Whats Better AMD vs. Intel

[RaptureMe]

OK first off NO flaming or bashing I need to know from a non fanboy someone like me who likes both CO's.


No F'ing around I need to know right now!!
Whats Better C2Q Q9650 Vs. Phenom II 940 both at stock non overclocked.
I am buying one of these for NON gaming,only Compression via winrar,DVD ripping and conversion,DVD burning,HD playback ect..

 

[yh125d]

It's kind of a wash. Some benchmarks lean to the PHII, some lean to the C2Q. Either way the margin between the two is minimal. Since the PHII is about $100 cheaper, I'd go that direction

 

[RaptureMe]

Well I see the Q9650 has 12MB of Cach Vs PII 940 Which only has a total of 8MB I am really on the fence here.

So clock for clock they are pretty much the same??

 

[yh125d]

At stock speeds they are very closely matched. If I had to pick a better performer, it'd probably be the Q9650 as slightly better, but I don't think it's $100 better

With processors of such huge design difference, comparing the 8mb cache of the PHII to thew 12mb of the Q9650 isn't really the same thing. It's like comparing a 400hp mustang to a 250hp miata. They're both gonna be the same speed, they just both do it differently

 

[HopJokey]

A Q9650 (3.0 Ghz) is significantly faster than a PH II X4 940 (3.0 Ghz). It is about 10-15% faster. Check out AT's comparsion of the two:

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuch...howdoc.aspx?i=3492&p=4

 

[Markfw]

Originally posted by: HopJokey
A Q9650 (3.0 Ghz) is significantly faster than a PH II X4 940 (3.0 Ghz). It is about 10-15% faster. Check out AT's comparsion of the two:

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuch...howdoc.aspx?i=3492&p=4

+1

I see it coming very close the the 9400, but the 9550 and 9650 Intel usually beats it.

And I have a 940 coming next Tuesday, if you want further verification, I could tel you then.

 

[Cogman]

In the same price margin, they compare well. At a clock per clock level of examination, the C2Q architecture wins.

 

[Markfw]

Originally posted by: Cogman
In the same price margin, they compare well. At a clock per clock level of examination, the C2Q architecture wins.

And +1 on this as well.

 

[zenguy]

I wonder what questions the poster has that is not covered by the review?
If he elaborates, maybe we coudl better answer the question.

 

[Duvie]

Right off the bat...

AMD Phenom II 940 has only 6mb of L3 cache....not 8mb


Anandtech review (Q9650 vs PhII 940)

Adobe CS3 --------------24.9% INtel
Divx 8.5.3 on Xmpeg----12.1% Intel
x264 HD first pass-------2.2% AMD
x264 HD second pass---11.8% Intel
WME9---------------------TIE

I dont see a 2-3% average here....

Tomshardware (Q9650 vs PhII 940)

Winrar---------------------3.7% Intel
Winzip 11------------------22.5% Intel
AVG Antivirus 8-----------4.5% Intel
Adobe CS3----------------20.4% Intel
Pinnacle Studio 12--------4.0% intel
Itunes----------------------16.2% Intel
Premiere Pro CS3 HDTV--18.7% Intel
MainConcept---------------0.8% Intel
Xvid 1.1.3------------------14.5% Intel
Divx 6.8.3------------------TIE
HD playback---------------22.5% less cpu usage for INtel vs AMD
Nero 8 Recode------------36.6% Intel


I am sure there are more....This is just what I rounded up a few days ago....

BOTTOMLINE....NO FLAME MEANT...BUT 2-3% IS TOTALLY INCORRECT AND NOT JUSTIFIED IN ANY DATA THAT MOST OF US HAVE SEEN
***THIS IS BASED ON WHAT yh125d SAID BEFORE HE EDITED IT OUT***

 

[taltamir]

well... define BETTER... intel has the fastest CPU on the market right now... but a better question is... at a given price point, which CPU is faster. the phenom2 920 compares to the Q8300, the phenom2 940 compares to the ... actually i don't remember, but its mentioned in the anandtech article... now you can see which one of those is CHEAPER and thus which is the better buy (Take mobo cost into account).... Higher end intel core 2 quads beat anything from AMD... and the i7 is in a whole different league, the p2 cannot tough the i7

 

[Duvie]

I agree the price point of the 940 is versus the Q9400 which can be more of a wash with the slight lead to the AMD...but that is with a 6mb l2 cache 333mhz less speed processor....

Clock for clock for which the Q9650 versus the PhII 940 is....will go to INtel....

On average the Q9550 will beat the PhII in many of those apps I listed above, but the same time lose in some....overall edge the Q9550 at 166mhz less is still a hair faster....


If money is a mjor factor then the amount of money saved on the cpu may be worth going for the AMD chip.

Dont listen to the bullshit on "THE PLATFORM". You can get similar motherboards for both that are almost identical in price. You wont need an X platform, you can easily do with a P35 or P45 chipset (and that doesn't mean it is a low end budget) They both use DDR2 so that is a wash...So I dont see anything but the price on the cpu being the difference. You will not save a huge amount here as it may be protrayed by others.

