Possibly building new system soon AMD Phenom/Intel quadcore

Have to replace my current pc soon. I have been looking online at different configs and researching different hardware. Pretty sure I'm going midtower this time around instead of full tower to take up less space and 120mm fans to take some of the noise out of the equation.

Going back and forth between Intel Quad core and AMD Phenom cpus. Wondering which would be better in the long run with Vista. Also wondering how much of a difference in heat each one has.

If you were replacing your 4 yr old system, and needed it for occasional gaming, normal day to day stuff and recording music, which would you choose and why?

 

Don't forget that going quadcore doesn't necessarily mean that your Software / Game is going to run faster UNLESS it has been programmed to use the advantages of quadcore. Not very many games or software have. :cry

Also I'd recommend installing CPU-Control from http://www.majorgeeks.com/download5875.html

I use it on my duo-core. Have never tried it on quadcore. Bazza

 

Maybe i'll skip the quads then and get a lower processor and save some money.

 

That ain't a bad idea either, and just speaking from the AMD side of things, you can get an AM2 mobo with a decent X2 CPU for $200 or so. I love my X2 3800+, I can convert video and use the system normally while as with a single core, that was very excruciating while waiting to just refresh a page.

 

I recently upgraded my computer. I got the Intel Q660 quad core. I love it! But you can do nicely with one of the dual cores. And no, I don't do anything that can use 4 cores (except F@H... it is a beast at that!).

It is nice having a little over 10Ghz of power in one case. But, with the money you can save getting a dual core, you can up the video card or something. Temp wise, my quad runs pretty hot, even with a ThermalRight huge freaking heatsink with a 120mm fan on it, I can't overclock too much due to temps. So if you decide to get a quad, get an aftermarket heatsink.

You really can't go wrong either way. It just depends on how much cash you want to invest into something that will be an outdated toy in a few years...:cry

E

 

I've read two magazine reviews comparing the Intel quads and the AMD Phenoms and both concluded that, while on paper the Phenoms should be superior, actual bench marking with a variety of tasks and a comparison of frame rates from demanding games show that the current Phenoms are not better, or even as good as, the Intel quads. Part of the problem, apparently, is that the Phenoms currently available are running at slower speeds than AMD had hoped to clock them at. But even taking that into account, according to the mags I read, the performance of the Phenoms has been disappointing.

I've been running AMD cpu's for quite a few years now and my most recent build (really a major overhaul/upgrade) included moving up to an AMD X2 Athlon 6000+ (from a single core Athlon 3800). I'd have been tempted to jump over to an Intel chip, but I didn't want to have to replace my socket AM2 motherboard and the price on the 6000+ was quite attractive.

I'm happy with the results too, but the mags are saying that the current Phenoms tend to use more power and thus run hotter and their performance is disappointing.

I hope AMD will once again give Intel some stiff competition in the CPU marketplace as I think we'll all benefit from that. And I certainly would rather not see a virtual monopoly on desktop and laptop CPUs.

 

as eezak said the phenoms while not a bad chip fell slightly short BUT they arent a bad chip. I'm sure with the uses you intend for your pc a quad is major overkill. Any dual core whether intel or amd would do you great. Get a little extra ram and beef up the video with cash saved and youll notice a better vista experience.4 years is a long gap in technology so the jump should be rather noticeable

 

Thanks for the advice folks. Here is my possible build. let me know what ya think...

