Intel i5 vs. AMD 6-Core

[BBrzon]

Ok I am on a budget and came to the conclusion of either the Intel Core i5-2500 Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz Socket 1155 processor or the AMD Phenom II X6 1100T Black Edition Thuban 3.3GHz Socket AM3 processor. I was just wondering if I could get some assistance on performance differences between these two CPUs. ($16 difference for complete system on Newegg)

System will be Win7 Ultimate x64, Corsair XMS3 16GB DDR3 1333 Ram (2 x 4GB ~ 2 kits), WD Caviar Black 500GB SATA III (OS/Progarm drive), WD Caviar Green 1.5TB SATA II (storage drive), Samsung DVD/CD Burner (SATA) and one Nvidia GTX 460 PCIe video card. System will be used for internet mostly and one online FPS game or downloading music or other stuff.

 

[paperwastage]

what else do you need to run?

internet, online FPS game, downloading music, you don't need either of those for this...

go to http://hardforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=40, answer the stickes question and see...

basically, if you need to run multi-threaded apps, the x6 would win, but the i5 will come close (or beat the x6) often and is a better bet than the x6

 

[BBrzon]

Occasional photo/video/audio editing and graphic design.

I should also add that they will be using Adobe Photoshop CS, Photoshop Elements, Nero 9 and DVD Fab 7.

P.S. This is a build for somebody else, since I build systems on the side. (I do all the leg work/labor and all the other person does is spend money, but I try to get them the best solution for their needs.) They had recently given their old PC to their kids for college and wanted to get as close up to the times as $600 would get them.

 

[drescherjm]

System will be Win7 Ultimate x64, Corsair XMS3 16GB DDR3 1333 Ram (2 x 4GB ~ 2 kits), WD Caviar Black 500GB SATA III (OS/Progarm drive), WD Caviar Green 1.5TB SATA II (storage drive), Samsung DVD/CD Burner (SATA) and one Nvidia GTX 460 PCIe video card. System will be used for internet mostly and one online FPS game or downloading music or other stuff.

The i5 will be faster in all most all applications that do not utilize more than 4 cores. Remember that clock for clock the i5 cores do 20 to 30% more work. Look at benchmarks. The 2 core / 4 threaded i3 2100 beats the Phenom II x6 in a lot of gaming benchmarks. That is when the Phenom is not overclocked.

downloading music

The slowest chip you can get today will be way overpowered for that...

 

[Spartan805]

Your asking this in an INTEL forum.... Hmmmmm

All kidding aside I would wait for benchmarks on the HEXA CORE BULLDOZER due any month(crosses fingers) now. Should be around the same price as the 1100T. All thuban cores max @ around 4.2GHz.

 

[Wickedout2011]

Your asking this in an INTEL forum.... Hmmmmm

All kidding aside I would wait for benchmarks on the HEXA CORE BULLDOZER due any month(crosses fingers) now. Should be around the same price as the 1100T. All thuban cores max @ around 4.2GHz.

This is what I'm waiting for. I want to see benchmarks, SB vs. BD! Should be interesting!

 

[Rauelius]

I've got a 2600k and an overclocked 1090t. In games I see no perceivable difference at the settings I play at (Highest Possible across the board). When it comes to encoding, it's close, but I have my i7 at stock and the x6 is over clocked. However, if your looking for an upgrade path, I'd pick the 2500k over the 1100t. At least when Ivy Bridge comes out you should be able to move over to that if you deem it necessary, but with Bulldozer likely delayed till Q2 2012 (supposed to be out this month, no benchmarks, while Sandy Bridge-E is out November and Tomshardware.com already has a review for it.). I'd imagine that since the delay on Bulldozer is likely, I'd recommend against AMD as they may decide to move away from AM3+ at that point to something more like Socket G34 like they use for their server parts. That in combonation with the terrible performance from "leaked" sources (like the Sisoft one) I'd stay away from anything AMD at least until we get some benchmarks, and at that point you may want to look at a 6-Core Bulldozer if it is indeed awesome (crosses fingers).

 

[fps4ever]

Intel 2500 all the way....cripes I was thinking you were asking bout a core i5 650 or something!

Wait for Bulldozer, blah ,blah, blah...gonna be waiting a while yet and you don't even know if it will match the 2500 in performance.

 

[Rauelius]

Intel 2500 all the way....cripes I was thinking you were asking bout a core i5 650 or something!

