# Tri Core or Quad Core??



## Supreme0verlord (Mar 9, 2009)

Ok, I need some advice here on my next upgrade. I was originally planning on getting the 720 BE with a new motherboard, but then I realized that I could get a 940 without the new motherboard and it would still fit in my budget, which is around $310. 

But here is what I need advice on, should I get the 720BE + new motherboard or should I get the 940BE without the new motherboard? I'm just worried that my current motherboard could limit the OC'ing ability of the 940. I MIGHT be able to push the price a bit further, but not much more.

Here is what I was planning:
720BE (possibly the 710 due to budget constraints)
Gigabyte GA-MA790X
Xigmatek HDT S1284EE
Liteon DVD Burner

Total: $338.98 ($310.98 with the 710)

or

940BE
Xigmatek HDT S1284EE
Liteon DVD Burner

Total: $293.53

What are your thought's?


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## Binge (Mar 9, 2009)

Opinions?!?! 

Neither.  Go i7.  i7 920 from Microcenter for $229.99.


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## Supreme0verlord (Mar 9, 2009)

Binge said:


> Opinions?!?!
> 
> Neither.  Go i7.  i7 920 from Microcenter for $229.99.



Sorry there Binge, but Intel is not an option and never will be.


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## Binge (Mar 9, 2009)

Pay more for the tri core... pay less for the quad core.  I don't see why there's any question here.  940 is a BE chip as well


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## Supreme0verlord (Mar 9, 2009)

Binge said:


> Pay more for the tri core... pay less for the quad core.  I don't see why there's any question here.  940 is a BE chip as well



Well I was wondering if my current motherboard would limit the oc ability of the 940........ does anyone think that it will??


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## inf3rno (Mar 9, 2009)

Yeah your mother board is not very strong for overclocking. I think 940 is better if you can arrange your budget to 400$ or near it. 

In other way 720 BE is good choice and I have read reviews that the performance difference is not very huge when it is compared with quad cores.


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## Supreme0verlord (Mar 9, 2009)

inf3rno said:


> Yeah your mother board is not very strong for overclocking. I think 940 is better if you can arrange your budget to 400$ or near it.
> 
> In other way 720 BE is good choice and I have read reviews that the performance difference is not very huge when it is compared with quad cores.



Yeah, I didn't think my motherboard would be very good for overclocking the 940. I don't think I could push my budget to $400, I'm really starting to push it at $338.98. You think that I should just go for the 710 and save some money? I should be able to oc it towards 3.8Ghz hopefully........


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## inf3rno (Mar 9, 2009)

If you are on budget  then get the 940 BE. In my opinion 3.0 GHz is fair speed, you don't look to be overclocking. Save your 40$ and buy yourself a nice Mobo after some time.


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## Supreme0verlord (Mar 9, 2009)

Hmmm, I just looked at Biostar's website and it says that my motherboard doesn't support the Phenom II's, so I'm not sure what to do now.....


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## ShadowFold (Mar 9, 2009)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.165028
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.165050

100$ 790FX fuh sho


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## Kei (Mar 9, 2009)

Considering your current predicament I say to go with one of the following...

PII 710 + 790GX board (your pick)

PII 920 + 790GX board (again your pick)

Both of those chips will out of the box be leagues ahead of your current setup (which is great btw). Both chips will clock very nicely even with the locked upwards multiplier state. Both chips will cost you very little coin, and can be had in good deals at newegg.

I believe that the smartest option would be to go with the PII 710 for you since you've got a dual core now so EITHER option is an upgrade in cores. You don't sound as though you actually NEED a quad core at this time and a tri core will give you plenty of extra headroom anyway. The 710 can be had for peanuts and is already extremly fast even without the 4th core option.

Either of those processors will run very cool even on the stock cooling, they also don't need much voltage at all to run. Even at higher than stock speed you don't need much voltage which helps with heat as well as money savings.

As a matter of fact the processors run cool enough that this morning I disabled my 120mm rear case fan (yes turned it off) and I'm only using my top 80mm exhaust fan because the rear 67cfm fan was just too loud and I didn't need it anyway. Temps in the case are still just as awesome as before and I run my fan on the cpu cooler in Silent mode (less than 40cfm) at all times regardless of cpu speed (even 3.5Ghz doesn't go above 55C 100% load).

