AMD Phenom II X4 965 vs Intel Core i3-2100??

[tonytech6]

Hello All

Once again I seek the council of this sites fellow users. I am currently looking up the final pieces on my 1st build. I have done a bunch of piece compatibility research.

I have narrowed it down to the AMD Phenom II X4 965. My question is why is Intel such a desired CPU amongst most you DIY 'ers. I am trying to keep my budget under $400. That is why i have not considered any of the intel CPU's. Although this week i did notice that Intel Core i3-2100 is on sale for $90 with rebate and coupon.


As you can tell i know very little about computers and such. I need some incite on these options.


AMD Phenom II X4 965 vs Intel Core i3-2100??


Is it like comparing a FORD vs NISSAN? i just dont know why everyone is suggesting an INTEL build. Is AMD a bad product or faulty or randomly lame?

 

[jaguarskx]

See my response in the following thread. Hopefully it will help you.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/343848-28-best-processor-around-under

 

[tonytech6]

This helps me out a bit. I really like the specs of the AMD 965 (also the price)

These are all things I use my PC for.

- Minor audio editing (Splitting tracks, Adding effects and encoding MP3's from extrenal Vinyl turntables)
- Minor Video editing (Splitting segments of some video)
- Web browsing and streaming video (Youtube and NETFLIX)

I think I am going to stick with the AMD 965. It just seems a lot of people are looking down on the AMD line. That is my reason for asking

 

[jaguarskx]

For a low budget quad core CPU than can be overclocked and has pretty decent overall performance prior to overclocking, then Phenom II X4 965 is a pretty good deal.

 

[seanhallam]

Get the 965. I have and i love it. Truth be told tho, I plan on upgrading to a i5 a little while in the future. The 965 is a great cpu and i have it around 4ghz.

 

[tonytech6]

Thank you for you input and time. You have helped me tremendously and resolved my curiousness with the situation.

Cheers!

 

[boabs]

had both stick with the amd.

 

[dish_moose]

The only reason to go with Intel at that price point would be to upgrade to Sandy/Ivy quad in the future.
-Bruce

 

[maui67]

The only reason to go with Intel at that price point would be to upgrade to Sandy/Ivy quad in the future.
-Bruce

Unless you plan to upgrade within 12-18 months this is failed advice, in my opinion (which doesn't mean much sometimes...lol). Haswell will be out by then and it will be on a different socket. At least with the Phenom II 965 (with AM3+ board) you have the possibility of upgrading to Piledriver. However, we don't know for certain what Haswell or Piledriver will bring at this point.

 

[mocchan]

Unless you plan to upgrade within 12-18 months this is failed advice, in my opinion (which doesn't mean much sometimes...lol). Haswell will be out by then and it will be on a different socket. At least with the Phenom II 965 (with AM3+ board) you have the possibility of upgrading to Piledriver. However, we don't know for certain what Haswell or Piledriver will bring at this point.

+1 great point.

From what I understand, Piledrive will be around 10-15% faster than Bulldozer. But I can predict it to be even slower than the current Ivy chips, so don't expect much :lol: but who knows, right? I may be wrong.

1155 is also a dead socket from what I understand, so if you're going to upgrade to Haswell, you'll most likely have to buy a new board.

However, if OP does intend to upgrade his CPU from an i3 to an i5/i7 later down the road (say 5-6 months), he has a tremendous upgrade path he will be able to take.

i3-21xx ---->i5 2500k/3570k, i7 2600k/2700k/3770k


Anyway, @ OP, for your usage, I would prefer to get the X4 965 just because of it's two extra physical cores. It may give the Phenom chip a little bit of an edge in your working environment.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/289?vs=102

 

[tonytech6]

I dont plan on upgrading for at least a couple of years. I dont think i will over clock. I know the 965 BE is using a wattage of 125w What is the minimum power supply should i be using for this. I was looking at getting a 300W power supply. My video card will only pull 68w.

Is this the wrong power supply amount for this CPU?

