I5 650 or phenom 11 X 4 955

[billybl35]

Hello,

I wonder if I can get some advice as I am not as savvy as I wish I were. I do basic computing, office, conver,t burn, and watch movies etc etc...I am not a gamer at all. Any suggestions between the 2 systems i5 650 or the phenom ll Quad core 955 which is just a bit less expensive but close enough. They both have 6 gig ram the i5 is DDR3 the phenom DDR2. Is there a possiblity if in the future my use gets heavier to upgrade that i5 to i7. Any suggestions much appreciated. I really just want very quick response for the thingsI do do which do include some muti-tasking.

 

[kineticman]

I'm an AMD guy myself, but I'd still roll with the intel mainly due to the DDR3 ram since DDR3 is typically faster. Plus the i5 is hyper threaded so it will probably just be a tad bit snappier in response. I wouldn't bother counting on upgrading to an i7 with sandy bridge around (or not, given the defect) now though, as the only thing that's been out-performing that is the 980x.

 

[megadelayed]

cpu wise the 955 defiantly has more power but for ur purposes wont they be a bit of overkill if it was me i'd get an i3 or athlon x3 or x4 then upgarde in the future

 

[BaronMatrix]

Hello,

I wonder if I can get some advice as I am not as savvy as I wish I were. I do basic computing, office, conver,t burn, and watch movies etc etc...I am not a gamer at all. Any suggestions between the 2 systems i5 650 or the phenom ll Quad core 955 which is just a bit less expensive but close enough. They both have 6 gig ram the i5 is DDR3 the phenom DDR2. Is there a possiblity if in the future my use gets heavier to upgrade that i5 to i7. Any suggestions much appreciated. I really just want very quick response for the thingsI do do which do include some muti-tasking.

The biggest difference will be features for the price of the platform. Intel's boards are getting better but fully-loaded AMD boards are cheaper and the CPU is usually cheaper. Most benchmarks you'll see are "clean" meaning nothing happening in the background and use apps that aren't really relevant to daily usage.

In my experience AMD is cheaper for the "whatever you need to do" level of perf, but either platform will get the job done.

 

[billybl35]

Thanks guys for the input. Below are the actual specs for each unit. There is a 200.00 differnce between the intel setup and the phenom with the phenom being less. As I said mostly office apps some movie and music burning photo editing etc..

•3.2GHz Intel Core i5 processor 650 with Intel Turbo Boost and Hyperthreading technologies
•Intel H55 chipset
•6GB DDR3 SDRAM
•1TB SATA hard drive
•DVD+/-RW optical drive
•Radeon HD4350 silent graphics card with 512MB DDR2 VRAM
•Eight-channel high-definition audio CODEC with jack sensing
•104-key keyboard
•Optical mouse
•10/100/1000 gigabit ethernet
•Front panel 19-in-1 digital multimedia card reader
•Eight USB 2.0 ports
•Six audio ports
•Two PS/2 keyboard/mouse ports
•HDMI port
•VGA port
•DVI port
•RJ-45 port
•PCI/PCI Express slots
•Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium, 64-bit


•3.2GHz AMD Phenom II X4 quad-core processor 955
•NVIDIA MCP61P 6150SE chipset
•4GB memory
•1TB SATA II hard drive
•22x DVD+/-RW drive
•Integrated NVIDIA GeForce 6150 graphics
•Eight-channel high-definition audio CODEC
•104-key keyboard
•Optical mouse
•10/100 ethernet
•Front panel 19-in-1 digital multimedia card reader
•Four back USB 2.0 ports
•Two front USB 2.0 ports
•Three audio ports
•Two PS/2 keyboard/mouse ports
•RJ-45, VGA, COM ports
•PCI/PCI Express slots
•Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium, 64-bit

 

[simon12]

Neither system looks like much thought went into what went in them is there a reason you want to get one of these?

 

[billybl35]

Neither system looks like much thought went into what went in them is there a reason you want to get one of these?

Price really. My old system crashed and I use it for work so needed one asap and dont have much to spare at the moment. They are both zt systems and I dont have to pay all at once. I would like to get something better in the future since im on it working constantly. I actually bought both , one for an employee who is no longer working so I am returning one sytem, just trying to decide which to keep. Like I said the phenom is about 500.00 and the i5 about 700.00. If given the choice which woul you keep and what would you change about it?

 

[king smp]

I would keep the Intel and upgrade the graphics card.

 

[Wisecracker]

+1 for the PhII 955 ... the CPU & RAMs will move to AM3+ when you are ready to upgrade.

Otherwise -- the 6150SE chipset dates back to the stone age but it should be fine for "...mostly office apps some movie and music burning photo..."

The nVidia IGP lacks hardware acceleration for HD but the 955 will not have any problems with it. Snag a cheap HD4xxx (or even -5xxx) graphics card for a nice bump for your video.

 

[xerxces]

I have the 955 and am very happy with it. It is still future proof for now. Unless you use a computer for heavy duty tasks, the 955 is pleantly good enough.

 

[billybl35]

+1 for the PhII 955 ... the CPU & RAMs will move to AM3+ when you are ready to upgrade.

Otherwise -- the 6150SE chipset dates back to the stone age but it should be fine for "...mostly office apps some movie and music burning photo..."

The nVidia IGP lacks hardware acceleration for HD but the 955 will not have any problems with it. Snag a cheap HD4xxx (or even -5xxx) graphics card for a nice bump for your video.

Im looking at the mobo manual. Mobo is Asus M3A78-CM and says chipset is AMD 780V/SB700

 

[willmalcom]

I have a i5 2500k and a 955.

For your uses I would suggest the 955.

For what you've listed, you don't even need the 955.

 

[king smp]

i take back my statement
I was wrong
looking at benches
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/144?vs=88
the 955 is better choice especially for multimedia and encoding
plus the $200 save would buy a nice graphics card which would be needed

 

[Wisecracker]

Im looking at the mobo manual. Mobo is Asus M3A78-CM and says chipset is AMD 780V/SB700

That's different than the specs you posted ...

•3.2GHz AMD Phenom II X4 quad-core processor 955
•NVIDIA MCP61P 6150SE chipset
~~
•Integrated NVIDIA GeForce 6150 graphics

Might want to check on that. The AMD 780V IGP chipset is a step up from the 6150 but I believe would limit you to DDR2 ... BUT if you ever wanted to add a video card there is a PCIe x16 Gen2 slot.

Not a super difference in performance between DDR2/DDR3 for the most part BUT you will be able to move the DDR3 forward with an AM3 processor.

And if they are available to you, the AMD AthlonII X3s will save you a good bit of money, and should handle your needs quite nicely.

 

[megadelayed]

dude both systems are a overkill for your purposes
i3 or any amd x3/x4 athlons will do perfectly fine