Phenom 2 or core i7 gaming rig

[jdelsignore911]

Hi again for the second post. (sorry for making another)
I am looking to build my first pc and was wondering if there were any problems with this build.

Processor: core i7 920 nehalem 2.66

Motherboard: asus p6t LGA 1366 Intel x58

Video card: undecided due to directx 11

Case: antec 300 atx midtower

Powersupply: antec true power supply 750w

RAM: Corsair XMS3 3 GB ddr3 1333

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar blue WD6400AAKS 640 GB 7200 rpm

CD drive: Samsung Black 22x

OS: windows 7 when released



Tell me how that sounds and if everything will fit.
Another configuration.

Processor: Phenom 2 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2 GHZ

Motherboard: ASUS M4A79T Deluxe AM3 DDR3 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard

Say if the first works and the second works. I will be saving around 160 by not getting the core i7.
Leave your comments.

 

[hunter315]

how much are you going to spend on a graphics card with the i7? If you are going to be confined to the same budget for both and the options are 2 4870s with the i7 or two 4890's with the 955 then the AMD build will beat the i7, but unless you are going to be running at atleast 1920x1200 you shouldnt be getting that much graphics power anyway so you should just go with the stronger processor. Definitely get 6 GB of ram for the i7, there is no good reason not to. What monitor resolution are you going to be running at and when are you planning on buying?

 

[jdelsignore911]

most likely 1680x1050 or higher. Why 6 gigs most things dont use near that??? or do they.

Are the processors that different? will they be that noticeably different?
I run games like crysis, crysis 2, left 4 dead 2, battlefield 2142, lord of the rings,

 

[hunter315]

Since your resolution is that low, you wont notice a difference in games, however the i7 will out perform the 955 in just about every other application. There is no significant performance gain above 4GB of ram but the toms hardware tests did show a slight increase in performance from 3 to 6GB and as games advance and 64 bit becomes more common they will be able to use significantly more ram as 32 bit OS's limit apps to 2GBs of address space each.

 

[jdelsignore911]

Planning to buy when windows 7 comes out and directx 11.
Not sure what graphics cards... Maybe a directx 11 or radeon 4890 or gtx 275.
My budget for pc alone (not speakers monitor etc) is 1000 or around there + - 100.

 

[jdelsignore911]

Since your resolution is that low, you wont notice a difference in games, however the i7 will out perform the 955 in just about every other application. There is no significant performance gain above 4GB of ram but the toms hardware tests did show a slight increase in performance from 3 to 6GB and as games advance and 64 bit becomes more common they will be able to use significantly more ram as 32 bit OS's limit apps to 2GBs of address space each.

Ok I'll check out 6 gb of ram and a 1920x1080 monitor. If I get a monitor at that res what graphics do you recommend (1 nvidia and 1 ati) not the very best obviously, out of budget.

 

[jdelsignore911]

What applications are you talking about??? List a couple. thanks

 

[hunter315]

Anything that isnt limited by a graphics card, see this review
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/phenom-x4-955,2278.html

The i7 is a superior processor and has greater memory bandwidth due to triple channel, on an unlimited budget there is no question that it is superior to any AMD offerings, however on a budget AMD leaves more money for the graphics card which makes it superior for gaming rigs on a budget.