Help! : Phenom 9550 vs Opteron 1214

Hi. I'm about to buy a HP Workstation or a HP PC (in Malaysia)
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/my/ [...] 88699.html
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/my/ [...] 62703.html


Between Opteron 1214 (dual-core) and Phenom 9550 X4,

Which CPU is better for softwares that need intensive floating-point calculations? (3ds Max, MATLAB, etc), over long hours.

Opteron 1214 is second-gen Opteron CPU which is somehow like Athlon X2 Brisbane/Windsor. Although it is quite old, Opty has longer lifespan and can withstand higher heat than desktop CPUs because of its higher grade silicon

Phenom 9550 meanwhile has quad-core, which certainly beats any dual-core processor in softwares supporting multi-threading. Phenom however isn't designed to run over long period like Opty.

http://hwbot.org/hardware.compare. [...] &id=1171_1

For 3DS Max, I'd recommend the quad core. Tom's most recent CPU charts show the difference between a Phenom 9500 and an X2 4400+. Note that the chart has only the B2 revision, and the Opty's probably better than the X2 4400+ by a bit, but the advantage of more cores is obvious.

Tom's Hardware - Benchmark Lame 3.98 Beta 3 (05-22-2007)

The first benchmark on the above list is 3DS Max, note 56 seconds for the quad vs. 116 for the dual, almost a minute's difference! Sisoft Sandra's memory floating point is higher on the Opty, but I'm not sure that benchmark supports quad cores, even if the programs you use that rely on FP did.

As for stability over a long period of time, AMD's desktop processors are close enough to their server CPU's that I don't think that's a problem. Others who have Opty's might have more input.

I didn't check out the HP systems that you are looking at, but make sure you have a decent GPU for your needs. A quad core is especially important for futureproofing, if you're planning on keeping it for a few years, especially if you use 3DSMax or H264 encoding.

Other software might be optimized for Intel (Photoshop, for example) or for only dual cores (iTunes), so results may vary. Your B3 9550 should be a bit faster than the B2 9500, so you can't lose there. If you could afford to wait, Phenom's just around the corner (as will be lower Core 2 prices once Nehalem arrives, but you're getting an HP, so that may not matter to you right now).

I chose a triple core as an upgrade to an X2 4600+ system until Deneb arrives and AM3 is out and stable. Though I play games, I also do some video work and the extra core has made a difference for me the past few months.

edited for spelling.