well, I ended up getting a Ph II x3 720, and a gigabyte 780G board.

wish me luck, lol

 

[richierich1212]

Nice

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: Colt45
Well, I ended up getting a Ph II x3 720, and a gigabyte 780G board.

wish me luck, lol

Me tooo!! We should start a club and print up some T-shirts!!

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003

Originally posted by: Colt45
Well, I ended up getting a Ph II x3 720, and a gigabyte 780G board.

wish me luck, lol

Me tooo!! We should start a club and print up some T-shirts!!

If I had known this, I would have spent the extra $$ to get the 720.

Now I feel excluded...

 

[Colt45]

maybe we can let you be an honourary member


So far so good, apart from the fact that it looks like my old drive with tons of stuff I didn't have backed up croaked

I've got the 720 @ 3GHz for now... Probably try going higher once i get everything set back up.

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

Originally posted by: Colt45
So far so good, apart from the fact that it looks like my old drive with tons of stuff I didn't have backed up croaked

Cr@p. Does the PC see the drive?

 

[Colt45]

It didn't see it, and the autodetect on boot took like 30 seconds...

I pulled out the old 320GB drive, and it's working now
I'm thinking either there was some sort of voodoo conflict, or the sata cable was bad, i dunno.
3.1GHz now

 

[cusideabelincoln]

Over a span of two years, if you keep your PC on at least 12 hours a day, I figured that the price premium of even the Phenom 810 (which is faster than the 9950) over the 9950 would be eradicated due solely to its power savings. But even if you neglect this, the Phenom IIs are much better performers than the original Phenoms and can reach higher overclocks.

 

[polarbear6]

Originally posted by: ExarKun333
Why would anyone buy a Phenom over a Phenom II anyway? Are you getting the 9950 for free? The stock performance, heat, and overclocking ability of the PHII are miles ahead of the PhI.

why the Fk doensnt any one give me free stuff ??
i mean arent 17 year olds entitled to get free stuff
damn need to find a job in some computer shop
i also need free stuff [-(

 

[heyheybooboo]

Originally posted by: ExarKun333
Why would anyone buy a Phenom over a Phenom II anyway? Are you getting the 9950 for free? The stock performance, heat, and overclocking ability of the PHII are miles ahead of the PhI.

I use a Phenom 9600 / Gigabyte 780 - on purpose

It's at 2.6GHz on stock volts and running nice and cool. I almost paid as much for the case (Silverstone Lascala) as I did the mobo/cpu. Makes a great HTPC box and encoding rig.

 

[batmang]

Originally posted by: Colt45
Is it just me, or does it seem like there isn't enough performance advantage on the 920 to justify the price premium over a 9950?

I kinda figure the 9950 has the unlocked thing going for it too.
I dunno :-/

I HIGHLY recommend getting the 920. The Phenom II's are better than the B3's in every category. I have a 920 and absolutely love it.

 

[exar333]

Originally posted by: heyheybooboo

Originally posted by: ExarKun333
Why would anyone buy a Phenom over a Phenom II anyway? Are you getting the 9950 for free? The stock performance, heat, and overclocking ability of the PHII are miles ahead of the PhI.

I use a Phenom 9600 / Gigabyte 780 - on purpose

It's at 2.6GHz on stock volts and running nice and cool. I almost paid as much for the case (Silverstone Lascala) as I did the mobo/cpu. Makes a great HTPC box and encoding rig.

LOL, are you sure you didn't accidentally click on the "9600" when you meant to click on the 920?

The Phenoms are great budget rigs, but I was more referencing someone choosing between the "mid-range" 9950 and a newer PhII. That's not much of a decision IMHO if the price is even close to one another.