AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE vs. Intel Core 2 Duo E8600

vyrzek

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Alright, so, I'm buying a new computer, and I'm a little stuck between these two processors.

The computer will have a very powerful ATI (the second highest they offer) graphics card and a liquid cooling system, so the graphics card isn't a problem. I'm also running DDR3 with each rig, with equal motherboards, and four gigs of memory each.

And neither is the processor, obviously, but I want to know which will run my needs better.

I will be playing Aion, which is a brand new MMORPG, and this is about all I'll be doing. No multi-tasking, no double-boxing, nothin'. Just playing Aion. The problem? Aion is a graphical masterpiece and I'm looking to be running it on graphics maxed, and still get extremely good framerate even in crowded cities and crowded raids.

So, for my needs, which processor should I go for?
 

loneninja

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The 2 processors are generally similar in performance on single threaded tasks, without benchmarks of this particular program it would be hard to say which it runs better on. However you'll most likely experience a gpu bottleneck anyways, either processor should run the game within a few fps of each other.
 
But the 965 is a no-brainer....quad, overclocks to 4.0Ghz easy (unlocked multi), more futureproof... etc......

if we were talkin i7 920 vs the 965 then that would be another story.....
 

yannifb

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DDR3, you'll be more future proof and plus hypertransports for AM3 cpus are a tad slower on AM2+ motherboards, which means slightly slower memory speeds.
 


+1 yannifb .............

This board really shines with the 965 :

1. GIGABYTE GA-MA790XT-UD4P AM3 DDR3 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128378&Tpk=790XT

or just go all out and get this :

AsusX-Hair3.jpg

 

someguy7

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Rubbish. The e8600 also overclocks to 4ghz easy. More future proof is rubbish. Saying if the we were talking about the i7 920 is also rubbish.


This entire comparision is rubbish. A quad core AMD to a Dual Core Intel. Both of which are way overpriced.

DDR3 on a Core2 system is a waste of money.

Building a new Core2 system at this time is a waste of money.


A water cooling set up is a waste of money.


 

yannifb

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I heard good things about that board, but i use the MSI 790fx GD70 with my 955 BE, it is in my opinion very good looking and has the best performance i've seen so far with am3 mobo's. Great features too.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130223&Tpk=msi%20790fx-gd70
 

jeffredo

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O.P., in the single app you'll be using there will be no discernable difference between the two setups (unless you benchmark). Both will be more than capable. If you are absolutely certain this PC will only be used for Aion in the foreseeable future it doesn't matter which of the two CPUs you buy. If in the future you have any possibility of using it for other apps that may support a quad, you might as well get the AMD to be on the safe side. Price is about the same regardless.
 

tkgclimb

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Overpriced, uhh, maybe the dual core but in no way the quad.

Let me ask you a question.
Could you build a quad core CPU for even 10,000 dollars?
Didn't think so, and since that is one of the cheapest, fastest, quads around, you have no room to complain. (if they were charging 400$ then maybe)
 
Man ... that Crosshair sure is purdy :love:

But I think the GA-MA790XT-UD4P with a Phenom 945 would work just dandy, OC dang good and save a bunch of money that can be spent elsewhere without sacrificing hardly any performance.


edit: While lusting after that Asus board I realized I made a big mistake --- I have changed my link to the Phenom 945 95w

Please forgive my indiscretion :kaola:
 
Yea, I agree..... The 790XT is a hell of a board.....the only issue I have is the colors..... that baby blue is kinda wack....... if you dont have a side window then it wont matter.....
 

Nashsafc

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Vyrzek, have you decided your configuration yet? And also, AMD phenom II 965 definatey, that configuration doesn't cost much more, and intel have stopped making more core 2 processors, plus the lg775 motherboards are ddr2. With phenom ii they are ddr3 and they will be using the am3 board for sometime so you can upgrade to a more powerful processor when they come out. With phenom 965 you will actually get a lot more performance, because it is clocked higher. Also if you have a quad core rated the same frequency as a dual core, the quad will always do better because the extra cores can deal with background applications, including hidden applications and just general windows files. Remember AMD phenom II x3, did better than their counter parts core 2 duo, eventhough phenom II has an inferior architecture to core 2, because of the extra core to take care of other tasks it was able to play games nicely.
 

Nashsafc

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To be honest i wouldn't settle for anything less than a PII 965 or 955, because of the new i7s that are out, i would want at least closest performance.
 

Nashsafc

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yeah i'm starting to agree, and might not buy a 965 but 955 instead. If you overclock the 955 to 3.4ghz does it also consume 140 watts like the 965 to make it stable? Are they both relatively similar in overclocking, if they were to be both overclocked to 3.8ghz or whatever would they have exactly the same performance. Maybe can the 965 overclock 200 mhz more?
 

Godhatesusall

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if you have the money for a top end-card and watercooling solution,why dont you go for an i7 920?It has

(slightly) better performance core to core compared with phenom II 965,wont ever memory bottleneck,OC's like hell(especially with D0 stepping),and is certainly more futureproof.

If you dont have the money for the i7,i say drop the watercooling.A big,nice scythe will do the trick just fine
 

Nashsafc

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you've missed out that the 955 consumes 125 watts of power and for 200mhz more the 965 consumes 140 watts of power check that out on AMDs website. I'm asking, if i overclock the 955 to 200 mhz more to make it 3.4ghz will it also need to consume 140 watts to become stable. Or not really, but it won't be as good as the 965 at stock performance wise?
 
Reagardless of the wattage, they are basically the same....

The 955 @ 3.4Ghz will not consume 140w.... it will consume the same wattage as if it were on stock settings.... suposedly the 965's are binned to a higher degree and that is one of the reason's they have a high TDP.... still not worth the extra 40 bucks IMO.....

I can understand someone spending 200.00$ on a decent AMD quad but if AMD wants 240.00$ for a 3.4Ghz quad I will pass, Id rather spend 212.00$ on a i7 920 (micro-center).....