AMD Phenom X4 Quad Core or iNTEL i3 Sandy Bridge?

They perform similarly with the i3 usually performing a little better.

I'd go for the i3 but would definitely consider looking at the 2500k.

They perform similarly with the i3 usually performing a little better.

I'd go for the i3 but would definitely consider looking at the 2500k.

Tezcatlipoca666

id get the phenpom II x4 if your upgrading or doing a new build for under $790 800+ iis probabluy where id go i5 2500/2500k

Either one will play Minecraft lol But if you want to play more intensive games you're wasting your money by buying a dualcore in 2011. They're already coming out with hexacores.

Edit: So in case it's not obvious, I'm for AMD in this case

Purchasing a dual core isn't the best idea at this point. If you want to stay ascheap as possible go with AMD - if you want great performance get a Sandybridge I5 and if you plan on overclocking make sure it's a K series chip.

I concur with most of the other posters. You're better off getting a Phenom II X4 and AM3 motherboard on a budget build. Getting a dual-core (even a fast one like an i3) isn't a smart decision for future games/programs. The i3 architecture is better than the Phenom II's, but the 2 extra cores will be very handy. The X4 955 is currently the smartest buy at about $120 from newegg. It's 3.2ghz stock, which is more than enough for any game.. plus it has good overclocking headroom, which is made easy by it's unlocked multiplier.

If you're spending under about $800-$850 on the PC, go for the 955 and an AM3 mobo. If spending more, go for the i5 2500k and an LGA 1155 motherboard.

I concur with most of the other posters. You're better off getting a Phenom II X4 and AM3 motherboard on a budget build. Getting a dual-core (even a fast one like an i3) isn't a smart decision for future games/programs. The i3 architecture is better than the Phenom II's, but the 2 extra cores will be very handy. The X4 955 is currently the smartest buy at about $120 from newegg. It's 3.2ghz stock, which is more than enough for any game.. plus it has good overclocking headroom, which is made easy by it's unlocked multiplier.

If you're spending under about $800-$850 on the PC, go for the 955 and an AM3 mobo. If spending more, go for the i5 2500k and an LGA 1155 motherboard.

hartsickdiscipl

I vote for this. Go with a 955 if on a budget. The 955 is a min but still very good at the same time.

get the i3 Sandy Bridge as it is dirt cheap and just pair it with a board that will allow you to oc a i5 2500k in the future if you so choose to upgrade your cpu ....

currently I am waiting and saving up money in order to buy an i5 2500k cuz there is nothing out there that can beat its performance/value .... awesome cpu !!!

AMD right now is dead in my books

DeViLzzz

Or you could buy an X4 955 BE now and an AM3+ motheboard that will allow you to upgrade to Bulldozer down the road. That way you get great performance and 4 cores now, then the option to upgrade to a CPU that should be on par with or better than Sandy Bridge later.

Bulldozer delayed til July. Oh AMD just when I was considering buying a cpu from you again.

DeViLzzz

end of june.. incorrect

[QUOTE="DeViLzzz"]

get the i3 Sandy Bridge as it is dirt cheap and just pair it with a board that will allow you to oc a i5 2500k in the future if you so choose to upgrade your cpu ....

currently I am waiting and saving up money in order to buy an i5 2500k cuz there is nothing out there that can beat its performance/value .... awesome cpu !!!

AMD right now is dead in my books

hartsickdiscipl

Or you could buy an X4 955 BE now and an AM3+ motheboard that will allow you to upgrade to Bulldozer down the road. That way you get great performance and 4 cores now, then the option to upgrade to a CPU that should be on par with or better than Sandy Bridge later.

In a year or so you are going to miss having those two extra cores.

An option that seems to be overlooked is an i5 2400 and a cheap H61 or H67 motherboard. The 2500K is certainly a great option for those who can affor it, but you pay a premium on both board and processor to unlock the famed overclocking.

In a year or so you are going to miss having those two extra cores.

An option that seems to be overlooked is an i5 2400 and a cheap H61 or H67 motherboard. The 2500K is certainly a great option for those who can affor it, but you pay a premium on both board and processor to unlock the famed overclocking.

eBusiness

I would recommend reading this article: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/990fx-sli-am3,2953.html

It pits one of AMD's best quads against one of the new Sandy Bridge quads with other specs identical, same budget. It shows how far behind AMD is currently. Nothing wrong with an AMD quad but if your concern is best processor for the money so you can play future games, Sandy Bridge is the way to go.... or like others said you can wait until Bulldozer comes out to see how it performs.