CAS: Thermaltake Bach VX Mid-Tower 420W Case with Side Window [+31]
CASUPGRADE: NONE
CS_FAN: Default case fans
CPU: (Sckt775)Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E6750 CPU @ 2.66GHz 1333FSB 4MB L2 Cache 64-bit [+20]
CD: (Special Price) 20X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER (BLACK COLOR)
CD2: NONE
CABLE: None
FLASHMEDIA: INTERNAL 12in1 Flash Media Reader/Writer (BLACK COLOR)
FREEBIE_CU1: FREE! CyberPower Multi-Purpose Carrying Briefcase ($19.99 Value)
FREEBIE_CU2: FREE! Cyberpower Unleash The Power T-Shirt ($19 Value)
FAN: INTEL LGA775 CERTIFIED CPU FAN & HEATSINK
FREEBIE_VC2: None
FLOPPY: NONE
HDD: Single Hard Drive (250GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 8MB Cache 7200RPM HDD [-14])
HDD2: 320GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM Hard Drive [+85]
IEEE_CARD: NONE
KEYBOARD: PS2 MULTIMEDIA INTERNET CONTROL KEYBOARD (BLACK COLOR)
MOUSE: Logitech Optical Wheel Mouse (BLACK COLOR)
MODEM: NONE
MONITOR: NONE
MONITOR2: NONE
MOTHERBOARD: Asus P5N-E nForce 650i SLI Chipset LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2 Mainboard
MEMORY: (Req.DDR2 MainBoard)2GB (2x1GB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory (Corsair Value Select or Major Brand)
NETWORK: ONBOARD 10/100 NETWORK CARD
OS: Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Home Premium w/ Service Pack 1 [+104] (32-bit Edition)
PRO_WIRING: None
PRINTER: None
PRINTER_CABLE: None
POWERSUPPLY: 600 Watts Power Supplies [+59] (CoolerMaster Unit 600 Watts eXtreme Power - SLI Supports)
RUSH: NO; READY TO SHIP IN 5~10 BUSINESS DAYS
SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS 24/7 LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
SOUND: 3D WAVE ON-BOARD 5.1 SOUND CARD
SPEAKERS: NONE [-5]
TEMP: NONE (AS SHOWN)
TVRC: None
USB: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
UPS: None
USBHD: NONE
VIDEO: NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT 256MB 16X PCI Express [+35] (EVGA Powered by NVIDIA [+5])
VIDEO2: NONE
VIDEO3: NONE
VIDEOCAMERA: NONE
WNC: NONE

 

You buying that prebuilt? If so, do you have a link?

E

 

Yep. I can hand pick any components just like I would from a local store, plus its cheaper than I can do it myself. I've had a couple friends buy from CyberPowerPc and they are very satisfied with the end result.

www.cyberpowerpc.com

 

Looking good Adryn, IIRC Mims bought her gaming rig there.

 

I prefer to build my own, but looks like some pretty good prices on your link Blues. Sometimes you can save some cash by buying one and upgrading some parts yourself.

E

 

Do you guys know anything about all these different Nvidia cards? Im thinking about going EVGA brand. Im concerned about noise levels. Im hoping to get an 8600 or lower card and hope that its relatively quiet. I don't need the latest greatest graphics, middle of the road would be ok with me.

 

BluesMan, you might be interested in taking a look at page 29 of the Dec 25, 2007 issue of PC Mag if you can get hold one of one easily. They give a 5 star rating (the max) to the XFX GeForce 8800 GT, a PCI-Express card with 512 megs of RAM. They show a list price of $249.95 for the standard card (factory overclocked models are available at additional cost) and say "The 8800 GT's bang for the buck, in terms of frame rates per dollar, is nearly twice as good as that of the competing cards at the highest resolution,. Even at lower resolutions, it is equal to or better than anything else on the market....an exceptional value that provides superior performance, earning a rare five-star rating. It's one of the best values in PC graphics we've seen in years."

Maybe in that price range something better has come along in the couple of months since it was written, but it caught my attention. Not sure what price range middle of the road means to you, but $250 nowadays for a graphics card is, I think, mid-range.

The article in PC Mag adds that the card "basically conforms to the nVidia reference design..." and is bundled with the game Company of Heroes. I haven't checked, but I would imagine other companies have lowered their prices on similar cards built according to the 8800 GT nVidia reference design/specs. So check other name brand cards designated as 8800 GT's with the same amount of RAM and try to find some benchmark stats you can compare, frame rates for specific games at same resolution/AA settings and so on. My guess is by now other companies have similar quality cards competing in that same price range. If that proves to be the case, it may boil down to buying the package that has the best extras -- a game you're more interested in or some extra cables or connectors or whatever.

So why haven't I bought one yet, you ask? I'm having some problems with a new hard drive which it appears I may have to RMA. Once I exchange that for a new drive I plan to start a thread here, mentioning this XFX card as a likely upgrade, to see what sort of feedback and advice I get.