Phenom II 940 - Core 2 Quad Q9550

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tomstar

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First of all, I'm immune to fanboy crap. I don't realy care about smoothness since that is personal. Truth is, I will pick the party that offers the best price/performance ratio and at the moment it seems the winning party is AMD. Now I know that intel has been the better party for about 2-3 years now so I understand some people have issues to step away from intel and go with AMD because they are used to intel now.

However, I am in no need for a fanboy flame war, you can do that stuff on WoW.

Somewhere in my mind I have already chosen for AMD but some reviews tend to lean me towards intel, Q9550 or even i7.

I do not prefer i7 since intels upgrade path is quite blurry at the moment with their new H1 and H2 sockets... I just don't like that stuff, even though it performs better it's still too expensive for me.

The Q9550 would also be a good choice but the 775 socket is, in my opinion, dead, and therefore not future proof.

That leaves the PII. I realy love the PII because, in my opinion it is equal to the Q9550.

However, almost EVERY review site starts reviewing the PII in comparison with the i7 940/965 or QX9650 which is the biggest **** I have ever read. Their conclusion: intel offers the best clock/clock performance...

Let me remind you that the 9650 is selling for 450 euro's which is the double of what the PII costs. The i7 965 is selling for 1000 euros... I mean common...

Be a little bit reasonable. Is it me or am just reading to many Enthusiasts reviews?
 

medjohnson77

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I am sorry that I don't have my I7 920 up and built yet. Some things are taking up more of my money then others. It will be nice to be able to run these side by side and see for myself, how much of a difference it will make.

On the other hand I just upgraded my 22" monitor, to a 28" Hanns with 1080P and a new blue ray player, be here monday from the egg. I also bought a new NZXT tempest case, and all the fans with lights to change the color to RED in stead of blue, and a complete new water set up from the den with UV red non conductive fuild.., I am going to switch out my Dragon build into the new Tempest case all with red led lights and targon lines with UV red coolant. Should look really sweet, my spider build will go into the case in with water cooling and blue lights.

All because I saved a grand on building a Phenom II 940 instead of the I7 build, LOL.... engima would be so proud of me!
 

tomstar

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Since I can't edit:

I have no knowledge about the 960 but higher clocks would be nice, I'm waiting for the AM3 boards anyway. And no, I'm not overclocking in the meaning of changing volts etc. I might change the multi though, I think I'm capable of that :) So yeah I do need a Black Edition and not the 920.
 

medjohnson77

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Over clocking this 940 is so simple, very easy, even if you went with the 920, still very simple. One advantage with the 940 is that you can just buy DDR2 1066 and set it up as 1066 instead of 800mhz in the bios if your board doesn't set it at 1066 on Auto. and increase the multi to 17 and no volt increase and your done!
 

tomstar

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So if I go with the 940 I should buy 1066 DDRII RAM since I will increase the multi. Is this because I could get 1:1 timings or what?
 

someguy7

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Here you fanboys go again. The websites/ Reviewers are all mean mean people that are against AMD. Intel is paying them off. Blah blah. There is a place where you trolls belong. AMDzone.
 

medjohnson77

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Well I am a fanboy of neither camp, Don't care what name is on my processor, Soon I will know for a fact if the I7 920 will be worth the extra dollars or not. I will run them side by side, and see what the I7 can do.

I have to say there is alot of truth to the fact that there are many 940be owners and 920 owners out there that are very happy with there builds. As far as gaming goes if a Intel I7 build plays games smooth and a Phenom or Phenom II for that matter plays games smooth also, who cares about weather its AMD or A Intel build. If they both run smooth, fast, what is the point of this ones better? All comes down to what you are willing to spend. The I7 920 being my fifth build in the last 1 1/2 for own systems, I have come to relieze one thing, this is a very expensive hobby!! Just because hardware is the best out at the moment, doesnt' me Jack to me, it all changes in a few months, a year down the road. Best thing to do unless you have an endless amount of cash to blow is build the best rig that meet your needs and fits given your money flow, or lack of.

My 6400be x 2 @ 3.4ghz build with the 8800gts (g92) even runs games smooth and is fast. I built a E7300 for a guy and it ran fast also even at stock speeds.

Point is new buyers will always check reviews to see how there wanted hardware ranks, but Seeing something in person and how it performs ahead of time is a much better way to buy things, IMO. This can't be done for some people, but it would be the best way. I try not to get to caught up in hardware reviews, I'll check them out, and take in the info, but move on and make a choice based on what I see in the real world. Seems like to me since I came to this site about a year and half ago there are a few fanboys, calling others fanboys and vise versa, and using reviews to sell the drama.

