AMD Phenom instead of Intel Core2Quad Q6600 would you recommend?

[omermaras]

I was planning to get an Intel Core2Quad Q6600 (+ 2x1GB DDR3 1800 MHZ RAM + Geforce 8800GT 512 MHz DDR3 VGA + ASUS Maximus Extreme mobo), when a friend of mine said AMD Phenom is much better.

What is the "equivalent" of AMD for Intel Core2Quad Q6600??? I might pay a little more for a better AMD than I would for the q6600, but I don't want to get in the range of Core2Extreme.

 

[yomamafor1]

The equivalent of AMD for Intel's Q6600 would be Phenom 9900, which runs at 2.6Ghz. With all due respect, I suspect your friend is lying. Intel's Q6600 basically beats all current Phenom hands down. It has higher performance (about 10% over 9300), while has lower power consumption, and lower heat dissipation.

Gaming benchmarks:
http://www.techreport.com/articles.x/13633/5

For your system suggestion, I would recommend DDR2 over DDR3, and ASUS Maximus Formula. DDR3 currently does not have the performance gain to justify the cost (unless you do a lot of Winzipping), and the money used buying 1Gb of DDR3 would probably buy you 8Gb of DDR2 800. You won't notice a single performance difference between them.

Whatever you do, its entirely up to you. But I would advice you against both DDR3 and Phenom.

 

[benzene]

Your friend is wrong...at least for now. Get the Q6600, you will not be disappointed.

 

[cpburns]

your friend is an out-of-his-mind fanboy. no way any phenom will beat a core2quad right now. the quads have so much overclocking headroom anyway compared to the phenom it's not even funny. this coming from a guy who built an athlon x2 when it came out originally on socket939.

oh, and especially not if you're planning to pay MORE for the phenom than you would the core2quad!!! the phenom has some neat design philosophies, but they do not pay out.

 

[skittle]

HAHHAHA is this a joke? Is your friends name Thunderman?
Do us a favor and hit your friend upside the head, and knock some sense into him.

the Q6600 is so much better than a measly phenom(enal piece of crap), thats its almost comical. There is no AMD equivalent to a Q6600, it beats everything AMD has.

 

[endyen]

No contest, get the Q6600.

 

[Kamrooz]

lol skittle...Indeed

Omermaras: Get a q6600, even a 2.6 ghz phenom can't outperform a 2.4 q6600. Phenom's may be a "Native quad", but native doesn't mean jack **** when their architectural performance isn't up to par.

Also, if I was you, drop the asus maximum ddr3 mobo, and drop dd3 in general. It's not worth the price, you will see VERY LITTLE performance difference, yet you'd end up paying anywhere from 150-400 more for nothing. Just get a nice p35 chipset mobo, or even an X38 if you wish, but go for DDR2. pc2-800 will do fine, even pc2-533 memory would run in synch with the q6600's FSB. But no point considering how well priced ddr2-800 is. Don't let all these memory speeds fool you, they are still limited to the FSB, spending so much money on ram is a very misguided thing to do. You'd only see an increase in synthetic performance pretty much, not real world, which is where it matters.

 

[jaguarskx]

Yeah, the Q6600 will beat the Phenom. See the following article where it's compared to the Phenom 9700:

Phenom 9700, AMD's 1st Quad-Core CPU

Here's a little preview of the upcoming Phenom 9900. Not only can it not beat the Q6600, but it also seems to consume about 100w more power when stressed than the Q6600.

AMD Phenom 9900 Processor Review - Spider Platform

Only two games are part of the preview. The Phenom 9900 only beat the Q6600 in two benchmarks:

1. Memory Bandwidth - AMD's CPUs usually beat Intel's CPUs. Only a big deal if you are running applications that deals with excessive amounts of data. Other than that it's just a footnote.

2. POV-Ray Real-Time Raytracing - Great if you are a graphic artist and POV Ray is your thing.

 

[Reynod]

Like they said ... don't listen to your friend.

