What CPU to go for?

[zakobi]

I'm thinking on at some point get a new PC (watch thread named "What can i get in the 600-700€ class") so i'm thinking what is best to invest in.

 

I'm stuck on either getting a AMD Phenom II X4 945 or the 955.

The 945 i can get with a set, so in overall it's cheaper, but the 955 is unlocked and much better at OC, which i'm thinking on trying.

[asparagin]

I would go for an "older" intel. 2 cores are enough, and if don't buy the latest you can get it relatively cheap. I currently have AMD (X2) and although it runs at 3200 Mhz per core, I'm not satisfied with the performance. Get something with a bigger cache.

[zakobi]

Are intel iX serie worth it? they seem to operate at a lower GHz compared to AMD's when in same price range.

[zakobi]

A i5 setup might be the way to go, tho i'm concerned with the lower GHz...

 

How much does the GHz matter in FC 2, compared to all the other things you can measurer on a CPU?

[asparagin]

Edit: I own one of the Athlons. Since Phenom the AMD'S also have the L3 cache, I heard this brings some performance. maybe someone with Phenom can comment.

[Krippz]

I would opt for the Phenom II 965; which can be found for about $160.00. The 965 is comparable in "gaming performance" to a Core i7 920. Being a Phenom II user myself I can vouch for their performance.

[zakobi]

I would opt for the Phenom II 965; which can be found for about $160.00. The 965 is comparable in "gaming performance" to a Core i7 920. Being a Phenom II user myself I can vouch for their performance.

 

Thanks for the tip :thumbup:

I know what to buy now, as soon i get the money for it :D

[manne]

Yeah, I can vouch for Phenom II also. I have the x4 955 Black Edition, works great.

[Mugenjin]

955 because it's a BE.

 

965 is in most cases not worth the extra $, but that depends on how much it is more than a 955, which differs a lot.

[zakobi]

How much does cache mean?

My dad was also talking about it's important how much/many teraflops-something it can do.

[manne]

Cache means ALOT

 

But it can be hard to compare because Intel's i series use a different way (quick path interconnect) than in example Phenom II (BUS lanes). So it depends on the architecture how you can compare different sizes of cache. 2mb cache in one architecture can mean something different for another one (big or small).

 

It also depends which levels of cache, like L1 and L2 are usually smaller than L3 cache. L1 cache is on the chip and doesn't need to use the BUS lane (direct access for the CPU), L2 is a slower but bigger in size and is separate for every core while L3 cache is usually the biggest and shared between all cores. What it comes down to, basically, is that the CPU needs those cache to store information, retrieve information etc. in and out of memory. So if you have a super duper quick CPU with very low or slow cache (like the older Phenom I's) you are severely bottle necked because the CPU constantly needs to wait for the slow/small cache memory which hampers your overall performance.

 

But like I said in the beginning, different architectures make it hard to compare the absolute size of cache memory, it depends how it is used.

Edited April 9, 2010 by manne

[zakobi]

I think i'm going with the Phenom II X4 955, as it got the same chach size as the 965 and afaik it can easily be OC those 0.2 GHz extra.

How important is Hz for FC2?

Edited April 9, 2010 by zakobi

[manne]

What's the price difference between the 955 and 965?

[Pyroflash]

The core clock of your processor is one of the most important aspects of running TFCSE smoothly. Since it does not take very good advantage of multiple cores, pure clock becomes more important than having lots and lots of cores. That being said, if you go for any of the Phenom 2 BE's, I don't think you should have any problem whatsoever.

 

A little note though, when selecting your processor, do not say "well, I can get the lower end chip because I can clock it to the same speed as its higher end brother, making it the same chip".

 

There is a reason they are marketed as different chips, and although they share the same class, and name, they still use fundamentally different architectures. That being said, a Phenom 2 X4 955 overclocked to 3.4 GHz will not be as fast as a Phenom 2 X4 965 at its factory clock of 3.4 GHz. They are two completely different chips, and should be treated as such. Which is why I sprung for the I7-975 Extreme Edition instead of just getting the I7-960 and OC'ing it to 3.33 GHz.

[zakobi]

The core clock of your processor is one of the most important aspects of running TFCSE smoothly. Since it does not take very good advantage of multiple cores, pure clock becomes more important than having lots and lots of cores. That being said, if you go for any of the Phenom 2 BE's, I don't think you should have any problem whatsoever.

