Phenom II 720 vs C2D E8400

[Fortunex]

Hi,

I plan on upgrading my computer from an old pre-built system with an Athlon 64 x2 4000+ at 2.1GHz, and some crappy mobo.

I was originally going to buy an E8400 and this motherboard;
however, after reading through these forums a bit, a lot of people like the new Phenom II x3 720.

I wasn't going to upgrade past dual core until I get enough money for an i7 rig, but this processor has gotten very good reviews, an excellent price, overclocks a lot, and apparently has a fourth unlockable core.

I'm a gamer, I barely do anything else on my computer except convert the odd movie or do the occasional Photoshop project, so I was wondering which would be better for me? I plan to overclock (it will be my first time overclocking), and it seems that both are great overclockers. I will not be using DDR3 RAM (not for a while, anyways), and do plan to CF my HD4850 in a few months. I don't multi-task when I game, I turn EVERYTHING off except the essentials.

With the 720's lower processor price comes a higher mobo price, so they will end up costing roughly the same amount, so price is not a factor.

So, for pure gaming, which would be a better choice, the Phenom II 720 or the C2D E8400?
And if the 720 is your choice, what motherboard would you suggest getting?



My current rig:

Prebuilt mobo
AMD Athlon 64 x2 4000+ (2.1GHz)
4GB Kingston DDR2 800MHz RAM
Sapphire Radeon HD4850 1GB

 

[MykC]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.165025 This is $212 with the Biostar 790GX board included. So with this board you a shot an unlocking the 4th core but I don't think the # processrors that will actually unlock are veryh high.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

Why don't you look at the benchmarks for the games you play and let them speak for themselves so you don't get fanboys swaying your decision?

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3512&p=1

If you coose the Phenom II 720, I would check out this board:

GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-UD4P AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128387 $109.99

 

[03SVT_COBRA]

Nice combo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.165025

 

[MykC]

They also have this combo for $240 with a Gigabyte 790GX board.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.165024

 

[xthekidx]

If you want gaming and will OC your CPU, then don't unlock the 4th core, it was disabled for a reason. When those CPU's are manufactured they are tested for stability, if they find an unstable core on them then they disable it, so I doubt you will be able to overclock it at all, if it is even stable at stock.

 

[Fortunex]

I'm in Canada and am using newegg.ca, and for some reason they don't have any CPU/Mobo deals, only CPU/HSF and CPU/Case deals.

Thanks shortstuff, for being the only one here to answer my main question.

 

[Outlander_04]

The 720 be is neck and neck with an e8500 in tomshardware benchmarks . Its really down to personal choice which way you go . I favor the AMD for the third core which will help in some situations.

You need a motherboard with a 780 or preferably 790 series northbridge chipset .
the southbridge [ sb] needs to be a 750 series to get best performance and potential overclocking .

Gigabyte and ASUS are the best brands IMO . But that biostar deal is well worth it for value . Pity about the US/canada isssue

 

[Jpain]

Hello!

X3 720 vs E8400


http://plaza.fi/s/f/editor/images/X-2009032018074678056.png

Yes! I know, but you can read the The table... Can you?

 

[Outlander_04]

Hello!

X3 720 vs E8400

1. http://plaza.fi/muropaketti/artikk [...] tion-am3,1

Yes! I know, but you can read the The table... Can you?

Have you clicked on your link?
Its a lot like another world ....but even weirder

 

[number 13]

Hello!

X3 720 vs E8400

1. http://plaza.fi/muropaketti/artikk [...] tion-am3,1

Yes! I know, but you can read the The table... Can you?

PLEASE post English speaking links, I'm in China and if I started linking to foreign sites, you wouldn't be able to figure it out either

 

[Proximon]

Hello!

X3 720 vs E8400


http://plaza.fi/s/f/editor/images/X-2009032018074678056.png

Yes! I know, but you can read the The table... Can you?

I can read your table The problem is there is no test bed configurations and no testing methodology. When you compare different platforms you have to be ready to present the entire machine for each, so that we can see if the test was fair.

 

[Why_Me]

Why don't you look at the benchmarks for the games you play and let them speak for themselves so you don't get fanboys swaying your decision?

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3512&p=1

If you coose the Phenom II 720, I would check out this board:

GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-UD4P AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128387 $109.99

According to that link, the E8400 beats the AMD in all four games that were listed on there. E8400 ftw.

