Phenom II 1055T X6 vs i5 Quad 760

[JyncDuncan]

Hello. I am building a custom SLI computer for my gaming needs so I am able to max out all of the newer games and get 60+ FPS. I use my computer for nothing much other than gaming, and I use 3 monitors for multitasking, but nothing major.

My upcoming computer will include 2x SLI GTX 460's, 80GB SSD in combination with the WD 1TB 6GB/s 7200RPM 64MB Cache Drive, an Antec 300 case, and I'm not yet sure about the motherboard I will use - depending on whether I use the i5 760 or the AMD Six Core 1055T.


I am here to ask what processor is better for my gaming use. I mostly play Battlefield: Bad Company 2, BattleField 3 (Upcoming), Medal of Honor Beta, Modern Warfare 2, Starcraft II, DiRT 2, and other steam games.


Both of the following processors are within my budget. I am curious as to which one would be a better choice considering the Quad i5 is hyperthreaded with 8MB L3 Cache, and the 1055T is not hyperthreaded, only has 6MB Cache, and has six physical cores. I'm not sure if the lack of hyperthreading and Cache is going to limit my CPU noticeably.

Intel Core i5-760 Lynnfield 2.8GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115067&cm_re=i5_760-_-19-115-067-_-Product

AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Thuban 2.8GHz 6MB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103851


Both of these processors are the same price. The motherboards I am planning on using are:

Intel Option: ASUS P7P55 WS

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131594

AMD Option: MSI NF980-G65
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130236&cm_re=AMD_SLI-_-13-130-236-_-Product
OR (Not Yet Sure)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131636&cm_re=SLI_AMD-_-13-131-636-_-Product



So which processor do you think is a better choice, and why?

Thanks in advance Tom's Community.

 

[jonnyboyC]

the core i5 would be better, simply because each core is much more powerful then the phenom, and in gaming there are very few games that take advantage of more then 2 cores let alone 4 or 6,

the phenom is good for programs and apps that take advantage of all 6 cores which tends to be better the a HT core (which you won't have to worry about), but other then that performance is either even or in favor of the intel chip in programs that use 4 or less cores, which is still the vast majority

 

[dirtmountain]

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/147?vs=109

for your uses i'd go with the i5.

 

[mindless728]

i would go i5 as well, not only for the faster quad core, but also because the NV chipsets aren't that good and that is the only recourse on the AMD platform for SLI

 

[WR2]

The i5 760 doesn't have hyperthreading (which is very little use in gaming anyway).
As far as performance goes they both overclock nicely.
And they trade blows as to which performs best in different games.
X6 1055t best in Bad Company 2, i5 760 best in StarCraft 2, etc.
As the close price suggests the performance is also that close. So you get two great choices and can feel good about picking either one.

Little differences in your motherboard options, or a final overall price for the entire system might end up being the deciding factor.
For example; ASUS P7P55 WS supports both CF and SLI, but at x8/x8 and ASUS M4A89TD PRO/USB3 890FX does CF at full x16/x16.

 

[WR2]

[strike]ASUS M4A89TD PRO/USB3 890FX does CF at full x16/x16.[/strike]

Or MSI NF980-G65 AM3 NVIDIA nForce 980a doing full SLI @ x16/x16.

 

[AMW1011]

Get this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808&cm_re=955-_-19-103-808-_-Product

Close to i5 750 performance for less. You won't notice much of a difference between the two in the real world, especially if you overclock.

Also, I love the review for the i5 760:

Pros: g dis is the most b0ss CpU I HaVe EvEr UsEd In My LifE. GeT At Me

Ah, newegg reviews are always so informative...

 

[pswfps]

Some observations...

Clock for clock, the PhenomII X6 has greater overall processing power than the quad cored i5 models. Yes I've done the Cinebench comparisons - the X6 is capable of matching quad cored i7 rigs even with hyperthreading.

On the other hand, the i5 has greater per core power than the PhenomII X6 which is what earns it the "gamers" choice. That said, the Phenom isn't any slouch for gaming either and is still plenty.

So it depends on how long you intend to keep the machine and what you're using it for.

If you're a die-hard gamer and intend to keep the machine for a short period say 12-24 months before a full mobo/cpu/ram upgrade then go i5. LGA1156 platform is a bit of a short term option really.

If you're doing a lot of multitasking or intend to keep the machine for longer, say 24-48 months then go PhenomII X6. There's no denying the trend towards increased use of multi-threaded apps/os and over time the X6 will begin to shine ever more brightly. Plus the AM3 board is likely to have new CPU made available after that time.

I decided to go with a PhenomII X6 1055T on an AM3 890GX board with an HD5870 GPU. I can tell you that for current gaming, it smokes!!

Have fun.

 

[loneninja]

AM3 is garbage for SLI, virtually no boards support it and obviously they use Nvidia chipsets. You would also be better served with a Phenom II x4 955 than the Phenom II X6 1055T for gaming purposes, higher clock since all 6 cores won't get used anyways.

Personally I'm sitting on a Phenom build right now, but for a primarily gaming based machine that needs SLI support, the I5 is the better platform and cpu choice.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey