AMD equivalent of Intel i7?

[cusconillow]

I am currently making the blueprints for the dream desktop I plan on building and am on the step that I need to find a processor. I would like to have an Intel i7 but they seem to be overpriced. Is there an AMD counterpart that is just as good?

 

[lilotimz]

Nope.

Plain and simple.

current AMD processors are more equal to older Core Q8xxx/9xxx units and are routed by first generation nehelam core processors by 10-20% on most application. The second generation sandy bridge processors is about 10-15% faster than the first gen which translates to beating the Phenom II's by quite a bit.

Since Bulldozer CPU's aren't *officially* released and reviewed, it's best I not talk about them.

AMD Processor sell based on their price and is most recommended for budget builds as the overall cost is cheaper than an intel one and the fact that games aren't that demanding these days.

The best processor for the money today (best bang for the buck) is the i5-2500K.

 

[cuecuemore]

^^+1 Get an i5. Far from being overpriced, it's the best value on the market.

 

[jaguarskx]

As stated, there is none right now.

Maybe AMD's upcoming Zambezi (Bulldozer core) CPUs can compete, but everyone has to wait for benchmarks.

 

[ram1009]

^^+1 Get an i5. Far from being overpriced, it's the best value on the market.

I think that's a bit overstated if you consider the extra costs involved in building an Intel box. Not to mention the very real possibility that Intel will obsolete it's platform at any moment. AMD is less likely to do so making their machines useful longer. Also, the OP hasn't said whet he intends to use this box for and so there is no indication that he will ever need the extra horsepower an i5 would provide.

 

[cusconillow]

Well what I'm planning on doing is building (corny alert) my dream computer. I want it to be future proof for gaming so I thought an i7 would be the best choice for what I'm doing. The only problem with all this is, I don't know how and what to decide on that much because I am just now learning the basics of building a computer through self-teaching by mostly just looking all over the internet. I have an incomplete rough draft of my build parts. Would you like to see them and maybe give a newbie some advice?

 

[cuecuemore]

I think that's a bit overstated if you consider the extra costs involved in building an Intel box.

That was true a year ago but holds no validity now. Other parts are on par with what you would spend on AM3(+), making it an even better deal.

 

[thebski]

You pay for what you get. With AMD you don't pay as much = you don't get as much. Period.

 

[thebski]

I'll add that it's almost not fair how much gaming performance you get with the i5 2500K (especially when OC'ed). You really are stealing FPS from Intel. It can hang with the 990X for God's sake in some games for $180 at Microcenter. $180!!!!!! As an i7 920 owner, that makes me jealous, lol.

 

[thebski]

In reading my posts back to back and realizing how much they contradict each other and I sound like a dumbass, I should also add that the current Sandy Bridge cpus are probably the exception to paying for what you get. They are really fast for very reasonable prices.

 

[cusconillow]

Alright well after all of this debate/whateverthisis is all said and done, what processor should I put in this feasible dream desktop of mine? It needs to be somewhat future-proof.

 

[lilotimz]

i5-2500k is the most recommended one. Easy to overclock alongside excellent performance that is quite unbeatable for the price.

Also ivy bridge will drop into most existing LGA1155 motherboards iirc so you'll also have an upgrade path and not a EOL socket like what happened to 1156.

 

[cusconillow]

Will it fit into a LGA1366?
This one to be exact: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188069

 

[thebski]

No. Sandy Bridge cpus are socket LGA 1155. It won't fit a 1366.

 

[lilotimz]

It's a LGA 1155 processor aka Sandy bridge. LGA 1366 is nehelam and is incompatible with Core i#-#### processors. It only takes Core i7-920, 940, 950, 960, 970 980x 990x

 

[thebski]

You're also going to be looking at dual channel memory with the 1155 socket as opposed to triple channel with the 1366.

 

[cusconillow]

Oh wait. Nevermind. That socket type is exclusive to the i7 I think. What is a motherboard manufacturer that make good mobos that I can find a LGA1155?

And what did you mean by "Also ivy bridge will drop into most existing LGA1155 motherboards iirc so you'll also have an upgrade path and not a EOL socket like what happened to 1156."

 

[lilotimz]

1. Good manufacturers are Asus , Gigabyte, MSI, Asrock and some few others. i personally prefer to use Asus and Gigabyte motherboards in any computer i build as you can see in the one i have.

2. Ivy bridge is the processor the Intel will be releasing for LGA1155. It's going to be 22nm (i think) and it can just be dropped straight into existing motherboards with a simple bios update. Thus theres still life left in the socket unlike LGA1156 which has been killed off and is basically dead with no upgrade paths.

 

[thebski]

And what did you mean by "Also ivy bridge will drop into most existing LGA1155 motherboards iirc so you'll also have an upgrade path and not a EOL socket like what happened to 1156."

iirc = if I remember correctly

EOL means end of line I'm guessing, although not sure about that one.

 

[aftcomet]

I think that's a bit overstated if you consider the extra costs involved in building an Intel box. Not to mention the very real possibility that Intel will obsolete it's platform at any moment. AMD is less likely to do so making their machines useful longer. Also, the OP hasn't said whet he intends to use this box for and so there is no indication that he will ever need the extra horsepower an i5 would provide.

So what if Intel makes it "obsolete"? Technology becomes obsolete all the time. That i5 is still going to rock for the next 3 years.

 

[iam2thecrowe]

So what if Intel makes it "obsolete"? Technology becomes obsolete all the time. That i5 is still going to rock for the next 3 years.

so what? it means less old motherboards going into land fill, and less money you will have to spend next upgrade time. If you had an AM2+ board you would be able to wack a quad core AMD phenom in it right now. I have a socket 775 board and i cant do jack all with it. So now i have to go spend a whole lot of money on an expensive second hand quad core intel CPU or upgrad both motherboard and CPU and RAM. Upgradeability is very valuable to many people.

 

[cusconillow]

1. Good manufacturers are Asus , Gigabyte, MSI, Asrock and some few others. i personally prefer to use Asus and Gigabyte motherboards in any computer i build as you can see in the one i have.

2. Ivy bridge is the processor the Intel will be releasing for LGA1155. It's going to be 22nm (i think) and it can just be dropped straight into existing motherboards with a simple bios update. Thus theres still life left in the socket unlike LGA1156 which has been killed off and is basically dead with no upgrade paths.

So what you're telling me lilotimz, is that the LGA1155 socket (which is the socket the i5 uses) has been verified by Intel to be the same socket they will be using for future processors, Right?

 

[cusconillow]

And also, I just realized that there are a ton of different i5 processors. There's a bunch of different clock speeds, different cache sizes (3MB and 6MB) which I don't even know what that is, and different core/thread amounts. What do you guys suggest I get?

 

[lilotimz]

Typcally for desktop models, i3's = dual cores + hyper threading, i5's = quad core, i7 = quad core + hyperthreading.

K models = unlocked multipliers for easy overclocking

Pentium G models are Dual cores with no hyperthreading or overclocking abilities.

I would recommend an i5-2500k as all that is different between it and the i7-2600k is hyperthreading which is a nonfactor for games.

 

[lozz08]

There has been some speculation that due to changes in UEFI current Sandy bridge chipsets may not be able to suppor Ivy Bridge processors.

As a gen3 motherboard owner I seriously hope that I have not been blatantly lied to because gen3 motherboards are PCI-E 3.0 compatible but only with Ivy Bridge.