E8500 vs phenom 2 x4

[dlads]

I've been asking a few people on here about these two little beauties and as to which one i should get.

On one hand a lot of people have said to get the E8500 duo core which is 3.16GHZ i think, because its a good chip to overclock with and can hit 4GHZ on air cooling alone apparently, using an i45 board.

The other is the AMD Phenom 2 x4 3.0GHZ Black edition, which i believe can be overclocked to 3.8GHZ using a 790gx board.

Does anyone have any refutable evidence or first hand experience as to which one is the best.

Im just trying to make the best decision, as im not a millionare and i would like to have the best of the two.

Thanks in advance.

Spk soon.

 

[Ian Evey]

Hi,

I have an e8400 currently at 3.6ghz ( my motherboard limits my overclock ) and it has to be said that the core 2 duo chips are really good (e8200 up to e8600 ).

I hear the phenoms are really good also but if you want mainly to play games you wont see much of a difference regarding fps in current games, But when more newer games are multi threaded the 4 cores will be better. The best thing for games is the graphics cards along with a decent 3ghz or over cpu intel or amd... For future proofing you pc a little more i would go with the phenom especially if your going to use the pc for more demanding applications...

My one pence worth.

 

[Rastalovich]

Best for what? - Would be my question these days.

 

[zak4994]

Best for what? - Would be my question these days.

Agreed.

Dual cores do things better than Quad cores in multiple cases.

 

[Youngie1337]

I would choose the DUO tbh, clock it higher!

 

[dlads]

Ok thanks for that then, so I pretty much just play games and watch a load of avi movies on my pc.

Some tunes and simply browsing the internet, thats about it.

So if i just want to play games you suggest the 8500 and if i'm looking for multi threaded application benefits then its the phenom?!??

Just a quick question here----> Would both of the these machines play all the up to date games of today?!? Bar none??

like every game, on high settings.

Given the right GPU of course.

 

[sammytomjohn]

a q6600 and 1gb 4870/gtx260 is plenty unless u have a very high resolution!

 

[Mul.]

My vote goes to Phenom II X4 + 790GX. If you look around, the 940 Black Edition can be had for as little as £145 and good 790GX's start from £70. Just over £200 all in for a Quad + Motherboard that should be good for 3.80GHz to 4.00GHz isn't bad at all. Right now, I would be beginning to struggle to suggest following the LGA775 route as it's due to reach end of line! Meanwhile AMD has covered the E7000's and E8000's very well with the Phenom II X2 and X3 CPU's, the E5000's by the Athlon 64 X2 7000's and the low end E2000's with the AMD K8 based dual cores. Unless you plan on buying an E8000 series CPU to overclock it beyond 4.00GHz+ (clockspeeds which cannot be reached with Phenom II on air), I couldn't really suggest LGA775 at all.

 

[dlads]

Well Mul i think your one of the very few to suggest the AMD and i really want to agree with you because i've sworn by AMD in the past and i really didnt want an intel but so many people have said the E8xx series are a load of beasts.

But i'm glad you said that about the Phenom though, so if i get a decent 790gx board then itll also accomodate other newer CPU's???

If thats the case then im sold.

Cheers Mul.

 

[dlads]

And to sammy, ive always played on low res with games but if im going to be shelling out for a monster then i would like it to act like one at least an give me some next gen graphics at some stupid resolutions.

So yea it will be as high a res as i can get without spoiling the game of course.

Thanks again to all.

 

[Mul.]

All 790GX boards should be Socket AM3 compliant. If you're on a budget, the Biostar TA790GX series is widely recommended and it overclocks well too. I've owned the GX3 A2+ version from the product lineup and it served me very well alongside an X3 720 Black Edition.

 

[sammytomjohn]

And to sammy, ive always played on low res with games but if im going to be shelling out for a monster then i would like it to act like one at least an give me some next gen graphics at some stupid resolutions.

So yea it will be as high a res as i can get without spoiling the game of course.

Thanks again to all.

i was not implyin that all! it just you said it yourself!

Im just trying to make the best decision, as im not a millionare and i would like to have the best of the two.

going by your comment it sounded like you want a nice pc but not an extreme pc

i have had a 1gb 4870 and q6600 runnin at 1920x1080 resolution on a p5e

and get nice solid framrates even at that res!

they cost me

p5e £60

q6600 £85

4870/gtx260 (can be found used for £90-£100(sold my toxic 4870 for £90!!)..)

i mean i £235 is not bad for all three

and as many people will tell you a q6600 will handle any thing you chuck at it anyway

 

[crunchie]

You will not be disappointed with the 940BE . (Provided you get the right board)

 

[dlads]

I agree m8, ive already gone with the phenom, im ordering it next month on july 25th, I can't wait to be honest with you.

I just think intels are s*** i know the I7s are cool but i spotted this youtube vid where they get an amd phenom 2 x4 black ed up to 6.5ghz over in las vegas.

I admit it was cooled with liquid helium but hey c'mon, it holds the record for the highest ever 3d mark 05 with a score of 45474 points !!!!! can't be bad.

Anyway ive picked me cpu ive picked me board ive picked me psu ive picked me ram and ive got the gpu and hdd, the only thing im debating on now is a case.

Ive got a thread over on cases called i need a cool looking cool case or something.

anyway thanks for the vote in confidence towards the phenom BE, i knew they wouldnt let me down, and the board im getting is a 790gx, im stuck between two, the MSI one is looking to pip the biostar at the post tho.

Spk soon.

 

[ColdNorthMenace]

I just went thru this whole debate with myself when building my new system, I may have even worried too much about it, because I wasn't paying enough attention to specs of other things (such as buying to radeons to crossfire, and then buying an nVidia chipset mobo XD DOH!) For the future, I believe in the quad cores. I used to be an Intel guy, running a p4 3.2ht in my old machine. I spent alot of time depating between the new amd's and the new intels, and best bang for your buck is the amd. Especially right now, in america, we are in a depression, and the economy is going to drive sales to value-driven purchasing. This in turn is going to vastly effect how long each of these procs will be made, and I believe will shorten the lifespan of the i7. hence more teams will focus on the phenom quads, and it will tighten up interconnectivity, using all the quads have to offer in ability and processing power.