 

[mocchan]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371035

Something like this should suffice. What video card are you looking at? If you don't need a 6 pin PCI-E, you may be able to get away with this - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371033

 

[nekulturny]

Corsair CX-430v2. 25 bucks after mail in rebate, and yes, this is actually very decent PSU, for the price, you can't beat it.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026&Tpk=cx430

But yes, I echo the others, the Phenom II 965 is a good bargain at $110 for what you're looking to do.

 

[nekulturny]

The only reason to go with Intel at that price point would be to upgrade to Sandy/Ivy quad in the future.
-Bruce

Thats a dumb idea. One I have never understood. If you're "upgrading" the CPU within a year, you should have saved up enough money to buy the right CPU to meet your needs in the first place. If upgrading 2 years from now, the socket has changed, which means if you want the most current CPU, you're buying a new mobo.

 

[mocchan]

Thats a dumb idea. One I have never understood. If you're "upgrading" the CPU within a year, you should have saved up enough money to buy the right CPU to meet your needs in the first place. If upgrading 2 years from now, the socket has changed, which means if you want the most current CPU, you're buying a new mobo.

+1 for this..

Also great recommendation on the CX430v2, I forgot about the CX series for a sec there :lol:

 

[crisan_tiberiu]

go Phenom.

 

[tonytech6]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371035

Something like this should suffice. What video card are you looking at? If you don't need a 6 pin PCI-E, you may be able to get away with this - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371033

this is the video card i am aiming to get my system.

Radeon HD 6670 1GB DDR3 PCI-E w/ DVI, HDMI
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX36525


I dont play much games. I dabble but not a true gamer

 

[tonytech6]

Corsair CX-430v2. 25 bucks after mail in rebate, and yes, this is actually very decent PSU, for the price, you can't beat it.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026&Tpk=cx430

But yes, I echo the others, the Phenom II 965 is a good bargain at $110 for what you're looking to do.

That power supply is right up my alley of cheapness. Its seems to have to the ideal reviews. That is gonna be my power supply choice now. Thank you very much.

 

[nekulturny]

You're welcome. I'd uhh, considering spending a little more on the video card, even not being a true gamer, I'd still get something a little more powerful for when you get the urge.

7770 $104 w/ mail in rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150598

Or:
550TI $99 with mail in rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500217

Those are about as bare minimum as I'd go.

 

[azraa]

+1 to that last.
Although, using a 80+ 430w PSU can limit a bit what you can do. As far as I recall, 550TIs are a bit power hungry, which can lead to pushing limits on the PSU. Basically, calculate 80% from 430 and thats the ideal limit for the supply. Keep that in mind with any graphics card. Great suggestions though, and my addendum might not even be to consider in you case.

(125w CPU, 75w(pci)+150w(6-pin) Graphics, Peripherals ... you get about 350w maximum power draw?)

Id go with the 7770.

 

[nekulturny]

No sir, you'd be fine with a 550 TI with all of those components.

Bout 248 watts under load with their test setup, thats with a first gen i7 Extreme (which is about as power hungry as a Phenom II) That measurement is how much the whole computer is drawing from the electrical socket:

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2011/03/15/nvidia-geforce-gtx-550-ti-1gb-review/10

 

[theonerm2]

As for the GPU: Get the Radeon HD 7770 over the nVIDIA 550 Ti. The Radeon HD 7770 is better and it uses less power.

As for the CPU: The Phenom II X 4 965 would be the best option for you. Like everyone else is saying. The only reason to go with the Intel Core i3 2100 is if you plan to upgrade to core i5-i7 in the future. I'd imagine an Intel Core i7 2600K still being a good processor in 2015. The Core i7 920 is still an excellent processor and it is 4 years old. It can be bought used on ebay right now for only $155. Upgrading later is still a good option with an Intel board... But only if you can find the CPU for a cheap enough price. Even outdated and used Intel processors are often sold at a high price and it's usually just not worth it.

 

[nekulturny]

I agree with you on the 7770. My 550 TI isn't horrible for what I do, but I'm bout ready to ditch it for a 7870 Sapphire GHz edition here in the a couple months. I'm like the OP, I'm more or less a casual gamer. But when I do game, I want more than the 550 TI has to offer. But my Phenom II hasn't let me down yet.

 

[tonytech6]

Best answer selected by tonytech6.