First PC Build: I5 750 vs Phenom II X4 955 BE

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115037
$167.99

Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115215

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103674
$165.99

Building my first PC in a month or two.
I've been doing research and can't decide between these two CPU's.
This is based from the benchmarks on this website. (http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2009-desktop-cpu-charts/benchmarks,60.html)
I will be using my PC for everything really..... (from work to multimedia, gaming, etc. )

Some argue that you should stick with dual core (for now), others argue that the 8400 motherboard (LGA-775) is the at the end of its line and you would be better of with the quad-core and the AM3 mobo for future upgrades.
There are other pros and cons too am aware of (obviously) like the 8400 is easier to overclock but both chips OC very well; and for the same price I am still uncertain which to get.

Ask me if you need more specific information to help me out. This is my first PC build so I am not exactly 100% sure what to get either.
I basically based my decisions on price and the benchmarks I posted above and further forum research.

For total budget: I would like to stay under $1000 for the build. $700 would be ideal but I would go to up to $1000 maximum if its really worth it.

Any comments advice suggestions? Thanks in advance.

UPDATE [12/7]: I am no longer considering the E8400. It is now between the I5 750 and the Phenom II X4 955. Please disregard any information regarding the E8400 or dual cores. Thanks again.

This is easy. Between these two, you have to get the AMD 955.
The other may o/c better , but that will not help in any game or application compared to a 955(4 cores) at 3.5. That lg775 dual core chip is a great chip, but I would only buy that now as a possible upgrade to a existing 775 platform.

You do know that most app's and games can only use 2 threads right? http://www.guru3d.com/article/cpu- [...] ocessors/1

The only real benefit of having a quad core cpu for current apps and games is that any background activities on the computer will run on inactive cores. This will translate for the program you are have running will have more cpu to it self than having to share.

Now this wont mean in the future that game and app's wont use quad core cpu's to there full advantage (because they will). It just right now if you have a high GHz dual core cpu, they tend to be better than slow quad core cpu for most of todays stuff.



Now yes, the phenom II's are a better deal than the core 2 duos because of having 4 cores for the same price.

Yeah, but aren't the good deals at Microcenter available as in-store pick up only? Not everyone lives near one, so only some people can take advantage of the prices.

That's a very interesting comparison with the L3 cache. But I'll still go Phenom.

I thought it was Intel that was overpriced and that the Phenom II's just had a price drop. (?)

Ok. I finally looked up the information for i5 750. This is a great suggestion if I can actually get it for $149.99; newegg has it at 199.99 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215)
There is no Microcenter in my state (Florida) according to website. The closet seems to be Atlanta, Georgia.


Thanks for the help (everyone). I don't get paid until the 31st so I won't be making any final decisions until after the new year. By then maybe the i5 750 price will go down some. If not looks like it's going to be the Phenom II X4 955 BE.

I said the risk of getting into an traffic accident.That is always a probability.Accidents do occur and the probability goes up the longer in distance of the trip and is more likely in dense urban areas.If there were no accidents car insurance wouldn't exist.
Yes,there is also a probablility of injury or death in a car accident.
Also there is a probability of obtaining a traffic infraction as well
Fear, no I don't have any fear of driving.
In store pickup at a microcenter retail store closest to me would be a 1,300 mile round driving trip to California.

1300 miles? From where?

Wow - I just took a look, and you're right - there's absolutely zero microcenters in the northwestern US. That sucks...

Well, and in most cases you have to tack on Tax for Microcenter too, something I don't have to do for Newegg. So, I'd suggest doing comparisons and planning with the $200 Newegg price and if you can swing by and grab one from Microcenter great, if not, no huge loss.

If you plan to keep the system more than 2.5 years (if you don't want to buy a whole new system in 2.5 years) buy the phenom build. If you ONLY want to play games, buy the phenom build because it's slightly cheaper. If you're worried about multi tasking, media editing, and basically doing anything CPU intensive, you should buy the i5 system.

For the money, the overall advantages of the i5 build more than justify the 50$ difference (if you don't live near a microcenter). The price for the motherboards should be about the same and every other component is the same.

The only thing you have to be careful about when choosing a p55 motherboard are whether or not the boards use the foxconn sockets. There have been sightings of CPU burnouts due to these specific sockets.

They would both be good systems. I would go for which ever system I could get for the cheapest. Also consider into that what parts you already have. Like if your current machine has ram that new system can use and so on.

Or look at the benchmarks for the work/apps you use. If one chip is considerably faster than the other in them task it may be worth it for to spend a little extra. Either way you will be happy.