Wait for Bulldozer, blah ,blah, blah...gonna be waiting a while yet and you don't even know if it will match the 2500 in performance.

+1, I completely agree.

 

[BBrzon]

Thank you all who replied. I will go ahead and let the person know that she should get the i5 like I had planned on. She was worried about spending the extra $16......and wanted clearification on me saying that intel 4-core will out perform amd 6-core.

 

[drescherjm]

Your asking this in an INTEL forum.... Hmmmmm

All kidding aside I would wait for benchmarks on the HEXA CORE BULLDOZER due any month(crosses fingers) now. Should be around the same price as the 1100T. All thuban cores max @ around 4.2GHz.

I think even most people on the AMD forum would agree that the i5 is faster in gaming. However they will tell you to wait for BD now since the 8.4GHz overclocking demo.

 

[Wickedout2011]

Isn't the BD on hold again? Intel just keeps moving forward and changing sockets on us all the time. Which is kind of a pain! Besides the average joe isn't going to overclock either CPU's. So 8.4Ghz means nothing to me! Just my .02 cents!

 

[fps4ever]

I think even most people on the AMD forum would agree that the i5 is faster in gaming. However they will tell you to wait for BD now since the 8.4GHz overclocking demo.

You know you can OC that 2500 as well don't you?

Also, does she plan on using liquid Nitrogen/Helium to OC the processor?

 

[drescherjm]

You know you can OC that 2500 as well don't you?

Isn't there a multiplier limit of 55 or 58 or similar?

 

[defaultluser]

Isn't there a multiplier limit of 55 or 58 or similar?

Yes, but that does not affect anyone except professional overclockers.

Day-to-day clock speeds do not use liquid nitrogen.

 

[fps4ever]

Yes, but that does not affect anyone except professional overclockers.

Day-to-day clock speeds do not use liquid nitrogen.

Plus they do not use all the cores going after those massive OC's...The AMD Bulldozer was only using 2 with the rest shut down to set the record.

 

[matteos]

I've got a 2600k and an overclocked 1090t. In games I see no perceivable difference at the settings I play at (Highest Possible across the board). When it comes to encoding, it's close, but I have my i7 at stock and the x6 is over clocked. However, if your looking for an upgrade path, I'd pick the 2500k over the 1100t. At least when Ivy Bridge comes out you should be able to move over to that if you deem it necessary, but with Bulldozer likely delayed till Q2 2012 (supposed to be out this month, no benchmarks, while Sandy Bridge-E is out November and Tomshardware.com already has a review for it.). I'd imagine that since the delay on Bulldozer is likely, I'd recommend against AMD as they may decide to move away from AM3+ at that point to something more like Socket G34 like they use for their server parts. That in combonation with the terrible performance from "leaked" sources (like the Sisoft one) I'd stay away from anything AMD at least until we get some benchmarks, and at that point you may want to look at a 6-Core Bulldozer if it is indeed awesome (crosses fingers).

AMD is not going to change sockets on bulldozer. It is AM3+
Bulldozer is going to be out before the end of the year, any month now, I heard October. Sandy Bridge-E has actually been delayed till January 2012

OP should wait for bulldozer, at he very least he can snag a thuban for supercheap used if he wants then. AMD always represents the best upgrade path, Intel is always switching sockets.

 

[limitedaccess]

No one brought this up, but technically you can't overclock the i5 2500, other than the built in turbo mode, in the same way you can the X6 Black Edition. You need the 2500k, and also the mobo has to be a P67 or Z68 chipset, there is no mention of which mobo was picked in the OP.

But I assume he is interested in stock vs. stock speeds only (well counting turbo, since that requires no user actions)?

 

[Rauelius]

That's good and bad. Good because it means the 2500k/2600k are relevant for that much longer, but bad because that my mean that BD may not see light of day till May 2012. Why do I make that (admittedly giant)assumption? Well, SB-e is out in January, we have benchmarks and basically a review NOW. BD is no where to be heard from from with nothing but a pointless overclock on 2 cores that all of .00000001 percent of the human population care about. So put one and one together, SB-e has benchmarks now and a decently firm release date, BD has nothing but speculation and a silly overclocking stunt and no firm release date. The more you add it up the more likely that BD will be delayed at the very least till Q1 2012. Go 2500, heck if your not looking to OC, the 2400 may be a bit cheaper and is also capable of Turbo overclocking.

