# $1,400 Limit - Intel i7 or AMD X6



## johnnyfiive (Nov 5, 2010)

Yep, I'm asking it, " Intel i7 or AMD X6??? "

Although I've built machines in the past with both an i7 920 and a 1090T, I still want to see what you fellas think.

Here are my two build choices. 

*Intel i7 950 Build*
Video Cards: Visiontek 6870 (2)
Motherboard: EVGA 141-GT-E770-A1 (Classified 3)
Power Supply: Corsair HX 850W
Memory: A-DATA 1600MHz 6GB
Case: Silverstone Fortress FT02B-W
Hard Drive(s): Hitachi 500GB 7200RPM SATA 3GBS
CPU Cooling: Noctua NH-D14 w/ NZXT 64CFM 140mm Fans
*
AMD 1090T Build*
Video Cards: Visiontek 6870 (2)
Motherboard: ASUS Crosshair Formula IV
Power Supply: Corsair HX 850W
Memory: G.Skill 1600MHz 4GB Memory
Case: Silverstone Fortress FT02B-W
Hard Drive(s): Western Digital Black 640GB SATA 6GBS (Two in Raid 1)
CPU Cooling: Noctua NH-D14 w/ NZXT 64CFM 140mm Fans

Both meet my $1,400 limit. 

*"What will the system be used for?"*
1) General use, pictures, photoshop, occasional video editing.
2) Gaming, benching, overclocking.
3) Virtual machines to simulate a domain environment. 2-3 VM's running at once.

So, help me decide on which build is better, and please gives reasons on why one is better than the other. I'm set on all the hardware choices made, so don't suggest changing out parts, just help me decipher what the better system is and make sure to respond with why. I'm not worried about Sandy Bridge or Bulldozer, so don't suggest that either.


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## cadaveca (Nov 5, 2010)

i7. Hate to say it, but it will be faster.


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## Mandown (Nov 5, 2010)

cadaveca said:


> i7. Hate to say it, but it will be faster.



+1 Not to mention more memory.


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## johnnyfiive (Nov 5, 2010)

I'm personally leaning towards the i7 build, just want to make sure I'm not the only one thinking its THE superior build. SATA 6GBS drives will become more popular and cheaper overtime, so that is something that WILL be added down the road.


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## wolf (Nov 5, 2010)

i7 build will be the superior one, as long as your gaming


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## CDdude55 (Nov 5, 2010)

The i7 build is the better system out of the two.


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## johnnyfiive (Nov 5, 2010)

Where's the AMD fanboism that I'm used to seeing on TPU? 

This is a Intel landslide


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## mdsx1950 (Nov 5, 2010)

The i7 950 FTW!


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## AsRock (Nov 5, 2010)

i7 here too, i am hoping AMD have some thing by jan\feb 2012 lol.  As i don't want another Intel based system but it will be if AMD  cannot release some thing that says BUY ME.


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## CDdude55 (Nov 5, 2010)

johnnyfiive said:


> Where's the AMD fanboism that I'm used to seeing on TPU?



I know, i'm honestly surprised.


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## wolf (Nov 5, 2010)

johnnyfiive said:


> Where's the AMD fanboism that I'm used to seeing on TPU?
> 
> This is a Intel landslide



It's quite simply the better system. maybe if you were video encoding or something you'd ge the X6, but with two 6870's on the list it's obviously a gaming machine.


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## dir_d (Nov 5, 2010)

If both systems are the exact same price the i7 is superior.


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## hv43082 (Nov 5, 2010)

9 for Intel.  0 for AMD.  The people have spoken.


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## WhiteLotus (Nov 5, 2010)

I only clicked on the AMD one as it has a RAID array.

Maybe drop down to 4GB on the Intel build and then get two drives for RAID? Though the addition memory will help in photoshop and gaming.


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## yogurt_21 (Nov 5, 2010)

shoot I thought this was gonna be another i5 750 vs 1055 thread. in this case the i7 950 will be faster with a bonus of more mem even despite the loss of hd speed/space


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## toastem2004 (Nov 5, 2010)

If ya drop raid on the AMD build use the money to double on the ram it *might* be the better build. what are your intended OS's and use of the VM's?  More RAM will always be benificial in those applications especialy if the VM's will have and actual production type workload.


