Intel E8500 vs Phenom X4 940 for gaming

[KitsuneAndy]

As the title says, which would give the better performance for gaming?

I had pretty much settled on the E8500, but as the 940 is only £30 more I thought I might a swell look into it.

 

[Helloworld_98]

well 720 BE is better than the E8500, costs less, gives you the extra core, overclocks just as well, and in some benchmarks puts it just as high as the 940.

 

[bonanzaguy]

^+1

If you're just looking for something to game with, get the 720 X3 BE.

 

[invisik]

I would recommend the 940 since newer games are going to make use of multi-cores.

 

[The Third Level]

I would go for one of the BE Phenom II's over the 8500.
They have more cores, which more and more games are going to take advantage of.
They have unlocked multipliers for easy OCing.

The X3 720 is actually cheaper than the E8500, has an extra core, and is a BE. Also, it is AM3, and will support DDR3 if you ever want to use it.

The Phenom II's will be more future proof, easier to OC, and in the case of the 720 BE, cheaper. (940 is only like $50 more than E8500)

Go X3 720 BE and you won't be disappointed.

 

[Helloworld_98]

E8500 is multi core, as is the 720 BE, and due to how far the 720 can overclock, there won't be a major difference in between the 720 and 940, except price tag and multitasking, which if your gaming you probably won't be doing a lot of.

 

[The Third Level]

Agreed ^, so it's best to go with the 720 cause it's cheaper, extra core, and unlocked multi.

 

[Dekasav]

720BE has a third core when games start to use it (or if you're a fan of GTA 4), overclocks to ~3.8Ghz, and is cheaper than the E8400. Seems the best deal right now to me.

 

[KitsuneAndy]

Thanks for the replies, looks like I might have to rethink my build and go down the AMD route then

My only concern about the 720 was with it being AM3 it will force me down a more expensive route anyway with the MB and DDR3, which is why I was looking at the AM2+ version of the 940.

But the price difference won't be huge between those two builds, so I'll definitely take a good look at the 720.

 

[The Third Level]

AM3 processors are backwards compatible with AM2+ motherboards and have memory controllers which allow you to use DDR2.

So you can put that sucker into an AM2+, plug in some DDR2 and you're good to go.
Note - the AM2+ CPUs wont work in AM3 sockets or use DDR3. Only the AM3 CPUs can use socket AM2+ or AM3, and DDR2 or DDR3.

 

[Raidur]

To answer your question, the better performer is the E8500.

 

[nerrawg]

If you OC you should get the E7400 - clock for clock the same as the E8500 or E8600 - the extra cache is overkill - has no performance benefits - check this article for more:
http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&articID=908

I see this topic everyday on the forum in some form or another- I wish I could post this article as a sticky (maybe I should macro the link to my keyboard?) - but on the other hand I quess it would only be for helping others and I don't no if I want to be such a selfless and giving person.