AMD Phenom II X4 945 or Intel Core i5 750?

[OverPT]

Greetings, I was going to get an Intel Core i5 750 with the P7P55D-E motherboard, but they didn't have any of those on stock, so my friends got me to buy an AMD Phenom II X4 945 with the M4A89GTD Pro/USB3 motherboard...

And now looking at the charts and graphs around the internet I find myself in a difficult position, should I change my processor to the i5? the extra money I have to pay doens't matter, it's just that I think I could get a lot more for a little more...

The reason why I chose the AMD was because it had already passed 2 weeks since I was waiting for the board and the processor...

Help please?

 

[Lmeow]

In most benchmarks, the Core i5 750 beats the Phenom II X4 965, and you've got the 400MHz less version at 3.0GHz Phenom II 945. I don't think you should bother upgrading - their performance is similar, with the i5 being marginally better in some applications, in others its quite a bit faster. However, I doubt you'd actually notice the difference though - I'm pretty sure most won't mind waiting a few extra seconds or minutes on DVD encoding time or a small loss in FPS. Besides, most P55 motherboards don't have SATA III/USB 3.0, and those which do, tend to have the PCI-e bottlenecking issue.

 

[saaiello]

I would say get the I5 750 if its at all possible it outperforms that Phenom in every way.

 

[OverPT]

But is the difference that great between the two? I mean, if I overclock the AMD to 3.4GHz it will be almost like having the 965 which is almost the same as the i5...

Also my problem is the graphics card, from what I see, if you have an AMD config you should get an ATI card, even though I prefer Nvidia

 

[saaiello]

But if you factor in the same for the 750 it will overclock over 4 ghz. You will be lucky if you get that Phenom over 3.7ghz.

 

[OverPT]

I don't really like high overclocking, but will it be so difficult to get past 3.7GHz? My cooler is a Zalman CNPS9700NT

 

[saaiello]

Yes thats not even a black edtion you got 700 to 800 mhz is about all the overclock you can expect if your lucky. I was just saying that it could go over 4 ghz but the I5 750 will sit fat and happy at 3.8 ghz all day everyday without a hiccup I would be worried about putting too much of an overclock on that Phenom.

 

[Lmeow]

I'm not sure about the cooler's ability to cool, but most Phenom II X4 C3s can hit 4.0GHz on air, and C2s can hit 3.8GHz on air.
I wouldn't bother upgrading, unless you don't mind paying for the upgrade - the difference at stock isn't too noticeable, but when you overclock the i5, the performance difference is very noticeable. Not all chips are the same, and not all i5s can hit 4.0GHz on air. Just make sure your cooler can handle it.

 

[OverPT]

Hmm I don't know... I overclock the CPU's a little but since I don't work if one should go boom I'd be screwed, I guess I'll stick with the 945, I'll try to see it's maximum overclocking potential in a few weeks.

About the graphics cards, do you think there's a difference in performance when choosing an Nvidia or ATI card with my processor being AMD?

 

[someguy7]

I would stay with your current cpu. You already have the thing and from your posts it seems you intend to game which generally is gpu dependent at the time.

The difference between the GPU performance is simply dependent on the GPUs for the most part. Why do you prefer nvidia cards though? You should prefer what best suits your needs for the build. Not just a brand name. I'm sure the gamers on the forums can give you better direction on what card to get depending on your budget/games/resolution.

 

[may1]

I don't understand why you need to buy PII 945, when you could go BE with the budget you have of getting an i5-750.

 

[someguy7]

I don't understand why you need to buy PII 945, when you could go BE with the budget you have of getting an i5-750.

Well its to late. On the OP's first post he states that he already has the AMD chip and board. If i was buying of course I would have get the c3 955. Would I go through the hassle of switching to it or a i5 if I already had the 945? Nope.

 

[XD_dued]

Greetings, I was going to get an Intel Core i5 750 with the P7P55D-E motherboard, but they didn't have any of those on stock, so my friends got me to buy an AMD Phenom II X4 945 with the M4A89GTD Pro/USB3 motherboard...

And now looking at the charts and graphs around the internet I find myself in a difficult position, should I change my processor to the i5? the extra money I have to pay doens't matter, it's just that I think I could get a lot more for a little more...

The reason why I chose the AMD was because it had already passed 2 weeks since I was waiting for the board and the processor...

Help please?

Hey, whats your purpose for this machine? If its gaming, you won't really notice any difference between 945-955-750 in most games.

If its productivity, and speed is absolutely the most important, then get the 750, but honestly encoding on my 955 @ 3.9ghz isn't really "slow" at all.

Really, I'd say stick with the 955. Even if you only get to 3.7, so what. You still have a 3.7 quad.

Just keep it and be happy

 

[XD_dued]

But is the difference that great between the two? I mean, if I overclock the AMD to 3.4GHz it will be almost like having the 965 which is almost the same as the i5...

Also my problem is the graphics card, from what I see, if you have an AMD config you should get an ATI card, even though I prefer Nvidia

I've used a 9800gtx no problem with my amd stuff..its completely fine btw.

 

[OverPT]

I prefer Nvidia because of the functionalities, like PhysX 3D Stereo etc... call me a "fanboy" :lol: even though i don't dislike ATI...

About the use i will be giving to my pc it's mainly for gaming, so I guess that I won't need to change the processor

Thank you for the help