phenom vs i5 build and cost (i'm stuck)

trif · 31 Jan 2010 at 22:35

after a fair bit of discussion here i settled on the i5 build below, however its a fair bit over budget, where the phenom i've just specced up isn't, suggestions on the below would be great

thanks,

work have given me a flexible ish budget of around £470, the good i5 build goes about £100 over but hopefully for significant performance increase which i can justify the cost to my boss with (ie its 50% better for just £100 more)

basically how do these two compare? The i5 is over budget and i wanna know howmuch better it will be

Use will be workstation for Database/spreadsheet work (And web/email/wordprocessor), so a fair calculation and Lots! of programs open at once (quite a bit of single thread calc as well as multi-thread)

graphically it just needs to cope with windows 7 Aero stuff on dual screen @ 1920x1080 (tho this is not a current requirement and the budget build sorta ignores it, i guess that 256Mb card would struggle?)

so yea, any tips to save money on the better build? Or am i not really gaining much?

(its basically how does the stock Phenom compare to the i5 when its 1Ghz overclocked? And will the other higher spec components make much difference?)

Processor £143.03 3.66 Ghz @ Intel Core i5 750 2.66Ghz (Lynnfield) (Socket LGA1156) - OEM*
Memory £165.52 (8GB) 2x Patriot Sector 5 Viper II 4GB (2x2GB) PC3-12800 1600MHz Dual Channel

Motherboard £72.36 Gigabyte GA-P55-US3L P55 Socket 1156 8 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard
Graphics £49.35 ASUS HD 4670 512MB DDR3 DVI VGA HDMI Out PCI-E Graphics Card
Hard Drive £36.78 Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 16MB Cache - OEM

Power Supply £74.57 Corsair 650W TX Series PSU - 120mm Fan, 80+% Efficiency, Single +12V Rail
Case £25.54 Casecom 6788 Black Mid Tower Case
Case fans £7.96 4x 120mm Black Case Fan - 4 pin connector (@ 5 volts)
Cooler £19.99 Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus

OR

Processor £122.01 AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition 3.2 GHz Socket AM3 8MB Cache Retail Boxed Processor
Memory £165.52 (8GB) 2x Patriot Sector 5 Viper II 4GB (2x2GB) PC3-12800 1600MHz Dual Channel

Motherboard £71.78 Asus M4A785TD-V EVO Socket AM3 onboard DVI VGA HDMI 8 channel audio ATX Motherboard
Graphics £21.47 Asus HD 4350 Silent 256MB DDR2 VGA DVI HDMI Out Low Profile PCI-E Graphics Card
Hard Drive £36.78 Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 16MB Cache - OEM

Power Supply £39.92 Corsair 400W CX PSU - 12cm Fan 80Plus Certified Efficiency 6x SATA 1x PCI-E
Case £9.99 Casecom KB-7720BK Black ATX Midi Tower Case - No PSU
Case fans £1.96 80mm Black Case Fan - 3pin Connector - Screws Included

stulid · 31 Jan 2010 at 23:01

We can't really answer your budget/performance concerns for you.

Either you can afford the extra hundred pounds or not.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Not meant to sound rude or any other negative way.

PCDave · 31 Jan 2010 at 23:05

You could save £50 if you went i3 would still fit into the motherboard you have speced

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 31 Jan 2010 at 23:15

This is what I would get:

AMD Phenom II X4 955 ~ £122

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=cp-244-am

asus m4a785td-v ~ £73

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=mb-355-as&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1481

has the 785g igp which can run one digital and one analogue monitor at the same time. the motherboard has 128mb of ddr3 for the igp.

8gb 1333mhz ddr3 ~ £168

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=my-085-gl&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1516

coolermaster elite 334 ~ £28

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=ca-184-cm&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=

there are cheaper cases available if required

samsung spinpoint f3 500gb ~ £41

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=hd-081-sa

sata dvd rewriter ~ £17

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=cd-038-ot&groupid=701&catid=10&subcat=

corsair cx 400w ~ £39

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=ca-017-cs

the psu is made by seasonic. get the ocz 400w stealthxstream as it is a better unit.

the total cost is around £488 excluding postage.

the phenom ii x4 955be seems to be ahead of a q9550 in visual studio and java:

http://ixbtlabs.com/articles3/cpu/amd-phenom-2-x4-925-955-p2.html

Comparing the scores with the Core i5 750 in the same applications the Phenom II X4 955BE looks around the same:

http://ixbtlabs.com/articles3/cpu/intel-ci5-660-p2.html

bigjimmyauk · 1 Feb 2010 at 01:21

you'll be suprised what a phenom 955 at 3.8Ghz can do with a 5770

coupe69 · 1 Feb 2010 at 01:27

trif said:
Processor £143.03 3.66 Ghz @ Intel Core i5 750 2.66Ghz (Lynnfield) (Socket LGA1156) - OEM*
Memory £165.52 (8GB) 2x Patriot Sector 5 Viper II 4GB (2x2GB) PC3-12800 1600MHz Dual Channel