 

[Scotteq]

It's No Contest. Really: Get the Q~Ship.



Then once you have your system running, stop back and we'll tighten you up with a nice overclock. Given a decent Mobo, 3.0 Ghz is there simply by setting the FSB to 333. Going a little further: 3.2Ghz on a Q6600 is almost laughably easy. 3.4Ghz (Yes, that's 47% faster clock speed than a Phe~numb) is perfectly doable with air cooling and some voltage tweaking. Further than that takes some more work, but there's a few peeps here with 3.6 or faster, though at that level you should think about water cooling to keep temperstures under control.

 

[gpippas]

I'm glad I don't have friends like that. They just sound mean. Why would they want you to suffer?

 

[prolfe]

OK Omer, listen carefully.......put down the Phenom and step away from the motherboard.....very good....now....go get a Q6600 like any right-thinking person, add some DDR2-800 with low latency, pump the FSB on your P35 or X38 MB to 375 or 380, set the vcore to 1.3875 or 1.4, and you will have a rocket fast system and you'll never look back again.

 

[ImajorI]

It's No Contest. Really: Get the Q~Ship. Then once you have your system running, stop back and we'll tighten you up with a nice overclock. Given a decent Mobo, 3.0 Ghz is there simply by setting the FSB to 333.

Get the Q6600 and think about the Abit IP 35 Pro at $149.

 

[rodney_ws]

Sure I'd recommend Phenom... if I worked for AMD, owned AMD stock or took pleasure in seeing others make mistakes.

 

[cfvh600]

Get the Intel Q6600. The Phenom sucks.

 

[cnumartyr]

Is your friend a special friend?

 

[lord_kld]

Get the phenom or get 6400+ or 6000+
the 6000+ have good performence and power consipstion

 

[turpit]

Wow.

I....I....Im at a loss. Ive never seen such unanimous agreement. Must be a full moon. Wheres thunderman to defend Phenoms honor?

 

[lord_kld]

sorry about the spell
Get the phenom or get 6400+ or 6000+
the 6000+ have good performance and power consumption

 

[KyleSTL]

Thunderman strikes again. Team Obvious defeated him in the usual way.

Q6600 >> Phenom

 

[turpit]

Thunderman strikes again. Team Obvious defeated him in the usual way.

Q6600 >> Phenom

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Scotteq]

Get the Q6600 and think about the Abit IP 35 Pro at $149.

Hell... If you look at the difference in price and buy DDR2 instead of DDR3 memory, it works out to getting a very good Motherboard and Optical Drive FOR FREE

 

[uguv]

As posted above, the Q6600 beats the Phenom in pretty much every benchmark, plus it has a lot more potential for overclocking. I'd also go with the DDR2 RAM, as suggested above. I think your video card choice is a good one.

 

[keep it real]

I am also building a machine for 3D Studio Max, Autocad and other 3D softwares.
I want a system for at least 2.5 years, so I´m thinking quad cores.
If I choose Q6600, I´ll not be able to a major upgrade (Nehalem).
If I choose an AM2+ motherboard and a Phenom (B3) I´ll be able to upgrade with Deneb.
Overclockig is out of the equation.

I´d like some opinions..

 

[yomamafor1]

On average, Phenom 9900 (2.6Ghz) is about 5-10 seconds slower than Q6600 in rendering an imagine in 3Ds Max.

http://techreport.com/articles.x/13633/12

So, unless you think 5-10 seconds more for an image is not acceptable, AMD Phenom can be a good choice. I would still recommend an Intel's quad core due to its higher performance and its upgradability to faster and more efficient Yorkfield, but its entirely up to you.

The 45nm version of Phenom should arrive this year. Personally I would speculate they push the actual volume launch to 2009, with their next generation processor scheduled to come out in the same year, also speculated to push back until H2 2010, or even 2011 (AMD lowered their capital spending).