what is better to play games on intel or Amd

[Blitzen]

I have one for aging 975x based main PC and it was an excellent choice.

However if I was building a new rig there are better alternatives out there at the moment.

To the OP what processor and graphics card you go for is dependent on your budget and what resolution you play at.

I agree.
However, i am running mine in a iX38 QuadGT running at 3.6 24/7 and there is not a viable upgrade where i will see a great difference.

I did try it in a AW9D Max (975X), and tbh, the quads run like a bag of poo in those anyway.

[dangel]

I agree.
However, i am running mine in a iX38 QuadGT running at 3.6 24/7 and there is not a viable upgrade where i will see a great difference.

Same here - i've got no reason to upgrade my core system at all.

[nightkhaos]

I agree.
However, i am running mine in a iX38 QuadGT running at 3.6 24/7 and there is not a viable upgrade where i will see a great difference.

I did try it in a AW9D Max (975X), and tbh, the quads run like a bag of poo in those anyway.

What is your cooler?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I currently have my Q6600 at 2.91ghz on stock volts which is not too bad since it has a high VID.

The main issue with my 975X is the fact that the PCI-E only runs ate 8x even with one card installed. I like how Shuttle did not make this clear at the time!!

[kalniel]

The main issue with my 975X is the fact that the PCI-E only runs ate 8x even with one card installed. I like how Shuttle did not make this clear at the time!!

<nelson>haha! </nelson>

Seriously though, have you hit the limit of 8x yet?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

<nelson>haha! </nelson>

Dohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

When the SD37P2 came out the Shuttle specs said it ran at 16x but failed to make clear it was only 8x electrical and there was no switching mechanism for single and dual cards.

Seriously though, have you hit the limit of 8x yet?

Hopefully not as I run midrange cards usually!

[Blitzen]

What is your cooler?

Scythe Mine.

For some reason you cant get them now. They are very good though.

[nightkhaos]

Scythe Mine.

For some reason you cant get them now. They are very good though.

I can see that. I have a Megahalems. I haven't seen the temps go over 40 degrees yet, then again I haven't pushed it that far.

[AD-15]

Sorry to go OT but...

Nightkaos, how about chilling out and just letting other people post?

As you say yourself, he certainly doesn't seem to trying to sell anything or pimping his post count so just let him post as he likes, if you don't like it ignore the threads.

Personally I spent over a year considering options and looking at specs for my most recent PC while I was waiting for the right time to build it, so just relax and let him consider his build in his own time.

Indeed.

You would not believe the amount of time I spent spamming this forum when I was planning my build.

[nightkhaos]

Indeed.

You would not believe the amount of time I spent spamming this forum when I was planning my build.

Maybe I don't understand this because when I planning my build (<--) I spammed by friends mailbox.

[Andeh13]

Maybe I don't understand this because when I planning my build (<--) I spammed by friends mailbox.

Iv been on both ends of that, when i first posted spec requests on hexus forum i musta seemed like an expert due to the information i leached off a mate!


+1 for the likes of the 6600, iv been running one for 2 years now & as much as id like to upgrade and get a nice shiny new computer i wont be able to justify it for a long time to come! This is even more true if you get the B0 (or is it B3?) steppings & can overclock it!

[sammorris]

Got to keep conservative here. In the current climate, I typically recommend Intel CPUs and AMD graphics cards. There is logic to this, not just base fanboyism. The intel CPUs are by far the better overclockers for enthusiasts, they're also much more energy efficient (usually) and Intel also produce CPUs in performance sectors of the market AMD do not cover. They are marginally more expensive initially, but work out cheaper in the long term. AMD are the only manufacturer to produce triple core CPUs, which while useful for some, I think are generally just a middle-ground between dual cores and true quads, and with CPUs like the Q8200 for £115, I think it's best to stick either side.

I typically recommend ATI graphics cards because they are a little more honest and are substantially better value in most cases.

For all the talk of Q6600s, as awesome as they were, I would never buy one now, they are really expensive compared to the superior 45nm CPUs.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The problem is that Intel have no real answer to the triple core X3 710 or 720 especially when the latter is only £92 delivered from Ebuyer:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/159071

The higher end E7000 series dual cores are made redundant as a result. Only fanbois would try to argue otherwise especially with the increase prevalence of multi-threaded applications.

Of course there is also the Phenom II X2 545 and 550 which compete well with the lower end members Intel E7000 series too. It seems more people are having success unlocking the Phenom II X2 processors to quad cores than with the X3 processors it seems although YMMV. Also the increased number of cheap 770 based motherboards for under £60 for the DDR2 versions and around £70 for the DDR3 versions it means that a relatively cheap motherboard can have similar overclocking and unlocking performance to the higher end 790 series motherboards now. The later batches of the Phenom II seem to overclock better too especially since the standard TDP of recent processors like the X4 945 have actually gone done from 125w to only 95w.


The Q8200 is too slow at stock in single threaded applications TBH and has a very low multiplier too. The better Q8400 is a similar price range to the Phenom II X4 940 which is comparable to the higher cache Q9400 so it is pointless too. Then there is X4 955 which is around the same speed as the Q9500 at stock speeds but is £20 cheaper.

Also the idle power consumption of the new Athlons and Phenoms is very similar to the Core 2 processors so it makes little difference. At peak they do consume more power but the difference is not as big as it may seem since a X4 955 at stock does consume far less power than a Q6600 or Q6700 at stock which many people still use.

I am a fan of ATI cards too although TBH cards like the HD4870 and HD4890 they do tend consume more power at idle generally than the equivalent Nvidia ones.

[sammorris]

Low multiplier or not, the Q8200 can still get to 3.4Ghz in a good board, at which speed it's serious competition for all of AMD's quads bar perhaps the X4 955.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Low multiplier or not, the Q8200 can still get to 3.4Ghz in a good board, at which speed it's serious competition for all of AMD's quads bar perhaps the X4 955.

In the last two months there have been many 770 based motherboards released with the SB710 southbridge for under £60 for the DDR2 versions and around £70 for the DDR3 versions. These new motherboards do rival the much more expensive 790GX motherboards for overclocking and core unclocking performance.

Hence a processor like an X3 720 once overclocked is a threat to a Q8200:

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpu...ii-x3-720-be/6

The Q6600 and Q8200 are very similar in speed to each other IIRC. The problem is that the X3 720 is already clocked much higher than the Q8200 so the latter needs to have a huge percentage overclock to overcome a x3 720 at 3.4ghz ~ 3.8ghz in single threaded apps. As indicated in the Bit-tech review both the E7500 and Q6600 did need a higher overclock to challenge the X3 720 as their stock speeds are not enough.

The £20 difference between an X3 720 and a Q8200 can mean a better aftermarket cooler too.

The Q6600 main advantage was its relatively high multiplier which made it easy to overclock with a low FSB [I]without/I] overclocking even PC2-6400 RAM.

[sammorris]

A 3.5Ghz Q8200 would at the very least equal that, and would be superior in full-on quad core supporting applications, which we'll eventually see more of in the future. Arguments for AMD's superiority when overclocking is considered will always fall flat due to the lower percentages they yield. At stock for 'i just want a pc that works' users is where they are best put to use. Of course, if you can get someone to build a PC, you can often get them to overclock
The power usage under load of a Q8200 is so low you can clock it pretty far without an aftermarket cooler. I'm not sure how true that is of an X3 720. The 705e maybe, but probably not the 720.