[JohnMobileAl.]

I can't decide....

AMD Phenom 9950 2.6Ghz 125W
Asus M3A79-T Deluxe MB
4 GB Corsair Dominator DDR2 1066
Asus Radeon 4850 1G VC
Antec Nine Hundred Case
Antec TPQ-850W Power Supply
WD Caviar Black 1TB
Lite-on 20X DVD Burner
Vista Ultimate 64bit
Zalman 2 Ball Cooler
Arctic Silver Thermal Compound

OR...

Intel Core i7 920 2.6Ghz 130W
Intel BOXDX58SO MB
4 GB OCZ Reaper DDR3 1333
Asus Radeon 4850 1G VC
Antec Nine Hundred Case
Antec TPQ-850W Power Supply
WD Caviar Black 1TB
Lite-on 20X DVD Burner
Vista Ultimate 64bit
Zalman 2 Ball Cooler
Arctic Silver Thermal Compound

Prices are about the same, $1500 for the intel, $1340 for the AMD.
Thoughts, suggestions???? Any help will be appreciated.

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Core i7 FTW!

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[Troy]

Core i7 FTW!

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[jrm20]

I would not go amd phenom IMO, even the Intel core 2 quads are already more performance, then you have the new Core i7 which is even better. Go for the i7.

Edited by jrm20, 08 January 2009 - 10:35 AM.

[Neil Jones]

All other things being equal, the i7 will not only wipe the floor with the AMD, it'll eat it for breakfast as well.

[JohnMobileAl.]

Even with the new Phenom II, yall still like the i7 better?

[stettybet0]

To add another voice to the crowd... Yes, the Core i7 is far and away the better choice (in terms of performance) over any other CPU.

If you are interested in overclocking it, I would not get an Intel board. Get one from a third-party, which will be much more friendly to overclocking.

Also, I wouldn't get Arctic Silver 5. Go with OCZ Freeze or Arctic Cooling MX-2, both of which have less of a risk of shorting your system and perform better than Arctic Silver 5.

[Neil Jones]

Even with the new Phenom II, yall still like the i7 better?

The Phenom II has much more potential than the original Phenom did.
That being said, it's only been out two days. It'll take a while for the boards and the supply to filter through to the wholesalers. The i7 is available to buy from any good retailer.

Edited by Neil Jones, 09 January 2009 - 06:17 AM.

[jrm20]

Even with the new Phenom II, yall still like the i7 better?

The new amd phenom II quads are actually looking pretty nice it is something to think about. The price would be cheaper but the performance is still slower. If you can build the amd phenom II quad for $250+ less then thats not to bad..

I am waiting to see some real world gaming benchmarks.


I have read on reputable forums that:

CPU test Phenom II @ 3GHz performs around a C2Q @ 2.66GHz. Not bad but not really impressive either.

Lets just wait on real world gaming tests.

If the price is considerably cheaper going the Phenom II then I can see going that route. If it is within $200 I would go core I7 IMO as they are the faster chip and more expensive also so it is up to you.

[JohnMobileAl.]

Yes, the difference in cost is around $250, even with the Phenom 2 its around $200. Not that much of a difference, not enough for me to go AMD. I will be getting the Intel. Everything I've read and everyone I have talked to say's the Intel i7 is the way to go. Now the hard part is over, and the fun begins. Putting it all together, and praying it works.
How about the CPU cooler, I don't plan on overclocking anything. The Zalman 2 Ball Cooler doesn't have the right socket type. I don't think the stock cooler will be good enough. Although the case does have good air flow, maybe that will suffice?

[jrm20]

Yes, the difference in cost is around $250, even with the Phenom 2 its around $200. Not that much of a difference, not enough for me to go AMD. I will be getting the Intel. Everything I've read and everyone I have talked to say's the Intel i7 is the way to go. Now the hard part is over, and the fun begins. Putting it all together, and praying it works.
How about the CPU cooler, I don't plan on overclocking anything. The Zalman 2 Ball Cooler doesn't have the right socket type. I don't think the stock cooler will be good enough. Although the case does have good air flow, maybe that will suffice?

I would go core i7 also lol.

Yes you need to find a compatible lga 1333 cpu fan. The selection is limited as it is a brand new socket.

Here are some to look at, some of them are pretty big though.

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16835608007

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16835702007

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16835101030

The few others I found on newegg were not rated good at all. If those are not what you want you can try a different website they might have a couple more in stock.


I recommend an aftermarket cooler as the stock ones make the cpu get pretty warm.