Motherboard £72.36 Gigabyte GA-P55-US3L P55 Socket 1156 8 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard
Graphics £49.35 ASUS HD 4670 512MB DDR3 DVI VGA HDMI Out PCI-E Graphics Card
Hard Drive £36.78 Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 16MB Cache - OEM

Power Supply £74.57 Corsair 650W TX Series PSU - 120mm Fan, 80+% Efficiency, Single +12V Rail
Case £25.54 Casecom 6788 Black Mid Tower Case
Case fans £7.96 4x 120mm Black Case Fan - 4 pin connector (@ 5 volts)
Cooler £19.99 Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus

OR

Processor £122.01 AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition 3.2 GHz Socket AM3 8MB Cache Retail Boxed Processor
Memory £165.52 (8GB) 2x Patriot Sector 5 Viper II 4GB (2x2GB) PC3-12800 1600MHz Dual Channel

Motherboard £71.78 Asus M4A785TD-V EVO Socket AM3 onboard DVI VGA HDMI 8 channel audio ATX Motherboard
Graphics £21.47 Asus HD 4350 Silent 256MB DDR2 VGA DVI HDMI Out Low Profile PCI-E Graphics Card
Hard Drive £36.78 Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 16MB Cache - OEM

Power Supply £39.92 Corsair 400W CX PSU - 12cm Fan 80Plus Certified Efficiency 6x SATA 1x PCI-ECase £9.99 Casecom KB-7720BK Black ATX Midi Tower Case - No PSU
Case fans £1.96 80mm Black Case Fan - 3pin Connector - Screws Included

The core i5 spec is only costing more because you have different components in each build :confused:

If you just changed the cpu and mainboard the difference would be a little over 20 quid

MeMeMeMe · 1 Feb 2010 at 04:41

coupe69 said:
The core i5 spec is only costing more because you have different components in each build

If you just changed the cpu and mainboard the difference would be a little over 20 quid

+1
I had to read several times to figure out why your i5 build was so much more expensive.

trif · 1 Feb 2010 at 08:38

sorry, the point was;

do the more expensive components make much difference? or am i just wasting £100 ish for limited gain in the performance areas i want,

psychas · 1 Feb 2010 at 10:28

if u dont bother with overclock go phenom if u will overclock go i5

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 1 Feb 2010 at 10:38

The Phenom II X4 955BE seems to be ahead of a Q9550 in Visual Studio and Java:

http://ixbtlabs.com/articles3/cpu/amd-phenom-2-x4-925-955-p2.html

Comparing the scores of the Phenom II X4 955BE from the previous review with the Core i5 750 in the same applications the Phenom II X4 955BE looks around the same:

http://ixbtlabs.com/articles3/cpu/intel-ci5-660-p2.html

MeMeMeMe · 2 Feb 2010 at 02:01

trif said:
sorry, the point was;

do the more expensive components make much difference? or am i just wasting £100 ish for limited gain in the performance areas i want,

Considering you said this: "graphically it just needs to cope with windows 7 Aero stuff on dual screen @ 1920x1080", then both builds are over-specified.

You could get by with a modern motherboard that has integrated graphics, though a cheap dedicated graphic card would be better.

Cat the Fifth's build would be perfect, or you could look at an i3 with its integrated graphics.

PhoenixUK · 2 Feb 2010 at 04:44

psychas said:
if u dont bother with overclock go phenom if u will overclock go i5

Considering he didn't put decent aftermarket cooler nor good case or even thermal compound it doesn't look like he'll be pushing it any far !

shr3k · 2 Feb 2010 at 13:33

CAT-THE-FIFTH said:
This is what I would get:

AMD Phenom II X4 955 ~ £122

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=cp-244-am

asus m4a785td-v ~ £73

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=mb-355-as&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1481

has the 785g igp which can run one digital and one analogue monitor at the same time. the motherboard has 128mb of ddr3 for the igp.

8gb 1333mhz ddr3 ~ £168

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=my-085-gl&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1516

coolermaster elite 334 ~ £28

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=ca-184-cm&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=

there are cheaper cases available if required

samsung spinpoint f3 500gb ~ £41

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=hd-081-sa

sata dvd rewriter ~ £17

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=cd-038-ot&groupid=701&catid=10&subcat=

corsair cx 400w ~ £39

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=ca-017-cs

the psu is made by seasonic. get the ocz 400w stealthxstream as it is a better unit.

the total cost is around £488 excluding postage.

the phenom ii x4 955be seems to be ahead of a q9550 in visual studio and java:

http://ixbtlabs.com/articles3/cpu/amd-phenom-2-x4-925-955-p2.html

Comparing the scores with the Core i5 750 in the same applications the Phenom II X4 955BE looks around the same:

http://ixbtlabs.com/articles3/cpu/intel-ci5-660-p2.html

Get this, ive just built it and on a zalmon aftermarket cooler im on 3.8ghz already without touching vcores or out

Any questions just ask

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 2 Feb 2010 at 13:54

This is a good article to read regarding the Phenom II X4 stock cooler:

http://techreport.com/articles.x/16744