I'm using the Xigmatek HDT S-1283 cooler with a Scythe fan attatched to it for silence (max speed is 110cfm at ~ 2000rpm, I run it at less than 40cfm @ ~ 600rpm at all times).

Buy one of the PII's and a good board and be happy. If you buy the 710 rememer you have another upgrade path with the AM3 boards later on down the road if you choose. Either decision is a great one and you'll be more than happy with even the stock speed.

Kei


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## Kei (Mar 9, 2009)

And another things....don't hate on the PII 810 processor either. It's cheap and damn fast as well plus you still get your 4 cores for less money if you want it. Again having the other upgrade path to AM3 if you want later on.

Kei


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## Supreme0verlord (Mar 9, 2009)

There was a combo deal with the 720 and the S1283, and with everything listed above, the price came out to $310.99. I just thought about getting the S1284EE because of the extra heatpipe, but due to my budget, I might just get the 720 S1283 combo instead.


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## PP Mguire (Mar 9, 2009)

Sorry to hijack but im sure he is wondering the same thing.

Is the DDR3 performance worth it to loose a core?

Lets compare say an overclocked 720BE to a 940BE. 1100 DDR2 vs 2000 DDR3?


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## OzzmanFloyd120 (Mar 9, 2009)

I doubt there's any real reason to go tri over quad, expecially since every multi-threaded ap uses pairs of threads. (ie dual/quad/septa/octa threaded)


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## Kei (Mar 9, 2009)

Allow me to hijack your hijack 

He's looking for DDR2 based systems not DDR3 as he's shoping for AM2+ boards with AM3 compatibility as well. Having the extra upgrade path is just a bonus if he was to go with the AM3 processors instead.

Either way he will very likely not notice the difference in any of these processors unless he's buying them for a very specific reason so he needs a certain processor. I very strongly believe that the 710 or 810 would still be more than enough for what he's looking for while saving him plenty of money.

If he goes quad I say 810 MAYBE 920 if the budget can be inflated which isn't really needed. If he goes tri then I say 710 MAYBE 720 if the budget can be inflated again which is completely not needed.

My advice is to spend the extra money on a great board, don't buy a great processor to put on an okay board....buy a great processor to put on an equally great board. The processor part should be easy to choose as long as you decide tri or quad, the board part is slightly harder.

Kei


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## Supreme0verlord (Mar 9, 2009)

OzzmanFloyd120 said:


> I doubt there's any real reason to go tri over quad, expecially since every multi-threaded ap uses pairs of threads. (ie dual/quad/septa/octa threaded)



Well I don't think I could afford a quad, plus I'm almost positive my motherboard doesn't support the PII's, and if it does, the ocing probably wouldn't be very good. And I don't have enough money to get the 940(or 920)+ motherboard+ heatsink.


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## ShadowFold (Mar 9, 2009)

If it supports Phenom I it has to support II. Too bad Biostar hasn't updated the TA560 A2+.. I just started looking for a PII bios and haven't come up with anything.


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## PP Mguire (Mar 9, 2009)

True, but i was asking for me too hince the hijack


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## Kei (Mar 9, 2009)

Supreme, I still haven't seen an actual REASON that you need a quad yet so why not just get one of the tri core processors and call it a day? I'm not certain on what heatsink they come with but for sure it's more than adequate (saving you money) like the 920 quads stock heatsink (which was like the 9850BE heatsink).

Save the money on the heatsink and use your Zalman 9500 you already have on one of the tri core processors, because if you get one I think buying a new heatsink would be a waste at this time. The AM3 chips run cooler than the AM2+ chips remember their stock TDP is 95W not 125W like the other PII chips.

Grab one of the tri core's and a great board and enjoy life. 

Kei


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## PP Mguire (Mar 9, 2009)

Kei said:


> Supreme, I still haven't seen an actual REASON that you need a quad yet so why not just get one of the tri core processors and call it a day? I'm not certain on what heatsink they come with but for sure it's more than adequate (saving you money) like the 920 quads stock heatsink (which was like the 9850BE heatsink).
> 
> Save the money on the heatsink and use your Zalman 9500 you already have on one of the tri core processors, because if you get one I think buying a new heatsink would be a waste at this time. The AM3 chips run cooler than the AM2+ chips remember their stock TDP is 95W not 125W like the other PII chips.
> 
> ...


