Budget Gaming: Phenom 555 or i5?

[zach377]

This question has been my source of much angst for the past couple days as I make my final decision on my gaming processor. Obviously, I won't go wrong with either, the question is; is the i5 worth $40 extra on the P555? The many articles I've read conclude that the i5 is better and has equally high OC'ing potential and I've found good value boards for each setup so that is not a factor.
What to do?

 

[notty22]

This question has been my source of much angst for the past couple days as I make my final decision on my gaming processor. Obviously, I won't go wrong with either, the question is; is the i5 worth $40 extra on the P555? The many articles I've read conclude that the i5 is better and has equally high OC'ing potential and I've found good value boards for each setup so that is not a factor.
What to do?

You can't go wrong with either choice. Since your really not asking a question here, flip a coin. Assuming your talking about the 955 , either can drive almost any gpu(s), for gaming.
Zall

 

[warmon6]

There's no such thing as a Phenom 555. Assuming you mean the Phenom 2 955BE.

The i5 is the better overall processor. However the motherboards are also more expensive than comparable AMD motherboards.

For gaming with single graphics cards they are nearly the same.

+1


In my personal option, I say the Phenom II x 955 if your just gaming. The power of the core i5 will be wasted and scene most games are more GPU depended than cpu, the saved money by getting a Phenom II over Core i5 can be used to get a better gpu.


http://www.anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?p=109&p2=88

 

[warmon6]

Who wants an i3.....anybody??

not me. prefer to get a quad core over dual core.

 

[zach377]

yeah Id really go for 4 cores...multitasking+futureproofing=yes please

 

[mindless728]

Who wants an i3.....anybody??

maybe for someone else's build if they are priced competitively against AMD's X2's

personally, i am thinking about getting a dual LGA 1366 workstation over summer
as i am a programmer that creates cpu/mem intensive math programs (4-8+ threads)

 

[notty22]

We don't know what a super clocked 1156 dual core will do with a 5850 or a pair of them.
This dual core has better architecture and memory bandwidth than ever before. May blow us all away, it the sense that it may just keep up with its big brothers in gaming.

 

[aim001]

Why Are you guyz talking I3? He asked About i5 and 955^^. I would recommend u amd 955 if u got good cooling and your going to oc it high. This processor beats nearly all when oced. But if u got Stock cooling i5 would be faster. But i would have choosen the 955 anywayz, because it could oc 1ghz with stock. Depends on ur airflow inside ur case. I got stock coooling with 3 fan in case, 2 intake and 1 exhaust. And i easily clocked my amd x3 8650 triple core from 2.3 to 3.2ghz. Idle 29-32 and load 40-45c

 

[Atranox]

Why Are you guyz talking I3? He asked About i5 and 955^^. I would recommend u amd 955 if u got good cooling and your going to oc it high. This processor beats nearly all when oced. But if u got Stock cooling i5 would be faster. But i would have choosen the 955 anywayz, because it could oc 1ghz with stock. Depends on ur airflow inside ur case. I got stock coooling with 3 fan in case, 2 intake and 1 exhaust. And i easily clocked my amd x3 8650 triple core from 2.3 to 3.2ghz. Idle 29-32 and load 40-45c

An i5 actually is a "better" overclocker than a 955. It's clock speeds are faster - so a 3.8GHz i5 is faster than a 3.8GHz 955. Phenom II's do tend to gain some ground at higher frequencies - but the i5 still has a small advantage.

 

[aim001]

An i5 actually is a "better" overclocker than a 955. It's clock speeds are faster - so a 3.8GHz i5 is faster than a 3.8GHz 955. Phenom II's do tend to gain some ground at higher frequencies - but the i5 still has a small advantage.

Your right but i give u an exampel: if u buy a Intel processor 2.6 ghz and amd 2.6ghz and test thoose, intel goes like 10% Faster ( dont Ask me why). And the u clock the Intel to 3ghz , and that will be maximum on ur cooler, but on amd u can clock it 3.6 ghz or sumtin with same cooler, and that will give u higher perfomance.

 

[sirheck]

Your right but i give u an exampel: if u buy a Intel processor 2.6 ghz and amd 2.6ghz and test thoose, intel goes like 10% Faster ( dont Ask me why). And the u clock the Intel to 3ghz , and that will be maximum on ur cooler, but on amd u can clock it 3.6 ghz or sumtin with same cooler, and that will give u higher perfomance.

The first 2 posters are at 3.5/3.6 on stock coolers.
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=235075

 

[Atranox]

Your right but i give u an exampel: if u buy a Intel processor 2.6 ghz and amd 2.6ghz and test thoose, intel goes like 10% Faster ( dont Ask me why). And the u clock the Intel to 3ghz , and that will be maximum on ur cooler, but on amd u can clock it 3.6 ghz or sumtin with same cooler, and that will give u higher perfomance.

What? The 2.66GHz i5 can easily OC to 4.0-GHz or more on air with relative ease. The C2 955 gets to about 3.8GHz, and the C3 955 gets to around 4.0GHz.

 

[sirheck]

Either way the OP cant go wrong.

Unless he buys the 955 CPU and i5 mobo. :lol:

 

[aim001]

What? The 2.66GHz i5 can easily OC to 4.0-GHz or more on air with relative ease. The C2 955 gets to about 3.8GHz, and the C3 955 gets to around 4.0GHz.

No, amd is much easier to clock than Intel

 

[aim001]

And if they have stock cooler, that doesnt mean they're just getting cooled by them, they could have a good case with many fans -.-.

 

[Raidur]

That's exactly how I do it. If you have 200 or more to spend on the cpu alone then intel is your best bet. If you have under 200 you go AMD. This changes somewhat when i3 comes out though.

 

[BadTrip]

the i5 is one cent cheaper than the 965 at the egg today.