AMD or those Intel Quads?

[rahrah]

Well as you all know the Phenom x4's are out and for my new build im thinking of getting a AMD phenom 9550 AM2+

But really compared to a Intel Q6600 Quad core the major difference is price but overall do you think that the processing speeds and the main different in clocks make AMD seem lower down one?

I don't want to start a flame war against AMD and intel I just want well backed up opinions to help me really decide. I did use intel, but that was back with the P4 chips and they were awful I moved over to AMD and stuck with it. now it's the hype between intel & AMD's Quads and I just want to know if is worth going for the extra pound to go with AMD. Personal opinions to just let me overall decide thanks Alex.

 

[Proximon]

The two CPUs are very similar in gaming:

http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=775&p=4


The Intel Q6600 will overclock better.... so much that it makes up for the price difference.

Then there's the fact that the Q6600 has several major upgrade quads above it, that will fit in the same socket. You really have to wonder how much more speed can be got from the AM2+ in the future.

So, I would lean towards Intel. However, at stock speeds and nothing else considered the two CPUs are pretty much tied for performance.

 

[englandr753]

I went with the Q6600 but at the time the AMD quads werent available. I would still likely lean toward an Intel quad since my Q6600 easily OC'd to 3ghz w/o breaking a sweat and would do more if I decided to do so.

You probably cant go wrong with either selection. AMD is coming up slowly and does have some good cpus to offer.

 

[rambo117]

even if im a die hard AMD guy, id have to say intel(sorry amd) has the best quadcores easily. go for the Q6600, you wont be dissapointed if you plan on OCing any time soon. i have heard however that people can push their phenom 9550's around 2.8-2.9GHZ stable though however, thats what got my interest of the phenoms.

 

[br3nd064]

I agree with the above posters and say go with intel. Even if you can get the 9550 to 2.8-2.9ghz, the q6600 can usually get to about 3.6ghz.

 

[zenmaster]

From the Link Above, I chose a game that can get CPU limited.

http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=775&p=4

Q6600 (2.4ghz) == 24 FPS
X4 9750 (2.4Ghz) == 18 FPS

On a percentage basis that is quite a bit.

Then Consider the Q6600 will OC to 3.4 Ghz easy.
The 9750 perhaps 2.8Ghz.

The difference will grow even greater.
Add to the fact the Phenom will use more power, generate more heat, etc...

Now, The Intel Quad will cost more but perform much better.
If cost is a major concern, consider an E7200 clocked to 4.0Ghz.
That will cost lost than a Phenom Quad and really beat them handily at anything that is not quad core optmized. For those that are, the differnece may will likely not be that great with the Intel clocking to 4ghz vs 3ghz (1/3rd faster) and having an higher IPC.

It's one of those common arguements for Intel Quads vs Intel Core2Duos, except that Intel C2D come out more ahead becaues the Phenoms will not clock as high as Intel Quads nor run as fast on a per clock basis which is a double whammy against.

The area AMD rules right now is the HTPC market with low power chipsets and vastly superior integrated graphics.

 

[dirtmountain]

Smart money would be on the Q6600 and a P45 or X38/48 motherboard. That doesn't mean that a 9950 BE paired with a 790GX/SB750 or a 790FX/SB750 would be a lousy gaming system.

 

[jerreece]

Intel generally is far better for Quads right now. Q6600 over Phenom for sure. Everyone up above has already explained why.

and if you plan to OC at all, don't get an nVidia based motherboard. Get an Intel motherboard. My 680i won't OC my quad to anything. All the good OCs are on Intel boards

 

[megamanx00]

If you're on a tight budget, go with an AMD Quad Core for now and upgrade it latter. If you have the money, go with an Intel Quad Core.

 

[jaragon13]

I don't know,the AMD Deneb in the future might beat the Core 2 Quad and still work on an AM2+ socket.

If you're on a budget,stick with the 9550 or E7200 and spend more on the graphics card.

 

[rahrah]

Thanks for your opinions it's really appreciated time to probably re-think! haha what sockets do intel sockets use? and jaragon no need for the gpu as I have a 9800GT