BTW, I love my x6. It overclocks nice and runs cool. In fact I benched Dirt3 between the two systems in my sig and they get basically identical scores. I don't want to hate on AMD, but after 6 years of "it'll be out next month" it's hard not to be cynical when it comes to the mythical bulldozer for desktop.

AMD is not going to change sockets on bulldozer. It is AM3+
Bulldozer is going to be out before the end of the year, any month now, I heard October. Sandy Bridge-E has actually been delayed till January 2012

OP should wait for bulldozer, at he very least he can snag a thuban for supercheap used if he wants then. AMD always represents the best upgrade path, Intel is always switching sockets.

 

[paperwastage]

Thank you all who replied. I will go ahead and let the person know that she should get the i5 like I had planned on. She was worried about spending the extra $16......and wanted clearification on me saying that intel 4-core will out perform amd 6-core.

um, i think the person (if they dont do any heavy computing) could also use a $130 i3 2100

microcenter has i5 2500k for $180, i3 2100 for some cheaper price than newegg's $130, and mobo combos discounts too like $80 off... see if you're near one

 

[Drheadbang]

So far I've been running a 1100t at 3.8, trying to get stable at 4.0. I bought It not knowing about the I5 2500k speed advantage in gaming. I game in 1080p. Would It be beneficial to wait for ivy?

 

[drescherjm]

I would wait at least till bulldozer.

 

[iconiK]

The i5 will be faster in all most all applications that do not utilize more than 4 cores.

It will be faster even in those that do. i5 has a huge IPC advantage.

 

[German Muscle]

Occasional photo/video/audio editing and graphic design.

I should also add that they will be using Adobe Photoshop CS, Photoshop Elements, Nero 9 and DVD Fab 7.

P.S. This is a build for somebody else, since I build systems on the side. (I do all the leg work/labor and all the other person does is spend money, but I try to get them the best solution for their needs.) They had recently given their old PC to their kids for college and wanted to get as close up to the times as $600 would get them.

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=21479427

That build rips blu-rays from disk to encoded and watching in 26 minutes using DVDFab.

If you are putting a descrete graphics card in it then get the E3-1230 instead.

 

[dj LiTh]

At first i thought this thread was about a future 6core BD vs 2500k, that would of been atleast a discussion.......go ahead and buy the 2500k

 

[W.Feather]

Doesnt the OP have the 2500, not the 2500k, listed ??? The 2500 cant OC more than a small margin...

You know you can OC that 2500 as well don't you?

Also, does she plan on using liquid Nitrogen/Helium to OC the processor?

 

[fps4ever]

Doesnt the OP have the 2500, not the 2500k, listed ??? The 2500 cant OC more than a small margin...

The 2500 is partially unlocked vs. a 2500K but yes you can OC the regular ones as well, just not as much as the K series. Plus the regular 2500 IS multiplier unlocked to a limited extent up to 4.1GHZ in turbo mode. Saying a "small margin" is objective at best and wrong at worst. Not everyone needs 5GHz OC's to bolster their epenis, some just want more performance for games, etc....If any of you are confused please read release reviews instead of offering uninformed opinions!

Those that are saying wait for BD are just being AMD fan boys...that 2500 will last you a long, long time! They are not selling their flagship BD cpu at $266 because the performance is too good! People need to get a grip!

 

[Blkout]

The SB i5 is not only faster overall but draws less power and runs cooler too. I see no reason to buy AMD right now, or for that matter since the original Athlon.

 

[W.Feather]

well...http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=13WDYGAW2XS87C2VH1J3 ......spec show only the 2500k as unlocked.....forgive me for not understanding "partial unlocked", since ive only cared about the "k" series

The 2500 is partially unlocked vs. a 2500K but yes you can OC the regular ones as well, just not as much as the K series. Plus the regular 2500 IS multiplier unlocked to a limited extent up to 4.1GHZ in turbo mode. Saying a "small margin" is objective at best and wrong at worst. Not everyone needs 5GHz OC's to bolster their epenis, some just want more performance for games, etc....If any of you are confused please read release reviews instead of offering uninformed opinions!

Those that are saying wait for BD are just being AMD fan boys...that 2500 will last you a long, long time! They are not selling their flagship BD cpu at $266 because the performance is too good! People need to get a grip!