Which CPU is better and why?

[Leinahtan]

I am staring at these CPUs, trying to figure out which one I want to pick up.

Tier High (189.99)

AMD Phenom II X4 940 Deneb 3.0GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Black Edition Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103471

Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115036

Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 2.5GHz 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115207

They all currently cost $189.99 at NewEgg. So I'm wondering which one I should pick up.

Tier Low (167.99~169.99)

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037

AMD Phenom II X4 810 2.6GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 4MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103650

I also saw this for 189.99, but I think its strictly due to a sale on Newegg that the better one is the same price as this one.
AMD Phenom II X4 920 2.8GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103472

If you see a difference, then that ones in the candidate pool too.

Now, I'm looking for "everything". Heat, Overclock potential, Power Consumption, Speed, Games, etc., independent of what Motherboard I pick. The Video Card is a single 260 GTX.


Previously, I picked up an i7 and 2x260 GTX's, but the overall cost was more than I wanted to spend. That's why I'm locking the prices. Now, help me figure out which one is the best.

 

[loneninja]

High end Phenom II X4 940

Low end Phenom II X4 920

Personally I woulnd't purchase a dual core unless it was a real budget machine which means I woulnd't spend over $100 on a processor. The Phenom II X4 940 is a good overclocking and has an unlocked multiplier making it easier to overclock. It also has the best stock performance. The Q8XXX series won't overclock that well due to lower multipliers. Phenom II X4 920 out performs the Phenom II X4 810 because of a higher clock speed and more L3 cache. However both the Phenom II X4 920 and 940 are AM2+ only meaning only DDR2 ram, which the PHenom II X4 810 is socket AM3 and can use DDR2 or DDR3 if that matters to you.

 

[Leinahtan]

High end Phenom II X4 940

Low end Phenom II X4 920

Personally I woulnd't purchase a dual core unless it was a real budget machine which means I woulnd't spend over $100 on a processor. The Phenom II X4 940 is a good overclocking and has an unlocked multiplier making it easier to overclock. It also has the best stock performance. The Q8XXX series won't overclock that well due to lower multipliers. Phenom II X4 920 out performs the Phenom II X4 810 because of a higher clock speed and more L3 cache. However both the Phenom II X4 920 and 940 are AM2+ only meaning only DDR2 ram, which the PHenom II X4 810 is socket AM3 and can use DDR2 or DDR3 if that matters to you.

Ok, from that, I'm eliminating the selection to:

AMD Phenom II X4 940 Deneb 3.0GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Black Edition Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103471

Vs.

Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115036

Any links/articles or advice on deciding between the two?

 

[loneninja]

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3492&p=13

That's a review of the Phenom II 940 when it was released, the E8500 is one of the processors included in the series of benchmarks they ran.

 

[gamerk316]

Funny the lack of C2Q's listed; I'd have put the Q9550 in there to round out the selection...

The Phenom II's win by default on basis of clock speed + Quads.