2 phenoms x6 or 1 i7 2600k ?

"2 Phenom x6" meaning two separate machines, or a dual socket MB holding both X6 processors giving you 12 total cores? Can say that I have seen a dual socket AM3 board, but that doesn't mean they don't exist...

All things being equal, the I7-2600k would probably be the better system. Start with choosing memory and drives that will give you good speed while rendering. CL7 memory and either an SSD with Sandforce controller, or a RAID 0 setup on some spindle drives. After reserving a portion of your budget for this, you will likely find that either the AMD or Intel parts will still come in under your budget. If this is the case, choose the I7-2600k, overclock, and don't look back.

this are the rigs, tellme what you think:

Phenom II:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000Q82PIQ/ref=ox_sc_a...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000X24ISU/ref=ox_sc_a...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003N8GVUY/ref=ox_sc_a...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003FVI2KQ/ref=ox_sc_a...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003A764XM/ref=ox_sc_a...


i7 :

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000X2677A/ref=ox_sc_s...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002U1N95K/ref=ox_sc_s...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004EBUXSA/ref=ox_sc_s...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004I789CM/ref=ox_sc_s...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004QF0VD6/ref=ox_sc_s...



the thing that is calling me more for the AMD rigs, its the 12 core fact, vs only 4 for the intel rig.

if you have better suggestions for the components, they are welcome.

Regarding the AMD, that single socket motherboard with the X6 will net you 6 cores. Also, the I7-2600k has four physical cores with hyperthreading giving you effectively 8 processing threads. IMHO, go with the Intel build.

Scratch the WD hard drives from either build... Samsung F3 for 1TB or below, and F4 for 2TB.

ill buy 2 amd rigs... im interested in the enumber of cores coz ill render some animations.. so, its a big pro to have lots of cores..

but i dont know if its really a good idea buy 2 cheaper rigs, instead of 1 nice intel new procesor rig.

I implore you to do the right thing and get the 2600k...A good overclock on that chip, with hyperthreading enabled will make your computer run like RedBull with no crash (double joke)... The x6 is great at handling multi threaded apps..but you see, the problem is..the architecture is old, and the chip gets outpaced by intel's older technology.. Your better off getting that 2600k..I assure you..you will be happy..

And, better games will come out..you'll see..Just look at Battlefield 3  

did you take into consideration the fact that if i buy amd, ill buy 2 computers??

you sound like you like the 2600k.. i like how it sound too.. but, the thing is, i dont want to have the latest procesor nor the best computer.. i want the best performance while rendering and working with 3d..


but tnx for your comment, ill take it into consideration, so far the intel is winning.. lol.

think about it this way...as I mentioned, quantity isn't always the way to go..in this case, your better off with high quality... You'll have 2 computers with 6 core processors, yes..however, does that mean you'll get twice as much done? Well, that's up for debate right? We have to take into account what is being done, and how demanding it is... Although I may be wrong..in many cases, you will have an overclocked 2600k outperforming 2 amd machines depending on the task... sometimes there is now "power" in numbers.

12 cores vs 4 cores.. thas what is holding me.... :S haha..

and the charts arent helping... i guess ill have to wait.. tnx for your help.

well to be fair..4 physical and 4 virtual..that make the x6 processor look very very bad..but i hear what your saying

Here are some Benchmarks you can read and look over to help decide.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/the-sandy-bridge-rev...

i hate benchmarks, they make me doubt even more, lol..


please correct me:

in this chart
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/desktop-cpu-charts-2...

the AMD take 195 Seconds to render an image..

if i have 2, it will render aprox in 98 seconds..... right?

the i7... will do in 181...

98 second with 2 amd vs 181 second with 1 i7

thats my logic to this matter.. :S but i dont trust its that simple..



so, its that simple, or im totaly wrong??

Would having two computers halve your time spent if you had just one? Two AMD pcs would mean two operating systems, two copies of all your software, and you couldn't render just one thing any faster. But, you could render two things at the same time. The 2600K would render one project faster, but it couldn't do two at the same time. It all depends on how you would use the two AMD computers.

distributed rendering allow all computers render the same thing at the same time.. or, 1 computer renders one frame at a time.. thats why is so atractive the 2 AMD.. but i really like the i7.. im sure the 2 amd will render faster, but, i have hopes in the i7 to get close to the other procesors. if thats so, my choice would be the i7.. but, if the performance is like i said before 98 sec vs 181 for the i7.. ill get the amds..

^ depends on the software you are using and what not. The second computer could simply boot with a thin linux install and used only for rendering. Just depends. Another option to consider might be a small render farm. You could just buy four cheap motherboards, CPUs, pairs of RAM, decent PSUs, and a network switch. Only the main unit needs an HD to work from, and the slaves could boot off the network or boot an thin client from a USB stick  . Of course, you would need to make your own custom housing  .

In the event you don't want to undertake such a project yeah go with the two PCs ^_^. You only really need a gaming GPU on the one you use for gaming, and your secondary PC can just use the IGP or you can put in a cheap 5770 or something if you want to allow people to come over and use it.

so you think the 2 amds are better than 1 i7 for rendering?

it would be great if you could help me setup 2 i7 rigs with $1350.. ( i already purchase an sapphire 6850 1gb )

do you think thats posible?