Intel Q8200 quad core or Amd Phenom 2 550 black

[mortimerlopez]

Hi guys,

Which do you think is a better buy at pretty much the same price, around $140 out the door with cpu and motherboard?

The intel comes with a biostar motherboard that supports ddr2 and 3

The Amd comes with an asus motherboard that I think only supports ddr2 but you are able to unlock the other two cores of the 550.

I have heard that the Q8200 is not that great for gaming or oc.

Bottom line which one am I better off with, its between these 2 only, I'm leaning towards the intel but the Amd sounds like it might have an advantage.

 

[BadTrip]

Here are some numbers.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?p=97&p2=52

Never buy a dual thinking you will unlock a quad. If you want a quad buy a quad.

 

[welshmousepk]

personally, i would advice on the phenom.

LGA775 is a dead platform, and it would really cut away upgrade potential to go that route.

i have a 550 myself, its very good. obviously, in threaded tasks it will be out performed, but as far as dual-threaded tasks go, its one of the best procs you can get.

what badtrip said is true. its possible to unlock to a quad (as i did) and the sucess rate is good. but its should only be a bonus, dont buy it soley on the basis of unlocking.

 

[rooseveltdon]

The phenom ll 550 is the better choice here, it is faster in single and dual threaded apps and programs and gives a much better upgrade path should you ever want a new cpu (the upcoming six core amd chip is going to be am3 as well) the lga 775 is a dead platform and the 8200 was never a good quad to begin with go with the phenom ll or wait a week for the core i 3 to come out

 

[mortimerlopez]

Thanks guys, I actually went witht the phenom and was able to unlock all cores and now my system detects the cup as a phenom II x4 b50 processor

 

[welshmousepk]

very nice mortimer, join the club.

 

[werxen]

Might I add that the athlon x4 tends to be very cheap and performs well

 

[welshmousepk]

it depends on what OP has in mind for the system.

if he is a gamer, i would recomend the 550 every time. the higher clock and L3 cache gives it a major advantage.

if however he just want a general useage system, then a 620 would be a brilliant choice.

 

[jackharvest]

Thank you thank you thank you. I currently own the q8200 Quad-Core, and it's overclocking abilities are almost none. I'm not a hard-core gamer, but feel the need to get around quick on the computer, usually doing 1 or 2 things at a time. And let's face it, these other 2 cores are doing nothing for me.

Thanks. I'll be purchasing the 550 when my ebay auction kills off my quad core processor. XD