What he said. I just got my 720BE running with my Zalman 9700 and its plenty enough for this cpu. Your 9500 should be good with some light OCing too.


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## Supreme0verlord (Mar 9, 2009)

Ok, thanks for the help everyone! I am ordering this stuff on Tuesday so I still have time to think about it and finalize everything.


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## Kei (Mar 9, 2009)

Last point on the cooling thing, as I said all of these chips run extremely cool which is awesome and they take little voltage to run.

Right now on my PII 920 I'm running in the following spec...

Stock 2.8Ghz @ 1.344v
Now 2.8Ghz @ 1.232v (runs fine at 1.200v but I like the extra insurance for a hot day, heck it'll run so-so at 1.184v )

I haven't setup my processor for the 3 cores setting at stock speed yet or the 2 cores setting at stock speed but obviously they'll take even LESS voltage. I own a quad core, but I'm well aware that I don't need to use all 4 cores all day long so I like to have different profiles to use to save power and prolong the processor life by shutting down a core or two without losing anything on speed at all.

Of course if you're feeling greedy you can shut down a core on one of those tri cores and run in dual core mode (still faster than what you have even if it's stock) and then.....clock it up even further. I did a quick test shortly after I got my processor and hit 3.92Ghz without even trying on two cores, air cooling, and a _LOCKED_ multiplier. I'll let you know what setting I end up with for the tri core setting which is what I'll use mostly.

....enjoy 

Kei


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## Supreme0verlord (Mar 9, 2009)

Alright Kei, what do you think about this combo? Do you think that I should save some money and get this instead?


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## jagass (Mar 9, 2009)

They are just both fine...It depends on you...


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## PP Mguire (Mar 9, 2009)

Looks good to me.


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## Kei (Mar 9, 2009)

I have no objections to that combo, and the price is just ridiculous!

That said I do not have much experience with Gigabyte bios layouts or options so I can't say anything about that part. I'm an ASUS man myself so that's always my first choice. However, Gigabyte did put out one of if not THE first publicly available 790GX board and the reviews for it were nothing short of fantastic all around.

I like the look of the heatsinks and general layout of the board. The power setup is okay and since I've heard nothing but good out of the Gigabyte 790GX boards (all versions/generations) I think it will be a good buy.

Kei

(btw, I'm sitting at 2.8Ghz @ 1.168v on 3 cores so far passing a short torture test already...maybe it might go a tick lower still)


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## ShadowFold (Mar 9, 2009)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.165013

I say go for that. My MSI 790GX is pretty awesome.


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## Supreme0verlord (Mar 9, 2009)

Yeah, I'd like to get an Asus board but with my budget limitations I can't . The Gigabyte board is one of the cheapest but it looks like it's pretty high quality.

On a side note, that would be pretty cool if you could get down to or around 1v on three cores.


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## Supreme0verlord (Mar 9, 2009)

ShadowFold said:


> http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.165013
> 
> I say go for that. My MSI 790GX is pretty awesome.



Now there's another option, but what's up with the reviews?!

Oh and another question, whats the difference between a 4-pin CPU power connector vs a 8-pin connector? Does that help the OC'ing at all?


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## ShadowFold (Mar 9, 2009)

A program that comes with the board called live update updates your bios automatically or something. I never install that crap so I guess I never got it lol I even got mine open box and it came sealed/new.


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## Kei (Mar 9, 2009)

Thanks, I'm sure if I reduced the cpu speed a little bit I could get down to that limit. I'm not sure how low I'd have to go but I don't think it would be very far down in order to run at around 1.0v

Take a look at what I could do with my 9850BE, of course I dropped the cpu speed but either way that's 4 cores running at a more than respectable speed on basically NO voltage. I wonder how fast I could keep this processor on only 1.0v or less.

Humph, I think I have yet another geniusly disturbing test to do. Hopefully it goes well! 

Kei

*Edit:* I was in such a hurry to try it out I forgot the screen shot.


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## Supreme0verlord (Mar 9, 2009)

Holy s@&t! That is crazy, .912v with all 4 cores enabled, wow just wow. I wonder if it will be stable?
Oh and I have to go to sleep now, since it's only 4:15 AM lol.