 

[Outlander_04]

According to that link, the E8400 beats the AMD in all four games that were listed on there. E8400 ftw.

According to the Tomshardware test the 720 scores higher [ by the same tiny margin ] in both Far Cry 2 and Crysis. It is also generally well ahead in multithreaded applications .
As Proximon has pointed out test methodology is important to the result . Far too often tests are set up that favor one chip or another and dont necessarily reflect real world usage

Performance wise the e8500 and 720 are very close , so the 720 is better value because of lower system pricing IMO

 

[Why_Me]

According to the Tomshardware test the 720 scores higher [ by the same tiny margin ] in both Far Cry 2 and Crysis. It is also generally well ahead in multithreaded applications .
As Proximon has pointed out test methodology is important to the result . Far too often tests are set up that favor one chip or another and dont necessarily reflect real world usage

Performance wise the e8500 and 720 are very close , so the 720 is better value because of lower system pricing IMO

When you say "system pricing" are you talking about the motherboard and memory? btw, on those charts it showed the AMD's using alot more power (watts) than the Intels...why is that?

 

[Proximon]

More cores, more power consumption. There are other factors of course, such as the manufacturing process.

 

[Why_Me]

More cores, more power consumption. There are other factors of course, such as the manufacturing process.

In that case then we can assume that the AMD quads use the same amount of wattage as the Intel quads? Like for instance the Intel Q8200, Q8300, Q9400...

 

[Proximon]

The PIIs are similar I think. The old AMD quads suck up a bit more, since they are 65nm.

There's a great chart somewhere, kept up to date...
Bah, can't find it.

I know that you can't just look at the TDP. Someone had actual tests up last year. Perhaps someone else has the link.

 

[Outlander_04]

You do know that the AMD's Pll's clock down to as little as 800 MHz at idle . Much lower than the intels which seem to clock to about 60% at idle .

yes more cores = more power drain . Are you going to argue that no one should buy an intel quad because it has four cores?

 

[Proximon]

I'm not arguing or promoting anything. Why_me asked a question.

You also have to consider the motherboard however. If your processor has a memory controller built in, it might consume more power, but the board might consume less...

There was a great chart somewhere. I think it was a dutch site.

 

[Outlander_04]

I'm not arguing or promoting anything. Why_me asked a question.

You also have to consider the motherboard however. If your processor has a memory controller built in, it might consume more power, but the board might consume less...

There was a great chart somewhere. I think it was a dutch site.

My comment was directed at why_me and his comment about the Phenoms using more power .

I should have been clearer about that .

 

[Why_Me]

My comment was directed at why_me and his comment about the Phenoms using more power .

I should have been clearer about that .

Maybe you didn't read my post so well eh? I never argued anything on here...I asked a valid question, and Proximon answered it.

 

[Outlander_04]

Maybe you didn't read my post so well eh? I never argued anything on here...I asked a valid question, and Proximon answered it.

It was good of proximon to give an answer , but you asked me the question and so I answered it

 

[bmuell]

In my mind the decision is clear....

Core 2 Duo
-slightly higher stock frequencies
-less power consumption

Phenom II X3
-cheaper
-extra core
-newer platform

 

[werfu]

I'm looking at the same build... comparing the 8400 vs the x3 720. I'm upgrading from old S939 A8N-SLI DX + Opteron 180. I will keep my 9800GTX+.

If I want to overclock the *** out of it, which is the best?

e8400 + Gigabyte EP45-UD3L + 2x2Gig 1066Mhz ddr2 Kingston KHX8500D2T1K2/4G set me at 394$ CAD

or

pII 720 + Gigabyte GA-MA790X-UD4P + 2x2Gig 1066Mhz ddr2 Kingston KHX8500D2T1K2/4G set me at 420$ CAD

I know the motherboard is a bit more featured for the AMD, but it's the cheapest 790-chipset mobo. I also know that the third core would be usefull sometime. I'm somewhat less happy to buy a 775 system as it's an already obselete platform as AMD will be releasing other CPU for a while. And a X4 955 might be nice later on.

[EDIT]
Just wanted to see if I go AMD, I'd surely go DDR3, it's not much pricer after all.

pII 720 + Gigabyte GA-MA790XT-UD4P + Corsair XMS3 DHX TW3X4G1600C9DHX 4GB 2X2GB PC3-12800 DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24 sets me at 458. A bit higher that I'd like, but would be a nice for a while.