Here is a thermalright ultra fan for the 1366 socket.

http://www.crazypc.c...1366-50985.html

Edited by jrm20, 09 January 2009 - 04:59 PM.

[stettybet0]

The stock cooler included with the Core i7 will work fine if you will be running it at stock speeds. It doesn't make sense, financially, to buy an aftermarket CPU cooler unless you will be overclocking.

[james_8970]

CPU test Phenom II @ 3GHz performs around a C2Q @ 2.66GHz. Not bad but not really impressive either.

I would take another look around, based on the little information that seems to be out there right now, Phenom II appears to be on par or slightly better then the 45nm quads from Intel clock for clock. Here is a good review. If you are gaming, it's fairly noticeable the GPUs are the main bottleneck now a days and the power of your CPU has essentially become irrelevent. A good basis to determine what setup is better is by looking at the CPU processing power for the video encoding benchmarks. That being said, I'm waiting to reserve my final thoughts once more reliable sites review the CPU.

As far as what is better, AMD or Intel, I think AMD has the better price/performance ratio assuming my above statement is correct, but I think whether or not i7 is better and worth the price difference comes down to whether or not you need the additional raw processing power and whether or not you value the flexibility of using SLI or crossfire on the same board. Lastly, if you are getting a i7 build, be sure to get a tri-channel memory kit. The grand majority of dual channel DDR3 kits have a voltage rating that is too high for i7 (it shouldn't exceed 1.65V).
James

Edited by james_8970, 10 January 2009 - 08:33 PM.

[jrm20]

The stock cooler included with the Core i7 will work fine if you will be running it at stock speeds. It doesn't make sense, financially, to buy an aftermarket CPU cooler unless you will be overclocking.

IMO all Intel push pin stock fans have a problem not seating correctly onto the cpu and they are made of poor quality, and the do make the chip get too warm for my taste maybe I should of listed every last detail.


Here is a picture of the notorious stock fan..


http://www.pugetsyst...o.php?part=5732

If they had a nice aftermarket 1366 socket fan for $30 I would of pointed him in the right direction but all of the socket 1366 stuff is pretty expensive as we speak.. $50+ for an aftermarket fan..

[jrm20]

CPU test Phenom II @ 3GHz performs around a C2Q @ 2.66GHz. Not bad but not really impressive either.

I would take another look around, based on the little information that seems to be out there right now, Phenom II appears to be on par or slightly better then the 45nm quads from Intel clock for clock. Here is a good review. If you are gaming, it's fairly noticeable the GPUs are the main bottleneck now a days and the power of your CPU has essentially become irrelevent. A good basis to determine what setup is better is by looking at the CPU processing power for the video encoding benchmarks. That being said, I'm waiting to reserve my final thoughts once more reliable sites review the CPU.

As far as what is better, AMD or Intel, I think AMD has the better price/performance ratio assuming my above statement is correct, but I think whether or not i7 is better and worth the price difference comes down to whether or not you need the additional raw processing power and whether or not you value the flexibility of using SLI or crossfire on the same board. Lastly, if you are getting a i7 build, be sure to get a tri-channel memory kit. The grand majority of dual channel DDR3 kits have a voltage rating that is too high for i7 (it shouldn't exceed 1.65V).
James

I saw a couple more benchmark sites and its dependent upon the site I guess as some are more for amd some are more for Intel. I want to see some legit sites also as you have stated.

You are correct about the Tri Channel kit and also so you will get the SLIGHTLY added performance increase.

Depending on what socket 1366 mobo you buy some have 6, some have 4, some have 3 slots for memory, you will have to buy the tri channel kit then put them into the appropriate slots or channels to get the TRUE Tri-Channel feature. Just look in your mobo's manual if you only get 1 tri channel kit, if you get 2 tri channel kits for a mobo with 6 memory slots then you do not need to worry.

IMO I would go for the Corei7 like I said to begin with but if you want to save a little cash go the phenom II way and with the $200 you might save put that towards a faster video card as I always try and get the fastest video card I can afford if I will be gaming a lot. The GPU is more important than the CPU as he stated as long as the cpu is fairly high end which both of these are not to worry lol.

The phenom II's may be the best price/performance ratio but for $250 more you can get the better system that is Slightly faster. Will you really notice the difference between the 2 systems, NO probably not. If I had the money and not watch every single penny I spend I would go with the Corei7 all day long.

It varies on person to person.

Either will be a nice setup so you can be sure both will make you happy. YOU decided on what you want / need.