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## 1Kurgan1 (Mar 9, 2009)

I'm wondering why the big difference. Either your going with the lowest end PII chip or the best there possibly is. I think looking at a 720 would be the best choice.

Trying to compare a 940 and a 710 is just too hard. The 710's got a lower multi and just isn't going to clock well. Where as the 940 already has another core and clocks like a beast. The 720 is a nice medium and many people are cracking 3.6ghz per core. Can't really go wrong.


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## Kei (Mar 9, 2009)

Supreme0verlord said:


> Holy s@&t! That is crazy, .912v with all 4 cores enabled, wow just wow. I wonder if it will be stable?
> Oh and I have to go to sleep now, since it's only 4:15 AM lol.



Thanks, I'm about to sleep now too. Yes that clock was 100% stable, it was the clock I used to use daily for about a month or two. It passed 10 hrs torture test as well with no problems not once did I ever see a bsod.

I'm running my 920 right now at 2.1Ghz @ 0.992v with no problems but hasn't been stress tested obviously. It's running just like normal, I could get 2.2Ghz to make it to the login screen but not fully into windows. I haven't done any special tweaking just set the voltage and cpu multiplier then boot. See the screen shot, and yes that is again all four cores operating on less than 1.0v



1Kurgan1 said:


> Trying to compare a 940 and a 710 is just too hard. The 710's got a lower multi and just isn't going to clock well. Where as the 940 already has another core and clocks like a beast. The 720 is a nice medium and many people are cracking 3.6ghz per core. Can't really go wrong.



I believe you are very much so incorrect in saying that the 710 will not clock well. All of the PII models have proven to clock extremely well no matter which one you buy. My 920 also has a locked multiplier and an extra core (making it harder to clock) and still hit 3.83Ghz on air cooling all four cores. 3.5Ghz didn't take any effort to get stable at all, the 710 will very likely do the same thing maybe even better because it's got one less core to worry about.

Like I said earlier with that less core he has potential to clock higher which we all know. My 920 made it to 3.92Ghz on 2 cores without any actual effort at all. Even if he made it to "only" 3.4Ghz that would still be a great overclock and far far far past the speed that he would need anyway.

He will also need less cooling with the 710 which could yeild him a higher potential clock once again as the 940 will not be cooled as well by his Zalman 9500 cooler.

Kei


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## 1Kurgan1 (Mar 9, 2009)

I'm not saying the 710 won't clock at all well. But the 710 is also a whole multiplier under a 920. And the perfect medium between the weakest PII that AMD offers and the most powerful PII they offer, is the most powerful tricore. The price difference is minimal and very much worth it. 

Not to mention with a 710 you risk getting a binned down product, where as the BE's your a bit safer. Would suck to get a 710 that needs a ton of volts and has a hard time hitting 3.2ish, I'm pretty sure I seen someone get a 920 like that on these forums already. I mean thats still a good OC, but the $20 is worth it to ensure you get something that can hit the higher numbers.


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## Kei (Mar 9, 2009)

I understand your concern, but I don't believe there will be any problems clocking a 710 even with the reduced multiplier.

I'm into the 920 thread since it started and I can't think of who it might be that got 3.2Ghz only....I can't think of a single person that can't get at least 3.5Ghz stable (all of them around 1.44-1.47v) which is what I find around the rest of the net as well.

The only fear I would have would be if he was to purchase a more budget oriented board and then his clock would be likely limited because of the board capabilities. I've already seen the 810 with the same 13x multiplier as the 710 hit 3.8Ghz without massive voltage thrown at it (less than 1.5v). On my own 920 processor I've run the bus speed up so far I got tired of trying so I just quit. That speed was 372Mhz which is just insane.

As long as he gets a good board he should have no problems with clocking any of the PII proecssors of course he has to learn how to clock them first. But that's what I'm here for. 

Kei


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## Fleck (Mar 9, 2009)

Why no Intel?  AMD isn't the bang for the buck anymore so they can go suck it IMO.


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## Kei (Mar 9, 2009)

Normally I wouldn't respond to a comment like this.....but are you on crack? Can you read or no? Just go read a few reviews and make that same statement without telling yourself you're lying. Heck jump straight to the conclusions part of the review and save yourself some time and see what the recommendation is. No need to appologize as it's not expected, but please don't make blind statements.

