Trouble deciding which is for me:i5 vs Phenom II 965

[blacklic0ric3]

I am looking into getting a new cpu. I use my computer mostly for gaming but I am now trying to get into extreme overclocking and benchmarking. Considering that both the black edition Phenom x4 965 and the core i5 are $190 at tigerdirect, which would best suit my needs? thank you

 

[BadTrip]

i5 FTW!!!

The 965 will match or slightly beat the i5 at gaming, but not at overclocking or the majority of benches, especially when overclocked.

 

[blacklic0ric3]

Any other opinions? or better yet, can someone give me a link to something that directly compares the two.
Which can potentially OC to a higher stable frequency, is easier to OC, how do they compare when at the same frequency, and how do they compare at stock clocks?

 

[BadTrip]

He is a comparison at stock.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?p=102&p2=109

You can plainly see at a 800mhz deficit, the i5 still wins the majority. The 965 will be an easier overclock due to the unlocked multiplier, but the i5 will over clock much higher.

 

[jennyh]

That isn't quite true and Badtrip knows it.

The i5 is 2.66ghz while it is booting up...after that it is either 3.2ghz (using 1-2 cores) or 2.8ghz (using 3-4 cores). the 965 BE is 3.4ghz all the time.

In older apps the i5 may be faster than it is in newer apps, however any advantage it has will be lost as it downclocks to 2.8ghz in apps designed for more cores.

Note that in some cases, the i5 at 2.8ghz will still be faster than the phenom II 965 at 3.4ghz, due to architecture differences. Also note that the FTC have recently accused intel of bribery and buying benchmarks, so really how much can you trust them anyway?

Don't buy either, if you can get a 955 BE for a bit less.

 

[blacklic0ric3]

[strike]How much does the 955 go for???[/strike]
I see the 955 at newegg for $165& $175 but I also see the 965 for 185. I might as well just pay the other 10-20 bucks right?
And about how much performance would i be sacrificing in terms of gaming???

 

[sirheck]

How much does the 955 go for???
And about how much performance would i be sacrificing in terms of gaming???

955 is like 165 bucks at newegg.

And either will work for ya fine.
Probably wont be sacraficing much either way.

 

[sabot00]

Get the $175 955, that's the C3 stepping. Don't get the 965, raising the 955's multiplier gets you to the same level as the 965.

I recommend the 955, the 790GX mobo's are cheaper than P55 mobo's, you can use the saved money for a better HDD/RAM/GPU.

 

[blacklic0ric3]

Trouble with me getting an AMD is idk crap about the mobos...can someone lead me in the right direction to a good mobo w/ xfire between $100 and $200 dollars for the 955 be? thx

 

[AMW1011]

That isn't quite true and Badtrip knows it.

The i5 is 2.66ghz while it is booting up...after that it is either 3.2ghz (using 1-2 cores) or 2.8ghz (using 3-4 cores). the 965 BE is 3.4ghz all the time.

In older apps the i5 may be faster than it is in newer apps, however any advantage it has will be lost as it downclocks to 2.8ghz in apps designed for more cores.

Note that in some cases, the i5 at 2.8ghz will still be faster than the phenom II 965 at 3.4ghz, due to architecture differences. Also note that the FTC have recently accused intel of bribery and buying benchmarks, so really how much can you trust them anyway?

Don't buy either, if you can get a 955 BE for a bit less.

OP Turbo was disabled on the i5 750 in the link and don't bother with the quoted post, it is a waste of file space.

As for the comparison, it depends. The Phenom 955 is cheaper and you can get a cheaper motherboard with it, so if you are going for 1 card on a tight budget then the Phenom 955 is great. If you may use 2 cards then it depends on how much that $30 is worth to you. If it doesn't make much of a difference then the i5 750 will totally match and tie the Phenom 955 in gaming when both are at 3.6 GHz+, will be slightly faster in non-gaming apps, and can support both SLI and CFX if you need it.

 

[the last resort]

Well theres the Gigabyte ud4 or the ud4p. The ud4 has SATA3 and USB3. Both have dual network and several PCIe slots for crossfire. I think there are cheaper solutions but those would probably be a good start.

Also, since youre on newegg, look for combo deals. Can help save some money.

 

[blacklic0ric3]

how about overclocking? because with whatever I get, I plan to go all out n get a liquid cooler (eventually) and everything. It is too my understanding (thx to u guys) that the 955 an i5 are basically matched, but which would be better/more fun to OC?

 

[sirheck]

how about overclocking? because with whatever I get, I plan to go all out n get a liquid cooler (eventually) and everything. It is too my understanding (thx to u guys) that the 955 an i5 are basically matched, but which would be better/more fun to OC?

