AMD Phenom ii x6 1055T vs AMD Phenom ii x4 955

[AngloAves]

Well guys I'm in the last stretches of my build configuration and it comes down to the CPU. As I said in a previous post regarding RAM I'll be using this computer for primarily gaming, internet surfing, and perhaps in the future machinima production. The two CPUs I have in mind are the AMD Phenom ii x6 1055T which is going for $180 on Newegg and the AMD Phenom ii x4 955 which is going for $145. The motherboard I'll be using is the Gigabyte GA-880GA-UD3H and the graphics card will be the GTX 460, in case you were wondering. So which CPU do you guys think would be a better deal for me, the x4 955 or the x6 1055T. Thanks for the help.

 

[tecmo34]

I would go with the Phenom II X4 955, as it is pretty close in performance at a better price.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/88?vs=147

 

[AngloAves]

Which CPU would be more future-proof? One of the main things I'm trying to achieve with this computer is longevity.

 

[tecmo34]

I would have to say the X6 1055T is more future proof but by the time games truly utilize 6 cores, you'll be ready for another upgrade. Most PC games don't fully utilize 4 cores, as it is now. If you are more into Photo/Video editing, the X6 1055T is the way to go for a "future proof" setup.

 

[AngloAves]

From what I've read it seems that if all the cores aren't utilized then the cores that are not being used become turbo and with these turbo cores plus the cores that are being used it adds up to 3.3ghz. Sorry for the poor wording, not sure how else to describe it. I'd also like to mention that I don't plan on overclocking whichever CPU I decide to go with. So with that in mind wouldn't the 1055T in theory be faster than the 955 seeing as the 1055T would have 3.3ghz when using turbo and the 955 would have 3.2ghz? Correct me if I'm wrong, I'm a little new to the whole CPU market.

 

[Emperus]

The 1055T and the 965 BE have the same basic architecture with the 1055T having two extra cores.. Without overclocking, the X4 955 is going to perform better compared to the X6 1055T in games.. With both processors overclocked to the same levels, the gaming performance would roughly be same.. Having said this, the X6 is not going to give you any more longevity compared to the X4..

 

[tecmo34]

^+1... This is a better way of saying what I was trying to say 😀

 

[amdfangirl]

Although, the Phenom II X6 has those 2 extra cores you may find handy later on, though it's unlikely games will use six cores anytime soon.

 

[randomhero1090]

I got the 955 BE for $145. Tops on the 3DMark Vantage GPU Performance chart for AMDs, granted there are like 15 intels ahead of it, but not by much but much more price wise. 955 BE trumps the 1055T in FPS on all games in the charts.

But, the 1055T seems to rate better for overall performance.

With the GTX 460 card by itself, if you are looking to game at higher resolutions, you are going to need all the FPS help you can get.

 

[amdfangirl]

 

[dokk2]

You can't lose with the 955, I have seen some overclocked to 4gh on air around the web, not in any hurry to try same with mine , not yet anyhow..

 

[randomhero1090]

Well I am going to try to overclock mine, but honestly, i'm not even going to attempt 4.0ghz. Based on what I read, that takes a lot more time, patience and testing than I have available. But it sounds like you can OC a AMD BE CPU with very little effort and see some impressive gains.

 

[AngloAves]

Hmm I've been thinking and perhaps I should go with a budget CPU, I was thinking the AMD Phenom II x2 555, to tide me over til the new Bulldozer processors come out next year. What are your opinions?

 

[Derbixrace]

i would say 1055t its a good OC'er and the extra 2 cores will definitely come handy one day.

BC2 MP would benefit from x6 already.

 

[keithlm]

As many people often point out: many current applications don't use the additional cores. But the 1055T has the turbo gimmick which will overclock the cores to 3.3Ghz if 3 or less cores are being used.

So that means that in applications that use 3 or less cores it will be clocked to 100Mhz higher than the four cores on the 955.

So it is a catch 22. In things that use less cores the 1055T will actually be clocked slightly higher overall. And in applications that do benefit from more cores the 1055T has additional cores but at lower clock speeds.

Of course the above is all if you leave the 1055T at complete "stock". If you overclock everything is different. (the 1055T probably gets 100Mhz-200Mhz higher overclocks than the 955.)