Either way wrong thread, please move along.

Kei


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## MilkyWay (Mar 9, 2009)

Fleck said:


> Why no Intel?  AMD isn't the bang for the buck anymore so they can go suck it IMO.



flame away my friend!

get a 720BE as it can be 4th core unlocked has a multiplier is am3 and is way cheaper than the 940/920

as for mobo im in the UK but the sapphire 790gx was pretty cheap and feature full


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## Supreme0verlord (Mar 9, 2009)

Supreme0verlord said:


> Oh and another question, whats the difference between a 4-pin CPU power connector vs a 8-pin connector? Does that help the OC'ing at all?



Can someone explain the difference to me?!


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## 1Kurgan1 (Mar 9, 2009)

The 8 pin can deliver more amps, as far as I can tell 4 pin can only deliver 22A where as 8pin can deliver 44A. But thats if it's even working, most of them are just wires to run exactly like a 4. No processor now has the need for that much power either way so it doesn't matter.


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## Kei (Mar 9, 2009)

^^^ 

What he said


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## KrisC (Mar 9, 2009)

Im running an AM3 720 Black edition @ 3.9ghz on a ddr2 AM2+ board. Go for the tricrore i recommend myself and get a decent 790GX board board.


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## Supreme0verlord (Mar 9, 2009)

KrisC said:


> Im running an AM3 720 Black edition @ 3.9ghz on a ddr2 AM2+ board. Go for the tricrore i recommend myself and get a decent 790GX board board.



What board are you running? And how much voltage did it take to get that high?

I'm really debating on this combo..... I guess I just can't make up my mind yet


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## KrisC (Mar 9, 2009)

1.55volts. Running a Gigabyte GA-MA790GP-DS4H. running 24 idle, hasnt hit higher than 51 under load. Running the following setup for my watercooling: Swiftech MCR 220 rad, Danger Den CPX-1 pump, Swiftech MCRES Micro V1 res,Apogee GT block with an antec 300


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## spearman914 (Mar 9, 2009)

Fleck said:


> Why no Intel?  AMD isn't the bang for the buck anymore so they can go suck it IMO.



+1. i7 beats the PII by a fair amount, plus the price/performance ratio is better on the i7 side.


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## Supreme0verlord (Mar 9, 2009)

spearman914 said:


> +1. i7 beats the PII by a fair amount, plus the price/performance ratio is better on the i7 side.



 Oh my god, I really don't care if the i7 is faster, it cost's a hell of a lot more money than a mid-high end AMD setup. I'm on a budget, and probably always will have a small budget for computer's that's why I go with AMD, and probably always will.


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## 1Kurgan1 (Mar 9, 2009)

spearman914 said:


> +1. i7 beats the PII by a fair amount, plus the price/performance ratio is better on the i7 side.



What? Did you just say that the price to performance ratio is better for the i7 even though is needs a crazy expensive x58 chipset mobo and DDR3 is mandatory?

He is building this comp with in budget constraints. If you looked at the combo's he is mentioning he is looking at processor/mobo combo's under $250. So spending $180 - $200 on a mobo alone then probably over $100 on just memory, then another $250ish on a i7 920, thats 2x the price range he is looking at.

If he wanted to go intel and on a budget a C2Q would be a way better choice, i7 and budget should never be in the same paragraph.


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## KrisC (Mar 9, 2009)

my 720 BE whomps my friend's q6600 and keeps up on part with another friend's q9950.the board i got you can get for lke 140 american if that. the 720 BE is down 140 or so. and my 4gb patriot pc8500 was 80 canadian. the q6600 or q9950 are by no means a a slouch either.


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## Supreme0verlord (Mar 9, 2009)

Yup, just quickly pieced an i7 system together on newegg and for the CPU, Mobo, Memory, and Heatsink, it came out to $628.96 without shipping, that is basically twice my budget............. Plus all the benchmarks i've seen show the PII's are on par, or faster than the C2Q's, and again, Intel mobo's cost a hell of a lot more than decent AMD mobo's, that's why Intel is definitlely out of the question.