I would recommend reading this article: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/990fx-sli-am3,2953.html

It pits one of AMD's best quads against one of the new Sandy Bridge quads with other specs identical, same budget. It shows how far behind AMD is currently. Nothing wrong with an AMD quad but if your concern is best processor for the money so you can play future games, Sandy Bridge is the way to go.... or like others said you can wait until Bulldozer comes out to see how it performs.

demonic_85

I may add that the topic was actually about the i3 (dualcore) vs. a phenom 2 x4, this a very simple choise, the ph2 ofc.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/the-sandy-bridge-review-intel-core-i7-2600k-i5-2500k-core-i3-2100-tested/20

The i3 2100 is perhaps a dual-core however its 2 cores outperform the Phenom II's 4 cores. It's a more powerful CPU. It also has hyperthreading btw which can help with some programs easily outperforming the Phenom II X4.

And NO, it doesn't cost $200 for a decent P67 motherboard. Even a $140-160 P67 board is enough for overclocking a 2500k to 4.5Ghz or more.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/the-sandy-bridge-review-intel-core-i7-2600k-i5-2500k-core-i3-2100-tested/20

The i3 2100 is perhaps a dual-core however its 2 cores outperform the Phenom II's 4 cores. It's a more powerful CPU. It also has hyperthreading btw which can help with some programs easily outperforming the Phenom II X4.

And NO, it doesn't cost $200 for a decent P67 motherboard. Even a $140-160 P67 board is enough for overclocking a 2500k to 4.5Ghz or more.

Tezcatlipoca666

But apples to apples the 2100 witch is the direct competitor to 955BE is often a less performer.

In dualthreaded performance it's less performing than the Phenom 2 940, actually it's more often behind the Athlon 2 645 x4, the Ph2 955BE is simply often faster and will alow the user to freely OC it via the unlocked multiplier, the 2100 wont OC a single bit.

So add the CPU + MB combo for a $120 i3 2100 and $160 for a motherboard capable of OC'ing the k series later on.

And on the other side you got the $120 955BE and a moterboard with AM3+ capable of upgrading to the BullDozer for $60.

So your ending up paying $100 more for the i3 combo and get's less performance and no OC, does it sound like a great idea?

The 955 today is really a great value.

Here are some benchmarks, remeber the ph2 940 is a 3Ghz CPU otherwise it's identical to the sigthly better performing 3.2Ghz ph2 955.

Even if the 2100 in some scenarios beat out the phenom2's bu a margin the 955BE seems like an obvious choise since you actually can get another 20% performance of it with the blink of an eye and buying a combo you can upgrade later on cost $100 LESS than the 2100.

The 2100 isn't a bad CPU or it's not that far behind either (well while the 955BE isn't OC'ed that is) but how smart of a moove is it paying more to get the same or less performance?

get sandy bridge because bulldozer obviously couldn't take the sandy bridge downfishing666

bulldozer delayed not suprising...get sandy bridge. thank god i didn't wait for billdozer...still this really isnt good for consumers

stuff

swehunt

For starters, those benchmarks aren't games which is the critical comparison here. TC asked about gaming performance.

Concerning upgrade paths... you can get an H67 motherboard for $85 or a P67 for $100. The H67 bundled with the i5-2500 or i7-2600 is a pretty good upgrade path. You don't NEED to overclock. The P67 for $100 can overclock though, if that's what you want.

Edit: in case you guys haven't yet deduced it based on my avatar and posts in other threads... I'm playing devils advocate :P

[QUOTE="fishing666"]get sandy bridge because bulldozer obviously couldn't take the sandy bridge downwolverine_97

indeed!

you also need to rememebr that bulldozer is a brand new architrecture not a jacked up am2+ cpu ahahah

this means that you could be in for a delightful suprise.. benchmarks thus far show the quad core's able to pace or outpace intels flagship in mutli tasking and they also appear to show up the 2500k in both overclocking thresholds & fluid benchmarks (3d mark, pcmark, sandra)

i recommend avoiding talking smack until you have benchmarks of some validity that say otherwise..

i got real benchies from semi-reliable sources.. you got your mouth

now begon for a jump you and your whole crew

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpZUHNvFubg

[QUOTE="wolverine_97"][QUOTE="fishing666"]get sandy bridge because bulldozer obviously couldn't take the sandy bridge downionusX

indeed!

you also need to rememebr that bulldozer is a brand new architrecture not a jacked up am2+ cpu ahahah

this means that you could be in for a delightful suprise.. benchmarks thus far show the quad core's able to pace or outpace intels flagship in mutli tasking and they also appear to show up the 2500k in both overclocking thresholds & fluid benchmarks (3d mark, pcmark, sandra)

i recommend avoiding talking smack until you have benchmarks of some validity that say otherwise..

i got real benchies from semi-reliable sources.. you got your mouth

now begon for a jump you and your whole crew

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpZUHNvFubg

get the i3 Sandy Bridge as it is dirt cheap and just pair it with a board that will allow you to oc a i5 2500k in the future if you so choose to upgrade your cpu ....

currently I am waiting and saving up money in order to buy an i5 2500k cuz there is nothing out there that can beat its performance/value .... awesome cpu !!!

AMD right now is dead in my books

DeViLzzz

Dualcore = fail. Games simply want quad cores.