DarkShooter

hey there..
well..my comp is getting really old now, so it's time for a change but i can't decide which one will be the next.
i wanted a build mainly for gaming, as i can do all my "work" in my laptop which is more than enough
some friends told me to get the AMD Phenom II x4 955 BE which is pretty good and better than any Intel quad-core cpu
on the other hand, i got told to get the Intel Core i5 which can easily reach the same 3.2Ghz as the Phenom II x4...thing is..AMD is cheaper..and my budget is kinda limited..i'm not sure about it yet as i never had an AMD CPU before..
and anything would be better than this Celeron D 346..

i don't really want something really good that can OC a lot and stuff..
just need like a decent quad-core CPU, that allows me to play decently
(sadly this comp even makes me "lag" while playing CS 1.6)..
and the money i can save on top of it would be to get a better graphic card..
so any opinions about it?

iandh

If you don't want to OC, you probably want an AMD chip, as they can be faster than their intel counterparts in the same price range due to much higher stock clock speeds.

In general the intel chips OC slightly better, but that is about to change IMO with the C3 revision of Phenom II.

ImmortalKenny

Also, AMD doesn't make a desktop chip over $200 as of now.

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KamuiRSX

Actually they do. The Phenom II 965 BE is still over $200 depending on what store you buy from...at NE it's $19x but most other places still have it for $200+

Honestly though, the best advice I can give you OP is how much money are you wanting to spend? Then get different build outs in that budget range and then compare them. Personally, I only buy AMD. Their chips are great for the price and performance. The best part is that when you buy any AM3 chip, it's future proof. That chip will go into any AM2+ or AM3 motherboard released between now and after they make their next socket.

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"I'm not going there to die. I'm going to see if I'm really alive."

Riskitall84

If on a budget AMD - This will leave more cash for GPU's

If you can afford it go i5 or i7

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There was a young man of Leeds
Who received a power bill that displeased...
In a month, this fellow,
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AMD 720 BE @ 3.7Ghz - http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=581016
i7 920 DO @ 4.3Ghz - http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=760386

ImmortalKenny

Touche, I forgot to mention "...on Newegg."

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KamuiRSX

lol no worries I think that's the best price around for the chip unless ZZF cut their prices as well...

Yup they did...$196 at ZZF and NE. If you don't want to pay NE's taxes, order from ZZF

http://search.zipzoomfly.com/search....etail%7e195.99

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"I'm not going there to die. I'm going to see if I'm really alive."

Skylit

uhh, the i5 is 200$ while the 955 is 176$ benchmarks prove the i5 is a better buy currently. 14$ isn't much of a difference. The only real difference would be that a basic AM3 motherboard is cheaper. A x16/x16 AMD mobo is around the same price as the i5's mobo's though. As for graphics, a ATI 5770 will last you a long time. If you don't care about Dx11 games, go for a 4870/4890.

Imo, If you wanna save some money, Try finding the new 555BEx2. its a dualcore at 3.2 GHZ with the new c3 stepping. It has the possibility to be unlocked to a quad core on certain boards.

el gappo

get a 965 c3 if you can. they hit 4.0 very easily much better than the last revisions. i think its definitely the way to go for you since the rest of the components: motherboard (785 $50?) and ram wont cost you near as much as the intel counterpart. unlocked for easy overclocking and an i5 or i7 would be a chore for a new guy

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no P.O.S.T? i made a guide for you CPU-Z validation of am3 700e
Phenom II 965 4.532ghz CPU-Z validation AIR and 4.612ghz on the bong hwbot profile
from here on in i shall be known as GAPPO THE DESTROYER

KamuiRSX

That's an inaccurate comparison though considering most i5 (not sure if all but I know all the one's i've seen thus far) are only x8/x8. Which makes the AMD x8/x8 motherboards (790GX) half the price of the i5's.

So when combined

AMD $176 + $100 = $276
i5 $200 + $170 and above = $370

Big difference in price.....this was the cheapest i5 board I could find with 2 PCI-X 16 slots. The others were $200+ There's another i5 motherboard that runs x16/x4 and it's $110. In the end, until the price of the processor drops and the motherboard prices drop, the AMD Phenom II will still be a better price/performance solution.

__________________

"I'm not going there to die. I'm going to see if I'm really alive."