What's the difference?

[darthbane1138]

What's the difference between the Intel i7 & the AMD Phenom II X4? I know that the i7 costs more but in paying that sky-high price, what do you get that AMD cannot provide? Which one do you think is better?

 

[mi1ez]

i7 is a much higher performing CPU. It's also hyper-threaded for 8 threads on 4 cores.

 

[enzo matrix]

Which one is better performing depends on what you are doing and the other hardware. Assuming equal hardware, the core i7 will perform better in everything (I think) at stock speeds. The argument for the Phenom II over it is cost factor. Especially in gaming. And when in a lot of games, there is little to no difference between the two, a lot of people will choose the Phenom II. Of course in this comparison, I am specifically referring to the core i7 920 (low end i7) and the phenom II 955 BE (high end phenom II).

 

[megamanx00]

Well, for an i7 the 920 is a great price especially if you consider overclocking it. As for the LGA 1156 i7s, yeah I think they are priced a little high 😀. Still, the i7 is better (referring to the LGA1366 versions), but AMD is offering you a great price/performance ratio for gaming 😀. I see it as just a question of what you want to spend. On the lower end of things I say AMD, towards the upper middle I lean towards the i5 with a good P55 board, and on the high end an X58 board and the i7 is the way to go.

Personally I stay on the AMD side . While I was thinking of switching back when they kept changing sockets (940, 754, 939, AM2) they have recently proven to be more upgrade friendly. Their decision to allow AM3 CPUs on AM2+ boards in particular makes me happy as evident by my current 955 BE 😀.

 

[Mobutu]

If you plan on going multi GPU the i7 920 is the choice, but if you are going for a single GPU then the phenom II 955 will do the job perfectly. Also the Phenom II 955 is an friendly overclocker ( just bump the multiplier! ) were as the i7 requires more then most rookies might know.
Hope it helps

 

[Kewlx25]

I like my i7 and I like Intel, but AMD still makes a damn good chip and the Bulldozer will be AM3 compatible from what I read about.

 

[enzo matrix]

I like my i7 and I like Intel, but AMD still makes a damn good chip and the Bulldozer will be AM3 compatible from what I read about.

Would you mind linking me/ letting me know where you found that out? I've been looking for information on if it will be AM3 or a new socket for a while.

 

[Kewlx25]

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3673&p=2

one link i found. look at the 2011 roadmap

 

[enzo matrix]

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3673&p=2

one link i found. look at the 2011 roadmap

Thanks 😉

 

[darthbane1138]

Best answer selected by darthbane1138.