The i5 will get you higher more stable overclocks.
But either should be fun and a pain. :lol:

 

[BadTrip]

OP Turbo was disabled on the i5 750 in the link and don't bother with the quoted post, it is a waste of file space.

As for the comparison, it depends. The Phenom 955 is cheaper and you can get a cheaper motherboard with it, so if you are going for 1 card on a tight budget then the Phenom 955 is great. If you may use 2 cards then it depends on how much that $30 is worth to you. If it doesn't make much of a difference then the i5 750 will totally match and tie the Phenom 955 in gaming when both are at 3.6 GHz+, will be slightly faster in non-gaming apps, and can support both SLI and CFX if you need it.

Arguing with jennyh is an absolute waste of time. If she said the sky is green, you better agree, or the whole thread turns to poo.

 

[sirheck]

I agree, but lets all just ignore her no matter what she post and help the OP.

 

[blacklic0ric3]

How high do you think I can get the i5 on its stock fan? I wont have the liquid cooling I want right away

 

[sirheck]

Here are some links to look over.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=235075

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=241456

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=103362

 

[Atranox]

Both are damn good, just buy whatever you would be more comfortable with and don't waste tons of time deliberating on it as I have.

Here's a direct comparison of the two (direct link may not work):
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/...compare,1403.html?prod[2884]=on&prod[2607]=on

Here's also a direct comparison of clock speed differences between the 955 and the i5 (with turbo off).
http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=857&p=1

955:
- Better socket longevity in terms of future upgrading
- More developed platform
- Cheaper
- Very easy to OC with the unlocked multiplier
- Runs cooler & potentially quieter
- Runs current games at roughly the same FPS as the i5

i5:
- Faster speed clock for clock
- More powerful when overclocked
- Much more power-efficient
- Will outperform the 955 with most non-gaming applications by 5-15%

 

[sirheck]

Both are damn good, just buy whatever you would be more comfortable with and don't waste tons of time deliberating on it as I have.

Here's a direct comparison of the two (direct link may not work):
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/...compare,1403.html?prod[2884]=on&prod[2607]=on

Here's also a direct comparison of clock speed differences between the 955 and the i5 (with turbo off).
http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=857&p=1

955:
- Better socket longevity in terms of future upgrading
- More developed platform
- Cheaper
- Very easy to OC with the unlocked multiplier
- Runs cooler & potentially quieter
- Runs current games at roughly the same FPS as the i5

i5:
- Faster speed clock for clock
- More powerful when overclocked
- Much more power-efficient
- Will outperform the 955 with most non-gaming applications by 5-15%

^^^^This too.

 

[blacklic0ric3]

Im starting too consider the 955 because of the socket life. I read somewhere that the i5/i7s out now are rlly the only ones that are gonna use the 1156 socket but the amd socket are like forwards compatible or something, is this true?

 

[sirheck]

i5,s are. i7 and sAM3 seem to be good so far.

 

[blacklic0ric3]

but, i mean the i3 is a downgrade... I mean a good upgrade, like the i9 is gonna use the 13whatever whatever socket...I'm getting the i5 since I usually wait till my birthday or something for upgrades so wnt pay for the mobo+cpu upgrade anyway. Thx for the help everyone, Ill be ordering an i5, evga p55 SLi, and 2gb gskill(only 2 cuz ddr3 is so much) sometime next week. Thank you

 

[someguy7]

IMHO it is foolish to buy a system for extreme overclocking and benchmarking.

 

[blacklic0ric3]

o no, i mean it will be great, but a downgrade from the i5

 

[AMW1011]

Arguing with jennyh is an absolute waste of time. If she said the sky is green, you better agree, or the whole thread turns to poo.

I agree, I was just trying to inform the OP without feeding any flames.

but, i mean the i3 is a downgrade... I mean a good upgrade, like the i9 is gonna use the 13whatever whatever socket...I'm getting the i5 since I usually wait till my birthday or something for upgrades so wnt pay for the mobo+cpu upgrade anyway. Thx for the help everyone, Ill be ordering an i5, evga p55 SLi, and 2gb gskill(only 2 cuz ddr3 is so much) sometime next week. Thank you

It is already proven that 32nm quads will come out for LGA 1156 and there are rumors that the first non Extreme Edition 6 core i7s (i9 is not the term now) will hit the LGA 1156. Regardless, the 6 core wont be worth it for a long while. Think of it this way, Intel spent many millions developing LGA 1156, do you really think that they will decide not to support it?