CPU Buyer's Guide 2.0

[smithereen]

Will be upgraded to reflect new releases next weekend!

Edit 1. Added TOC. Removed Core i5 750 from recommended CPUs until the dust clears.
Edit 2. Added appendix recommending LGA-775 and AM2 CPUs.
Edit 3. Recommended Core i3 530, recommended against Clarkdale Core i5s
Edit 4. Recommended 1055T and 1090T, reduced recommendation on i5 750 and i7
Edit 5. Minors changes. Reduced warnings against Socket 1156.
Edit 6. Minor changes, recommended i5 760, clarified i7 recomendations.
May be upgraded again soon to reflect any pricedrops, OCing or reliability results, etc.
Much of this is shamelessly pirated from Turpit's thread.

Credit goes to caamsa, chiadog, endyen, DirtyDrummer, grieve, navvara, Shadow703793, uguv, and Spitfire_x86 for contributing to past versions as well.

This is a very early edition, this will be updated when I have time. No promises for a timeline, though.

Table of Contents
1. Intro

2. Notes
2.0 Getting Help from the Forums and A Note on So-Called Fanboysim
2.1 A Note on Software

3. Multithreading

4. Performance and Value

5. Recommendations
5.0 Intel Sockets
5.1 AMD Sockets.
5.2 CPUs to Avoid
5.3 Recommended CPUs.

Appendix A: Dictionary of CPU Terms
Appendix B: Recommendations for Obsolete Sockets.

Don't forget to run Folding@home on your shiny new CPU! Tom's Hardware Guide is Team 40051.

 

[Computerprogramnewb]

Thank you, I fixed that. Also added an exception where the 9950 'may' be good for some users who can't drop-in a Phenom II.

Thank you for the information; it was just what i was looking for.

 

[clement4413]

I would like to buy a new platform for the gaming and encoding but I am hesitating between I7 860 or I5 750 he will be o/c or wait the Phenom x6

What do you think ?
thx

 

[smithereen]

I'd build with an i7 or an i5 now, but if you wait, you will probably get a better deal. Nobody knows when AMD's hexacores will be released.

 

[clement4413]

Yes I think too, I'm going to wait and I will see performance about phenom X6 VS core I7/I5 and the price of course

 

[markus_g]

Would be great if the CPU charts included a I7 860. I am looking at a I7 860 or a I7 920 and I think alot of other people would be too.
It is hard to make a proper decision when only option is to compare a 870 and a 920.

Cheers,

Markus.

 

[sebruce]

awesome post. i've learned a lot.

 

[trunkbitz]

yep, same here. I'd like to ask a stupid question.. intelligently guessing the architecture and all of AMD's hexacore, for example having core speed of 3gHz, in the future, is there a chance that it will lead i5 750's performance in multitasking (apparently), video and picture rendering, heavy online gaming, etc. Having read this topic, explicitly it was explained that having more cores doesn't mean higher performance or speed. Actually, i'm trying to build a rig for multi-tasking mainly and gaming. For example, I'm running Auto-Cad 2010, Adobe CS5, multi-clienting 3 online games (hmm for example, Silkroad at full graphic details hehe), and downloading a movie..

Getting the mobo's, graphic cards, ram's as fixed variables.. (actually planning to get Gigabyte P55-UD for core i5 or M4A79XTD / 790FX-GD70 for AMD II x4 955 or 965, ATI 4870HD / 5770, Kingston / RipJaws / Corsair 4gb DDR3 1600) and assuming being able to oc the hexacore just by aircooling..

Rating myself, im just noob to all these and i've really learned alot initially reading the articles in my first day of being a member here Hope to hear your insights.. thanks alot!

 

[smithereen]

It's impossible to know for sure, but I believe Thuban, or Phenom II X6, will be to the Core i7 what Phenom II X4 is to the Core i5. It will lose a few more than it wins, but it will have enough of a price advantage to make it worthwhile.

 

[bewodo]

I used Phenom II X4 so far in a Acer machine, it works perfece the cpu temparature is always kept so low. Ideal for gaming for multi task! I think it is even better than I7...

drf

 

[smithereen]

As I expected, this Tech Report analysis suggests that 2.9Ghz Istanbul-based server hexacores lag a hair behind 2.66GHz Nelhalem-based quads, so if the desktop variety has been optimized or is clocked higher, I think it has a fair chance of being faster than an i7 920, at least without overclocking.

And bewodo, the Phenom II 940 isn't better than an i7. It is, however, so good that many users won't be able to tell the difference.

 

[masryp]

Edit 1. Added TOC. Removed Core i5 750 from recommended CPUs until the dust clears.
Edit 2. Added appendix recommending LGA-775 and AM2 CPUs.
WILL BE UPDATED SOON WHEN PRICES SETTLE OUT
Much of this is shamelessly pirated from Turpit's thread.

Credit goes to caamsa, chiadog, endyen, DirtyDrummer, grieve, navvara, Shadow703793, uguv, and Spitfire_x86 for contributing to past versions as well.

This is a very early edition, this will be updated when I have time. No promises for a timeline, though.

