[Solved] Question on what would be better choice

Forum CPU & Components : CPUs [Solved] Question on what would be better choice

i am looking on buying a new processor for kinda cheap and right now i am planning on buying a AMD Athlon tri-core Rana 3.2GHz ,, i told this to a friend i know and he said that 3X core is a bad choice because its faulty and doesn't work right, he suggested i use a dual core i series CPU from Intel , personally i'm not a big fan of Intel but my questions are

are 3 core processors faulty or have any issues i should worry about ?
would a 2 core Intel at same clock really be able run faster then a 3 core AMD at same clock?

i herd Intel uses technology on there i series that makes their processors run superior to AMD's , is this true?

and if 2 core would actually be better , is it possible to reduce the Rana into 2 core and increase the clocking ; what issues would this create?

i wanted to get the 3x rana but if it is really better to have an Intel , what CPU would be best to match or better the one i wanted and still be about the same price ?

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to iTree

If it was faulty they wouldnt be selling it, the 4th core had an issue but was disabled, either it was totally bad, or it was just needed higher voltage to get to the same speed so it got disabled and the chip got binned as a tricore, but once their binning is done, the chip you get sold is stable, if you start trying to unlock it to a quad it might not be but as a triple core it is stable.

You cannot just compare the i series in general against the AMD line up, if you got an intel core and an AMD core up to the same speed yes the intel core would win, however they also charge you more, at the same price level they are usually of comparable performance, for the more budget level processors AMD gives superior performance because intel doesnt have much to offer at below $100.

Reply to hunter315

Hes just being a fanboy, misinformed or got a bad original Phenom X3. Rana Tri-cores work just fine and the Ranas are great values, the i-series dual cores have pretty much nothing going for it other than the TDP. It does perform better even with the core deficiency due to its newer technology, but it is priced over $40 higher, where if you buy an Athlon X4 at similar priced would cut it pretty even.

However, a dual core Rana do exist if you care, its called a Regor/Athlon II X2.

Reply to Timop

Best answer

iTree wrote :

"are 3 core processors faulty or have any issues i should worry about ? " No,not at all.Like the previous poster said before one might be able to enable an extra core and have it work with no problems (It just was determined during testing from the manufacturer that the extra core didn't pass specifications (could be close though on certain samples) and was disabled).Slightly less than half of them could have their disabled core re enabled with no discernible problems (might even be able to be over clocked too).

Also see this article
http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] ,2373.html
A triple core CPU has certain advantages

"would a 2 core Intel at same clock really be able run faster then a 3 core AMD at same clock?" Yes Intel CPU's generally have higher IPC's than AMD CPU's though it varies on which type whether core 2 duo or the i3 series.Another variation is whether one uses an Athlon II X3 with no L3 cache as compared to a Phenom II X3 with 6 mb L3 cache.But at the same clock speed most likely yes.

"i herd Intel uses technology on there i series that makes their processors run superior to AMD's , is this true?" Yes,it's true see my last answer.May or may not be in the future though.

i wanted to get the 3x rana but if it is really better to have an Intel , what CPU would be best to match or better the one i wanted and still be about the same price ?" Probably the i3-530 or 540 (it was on sale I think a few days ago at newegg) would be a good choice.However these CPU's are more expensive than AMD's Athlon II X3 or Phenom II X3 series perhaps 35 or 40 dollars more.There is a OEM AM2+ Phenom II X4 940 BE CPU that basically matches the performance (slightly better) than the Core i3-530 for a lesser price (about $20 or $30 less) although its a quad core CPU.The i3 could be over clocked better than the Phenom X4 though.
Basically your getting what you paid for. The AMD triple core Athlon II X3 CPU's are still a very good deal for their performance ratio.
You would have no likely problems with either AMD or Intel choices.Both are good.

Message edited by jj463rd on 12-04-2010 at 05:14:25 AM

Reply to jj463rd

thanks jj463rd for your in-depth answers, link , and suggestions. their vary helpful

Reply to iTree

I forgot to add this article for you to help you decide.It will probably be updated for this month December but still good.
http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] ,2791.html

Reply to jj463rd

Best answer selected by iTree.

Reply to iTree

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