 

A little note though, when selecting your processor, do not say "well, I can get the lower end chip because I can clock it to the same speed as its higher end brother, making it the same chip".

 

There is a reason they are marketed as different chips, and although they share the same class, and name, they still use fundamentally different architectures. That being said, a Phenom 2 X4 955 overclocked to 3.4 GHz will not be as fast as a Phenom 2 X4 965 at its factory clock of 3.4 GHz. They are two completely different chips, and should be treated as such. Which is why I sprung for the I7-975 Extreme Edition instead of just getting the I7-960 and OC'ing it to 3.33 GHz.

 

fair point i guess... the 965 isn't much more expensive anyway, so i guess OC'ing it will give even higer GHz while still being just as stable?

Edited April 9, 2010 by zakobi

[Krippz]

When are you planning to buy? AMD six-core chips are coming out in about a months time and are said to be sub $200.00. If you can hold off for another month...

[manne]

So you'll get six cores you won't be able to use!

 

:P J/K

 

 

In all seriousness, the release of the 6 cores might influence the current prices of the quad cores too?

[Mugenjin]

That being said, a Phenom 2 X4 955 overclocked to 3.4 GHz will not be as fast as a Phenom 2 X4 965 at its factory clock of 3.4 GHz. They are two completely different chips, and should be treated as such. Which is why I sprung for the I7-975 Extreme Edition instead of just getting the I7-960 and OC'ing it to 3.33 GHz.

 

Nope, a 955 at 965 speed is as fast as an original 965 (there are benchmarks on this). It only depends on budget, both CPUs are pretty much the same.

The 965 has a default vcore of 1.4, while the 955's vcore is 1.35, which means that the 965 doesn't automatically OC higher.

 

But in the end it only depends on if you can get your hands on a good chip and if you do, 3.7-3.9GhZ is pretty much the max anyway.

[zakobi]

If i could buy now, i know what i want, but as told here and on another forum, wait till summer and see what comes (6 cores, cheaper ssd, good GPU gets cheaper etc)

[*Rage*]

The core clock of your processor is one of the most important aspects of running TFCSE smoothly. Since it does not take very good advantage of multiple cores, pure clock becomes more important than having lots and lots of cores. That being said, if you go for any of the Phenom 2 BE's, I don't think you should have any problem whatsoever.

 

A little note though, when selecting your processor, do not say "well, I can get the lower end chip because I can clock it to the same speed as its higher end brother, making it the same chip".

 

There is a reason they are marketed as different chips, and although they share the same class, and name, they still use fundamentally different architectures. That being said, a Phenom 2 X4 955 overclocked to 3.4 GHz will not be as fast as a Phenom 2 X4 965 at its factory clock of 3.4 GHz. They are two completely different chips, and should be treated as such. Which is why I sprung for the I7-975 Extreme Edition instead of just getting the I7-960 and OC'ing it to 3.33 GHz.

 

This is not my understanding. They are not fundamentally different architectures. An i7-920 OCed to i7-975 speeds will be just as fast.

[Pyroflash]

Not fundamentally so, but they are different chips, and cannot be treated as the same item.

 

Also, if you look at the technical documents for these chips, you will realize that there are differences between the two chips. For example, the I7-9xx series chips only have a 4.8 GT/s bus speed, whereas the I7-9xx Extreme Edition processors have bus speeds of 6.4 GT/s.

 

But, I resend my previous comment, it seems at least on the surface that the 965 and 955 are basically the same chip. Though I still would like to believe that AMD has another purpose for raising the price on their processors other than simply changing the clock and voltage of a processor. Of course this could be wishful thinking, and maybe that really is all that they do. Can't really complain though, their processors are dirt cheap to begin with, it's really a bargain no matter which way you look at it.

[Mugenjin]

They are virtually identical. The 965 was released months after the 955, which was designed to be the fastest CPU, so they have the same cache etc.

[sage0030]

I'm thinking on at some point get a new PC (watch thread named "What can i get in the 600-700€ class") so i'm thinking what is best to invest in.

 

I'm stuck on either getting a AMD Phenom II X4 945 or the 955.

The 945 i can get with a set, so in overall it's cheaper, but the 955 is unlocked and much better at OC, which i'm thinking on trying.

 

 

no really a difference at all between the both. technicaly yes there is, but you wont see a difference even in oc amd,

Edited April 14, 2010 by sage0030