xvCluTchvX Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 (edited) I am on the verge of building a computer with a 1000 dollar budget. I don't know whether I should get a i7 or a Phenom II. I know the Phenom II is cheaper, but that's about it. I would like to know what you people think and why. I read the review on Phenom II but it doesn't compare the i7 920 to the Phenom II 940 only the 965. Thanks in advance. Edited February 3, 2009 by xvCluTchvX Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voltes_5 Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 You're right, on most of the tests/reviews the i7 wins. The only factor that's keeping most of the reviewers to recommend them completely is the price, because of the ddr3 platform. You need a ddr3 for the i7's, whereas for the Phenom II's, they can be used with DDR2/DDR3 platforms. What I gathered most on the reviews is that at some point in the coming month or so, the i7's prices will come down. That's when it is most reasonable to build on the i7 platform. I myself was looking into it last week and I have done a lot of reading on both i7 and Phenom II reviews. I have made a decision to wait till later in the year, by then it will be more clear to see which of them to go for. I miss playing around and overclocking, I went ahead instead and got myself a Q6600 GO last week, at least that will satisfy my itch for now LOL. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
xvCluTchvX Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 (edited) So what should I do. Should I wait but how long? But if Intel drops their prices wont AMD also? Also on the review the Phenom II is almost deadlock with the i7 965 and this is the best i7. So is the Phenom II better since its cheaper for slightly lower performance Edited February 3, 2009 by xvCluTchvX Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krieg1337 Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 Do not compare the Phenom II to the I7. It is meant to compete with the Q9000 series. If you have the money go with I7, or wait for AM3/New Phenom II CPU's :thumbs-up: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Verran Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 Do not compare the Phenom II to the I7. It is meant to compete with the Q9000 series. You can still compare them though. The Phenom isn't "meant" to compete with anything. When you compare them you just have to make sure and note the prices as well as the performance. Phenom doesn't seem to compete very well at the tippy-top, but in the price ranges where they do have chips they're very viable options. The boards and memory are very cheap and the chips are pretty surprising from what I've seen so far. As for waiting for prices to come down... you're going to be waiting forever. Every time they drop prices, another drop is right around the corner. Or a new, better chipset. Or a faster memory compatibility. Or a new stepping. Etc, etc. I say buy when you're ready to buy for the most part or else you'll find something else to wait for just when you think you're done. There are some exceptions to that, but generally it works pretty well. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voltes_5 Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 That is so true about the prices and waiting Verran. What I would suggest for him to do is shop around for the best possible prices for combo's, mainly cpu/mobo combo's. Clutch, I'd go for an i7 system, like I said, look for the most sensible combo's out there. When I looked around the many e-tailers for DDR3, I have found many to have dropped their prices for a set of 3 sticks of 1GB. And some even had cpu/mobo/memory combo. You will save a bit that way. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IVIYTH0S Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 if you are going to buy right now I'd get a phenom II build since they're are so awesome for how inexpensive they are and they can overclock pretty amazing (if you get the 940 BE). if you decide to get the i7 I'd at least wait to see what the p55 chipset brings to the table Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingfisher Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 If you have the $1000, you could probably squeeze into a phenom II or even a 775 setup for a lot less and save that money for the new platform for "next" time. Depending on your needs the pII or 775 would be more than capable. Its just hard to imagine an I7 setup for most likely all of your $1000 and aside from cpu upgrades is pretty much a dead end like AM2 and 775 are now when the new platforms come out this summer. Yea, waiting is a vicious circle. Good luck. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheScavenger Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 If the PII 940 is benchmarking in the range of the i7 965 then it would be silly not to compare them. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJew540 Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 I went with the 940 and for the price I love it it overclocks amazingly im @ 3.82 on air its a great cpu for the price and for a $1000 budget I would go with it Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bosco Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 if you decide to get the i7 I'd at least wait to see what the p55 chipset brings to the table That maybe a long wait. Last we were told we would not be seeing those until 4th quarter of course that could change, but that is what we were told 3 weeks ago Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coors Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 If the PII 940 is benchmarking in the range of the i7 965 then it would be silly not to compare them. Not everyone cares about synthetic benchmark scores. I'd be more interested in comparing real world performance between the two. encoding productivity gaming Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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