New computer AMD vs Intel?

[MikeThorne]

Hi

I'm getting serious about getting a new computer and I have a few questions.

Mainly Intel vs AMD.

The AMD Duad core Phenom II model. The X4 955 3.2Ghx on a Asus M4A79 Mother board.
Compared to an Intel Core i7 2.66 Ghx on an Asus P6 Delux mother board.

Everything else is more or less the same.

1200 watt power supply

6 Gigs Intel and 8 Gigs AMD of ram respectively, apparently a function of the mother boards.

Liquid cooling.

Nvidia Geforce GTX 285 Video Card.

Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional Series sound card

Two 1TB hard drives.

Two Lightscribe DVD CD writers, (I do a lot of video and it comes in handy having to drives when I copy my DVDs).

Media card reader.

Windows Vista home deluxe 32 bit. (I'm going to install XP on the second drive as an alternate operating system).

I'm not building this my self these are both priced out from Falcon NW.

The Intel 2.66 system priced out at $3,415.
The AMD 3.2 Ghx system prices out at 3,408

So my question is mainly just the AMD vs Intel question?

The AMD seems on the face of it to be more for the money, but what's the down side?

Any other comments (other then why don't you build your own) are welcome. This is a computer that I use for my graphic design business and I can write it off.

Falcon NW now offers 3 year parts and service warranty as their base plan.

Thanks for the help...

Mike

 

[SimonDavies]

A couple of things for you.

What are you going to be using this pc for other than graphic design? Are you going to be doing anything involving heavy math (although looking at the spec's I am going to assume you're also a gamer)?

If you're a gamer then tbh I would look at the C2D\C2Q cpus more than at an i7 at the moment, whilst the i7 is a great processor there aren't actually alot of programs\games out there that would utilise all the cores at the moment, it would honestly be cheaper going down the older C2D route and over clocking.

If you're not gaming at all then going down the AMD route would be more logical.

As far as price goes, building your own (I know you didn't want this) would be the better option.. and also I wouldn't bother with water cooling if you're not going to be stressing the machine. Instead get a good air cooled case (A Silverstone TJ09 or TJ10 with decent fans and a decent CPU HSF).

FYI, I have the ability to purchase an i7 cpu\mb whenever I want but I am just about to do a build using an E8500 and Rampage Extreme, this is to use along side my QX9650 and Striker 2 Extreme, I can't see the benefit of the i7 to me personally at the moment, also add to the fact that I am waiting for the 6core processors due out next year before I upgrade.


Finally, watercooling is not something to be taken lightly, you need to flush the system every 3 months or so and the only reason you would use a watercooled rig is if you were into over clocking alot.

Simon

The real world is not about exam scores, it's about ability.

 

[BadBigBen]

To add to Simons post, using Windows Vista home deluxe 32 bit you wont see either the 6GB nor the 8GB ram, at all... so here I would opt for the 64bit versions of Vista or wait a bit and then go with 7even 64bit...

you will also find that installing XP may not be easy either, on some mainboards with more than 2gb, XP will not install until you reduce the amount of RAM available...



Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."

How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.

 

[MikeThorne]

Hi

Thanks for the information.
I have been told that I should go with 64 bit sofware elsewhere as well.

See my new Post.

Mike

 

[paparazi]

Mike
I'm going to completely disagree with Simon on this one....your question was which is the better and that is the Intel i7 and by a long way.....if you further clarification on this then go read some reviews on Toms Hardware. I love AMD but there fastest CPU is barely equal to Intels older core 2 quad range.
The other issue, as was mentioned, 32bit is only going to see about 3gig of that ram so go 64bit Vista. It might not be quite as supported yet especially when gaming, but is sufficiently mature to support all the software you intend to use and of course, it will see all the ram.
Martin

On wings like angels whispers sweet
my heart it feels a broken beat
Touched soul and hurt lay wounded deep
Brown eyes are lost afar and sleep

 

[SimonDavies]

Martin, whilst I agree with you that the i7 is an amazing processor however it's not suitable for everyone. It's not an ideal platform for gamers where the GPU is master and unless you're doing something that requires the processing power of the i7 then it's a waste of time because the C2D would do the same thing for you.

I definitely agree with 64bit OS tho, I haven't found much software recently that disagreed with it to be honest.

Simon

The real world is not about exam scores, it's about ability.

 

[paparazi]

Simon...with respect, did you not read his original post?
Mike doesn't even mention gaming! he says quote: This is a computer that I use for my graphic design business.
Lots of large files being held on the screen with multi image rendouring etc with programs such as Quark and Photoshop, where the i7 would dominate.
Martin


On wings like angels whispers sweet
my heart it feels a broken beat
Touched soul and hurt lay wounded deep
Brown eyes are lost afar and sleep

 

[SimonDavies]

No he didn't mention gaming in particular but if you had actually looked at the hardware spec going into the machine then you can make a fair assumption that it is going to be used for gaming, there is no reason to use a GTX285 or SB X-fi card in a normal office pc.

He has also since started another thread which distinctly mentions games.

He also mentions some Adobe products in that post which has caused me to change my suggestion for him, I made a post on that other thread explaining that.

Simon

The real world is not about exam scores, it's about ability.

 

[MikeThorne]

Hi

Thanks to everyone for the discussion.

I seem to be getting this sorted out and it is quite different from what I originally thought.

I will go with 64 bit Vista, (I was planning on 32).

I do some gaming but I have to favor my graphic design uses and of the games I play (Wow, Tomb Raider, The Witcher) run on my old computer so I can't imagine that they will not run great on a new one, even age of Conan which gave my present computer a hard time.

Actually the one program that really drags my computer down is Adobe Illustrator, it really runs at a crawl, everything else runs reasonable on my old one, even Adobe Premiere.

I think I will go with the slower Intel 2.66 processor.
The cost bump to get up to an Intel processor at the speed of the AMD is just too much, enormous in fact.

I will skip the liquid cooling.

I think that I will spring for the GeForce GTX 295 video card with the money I save by not going with the liquid cooling.

Thanks again for the help, I don't know what I would do if it wasn't for Tech Tips! I have been coming here for years.
Originally as Nohjekim. For some reason my login under that name stopped working and contacting admin, didn't elicit any response so I created this one.

Thanks again

Mike

 

[cdogg]

Oh no, not this debate again!

Mike, you might want to glance over this recent thread:
thread602-1539752


I noticed in your last post that you said you were going with the "slower" Intel 2.66GHz processor. At first, I thought you were referring to a Core 2 Duo. A closer look revealed that in fact you were talking about a newer Core i7. I wouldn't use "slow" to describe an i7! Realize that today, the processor speed rating doesn't carry much weight. When the new Core 2 Duo's burst onto the scene back in 2006, they were slower in terms of GHz than the fastest Pentium 4's and Pentium D's, but easily crushed them in performance! The only time you can use the GHz rating in a comparison is when you are comparing two or more processors of the same make/model.

Have a look at the following benchmark:

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/desktop-cpu-charts-q3-2008/Photoshop-CS-3,826.html

Although this is for Photoshop and not Illustrator, it gives you a good idea of how the newer processors stack up against one another in a program that will tax your system in a similar way. The Core 2 Duo E8500 will outperform the 920 i7 in a handful of benchmarks, so if cost is a big concern, you can opt for the cheaper E8500. It will save you money on the RAM and motherboard too, so keep that in mind.

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Einstein
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