 

[DrBombcrater]

Originally posted by: HopJokey
A Q9650 (3.0 Ghz) is significantly faster than a PH II X4 940 (3.0 Ghz). It is about 10-15% faster. Check out AT's comparsion of the two:

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuch...howdoc.aspx?i=3492&p=4

I'd love to see reviewers do a cost-for-cost system performance comparison rather than a clock-for-clock one. Say a Q9650 with 8GB of DDR3-1333 and a 7200rpm HD vs a PhII-940 with 8GB of DDR2-800 and a 60GB SSD, which should be roughly the same cost if my sums are correct.

 

[Denithor]

Originally posted by: Duvie
Right off the bat...

AMD Phenom II 940 has only 6mb of L3 cache....not 8mb

+ 2MB L2 (4x512kb) = 8MB cache

But yeah, it's like the other people here said - Q9650 wins this fight but costs $100 more.

PhII 940 + Biostar TA790GX combo $295 - $10MIR
G.Skill 2x2GB DDR2-1066 $45

Here you go - for $330 (less than the cost of the Q9650) you can have a PhII 940+mobo+4GB DDR2.

Beat that if you can.

 

[RaptureMe]

Ok well lets put it this way I am down grading from the system in my sig as it uses way to much electric for my likeing.
I did have a q9650 and going from that to this I7 920 my electric bill jumped up $30-40 bucks and I am not going to put up with that kinda bull shit.
Do the math $40 x 12 months $480 bucks for a year just to run a core I7 Screw that!!
Core I7 is nice but its not that nice.
So what will take less power to run but let me do the stuff I am wanting.
I use Nero recode,WinRar,DVDshrink,some gaming but only at 1400x900,torrent stuff,Win Media player ect..
usually all at once too also keep in mind I run my system 24/7..

 

[Duvie]

Originally posted by: DrBombcrater

Originally posted by: HopJokey
A Q9650 (3.0 Ghz) is significantly faster than a PH II X4 940 (3.0 Ghz). It is about 10-15% faster. Check out AT's comparsion of the two:

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuch...howdoc.aspx?i=3492&p=4

I'd love to see reviewers do a cost-for-cost system performance comparison rather than a clock-for-clock one. Say a Q9650 with 8GB of DDR3-1333 and a 7200rpm HD vs a PhII-940 with 8GB of DDR2-800 and a 60GB SSD, which should be roughly the same cost if my sums are correct.

That is lame....why saddle the Intel Q9650 with the more expensive DDr3...in the reviews I listed above they ran DDR2 on the Intel setups....It is because you want to have the price high enough to spin it the way you want...

Bottom line and someone prove me wrong....Platforms are similar except the cpu and the small and I mean small premium for pc2-1066 DDR2

 

[Duvie]

Originally posted by: RaptureMe
Ok well lets put it this way I am down grading from the system in my sig as it uses way to much electric for my likeing.
I did have a q9650 and going from that to this I7 920 my electric bill jumped up $30-40 bucks and I am not going to put up with that kinda bull shit.
Do the math $40 x 12 months $480 bucks for a year just to run a core I7 Screw that!!
Core I7 is nice but its not that nice.
So what will take less power to run but let me do the stuff I am wanting.
I use Nero recode,WinRar,DVDshrink,some gaming but only at 1400x900,torrent stuff,Win Media player ect..
usually all at once too..

I think I listed many of those above for you....

I dont think DVDshrink will be effected much as it is extremel limited by your DVD burner's ripping ability....

 

[yh125d]

Originally posted by: Duvie
Right off the bat...

AMD Phenom II 940 has only 6mb of L3 cache....not 8mb


Anandtech review (Q9650 vs PhII 940)

Adobe CS3 --------------24.9% INtel
Divx 8.5.3 on Xmpeg----12.1% Intel
x264 HD first pass-------2.2% AMD
x264 HD second pass---11.8% Intel
WME9---------------------TIE

I dont see a 2-3% average here....

Tomshardware (Q9650 vs PhII 940)

Winrar---------------------3.7% Intel
Winzip 11------------------22.5% Intel
AVG Antivirus 8-----------4.5% Intel
Adobe CS3----------------20.4% Intel
Pinnacle Studio 12--------4.0% intel
Itunes----------------------16.2% Intel
Premiere Pro CS3 HDTV--18.7% Intel
MainConcept---------------0.8% Intel
Xvid 1.1.3------------------14.5% Intel
Divx 6.8.3------------------TIE
HD playback---------------22.5% less cpu usage for INtel vs AMD
Nero 8 Recode------------36.6% Intel


I am sure there are more....This is just what I rounded up a few days ago....

