AMD Phenom II x4 955 vs AMD FX 4300 Performance-wise Which One Better

[TR2]

Clock Speed-wise, the FX 4300 is 3.8 GHz while the Phenom II X4 955 is just 3.2 GHz. But at this forum, some people mentioned that both CPU's are pretty much at par performance-wise. Could some one elaborate a little more on this?

I have both of these CPU's and two motherboards that support both CPU's. Due to other factors such as RAM, SATA speed, and only one SSD available, I still cannot decide which CPU goes to which motherboard. I prefer to put all the better components in one system and all the lesser components in another.

Your help will be greatly appreciated!

 

[computernewb]

the 4300 is better

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/88?vs=700

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-5.html

 

[socialfox]

^+1

but for the price, why don't you step up to the FX-6300 should be around a few more dollars for it from the FX-4300.

 

[TR2]

the 4300 is better

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/88?vs=700

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-5.html

Thank you for your reply. The information is very helpful. This was supposed to be quite obvious based on the standard clock speed.

My situation is like this. I already have the following items (besides other necessary components):

(1) RAM----I have 2 X 4 GB DDR3 1600 and 4 X 4 GB DDR3 1333 now.

(2) SSD----I only have one DDS now and other standard hard drives.

(3) Motherboards----

(a) ASUS M5A 78L-M PLUS which (i) supports both CPU's; (ii) has only two memory slots, max. 8 gb per slot; (iii) supports DDR3 1333 at stock speed and DDR3 1600 (O.C.), but also supports up to DDR3 1866 at stock speed if installed with an AMD FX CPU; (iv) has 6 SATA outlets (speed = 3 gb/s).

(b) MSI 970A-G46 which (i) supports both CPU's; (ii) has four memory slots, max. 8 gb per slot; (iii) supports DDR3 1866/1600/1333/1066 natively; (iv) has 6 SATA outlets (speed = 6 gb/s).

So, if I use the FX 4300 with the ASUS motherboard, I can use the 2 X 4 GB DDR3 1600 RAM there and use all 4 X 4 GB DDR3 1333 with the MSI motherboard and the Phenom II X4 955 BE. I can fully utilize all the components I have now but I won't get as high the stock CPU speed as the FX 4300 with the MSI motherboard with which I will install the SSD.

On the other hand, if I use the FX 4300 with the MSI motherboard together with the SSD and the DDR3 1600 memory, I will fully maximize all the components at their native speeds. But I will leave 2 X 4 GB DDR3 1333 un-used and can use only 2 X 4 GB DDR3 1600 with the MSI motherboard and leave two memory slots empty.

So, my question is this, is the difference between the FX 4300 and Phenom II X4 955 BE big enough so that I will leave 2 X 4 gb DDR3 1333 un-used and probably need to buy 2 X 4 gb (or 2 X 8 gb) DDR3 1600 in the future?

Any feedback will be appreciated.

 

[socialfox]

Thank you for your reply. The information is very helpful. This was supposed to be quite obvious based on the standard clock speed.

My situation is like this. I already have the following items (besides other necessary components):

(1) RAM----I have 2 X 4 GB DDR3 1600 and 4 X 4 GB DDR3 1333 now.

(2) SSD----I only have one DDS now and other standard hard drives.

(3) Motherboards----

(a) ASUS M5A 78L-M PLUS which (i) supports both CPU's; (ii) has only two memory slots, max. 8 gb per slot; (iii) supports DDR3 1333 at stock speed and DDR3 1600 (O.C.), but also supports up to DDR3 1866 at stock speed if installed with an AMD FX CPU; (iv) has 6 SATA outlets (speed = 3 gb/s).

(b) MSI 970A-G46 which (i) supports both CPU's; (ii) has four memory slots, max. 8 gb per slot; (iii) supports DDR3 1866/1600/1333/1066 natively; (iv) has 6 SATA outlets (speed = 6 gb/s).

So, if I use the FX 4300 with the ASUS motherboard, I can use the 2 X 4 GB DDR3 1600 RAM there and use all 4 X 4 GB DDR3 1333 with the MSI motherboard and the Phenom II X4 955 BE. I can fully utilize all the components I have now but I won't get as high the stock CPU speed as the FX 4300 with the MSI motherboard with which I will install the SSD.

On the other hand, if I use the FX 4300 with the MSI motherboard together with the SSD and the DDR3 1600 memory, I will fully maximize all the components at their native speeds. But I will leave 2 X 4 GB DDR3 1333 un-used and can use only 2 X 4 GB DDR3 1600 with the MSI motherboard and leave two memory slots empty.

So, my question is this, is the difference between the FX 4300 and Phenom II X4 955 BE big enough so that I will leave 2 X 4 gb DDR3 1333 un-used and probably need to buy 2 X 4 gb (or 2 X 8 gb) DDR3 1600 in the future?

Any feedback will be appreciated.

Like said above, the difference between the two is not too big. Now, I own the M5A78L- M LX Plus myself and I will tell you put the CPU you plan on overclocking in the MSI board. The Asus Board is a terrible overclocker...

In addition, for gaming 8gb is more than enough, I don't know any games that can fully utilize 8gb yet.

 

[computernewb]

with all your components, you should just construct 2 working systems without buying any additional parts. the cpus and rams are close enough where you wont notice ANY REAL LIFE difference.

 

[TR2]

I am not a gamer. The things I will do that could be potentially most resources intensive are graphic processing and possibly video editing.

 

[TR2]

with all your components, you should just construct 2 working systems without buying any additional parts. the cpus and rams are close enough where you wont notice ANY REAL LIFE difference.

This is exactly what my original question was, why a CPU at the speed of 3.8 GHz and a CPU at the speed of 3.2 GHz won't have "ANY REAL LIFE difference"?

Could you or someone else elaborate a little more?

 

[computernewb]

this is my limited understanding on this subject.

there are 2 factors that determine the performance of a CPU. the clock speed and the IPC (instructions per cycle). the higher the clock speed doenst necessarily mean better performance. For example intel cpus at lower clock speed will outperform AMD cpus at higher clock speeds because of their IPC. Similarily amd phenoms were well built and AMD hasnt drastically improved its performance with its newer line of CPUS.

someone correct me if im wrong

 

[scout_03]

@buyme63 this is not for computer parts so dont use the forum for your spam.

 

[TR2]

this is my limited understanding on this subject.

there are 2 factors that determine the performance of a CPU. the clock speed and the IPC (instructions per cycle). the higher the clock speed doenst necessarily mean better performance. For example intel cpus at lower clock speed will outperform AMD cpus at higher clock speeds because of their IPC. Similarily amd phenoms were well built and AMD hasnt drastically improved its performance with its newer line of CPUS.

someone correct me if im wrong

If they are that close, I may just put the Phenom II X4 955 together with the MSI motherboard so that I can fully utilize all the components. Even though 8 GB RAM is enough, there is no reason to leave the other 8 GB RAM un-used since I already have it and cannot return it anymore.

Thank you guys for your help.

 

[TR2]

Best answer selected by TR2.