Phenom II X2 vs Core 2 Duo

Alright guys, I'm in the position to buy a new CPU and need to buy a new mobo anyway so I thought it would be fun to see what AMD has to offer.

What do you think is the better buy the AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition or the Core 2 Duo E8400?

Message edited by protokiller on 07-12-2009 at 08:29:05 PM

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http://itreviewed.net/index.php/am [...] k-edition/

I believe it is very close to performance with the E8400 and the price tag is lower. Then we get into the realm of OCing it does hold its own there too. AND THEN we have the possiblity of quad core unlock with the right board. Also doesnt the PII 550 support DD3 while the e8400 doesnt? Correct me if Im wrong but those are some good reasons to buy the PII 550.

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Message edited by xtc28 on 07-12-2009 at 08:54:07 PM

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Reply to xtc28

You specifically said "better buy," so I say Phenom II x2 550.

The e8400 has a higher overclocking headroom, but people can reach 4ghz with the 550, and although you really shouldn't rely on it; some people even unlocked the third and fourth cores with decent overclocking (3.5ghz-3.6ghz).

The e8400 will be marginally better, but for the price difference...

------------------------------ q9550 2.83ghz @ 3.91ghz
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Powercolor HD 4890

Reply to mlcloud

Hmmm looks like AMD finally has something that can at least compete, anyone recommend any good OCing boards for the PII 550?

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Reply to protokiller

Gigabyte ma790xt-ud4p...................... excellent.

Also my favorite HSF for AM2/AM3 is a Thermal Take Spin-Q. It has great results for OCing on air. Although the V8 is a top contender too it is awefully big.

Message edited by xtc28 on 07-12-2009 at 09:03:20 PM

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Reply to xtc28

The E8400 ($167) is way much more expensive than the 550 ($100), and faster only by little.
For less than the price of the E8400 you can get a Phenom II X4 920 (2.8 GHz) for $150 or the 940 X4 (3.0 GHz) for $185.
Any of the Phenom II X4s will be way much better than the E8400, for their price cannot be beaten. Decide upon your budget: the Phenom II X2 550 or Phenom II X3 710 for $100; the 920 for $150 or the 940 for $185.

Reply to sanchz

protokiller wrote :

Hmmm looks like AMD finally has something that can at least compete

Actually, the Athlon X2s and original Phenoms could compete well at their corresponding price points, its just that the Core 2 family performed better, but for 2x the price.

Reply to sanchz

Is it possible to unlock the extra 2 cores on the ma790xt-ud4p?

Reply to protokiller

I'd hate to double post but newegg lists the GIGABYTE GA-MA790XT-UD4P as supporting Phenom X3 and X4's, will the X2 even work?

Reply to protokiller

Of course.

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Reply to smithereen

for the same price as E8400 (what i have) u can get AMD Phenom 720 BE. It east the e8400 right out of the box, imagine when u overclock it aaaaand dont unlock cores, put more money in it and get a proper (real) quad cpu. the cores are locked for a reason.

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Reply to jimishtar

jimishtar wrote :

for the same price as E8400 (what i have) u can get AMD Phenom 720 BE. It east the e8400 right out of the box, imagine when u overclock it aaaaand dont unlock cores, put more money in it and get a proper (real) quad cpu. the cores are locked for a reason.

Not always mate. Sometimes they are locked because of being defective, most times this is not the case. If you do unlock the 3rd and 4th core just make sure you load test the CPU intensively. If it fails you have a chip with two bad cores, just lock them back and enjoy the two you have. Yes it is possible to unlock PII 550 on the giga ma790xt.

Message edited by xtc28 on 07-13-2009 at 04:14:25 AM

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Reply to xtc28

Theres a difference between not binning as functional for the length of the warrenty period, in a terribly ventilated case, and being useless.

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Reply to smithereen

^ huh? im not following was that a random incomplete thought or are you trying to say something? If so rephrase please!

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Reply to xtc28

smithereen wrote :

Theres a difference between not binning as functional for the length of the warrenty period, in a terribly ventilated case, and being useless.

xD. The beginnings of coherency... beautiful.

I'm pretty sure he's trying to address the fact that 550s do not necessarily have dysfunctional 3rd and 4th cores - rather, they were designated as 550s because

a) the cores might not last the warranty period, hence, losing AMD money in the long run. Longevity.
b) the CPU has to pass certain thermal specifications that include negligence on part of the user, such as poorly ventilated cases. In other words, working isn't enough; there has to be some thermal leeway.
c) and uh, the other conclusion, that the 3rd and 4th cores were dysfunctional.

My translation =).

------------------------------ q9550 2.83ghz @ 3.91ghz
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Reply to mlcloud

gotcha ..... It would have made more sense if he would have just said that!!!!

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Reply to xtc28

Well, I was tired. And in something of a hurry. That's pretty much what I was trying to say. That the CPU may not bin as a 955 or 945, but that doesn't mean the the extra cores are completely useless.

Message edited by smithereen on 07-13-2009 at 07:59:49 PM

------------------------------ Phenom II X2 unlocked to four cores @ 3.8gHz,1.45V. 4GB DDR3-1600 Gigabyte 785g ATi Radeon HD4870 1GB
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Reply to smithereen

ahha well good then

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Reply to xtc28

You're welcome smithereen.

------------------------------ q9550 2.83ghz @ 3.91ghz
4gb OCZ Platinum DDR2-1066 RAM
Powercolor HD 4890

Reply to mlcloud

I'm getting my faith back in amd with these new chips but if i HAD to go with a dual core. I'd buy the E8500, a simple water setup and take her to 4.5Ghz

------------------------------ Core I7 920 D0 @ 4.2Ghz
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Reply to PsychoSaysDie

Belated thanks - and I wouldn't build with an e8500, it costs more than a 720, almost as much as a 940.