Table of Contents
1. Intro

2. A Note on Software

3. Multithreading

4. Performance and Value

5. Recommendations
5.0 Intel Sockets
5.1 AMD Sockets.
5.2 CPUs to Avoid
5.3 Recommended CPUs.

Appendix A: Dictionary of CPU Terms
Appendix B: Recommendations for Obsolete Sockets.

i read your complete review, great work, and i am hoping for advice if thats possible.
my setup now is: gigabyte ga-ma69vm-s2, gigabyte gv-n250oc-1gi, 3ghz ram,amd 64 x2 4200+, xilence 550w, windows 7 ultimate 32bit.
the games i play are : far cry2, cod, trackmania, conflict denied ops, counter strike , team fortress, maple story,
the software i use : office 7 pro, convertxtodvd, nero 9, firefox.
the pc is mostley used to play and web browsing.
i want to do a upgrade of the pc so i dont have to worry about an upgrade again for at least the next 3 years if that is possible.
i dont do overclocking, my screen is a lg flatron l192ws.
what would you advice me to do?

 

[smithereen]

How much do you want to spend?

 

[masryp]

How much do you want to spend?

maximum 620 euro, and i cant do newegg because i am out their region.
the shop that i can do is alternate and you can see the prices at this website www.alternate.be
thanks for any advice that you can give

 

[gegoo1]

i don't care abt i7's architecture , i still think that Q9550 is better than it

 

[3d_computer_system]

GOD,
what are the benchmarks for the new range of i3 and i5 computer systems?

anyone got one and their review on the cpu?

 

[smithereen]

I'll be getting to that soon...

 

[masryp]

I'll be getting to that soon...

hello again, do you have any advice what i should do?
thanks for any avice

 

[smithereen]

i read your complete review, great work, and i am hoping for advice if thats possible.
my setup now is: gigabyte ga-ma69vm-s2, gigabyte gv-n250oc-1gi, 3ghz ram,amd 64 x2 4200+, xilence 550w, windows 7 ultimate 32bit.
the games i play are : far cry2, cod, trackmania, conflict denied ops, counter strike , team fortress, maple story,
the software i use : office 7 pro, convertxtodvd, nero 9, firefox.
the pc is mostley used to play and web browsing.
i want to do a upgrade of the pc so i dont have to worry about an upgrade again for at least the next 3 years if that is possible.
i dont do overclocking, my screen is a lg flatron l192ws.
what would you advice me to do?

That motherboard appears to support the entire Phenom II series. It would be most cost-effective to drop in a Phenom II 955, which would last quite a while, rather than doing a complete rebuild. It may be mild overkill, but it should provide better longevity than any other AM2 or AM3 processor. 3GB of ram should be sufficiant for a while, but if you want 4GB, you should probably buy it now before prices climb any higher. You're processor was bottlenecking that GTS 250 in Far Cry 2 quite a bit, I think, and I would sit on it until Fermi comes out, but if you really need more performance NAO, you could get a GTX 275 or an HD 4870/5770.

 

[masryp]

That motherboard appears to support the entire Phenom II series. It would be most cost-effective to drop in a Phenom II 955, which would last quite a while, rather than doing a complete rebuild. It may be mild overkill, but it should provide better longevity than any other AM2 or AM3 processor. 3GB of ram should be sufficiant for a while, but if you want 4GB, you should probably buy it now before prices climb any higher. You're processor was bottlenecking that GTS 250 in Far Cry 2 quite a bit, I think, and I would sit on it until Fermi comes out, but if you really need more performance NAO, you could get a GTX 275 or an HD 4870/5770.

first of all thanks for the reply, i checked the website and according to what i see the highest supported processor is phenom ii 945 with bios version f10e, the higher phenom its says " N/A". it is however possible that i dont know enough to read the chart.
buth i am planning on the amd phenom ii 955 or 965. that the processor that i have now is bottlenekking my gpu i believe very much, because the benchmarks on the internet for my gts 250 are higher than on my computer.
would it be a difference performance wise if i would by a core i7 860?
because i read that you only see the difference in havy use, somenthing i dont think i am reaching.
i also read that hypertrading is sometimes a problem performance wise, it says that it in some cases slows the computer down?
i am thinking of kicking out my psu its a xilence xp-sps 550w. i cant find any review of it and i wanna be prepared for a better graphics card in the near future, the psu i wanna by is ocz modxstream pro 600w.

 

[smithereen]

...Oh. I stand very corrected. Good thing you called me on that.

Yes, there would be a large CPU performance increase if you got a Core i7 relative to a Phenom II, but you wouldn't see it in gaming unless you did a huge GPU upgrade. In my opinion, you should buy a Phenom II 945 95W now, maybe overclock it a little, and sit on that until you can't play the games you want to play anymore, than do a full system upgrade, including the GPU and PSU if necessary. Replacing your motherboard to allow a 965 is pointless; better value would be to get the most out of your motherboard in the time being.

 

[smithereen]

I'm afraid Toms' Best Gaming CPUs for the Money is going to make this redundant.

 

[masryp]

I'm afraid Toms' Best Gaming CPUs for the Money is going to make this redundant.

how come?

 

[cisco sfp]

i have pc which is dual core system with 512 ddr2 ram and 160gb sata harddisk, now i want to upgarde my ram, what would you suggest me, to replace the old one with 2gb or can i continue by using the old one and replace the new one in an another slot.

 

[smithereen]

Cisco, this is not the best place to ask about RAM, but if I were you, I would buy one stick of 2GB DDR2-800 if your motherboard can support it.

 

[cisco sfp]

First of all thanks for your suggestion, and can you also let me know which would be the best place to clarify the system queries.