Intel i5 or amd Phenom II X4 965-help me decide

[kat3c]

I've thought myself into a confused, indecisive mound of jello. This is my first build, and it will be used for moderate to high gaming, overclocking and just plain playing around. My basic dilemma in choosing between an i5 and 965 black edition build is over native support for sata 6Gb/s and future compatability/expandability (seems amd is better choice), and maybe overclocking (perhaps the i5 is better here).

In all the builds I come up with, between combo deals and rebates, the intel is always about $100 more. Here are the core components of my two current builds to choose between, I'd appreciate your comments and opinions on:

AMD build

CPU- AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor Model HDZ965FBGMBOX - Retail

MOBO-ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 AM3 AMD 890GX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

GPU-POWERCOLOR PCS+ AX5850 1GBD5-PPDHG2 Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX ... - Retail

RAM-OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model OCZ3P1333LV4GK - Retail

PSU-OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ700MXSP 700W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC ... - Retail

CASE-COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

HDD-SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

OS-Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM

DVD-ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM


Intel build

CPU-Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80605I5750 - Retail

MOBO-ASUS P7P55D-E Pro LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

GPU-POWERCOLOR PCS+ AX5850 1GBD5-PPDHG2 Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX ... - Retail


PSU-OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ700MXSP 700W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC ... - Retail

CASE-COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail


HDD-SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive


RAM-OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ3P16004GK - Retail

OS-Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM

DVD-ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM


The Intel ends up being about $1,200, the AMD $1,125, after I add in basic keyboard/mouse and a few SATA cables. That's the very high end of what I want to spend.

Thanks for any help.

Kurt

 

[spentshells]

both would be great if your focus is gaming .......the 955 BE maybe ?

 

[Lmeow]

Get the Core i5 build if it's only $75 dollars more, the Core i5 is slightly better than the Phenom II X4 965 in gaming, and a better in terms of multitasking. 700W is overkill, a Corsair HX650W would be much better, if possible - the ModXStream 700Ws have apparently had problems.

 

[feeddagoat]

I would go for the i5 between the two. Tho can I suggest another option. Depending on prices I would go with the athlon II x3 435. The article "is the i3-530 enough" shows that the phenomII 720 is enough for high end GPU's and from testing the athlon x3 435 performs very similar to the 720 even when overclocked. With the money saved I would look to pick up a small SSD such as intels x25-v. While not big, it will allow you to store your OS and key programs/games. This will mean your system will feel snappier. You could also invest cash into something else if you so wish.
Just some food for thought.

 

[Somebody_007]

I would go with the i5 750if you are willing to overclock otherwise with the 965 which is already stock clocked very high

 

[dmen]

You should really get the AM3 Build.
Both builds give almost the same performance.
But...
The Socket 1156 is dead, and AM3 will last for a while.
Get the AM3 Build if you want a future-proof pc.

 

[Haserath]

The core i5 would probably overclock better then the Phenom while giving better performance in most situations(at the same clock speeds). If you plan on keeping the build for several years, the Phenom build would have faster sata 6gbps speed with the 890GX chipset. If you were planning on getting SSDs sometime, the phenom would be faster with those(at least loading ). There is also a 955BE C3 revision that should overclock the same as the 965 for $20 cheaper.
-Don't forget about a good heatsink if you plan to overclock!
@dmen- AM3 is also getting close to the end of its life. AMD will release the X6 phenoms for the socket then they will move to Bulldozer.

 

[kat3c]

Best answer selected by kat3c.

 

[kat3c]

Thanks for all the input. It remained a toss-up until the end, but i went with the AMD 965 build, partly for future compatability/native support 6 Gb/s SATA/futureproofing, but also just as much that I've never had an AMD system before, and the change and competition is good. Thanks again.

Oh, and I did get a Hyper 212 heatsink for the overclocking! Maybe an SSD in a year when prices are lower.......