Corei7 860 vs AMD Phenom X4 965

[rinsejohn]

Hi,

I just wanted to know which is better in terms of Apps, Media and games. Also what about the benchmarking differences? Is it worth if I go for a Corei7 or instead go for Phenom X4 965. I do want to know the value for money for both of the CPU's. I just want to use it for some years. So do please suggest me which is the best in terms of all!

Thanks,
John.

 

[ksampanna]

I'll give a 2-part answer to that.

[1] Outright performance
Here the 860 trumps the 965 overall. Applications, games, synthetics, it generally outperforms the 965; by a factor of about 10 - 15%

[2] Future compatibility:
This is where the 965 seems to have the upper hand. The 965 is based on the socket AM3, while 860 on the socket 1156. 1156 is rumoured to be phased out from next year (there won't be any new CPU releases), while AM3 will outlast it. Which means that you won't be able to buy a processor upgrade for the 860, wheres as for 965, you could simply drop a new AM3 CPU in the future & with a BIOS upgrade (if necessary) you'd be good to go.

The 860 costs about $100 more than the 965, & delivers slightly better performance. So if it's raw number-crunching you want, then 860 is the way to go. Rest assured, a decent rig based on that will serve you well for a few years.

 

[rinsejohn]

Thanks for the info! But I think I am switching from AMD Phenom X4 965 to AMD Phenom X6 1055T. So i think X6 1055T would be almost near to the i7 920 / 860?

 

[Emperus]

Thanks for the info! But I think I am switching from AMD Phenom X4 965 to AMD Phenom X6 1055T. So i think X6 1055T would be almost near to the i7 920 / 860?

Don't count on that.. It gets very much app dependent.. Your platform choice is good as explained above..

 

[shovenose]

i would go for amd procs atm, seeing that intel plans to phase out lga 1156 (as already stated)...
thing is, that in most BENCHMARKS, its true that a 6core amd is equal approximately to a 4core intel...
but in REAL WORLD PERFORMANCE, i would go for a 6-core AMD Phenom II X6