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## 1Kurgan1 (Mar 9, 2009)

AMD is a fine choice, I am a little biased since that is what I use too. But even being a bit biased it's pretty obvious if you had a budget of $600+ to spend on CPU/Mobo/RAM the i7 lineup would be the best choice. No question at all they got the top end of the segment and they have price/performance ratio up there (granted no AMD setup is that pricey so they have no competition up that high).

The tri-cores are a great choice, I really hope to pickup a 720 myself soon. Choice of putting money into making car faster or comp faster... GAH!


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## Supreme0verlord (Mar 9, 2009)

I'd say I'm extremely biased towards AMD, if I had $600 to spend, I'd gladly spend it on an AMD setup.... I guess I'm an a big AMD fanboy, when it comes to CPU's anyway.


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## farlex85 (Mar 9, 2009)

1Kurgan1 said:


> What? Did you just say that the price to performance ratio is better for the i7 even though is needs a crazy expensive x58 chipset mobo and DDR3 is mandatory?
> 
> He is building this comp with in budget constraints. If you looked at the combo's he is mentioning he is looking at processor/mobo combo's under $250. So spending $180 - $200 on a mobo alone then probably over $100 on just memory, then another $250ish on a i7 920, thats 2x the price range he is looking at.
> 
> If he wanted to go intel and on a budget a C2Q would be a way better choice, i7 and budget should never be in the same paragraph.



At the moment, w/ the i7 being $229 at microcenter, it costs the same as a PII 940 system (and don't give me crap about mb's, you can get a x58 cheaper than a 780FX, the cost really is equivalent, in some cases less for i7), and as such is easily a better value. Even at it's normal $280 I'd say the extra $60 still puts it in front in bang/buck right now, considering how much faster it is than PII. Some x58s are indeed overpriced, but considering what you can get the system for if you shop around, it takes price/performance over PII 9xx right now. The tri-core is where the PII steps up again and asserts itself as better bang/buck. This isn't really different from how it's been, mid-low end amd has better value, high end (including amd high end) intel wins by a good bit.

That being said, if the op is an admitted AMD fanboy, intel need not even be mentioned. I say tri-core (720BE ftw!).


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## Supreme0verlord (Mar 9, 2009)

farlex85 said:


> That being said, if the op is an admitted AMD fanboy, intel need not even be mentioned. I say tri-core (720BE ftw!).



Yeah, I admit it, I'm an AMD fanboy lol.

Ok, I think I have everything ironed out now, here is what I'm currently looking at:
720BE + GA-MA790GP Combo
Xigmatek HDT S1284EE
Lite-On DVD Burner

And all of that comes out to $318.99 (which is $8 above my original budget, but I think I can afford to spend an extra $8 lol)


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## suraswami (Mar 9, 2009)

Supreme0verlord said:


> I'd say I'm extremely biased towards AMD, if I had $600 to spend, I'd gladly spend it on an AMD setup.... I guess I'm an a big AMD fanboy, when it comes to CPU's anyway.



Good to see another AMD fan here.

I saw you were going to buy the xigmatek's 4 pipe cooler, please don't buy it.  Instead buy the 3 pipe one.  The 4 pipe one will work better on Intel setups.  Atleast in my experience, the middle pipe of the 3 pipe exactly sits on top of the core contact area and I have excellent results.

I have tried few 4 pipe ones thinking they are better but actually they really suck and almost killed my Phenom 9850BE.


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## Kei (Mar 9, 2009)

I like the 'final decision' list you've put up, but I do say that you should delete the Xigmatek cooler from the list. Not because of performance reasons as I love Xigmatek, but because you're getting a tri core which already runs cool and your Zalman 9500 should be enough to take care of that anyway.

On my PII 920 quad core I was able to run up to 3.7Ghz on the stock heatsink/fan combo without crazy voltage nor heat problems. Your chip will very likely run even cooler so I really think there is no need besides to look cool haha.

If you want to sit around idle temps all day long then feel free to grab a Xigmatek and chill away. If you won't cry running at 25-50C then just use the Zalman and save some bucks for something else fun to play with. 

Now hit that buy button so I can stop being tempted to buy something new due to your indecisiveness! 

Kei


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## Supreme0verlord (Mar 9, 2009)

Lol, I have to wait till tomorrow to buy because I moved some money to my Paypal account and it say's that it will be there Tuesday (hopefully it will). I would really like to get the Xigmatek, but I'm really not sure now. Without that heatsink the total would be $276.16 with shipping so that does look pretty good to me........