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## T3kl0rd (Nov 5, 2010)

i7 build, I speak from experience.


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## johnnyfiive (Nov 5, 2010)

toastem2004 said:


> If ya drop raid on the AMD build use the money to double on the ram it *might* be the better build. what are your intended OS's and use of the VM's?  More RAM will always be benificial in those applications especialy if the VM's will have and actual production type workload.



The VMs will just be a server OS (server 2003/2008), and two clients (XP) for testing group policy, OU's, etc.


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## Fourstaff (Nov 5, 2010)

i7, although with 3 people using VM, the harddisk will suffer a lot. You will need to upgrade it soon.


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## johnnyfiive (Nov 5, 2010)

Yeah, the only thing keeping the i7 setup down is the single drive. The first thing I plan to add to the i7 setup will be two 640GB SATA 6GBs drives in a stripe array. It will be just me using the vm's, its solely for group policy and ou testing, real light tasks.


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## cadaveca (Nov 5, 2010)

johnnyfiive said:


> Where's the AMD fanboism that I'm used to seeing on TPU?
> 
> This is a Intel landslide



Well, considering I just made that switch from AMD to Intel i5,  my experience doing so says it'd be hard for anyone to dispute that Intel is faster.


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## johnnyfiive (Nov 5, 2010)

Welp, I've decided to go with the i7 setup. Ram ordered today since it was on sale, didn't wait to miss out. Will be ordering the rest tomorrow. Should have it up and running sometime next weekend, should be fun.


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## CDdude55 (Nov 5, 2010)

johnnyfiive said:


> Welp, I've decided to go with the i7 setup. Ram ordered today since it was on sale, didn't wait to miss out. Will be ordering the rest tomorrow. Should have it up and running sometime next weekend, should be fun.



And last but not least, post pics.


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## scaminatrix (Nov 5, 2010)

i7. I wish I went i7 with my video editing rig 
You mentioned 2 WDC Black's in RAID, I've heard that this isn't wise due to something called the TLER feature?? Maybe a pro could chime in on that subject.
I would say get 2 Spinpoint F3's instead.


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## johnnyfiive (Nov 5, 2010)

CDdude55 said:


> And last but not least, post pics.



You know I will, expect it to show up in the Case Gallery soon enough.



scaminatrix said:


> i7. I wish I went i7 with my video editing rig
> You mentioned 2 WDC Black's in RAID, I've heard that this isn't wise due to something called the TLER feature?? Maybe a pro could chime in on that subject.
> I would say get 2 Spinpoint F3's instead.



Hrmm.. odd.


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## johnnyfiive (Nov 6, 2010)

Unfortunately I had to pick a different motherboard, the NH-D14 won't fit on the classifieds without modification. I ended up going with the ASUS Rampage III Formula for a motherboard for $289. Since the Classified 3 was $369, I had some spare cash left and picked up a WD Black 1TB SATA 6Gbs. Build thread and pics to come!


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## SNICK (Nov 6, 2010)

GO with i7 rig dude!


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## johnnyfiive (Nov 6, 2010)

SNICK said:


> GO with i7 rig dude!



I did! Goodies are on the way.


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## T3kl0rd (Nov 7, 2010)

i7 FTW!  By the time most apps recognize 6 cores, 8 cores will almost or already be out.  No need to jump on the 6 core bandwagon yet unless you have a ton of money to put in your PC.  Plug your 8 core CPU into your LGA 1366 socket you already have and you are good to go.


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## REDDLINE (Nov 7, 2010)

I7 all the way, i speak from experience also, there are about 6 computers in my house ATM ( phenoms and i7's everywhere) and by far 
the i7's perform better. So for just a bit more you can get an i7, theres really no need for a 6 core, get 
a quad and OC it.


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## HXL492 (Nov 7, 2010)

Well the 1366 LGA socket may become dead soon....
And AMD is kinda close to releasing the bulldozer although its probably still a good 6 months away..
The six core does do good in media...
But the i7 is superior in gaming....
But with two 6870s it won't make a big deal...
You won't be able to see actual performance gains in person with the i7 over the 1090T 

Just listing some gathering some ideas..


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