i7 920 vs Phenom 940

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d3stiNy

Limp Gawd
Joined
Aug 1, 2003
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Ok, so I have been trying to figure out what build to do while money has been coming in, and unforseen expenses have made it longer than hoped.

But I saw that at Microcenter that the i7 920 was only $200, and so I was wondering if getting the 2.66 i7 would be faster than the 3.00 Phenom 940, and why?

Thanks in advance
 
Hard OCP (article link) recently posted a really great round up on comparing some of these processors.
A quote from it for you:
"When you take the Core i7 920 to 3.6GHz though, nothing can touch it. Outside of gaming, the Core i7 have proven to be the most capable desktop processor on the planet in terms of applications that can actually harness it HyperThreading and multi-threading abilities."
Click to expand...

I don't know anything at all about the 3.00 phenom 940, but I do know that the i7 920 is an absolute monster and one of the simplest to overclock cpus I have ever seen. I -think- without knowing anything about the phenom 940 that the i7 is faster and definitely worth every penny especially at $200, and even at standard retail of $280.
 
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not that oc'ing is out of the picture, but I generally do not do a lot of it, so with looking at that link it appears that without oc'ing the i7 might not be the best option for me...
 
any one else? The deal ends today and I am wondering if I should pick one up...
 
I did a bit more searching and actually found a head to head Hard OCP comparison of the phenom 940 vs the i7. (Link here)

I would bite on the $200 microcenter deal if one was near me. The phenom 940 seems to be a drop in upgrade to an existing system at best, rather than something you build a new system around. Keep in mind i7 total build budget will be more typically than an amd build and you will need to consider your total budget.

Here is a quote:
The Phenom II performance speaks for itself. It loses to its old nemesis, the Core 2, which I think some folks will be surprised by. The Phenom II loses to the Core i7, which I think was to be expected. The Phenom II is a loser.

Does that mean it is without value? Absolutely not. But I think those that will find value in it will be few and far between and even fewer of those folks will be computer hardware enthusiasts.

If you are a gamer or a content creation professional, my suggestion to you is to save your pennies and get the Intel Core i7. Even if you have to wait an extra few months to save up for good DDR3. The Phenom II just does not have long legs, and I don’t think I will want to pay for DDR3 to dress one up next month either.
Click to expand...

Here is a forum compilation over on overclock.net of a bunch more phenom 940 reviews. (Link)
 
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Yeah, it really depends on what your budget is. What will you be doing with your computer? Will you utilize the Core i7 cpu to its full extent? If it's juts browsing the web, office applications and light gaming than no sense spend the extra money for a Core i7 build. The mobo/DDR3 ram will cost more on an i7 build.
 
Alrite thank you guys... looks like im getting an i7:D

Looks like it will be a little but longer before I finish my upgrade:p
 
Yea I like to game occasionally. I plan on getting Sims 3, which isnt video intensive, but any good new games that come out I always consider getting. Also, I started this upgrade because of my blu ray player. My current rig is not fast enough to handle playing it smoothly.


I really dont have any set budget...Just depends on when I get enough money. Looking at i7 mobos it looks like I plan on spending around $200, and for memory it looks like around $90. Also I do not plan on overclocking, but its not out of the realm of possibilities so I am planning on getting a hs. I have looked at several threads suggesting the Xigmatek Dark Knight... so I will plan on getting that as well.
 
My advice if you are going to build around the i7 would be to post asking for build suggestions here in general hardware after answering the questions in the sticky. The folks here can give you some absolutely awesome advice on component choices that will save you a ton of money and help you build the best possible system. I know they were absolutely essential in guiding me when I was making my build.
 
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A Phenom II 940 is fully capable of playing Sims 3 and Blue Ray playback. Although the Core i7 is on sale for $200, you still will spend a good $200 more on this build because of the X58 chipset mobo and DDR3 ram it uses. A Phenom II 940 can be put together CPU/Mobo/Ram all for $300.
 
With overclocking the i7 920 being so easy to do, I really don't see any reason not to. You made a good choice!
 
@HardwareGuru: I just said sims 3 cause it is the next game I plan on buying...
 
You can easily get 6GB of DDR3 of decent brand for under $90 after mail-in rebates these days (my 6GB of OCZ Platinum DDR3-1600 goes for $74.99 after rebate shipped free from Newegg currently). $184.99 (after $15 rebate) for a Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R which supports SLI or Crossfire. With the Fry's i7 920.. you're looking at roughly $460.. (+ tax for the processor)..

Plus if you want SLI with an AMD board & Phenom II 940, that drives up your costs closer to $400+ (from my cursory glance at pricing).

Having your choice of SLI/Crossfire with a faster processor is worth the cost difference in my eyes. Maybe thats just me...
 
If you have no problem waiting for this upgrade then definitely get the Core i7 920 cpu. I mean most people would because it's a great deal. Out of curiosity, what is your current rig?
 
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