BOTTOMLINE....NO FLAME MEANT...BUT 2-3% IS TOTALLY INCORRECT AND NOT JUSTIFIED IN ANY DATA THAT MOST OF US HAVE SEEN
***THIS IS BASED ON WHAT yh125d SAID BEFORE HE EDITED IT OUT***

There's data pointing both ways

http://www.neoseeker.com/Artic...s/amd_phenom_ii/5.html
http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=658 (vs Q9550, but that CPU's a closer competitor in price anyways)

Some the Q9650 win, some the PHII (although seemingly most favor 9650 yes). One app that the OP mentioned he will be using where the PHII consistently beats Q9650 is winRAR (Toms is the only review I've seen so far without the PHII being on top. I've seen reviews where the PHII has a 33% advantage here). As for DVD ripping/burning/HD playback, your CPU usage will be like 10% through all of that so it doesn't really matter what CPU you have there. As for video conversion, it really depends on which program you're using

Either way they keep up with each other very well. If you're building with speed in mind but not cost, the 9650 is a better choice than the $100 cheaper PHII. But if you're building with only speed in mind, you should just be going i7 anyways

 

[yh125d]

Originally posted by: RaptureMe
Ok well lets put it this way I am down grading from the system in my sig as it uses way to much electric for my likeing.
I did have a q9650 and going from that to this I7 920 my electric bill jumped up $30-40 bucks and I am not going to put up with that kinda bull shit.
Do the math $40 x 12 months $480 bucks for a year just to run a core I7 Screw that!!
Core I7 is nice but its not that nice.
So what will take less power to run but let me do the stuff I am wanting.
I use Nero recode,WinRar,DVDshrink,some gaming but only at 1400x900,torrent stuff,Win Media player ect..
usually all at once too also keep in mind I run my system 24/7..

Uhh, your electric bill most definitely did not change that much because of your i7 rig. The electricity cost of running a i7 for a year and running a mid range rig for a year is pretty small.

 

[OCGuy]

C2Q hands down.

 

[Duvie]

Originally posted by: yh125d

Originally posted by: RaptureMe
Ok well lets put it this way I am down grading from the system in my sig as it uses way to much electric for my likeing.
I did have a q9650 and going from that to this I7 920 my electric bill jumped up $30-40 bucks and I am not going to put up with that kinda bull shit.
Do the math $40 x 12 months $480 bucks for a year just to run a core I7 Screw that!!
Core I7 is nice but its not that nice.
So what will take less power to run but let me do the stuff I am wanting.
I use Nero recode,WinRar,DVDshrink,some gaming but only at 1400x900,torrent stuff,Win Media player ect..
usually all at once too also keep in mind I run my system 24/7..

Uhh, your electric bill most definitely did not change that much because of your i7 rig. The electricity cost of running a i7 for a year and running a mid range rig for a year is pretty small.

I though that was a bit strange as well.....

Too many variables to just price compare two different months....
fluctuating price of electricity....
average temperature for the month will effect your heating usage. Even if gas the fan runs on electricity....
wash a few more load of laundry....
leave that plasma or LCD on a an extra hour a day....
31 days in Dec vd 30 in november....
difference in billing period....

that is just to name a few....

 

[RaptureMe]

Maybe I should buy both a Q9650 again and the PII 940??

 

[yh125d]

if power use is your only reason for stepping down, then keep your i7. That's not what raised your bill, and that's for sure

 

[DrBombcrater]

Originally posted by: Duvie

That is lame....why saddle the Intel Q9650 with the more expensive DDr3...in the reviews I listed above they ran DDR2 on the Intel setups

Both the AT and Tom's reviews used DDR3 on the Intel systems. Show me an Intel /DDR2 setup that beats the PhII-940/DDR2 at the same price. From all the reviews I've seen there's no such thing.

 

[exar333]

Originally posted by: Duvie

Originally posted by: yh125d

Originally posted by: RaptureMe
Ok well lets put it this way I am down grading from the system in my sig as it uses way to much electric for my likeing.
I did have a q9650 and going from that to this I7 920 my electric bill jumped up $30-40 bucks and I am not going to put up with that kinda bull shit.
Do the math $40 x 12 months $480 bucks for a year just to run a core I7 Screw that!!
Core I7 is nice but its not that nice.
So what will take less power to run but let me do the stuff I am wanting.
I use Nero recode,WinRar,DVDshrink,some gaming but only at 1400x900,torrent stuff,Win Media player ect..
usually all at once too also keep in mind I run my system 24/7..

Uhh, your electric bill most definitely did not change that much because of your i7 rig. The electricity cost of running a i7 for a year and running a mid range rig for a year is pretty small.

I though that was a bit strange as well.....

Too many variables to just price compare two different months....
fluctuating price of electricity....
average temperature for the month will effect your heating usage. Even if gas the fan runs on electricity....
wash a few more load of laundry....
leave that plasma or LCD on a an extra hour a day....
31 days in Dec vd 30 in november....
difference in billing period....

that is just to name a few....

+1.

If you are using those programs (which play to the strength of the i7) then you should see a negligable or decrease on power savings. The i7 idles at less power than the Q9650, and should complete those tasks 10-25% faster. I call shenanigans.