Which one is better for gaming?

[LW07]

Considering the Phenom II 920, the 940, and the Q9400. Might even consider the Q9550, but doubt it as its like $60 more, and I'm looking for good bang for the buck. Which one should i get if i'm not going to OC?

Edit: I have been leaning toward the Phenom II 920/940, but dunno if they'll be as good as an improvement from my S939 X2 4800+ as a Q9400/Q9550.

 

[HOOfan 1]

From what I have seen the Phenom II 940 is about on par with the Q9400 for games, and both are the same price

 

[LW07]

Originally posted by: HOOfan 1
From what I have seen the Phenom II 940 is about on par with the Q9400 for games, and both are the same price

And how much slower is the 920 compared to the 940, in applications?

 

[OCGuy]

I really dont think you would notice a difference to be honest.

 

[LW07]

Originally posted by: Ocguy31
I really dont think you would notice a difference to be honest.

Between the Phenom II 920 and the 940? or between the X2 4800+ and the quads?

 

[HOOfan 1]

Originally posted by: LW07

Originally posted by: Ocguy31
I really dont think you would notice a difference to be honest.

Between the Phenom II 920 and the 940? or between the X2 4800+ and the quads?

Between the 920 and 940

you should certainly notice a difference between the X2 4800 and a quad core Phenom

 

[cusideabelincoln]

The 940 and Q9400 are pretty much the same. In some games the 940 can be faster, and in some games (looking at you, Far Cry 2) the Q9400 is faster.

 

[RallyMaster]

IMO the Intel platforms generally are more solid (P45 Express + C2Q) compared to the AMD side (790GX + PhII). It just feels like the Intel platform has had more time to get problems ironed out vs the 790GX chip (personal experience). However, the 790GX comes with worthwhile onboard video that actually can play games and accelerate HD content whereas the P45 Express has no onboard. That might be the selling point for the OP.

 

[heyheybooboo]

Anand Game Benchies

The Phenom II 940 clearly goes toe-to-toe with the q9550 and the i7 920.

A Phenom II 920, HD4870 1Gb and 790gx for $475-$510 is tough to top for buck bangin'.

 

[LW07]

I already have a GTX 260 192-core version and windows XP home edition.

I plan to get 8 gigs of ram with whatever i get(I know, I know, but it'll future-proof my system a bit).

How does this one look?

Phenom 920- $190
Vista Home Premium 64 OEM- $100(if you have to reformat in the future, can you reinstall this as long as you have the same mobo?)
8 gigs OCZ Ram- $100

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128376
$75 mobo

total: $472 shipped

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

Originally posted by: LW07
I already have a GTX 260 192-core version and windows XP home edition.

I plan to get 8 gigs of ram with whatever i get(I know, I know, but it'll future-proof my system a bit).

How does this one look?

Phenom 920- $190
Vista Home Premium 64 OEM- $100(if you have to reformat in the future, can you reinstall this as long as you have the same mobo?)
8 gigs OCZ Ram- $100

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128376
$75 mobo

total: $472 shipped

Looks like a pretty sweet system to me. I'm even a little bit envious!

As long as you hold on to the same mobo, you should be fine with OEM.

 

[Idontcare]

Originally posted by: Flipped Gazelle

Originally posted by: LW07
I already have a GTX 260 192-core version and windows XP home edition.

I plan to get 8 gigs of ram with whatever i get(I know, I know, but it'll future-proof my system a bit).

How does this one look?

Phenom 920- $190
Vista Home Premium 64 OEM- $100(if you have to reformat in the future, can you reinstall this as long as you have the same mobo?)
8 gigs OCZ Ram- $100

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128376
$75 mobo

total: $472 shipped

Looks like a pretty sweet system to me. I'm even a little bit envious!

As long as you hold on to the same mobo, you should be fine with OEM.

Same mobo if you re-install frequently (every 3 months). If you reinstall every 6 months to a year you can use different mobo. After three installs you have to call a rep to validate (the validate process provides the phone number) and you just tell them your mobo crapped out and was replaced by the manufacturer. Validation complete. Basically don't be abusive on your reinstalls and don't be a dick when talking to the rep about getting revalidated and you are good. They are after the rampant pirates, not paying customers.

 

[Fayd]

Originally posted by: Idontcare

Originally posted by: Flipped Gazelle

Originally posted by: LW07
I already have a GTX 260 192-core version and windows XP home edition.

I plan to get 8 gigs of ram with whatever i get(I know, I know, but it'll future-proof my system a bit).

How does this one look?

Phenom 920- $190
Vista Home Premium 64 OEM- $100(if you have to reformat in the future, can you reinstall this as long as you have the same mobo?)
8 gigs OCZ Ram- $100

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128376
$75 mobo

total: $472 shipped

Looks like a pretty sweet system to me. I'm even a little bit envious!

As long as you hold on to the same mobo, you should be fine with OEM.