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## suraswami (Mar 9, 2009)

Supreme0verlord said:


> Lol, I have to wait till tomorrow to buy because I moved some money to my Paypal account and it say's that it will be there Tuesday (hopefully it will). I would really like to get the Xigmatek, but I'm really not sure now. Without that heatsink the total would be $276.16 with shipping so that does look pretty good to me........



Check if the 720BE (if that is what u r going to buy) comes with a HS, I think its the Heatpipe one, if so its decent (I have one, fan is weak, I would change it if I can).  Those PII doesn't get that hot, so first try that HS and if you think its not enough go for the monster.

my 2 cents.


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## PP Mguire (Mar 9, 2009)

Im by no means a fanboi here but i insist on AMD parts for people on a budget. My 940 rig stomps EVERYTHING i through at it with room to grow. Im sure my 720BE AM3 rig will do just as good if not better. All for very little price.


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## Supreme0verlord (Mar 10, 2009)

I'm not sure if it comes with a HS or not, I'll look through the reviews on newegg and see if anyone mentions one.

Edit: Ok, I'm 99% sure it comes with a HS after looking through the reviews.


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## 1Kurgan1 (Mar 10, 2009)

farlex85 said:


> At the moment, w/ the i7 being $229 at microcenter, it costs the same as a PII 940 system (and don't give me crap about mb's, you can get a x58 cheaper than a 780FX, the cost really is equivalent, in some cases less for i7), and as such is easily a better value. Even at it's normal $280 I'd say the extra $60 still puts it in front in bang/buck right now, considering how much faster it is than PII. Some x58s are indeed overpriced, but considering what you can get the system for if you shop around, it takes price/performance over PII 9xx right now. The tri-core is where the PII steps up again and asserts itself as better bang/buck. This isn't really different from how it's been, mid-low end amd has better value, high end (including amd high end) intel wins by a good bit.
> 
> That being said, if the op is an admitted AMD fanboy, intel need not even be mentioned. I say tri-core (720BE ftw!).



790FX is not a budget board, once again if you look at all the boards he is looking at, they are all 790GX, which is quiet a bit cheaper. And second, if you look at any of the combo's he has put up it's obvious he is aiming at the tricores, to which Intel doesn't have a good comp for, the i7 is way too pricey.

i7 920 - $229 vs PII 720 - $144
x58 mobo - $180 (at cheapest maybe a bit more) vs 790GX - $120 - $130 (can go lower)
DDR3 2GB $45 vs DDR2 2B - $20 (and that is 1066 DDR3 pretty much worthless

Intel - $454 vs AMD $289

The i7 setup will be faster, in no way am I saying it won't be. But once again like I said, look at all his combo's they are in the $250 range, and look what the basic AMD system is vs the basic i7 920 is that I just priced out. $454 is almost double the cost of any combo he has linked, and the PII 720 is far from slow. He could even cut some more by going with a 710 like Kei said on the 1st page, dropping that down to almost $250 for mobo, CPU, and RAM. Thats only $20 more than just an i7 920. Only issue with that is more reliant of the FSB instead of easy mode multi clocking.



Supreme0verlord said:


> I'm not sure if it comes with a HS or not, I'll look through the reviews on newegg and see if anyone mentions one.
> 
> Edit: Ok, I'm 99% sure it comes with a HS after looking through the reviews.



Yep, all AMD proc's come with an HS now. Only the older 5000+ BE and 6400+ BE didn't and maybe some before that, but since then even my old 9850 BE came with one.


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## farlex85 (Mar 10, 2009)

1Kurgan1 said:


> 790FX is not a budget board, once again if you look at all the boards he is looking at, they are all 790GX, which is quiet a bit cheaper. And second, if you look at any of the combo's he has put up it's obvious he is aiming at the tricores, to which Intel doesn't have a good comp for, the i7 is way too pricey.
> 
> i7 920 - $229 vs PII 720 - $144
> x58 mobo - $180 (at cheapest maybe a bit more) vs 790GX - $120 - $130 (can go lower)
> ...