Seems like a big circle jerk to me
 

tomstar

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I agree with med. I was never realy into the CPU forum but there seem to be alot of fanboy fights lol, what's up with this AMDzone. Or nevermind it, I don't want to know, it'll probably be pro AMD... duh.

 

Ken168

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lol glad some people can see through the bottom line.

I am no fanboy, I have used Intel Celeron 300A@450mhz when PII450 cost a fortune (both performed almost identical). I have also used AMD xp processor when Intel still dominate cpu market with theirs heater processor. And again with AMD64 3000+ o/ced to 3800+ equivalent when P4 with its heater combo still dominated majority of CPU market.

I have been wanting to upgrade to Core 2 Duo/Quad and for a long time and then i7 when it emerged, but in the end I go with PII940. To me, it just give me the better values.
+ Lowest cost
+ No wait needed (AM3 cpu can fit my current mobo, as long as the manufacture provide the bios). The same can't be say for Core 2.
+ Proven upgradeability (as mentioned above)
+ It is very fast for my need.
+ It is running at low temperature (running @3.5 with stock cooler, default voltage)

I laugh every time I see some fanbois comments. Seriously, if you come for some info, open your eyes and common senses. You should got what you want.

I have been Toms's reader since 1998. I have got lots of info I have been interested in. So Thank you for everyone.
 


I would wait a bit and get the D0 stepping of the i920 - preliminary reports show it might be like G0 on the Q6600 - lower power and a lot of overclock headroom.

Anandtech has an i7 "buyers guide" out now: Core i7 System Buyers Guide, if you are interested.
 

medjohnson77

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I have already picked up the I7 920 at micro center for $229, I didn't think it was going to get to much lower then that. I just haven't picked up a mother board and the DDR3 yet, I have been upgrading other things, got a 28" monitor coming from the egg, new water system from the Den. I was hoping if I wait a month at max to get the rest of the build, prices will drop on the motherboards and DDR3.

Thanks for the link fazers
 

tomstar

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Thanks Med, we know now :) lol

There has been a change of plans though. My dad decided to pay for my computer, which is ok to me but I thought, maybe I can buy the case, PSU and harddrive myself and let my dad buy the proc., memory and motherboard, I don't know. I'm talking about i7 now, since I can get proc. mb, and memory for under 600 euro's
 

tomstar

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Then again I might get dissapointed with i5 which could be better? or not.
When is the D0 stepping coming out anyway?
 

tomstar

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I got a 2400 Pro atm which will do for another 2 weeks, there's goig to be an 4870 in it, 1GB version, in a month or so. Forget about the videocard, that's a made choice already.
 

roofus

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There darn near equal. But will you be able to upgrade later if you go s775?

i see this comment often and have to ask this question. do you really think AMD will use the same socket 2 years from now? if they do, do you honestly think it will support in technology advances at the time? at the very least, it may be socket compatible but probably hold any new CPU back.
 

medjohnson77

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If your dad is going to foot the bill for this new build or part of it, lucky you :sol:, then I say go I7 920 and see what it can do. If you still go Phenom II 940, and he foots the bill, you could get a 4870 x 2 card and that would be a nice rig also!

I wish somebody would foot the bill on my computer building projects, After all lot rent is coming due again on the Quad Trailer, at the park. :lol:
 

tomstar

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I agree with Rufus. I've been wondering the same thing. Do you think the i7 platform will still be used 2 years from now? Will the i7 socket support newer i7 processors 2 years from now?

I don't know, but one thing is for sure. The i7 socket is very expensive and doesn't perform that much better in games compared to the PII 940. It is, however, alot better in raw processing power which is good for converting and editing, but I don't do this stuff that much so I think the i7 is a waste of money to me. It would just be nice to have... the newest stuff.

I just hate wasting money on the i7 when PII performs just a little bit less, one reason for me to spend money on the i7 is to ease my mind knowing that I have the best proc. around, no other reason.

If my dad is going to pay I'm just going for the cheaper PII platform and just go with the AM2+ socket and not wait for the AM3. Maybe I change my mind later on but this will allow me to add a 4870 right away.
 

roofus

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indeed.
dont get me wrong.. when you already have a nice board and you can re-use it thats great but reality is that even though it may fit, may work you will still be at a disadvantage to boards designed for the newer tech. to me picking out a new board is one of the more enjoyable pieces of research in building a new system. tons of reviews for CPU's video cards, cases, power supplies but the motherboard forces you to really dig.
 

spathotan

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Ditto. To me the motherboard is the most important piece. I still kind of regret getting rid of my MSI P35 Neo2-FR for this P5Q Pro, that was the best board ive ever owned. At least I can crossfire with this.