Same mobo if you re-install frequently (every 3 months). If you reinstall every 6 months to a year you can use different mobo. After three installs you have to call a rep to validate (the validate process provides the phone number) and you just tell them your mobo crapped out and was replaced by the manufacturer. Validation complete. Basically don't be abusive on your reinstalls and don't be a dick when talking to the rep about getting revalidated and you are good. They are after the rampant pirates, not paying customers.

every time i call them, i talk to a robot.

she sounds hot.

 

[Jessica69]

Originally posted by: heyheybooboo
Anand Game Benchies

The Phenom II 940 clearly goes toe-to-toe with the q9550 and the i7 920.

A Phenom II 920, HD4870 1Gb and 790gx for $475-$510 is tough to top for buck bangin'.

While I'm glad to see AMD putting out something somewhat competitive again, the PII 940 is clearly competitive with the Q9550, not the i7....which is too bad given that AMD's PII cpu is their current gen of cpu while its direct price and performance competition is Intel's previous gen cpu.

Interspersed throughout the game reviews:

"The Phenom II is competitive with the Intel platforms in single card and CrossFire operation, though minimum frame rates in CrossFire mode trail the Intel solutions around 5% on average. Once we overclock the CPUs, the minimum frame rate is about 16% lower on the Phenom II compared to the Intel products."


"Of course, if you have the funds, we would recommend the i7 platform for best possible performance."

"Our Core i7 scores better with a single card setup than the other two platforms with CrossFire. The same holds true with the stock i7 CrossFire results scoring higher than our two overclocked competitors do."

"The i7 is just stupid fast compared to our other two platforms with its standard CrossFire results being 8% and 18% faster than the overclocked Q9550 and Phenom II 940 processors respectively. Overclocking the i7 puts it in another league altogether."

"The Core i7 continues to dominate the benchmarks although the Phenom II continues to make a very good showing in minimum frame rates."

"However, looking through the performance results and game play experiences, we have to mention just how fast Intel's Core i7 is right now. Its results were just remarkable in Far Cry 2 and it consistently scored at the top in CrossFire mode in the other games even though it has the lowest core clock speed."



And remember, the i7 is fast, fast, fast in more than just games............just freaking expensive, expensive, expensive.............at least until i5 hits town....maybe.

 

[heyheybooboo]

Originally posted by: Jessica69

Originally posted by: heyheybooboo
Anand Game Benchies

The Phenom II 940 clearly goes toe-to-toe with the q9550 and the i7 920.

A Phenom II 920, HD4870 1Gb and 790gx for $475-$510 is tough to top for buck bangin'.

While I'm glad to see AMD putting out something somewhat competitive again, the PII 940 is clearly competitive with the Q9550, not the i7....which is too bad given that AMD's PII cpu is their current gen of cpu while its direct price and performance competition is Intel's previous gen cpu.

Interspersed throughout the game reviews:

"The Phenom II is competitive with the Intel platforms in single card and CrossFire operation, though minimum frame rates in CrossFire mode trail the Intel solutions around 5% on average. Once we overclock the CPUs, the minimum frame rate is about 16% lower on the Phenom II compared to the Intel products."


"Of course, if you have the funds, we would recommend the i7 platform for best possible performance."

"Our Core i7 scores better with a single card setup than the other two platforms with CrossFire. The same holds true with the stock i7 CrossFire results scoring higher than our two overclocked competitors do."

"The i7 is just stupid fast compared to our other two platforms with its standard CrossFire results being 8% and 18% faster than the overclocked Q9550 and Phenom II 940 processors respectively. Overclocking the i7 puts it in another league altogether."

"The Core i7 continues to dominate the benchmarks although the Phenom II continues to make a very good showing in minimum frame rates."

"However, looking through the performance results and game play experiences, we have to mention just how fast Intel's Core i7 is right now. Its results were just remarkable in Far Cry 2 and it consistently scored at the top in CrossFire mode in the other games even though it has the lowest core clock speed."



And remember, the i7 is fast, fast, fast in more than just games............just freaking expensive, expensive, expensive.............at least until i5 hits town....maybe.

Cherry pick, much? :frown:

How about a more honest assessment from the article? (which you happen to have ignored)

When it came to actual game play experiences, we thought the Phenom II 940 was clearly the better choice in Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts and Crysis Warhead due to minimum frame rate advantages and fluidity of game play. In the five other titles, we could not tell any real differences in the quality of game play between the Phenom II 940 and Core 2 Quad Q9550. Except for Far Cry 2 where we could raise the graphic quality settings without affecting game play, the i7 platform was no different than our two other solutions.

To the OP:

With RAM prices seemingly moving lower, snagging 4Gb instead of 8Gb would provide the necessary cash to move up to the PhII 940.

And noting your lack of interest in overclocking, technically speaking, leaving the volts at stock and simply raising the CPU multiplier from 'x15' to 'x16' .... or 'x16.5' .... or maybe even 'x17' would only qualify as a slight 'performance adjustment'.