We're comparing different things. As I said, at the tri-core level AMD does indeed take the bang/buck crown (I said this in my previous post). At the X4 level, currently the i7 is a better value than a PII, which the op considered in the op, and which you seemed to challenge in your post I responded to. A 790GX isn't comparable to the capabilities of an x58, in truthfulness no amd board currently is (cf and sli, ddr3), but the 790fx is the closest, hence the comparison.


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## 1Kurgan1 (Mar 10, 2009)

farlex85 said:


> We're comparing different things. As I said, at the tri-core level AMD does indeed take the bang/buck crown (I said this in my previous post). At the X4 level, currently the i7 is a better value than a PII, which the op considered in the op, and which you seemed to challenge in your post I responded to. A 790GX isn't comparable to the capabilities of an x58, in truthfulness no amd board currently is (cf and sli, ddr3), but the 790fx is the closest, hence the comparison.



I didn't challenge that, check back at the top of the page. Just gotta read all the posts  The only thing the FX has on the GX is full 16x when running 2 cards, I've had 2 mobos one that ran them both in 8x and one that ran them both in 16x and I didn't see a gain. Just isn't a bottleneck issue with current cards.

And even then could still use that same setup (mobo/ram) tack on a PII 940 and still be a clear $100 under the i7 920. And in gaming (sandra and that other junk is meh to me, fps is where it's at, hypertransport is what gets them the advantage) the PII 940 is fair game for the i7 920, or close enough to warrant saving $100.


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## niko084 (Mar 13, 2009)

From what I have seen the Tri-Core stands about even with a Core2 Dual core... Now there is the chance of unlocking the 4th core, but honestly I would just get the quad or get intel, being intel isn't an option, get the quad!


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## PCpraiser100 (Mar 13, 2009)

More Cores=more freedom.

If you like to OC for records then go tri or dual-core, but the main idea when being a PC enthusiast is computing freedom so go for as many cores as possible. I was thinking of switching to a Phenom 2, however, I had noticed a sweet deal with an i7 setup. Despite it has the same physical cores, it has double the logical cores to furthermore extend my multi-tasking abilities. Now I have folding@home clents on while I'm playing Crysis and converting media files for friends.


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## Supreme0verlord (Mar 14, 2009)

Well guy's, I already ordered my new hardware! I unfortunately had to send a check to Newegg because they wouldn't accept my Paypal 
Here is what I ordered:
720BE + GA-MA790GP Combo
Xigmatek HDT S1284EE
LITE-ON DVD Burner
I can't freaking wait to get it!


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## ShadowFold (Mar 14, 2009)

Very nice! No DDR3 then?


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## Supreme0verlord (Mar 14, 2009)

Nah, don't really see the point..


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## ShadowFold (Mar 14, 2009)

DDR3 is so cheap, might as well lol I know I'm grabbing some of those Crucial 1066 sticks and clockin them suckers to 2ghz.


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## Supreme0verlord (Mar 14, 2009)

Well it's a little late now....... Plus new memory didn't really fit into my budget, not to mention a new motherboard, and those AM3 mobo's are a little expensive for me right now. 

I now see that they added some new, cheaper, AM3 board's after I ordered which could of allowed me to get some DDR3, figures they add that stuff AFTER I order lol.


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## Flyordie (Mar 14, 2009)

Kei said:


> And another things....don't hate on the PII 810 processor either. It's cheap and damn fast as well plus you still get your 4 cores for less money if you want it. Again having the other upgrade path to AM3 if you want later on.
> 
> Kei



There is an ASRock board which enables the disabled L3... the 128meg one.... or w/e.


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## Kei (Mar 14, 2009)

Supreme0verlord said:


> Well guy's, I already ordered my new hardware! I unfortunately had to send a check to Newegg because they wouldn't accept my Paypal
> Here is what I ordered:
> 720BE + GA-MA790GP Combo
> Xigmatek HDT S1284EE
> ...



Good now I can stop thinking about buying stuff 

enjoy!!!!! 

Kei


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## niko084 (Mar 14, 2009)

ShadowFold said:


> DDR3 is so cheap, might as well lol I know I'm grabbing some of those Crucial 1066 sticks and clockin them suckers to 2ghz.



AMD likes tight timings, which DDR3 doesn't have...

From the tests I have seen DDR3 under a AMD chip just isn't anything special.
But the price has come down, you can get a decent 6gb tri-channel kit for around $100.


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