P2 x4 965 vs i7 920?

[Christiebun]

I'm looking for information on the quad core phenom 965 vs. i7 920 - specifically in regards to video processing/converting/etc.

Anyone have any suggestions? they look roughly the same price, and the phenom *looks* faster- but it's not all about the MHz anymore. anyone have any realworld experiences with both, encoding benchmarks, etc?

(thoughts on the lifespan of both the am3 and 1366 sockets, are also welcome!)

 

[jennyh]

Too close to call. Phenom II's are generally better at encoding but the i7 isn't exactly a slouch either.

AM3 will last longer than 1366 for sure. If that is all you do, the Phenom II would be best. If you do anything else, the i7 is probably best, gaming wise they are about the same again.

Your best bet would be to wait a month and the 965 will probably drop $30 or so once the i5's are released.

 

[Raidur]

Stock vs stock they are somewhat close (sometimes). Just put a decent heatsink on the i7, with a little OC and you can watch it run circles around the Phenom-II 965.

 

[Twoboxer]

Generally, reviews I've seen go something like this:

"Performance Summary: AMD's new Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition processor proved to be a solid performer throughout our entire battery of benchmarks. In a handful of the tests that partially make up the PCMark Vantage suite, the 965 BE was even able to pull ahead of Intel's Core i7 920 processor. In the vast majority of our remaining tests, however, with the exception of a few synthetic SiSoft SANDRA benchmarks, the Phenom II X4 965 BE generally trailed the lower clocked, Penryn-based Core 2 Extreme QX9770 and the Nehalem-based Core i7 920. Due to its higher frequency though, the new Phenom II X4 965 BE was clearly the fastest of the AMD-built processors."

However, you can google "965 benchmark (or review)" and "i920 benchmark (or review)" and you may find specific info on your particular uses. The argument for an AMD system is usually "price/performance", and at this highest level it means "less expensive and almost as good".

Having said that, things (meaning prices) should start changing next week as Intel's new cpus are introduced. You should wait, and scan some reviews as suggested in the interim.

 

[cjl]

Too close to call. Phenom II's are generally better at encoding but the i7 isn't exactly a slouch either.

AM3 will last longer than 1366 for sure. If that is all you do, the Phenom II would be best. If you do anything else, the i7 is probably best, gaming wise they are about the same again.

Your best bet would be to wait a month and the 965 will probably drop $30 or so once the i5's are released.

Stock v stock, the i7 is quite a bit faster at encoding actually (especially well threaded ones like x264). If you overclock, the gain will grow in favor of the i7. 1366 will be around for a while too - Intel has committed to release at least one more set of CPUs for the 1366 socket, which is the 6-core 32nm. Honestly, for video processing, converting, and the like, I'd definitely go i7 over anything AMD.

 

[dna708]

I mean, the only reason why AMD's platforms are considered longer lasting is because it's AM3 chips fit in the AM2+ socket, but those have been out for just over 1.5 years... Socket 775 started with the newer line of P4's in 2004, so it's been around for 5-6 years. Sure not all the boards could support every upgrade, but they lasted at least 2-3 years in upgrades a piece. Unless AM2+ manages to support CPU's for another 2-3 years, length of use between AMD and Intel is practically indistinguishable. I truly believe that socket 1366 will last at least another 2-3 years in upgrades which will total in a platform life of 3-4 years.

Also, core i7 is faster in video encoding. However, the new HT core i5's (the cpu's should cost the same as the i7's) can also handle 8 threads. But their overall system cost (cpu+mobo+RAM) will definitely be lower than the i7's and maybe comparable to AM3. It's only a few days away, so I'd considering waiting a week and a half to see what happens.

 

[Christiebun]

Well, I was planning on waiting till about october anyways - it'll take a bit of time to get the money together, since i'm planning on building this from scratch, not just upgrade my existing system with a new mobo.

Once the socket 1156's come out, I'll have to take a look at how they compare to the 920 and the phenom's - especially the 1156 i7's