What to buy?

[engterry]

very simple question and i need a very simple answer with reasons.
which is better in overall performance phenom ii x4 965 OR i5 3470
thanks.

 

[Brett928S2]

Hi

Which TYPE of performance ?

All the best Brett

 

[mocchan]

i5-3470 has the clear performance advantage here. If you're looking to have some fun overclocking, however, then the Phenom II X4 965 is your choice.

 

[Cazalan]

A $99 CPU compared to a $199 CPU?

 

[jaguarskx]

Overall, the i5-3470 is the faster CPU.

However, if you are going to spend that much you might as well spend a little more and get the i5-3570k which allows you to overclock and get even better performance.

 

[jaguarskx]

Of the two though, if you are looking for the best bang for the buck, then go for the PII X4 965.

The X4 965 is currently selling for $89 (using the coupon code included in the link below), while the i5-3470 is selling for $199. The i5-3470 costs more than 2x the X4 965, but it's raw CPU performance is not more than 2x better.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727

 

[sam_p_lay]

Depends where the the OP is... in the UK, ~£90 for a 965 (if you can still find one) vs ~£140 for the i5 (Aria actually had a 3450 for £125, might be worth checking if it's still there). I'd definitely get the i5 - easily the superior processor.

 

[wr6133]

Depends what you are doing if it is gaming then it depends on the Graphics Card (GPU) so the money saved getting the Phenom II can buy a better GPU which could mean it games better than the i5

for example

Phenom II £65

GTX660ti £230

Total - £295

i5 3450 - £140

650ti - £130

Total - £270

The AMD above will game at higher settings in the majority of (GPU bound) titles, despite it being the weaker CPU.

TLDR - If you are gaming the GPU matters so your question is incomplete we would need to know the total budget so we could pair the CPU with a card. Raw performance the i5 is better though