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------------------------------ Phenom II X2 unlocked to four cores @ 3.8gHz,1.45V. 4GB DDR3-1600 Gigabyte 785g ATi Radeon HD4870 1GB
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Reply to smithereen

smithereen wrote :

Belated thanks - and I wouldn't build with an e8500, it costs more than a 720, almost as much as a 940.

720 can't get above 3.8 on a daily basis tho. So it comes down to what would feel faster. A 3.8Ghz X3 or a 4.5Ghz E8500?

I'll take more speed anyday. Before anyone says it. My E8500 ran at 4.75ghz on a daily basis for 6 months before i sold that rig. She was quite amazing

------------------------------ Core I7 920 D0 @ 4.2Ghz
MSI X58 Pro-E
32GB SSD, WD Blacks In R0
Sapphire HD 5870's In XFire
Reply to PsychoSaysDie

Yes, but it is 55% more money. Sure, you will get higher FPS in most games, at least on a freshly installed and unbloated Windows install like benchmarking sites use, but that lead is reduced in the real world when you have itunes/bloatware/spyware/antivirus/torrents running in the background, and a 3.8gHz triple will easily best a 4.5gHz dual in more multithreaded apps.

Message edited by smithereen on 07-14-2009 at 01:27:56 AM

------------------------------ Phenom II X2 unlocked to four cores @ 3.8gHz,1.45V. 4GB DDR3-1600 Gigabyte 785g ATi Radeon HD4870 1GB
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Reply to smithereen

xtc28 wrote :

http://itreviewed.net/index.php/am [...] k-edition/

I believe it is very close to performance with the E8400 and the price tag is lower. Then we get into the realm of OCing it does hold its own there too. AND THEN we have the possiblity of quad core unlock with the right board. Also doesnt the PII 550 support DD3 while the e8400 doesnt? Correct me if Im wrong but those are some good reasons to buy the PII 550.

you are mistaken. A core 2 cpu doesnt support any memory because the memory controller isnt on the chip. It is located on the northbridge, there are plenty of socket 775 boards that support ddr3.

Reply to BadTrip

Yes, but it scarcely benifits.

------------------------------ Phenom II X2 unlocked to four cores @ 3.8gHz,1.45V. 4GB DDR3-1600 Gigabyte 785g ATi Radeon HD4870 1GB
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Reply to smithereen

neither for amd

Reply to BadTrip

you are right! ha ha...... but really I was pointing out a mute point that really means nothing, the PII/AII "Supports" DDR3 as the C2D does not. The reasons are as you stated in your above post. It is architecture specific placement of the RAM controller ..... AMD - on CPU die........ Intel - northbridge. Some would argue that a CPU direct link to the RAM Gives better/faster performance, as for me I cant really say. With that in mind, we have really said the same thing, only at first I really wasnt trying to get all technical and stuff. I was just trying to answer a question with the most efficient answer at that time. If the OP wanted to learn about memory controller he may have asked about memory controllers and not about a Processor. AND yes I mentioned RAM in an answer to a processor, because it is neat information to know that your PII/AII actually supports the memory, WHERe as the Intel counterparts do no such thing.

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Reply to xtc28

xtc28 wrote :

you are right! ha ha...... but really I was pointing out a mute point that really means nothing, the PII/AII "Supports" DDR3 as the C2D does not. The reasons are as you stated in your above post. It is architecture specific placement of the RAM controller ..... AMD - on CPU die........ Intel - northbridge. Some would argue that a CPU direct link to the RAM Gives better/faster performance, as for me I cant really say. With that in mind, we have really said the same thing, only at first I really wasnt trying to get all technical and stuff. I was just trying to answer a question with the most efficient answer at that time. If the OP wanted to learn about memory controller he may have asked about memory controllers and not about a Processor. AND yes I mentioned RAM in an answer to a processor, because it is neat information to know that your PII/AII actually supports the memory, WHERe as the Intel counterparts do no such thing.

HTT and QPI does give a nice performance boost but normally only in memory intensive apps used on servers. Thats why a Core 2 could beat a Athlon X2 when it came out and still held its own by beatting the first gen Phenoms.

Memory support itself and where it is is useless unless he plans on doing memory intensive tasks. If gaming or normal desktop stuff like we do then it makes no difference at all.

I for one would have a hard time on what to suggest here. I mean both do very well, the E8400 OCs like crazy too. And as for the quad unlock, I highly doubt AMD will let it happen this time. That would kill their profit margins. Remember that its basically the same quad core as its equal clocked counterpart just much lower in price. So if instead of someone buying a quad they pick up a dual and unlock the other two cores, AMD loses money.

I myself wouldn't do that anyways. I don't mind OCing, well moderate like my Q6600 @ 3GHz, but thats not the same as a bad core. I just don't see how safe it could be. Next thing you know your OS takes a dump and all your files are corrupted.

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Reply to jimmysmitty

Im done here I hope you have at least checked the specs and benchmarks of the two, compared the life/price/performance of the products, and upgradeability of the platforms they are installed on. Have a nice day and dont feed the trolls.................

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Reply to xtc28

I dont believe either jimmysmitty or myself to be trolls. Just stating facts.

Reply to BadTrip

no I appologize I was not implying Either one of you are trolls Im just generally speaking. Dont feed the trolls! lol

Not you two or any in particular. Just TROLLS!

You two have placed invaluable advice for future readers. Please dont mistake what I say.

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Reply to xtc28

So now I wounder if proto made a decision or is still looking at both boxes as lost as a husdand in the baby isle........

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Reply to jimmysmitty

hey Im a single father....... I resemble that remark....LOL

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Reply to xtc28

Focus On

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