Phenom 9950x4 vs Phenom II 555x2

[cpff33]

Its Simple Witch Is Better

 

[newfusion]

to me i like the AMD BE 555 unlock to X4 @ 3.8 with no problem and cheaper.

 

[DrMrLordX]

Some 555 BEs unlock, some don't. In the case of an unlock, the 555BE is the better chip. Without the unlock, the 9950 would be better in apps that can use 3 or more cores .

When running apps that use 2 or fewer cores, 555BE still wins.

 

[busydude]

I can help provide benchmarks for the 555. Does any one here still use an original phenom?

 

[Mloot]

I use a Ph9650, currently clocked at 2.5 (Ph9850 speed) in my main rig. I've never clocked it to 2.6, but it went to 2.5 so easily that I wouldn't imagine another 100mhz would present any problems.

 

[busydude]

Duh, I totally forgot about cpu bench at AT. Here is your answer.

 

[jvroig]

Benchmarks: Phenom X4 9950 vs Phenom II X2 555 BE @ AT Bench

At single and dual-threaded apps, it is the 555 BE hands down.

For apps that use more threads, it is easily the 9950.

For general use and gaming, most of the time (including SC2 that every new poster has been talking about) the 555 BE will perform better. Not to mention it overclocks better, runs cooler, and uses less power.

If I had a 9950, I would not think of 'upgrading' to a 555 BE.

But if I were buying now and could get a used 9950 for the same price as a 555 BE and I'm ready to overclock the 9950 to 3GHz or a little over (aftermarket cooler, etc), then I would settle for the 9950.


EDIT: Seems yasasvy beat me to the Bench link as I was composing my recommendations

 

[LoneNinja]

Benchmarks: Phenom X4 9950 vs Phenom II X2 555 BE @ AT Bench

At single and dual-threaded apps, it is the 555 BE hands down.

For apps that use more threads, it is easily the 9950.

For general use and gaming, most of the time (including SC2 that every new poster has been talking about) the 555 BE will perform better. Not to mention it overclocks better, runs cooler, and uses less power.

If I had a 9950, I would not think of 'upgrading' to a 555 BE.

But if I were buying now and could get a used 9950 for the same price as a 555 BE and I'm ready to overclock the 9950 to 3GHz or a little over (aftermarket cooler, etc), then I would settle for the 9950.


EDIT: Seems yasasvy beat me to the Bench link as I was composing my recommendations

You can actually get OEM 9850/9950 off newegg.com right now for about $75, I noticed them a few hours ago.

As an owner of a Phenom 9850/Phenom II 940/Athlon II 630, I can honestly say I don't see any performance difference for daily use, and where I do it's not large enough to replace my 9850.

 

[cpff33]

what about a AMD Athlon II X4 640 is it better than the phenom II x2 555

 

[busydude]

Are you new to the internet? There is a webpage dedicated for comparing CPU's. Please check that first.

 

[evolucion8]

Definitively the Athlon II X4 635 is the better chip compared to the Athlon II X2 555. Unless if you are betting to unlock the 555 processor to a Quad Core, which is a matter of luck.

 

[Rifter]

I would also go with the 635 as well, its the new c3 stepping. I just built a system with one and it hit 3.5Ghz with stock voltage and a Stock Phenom II heatsink(the one with the copper heatpipes). I was pretty impressed for a $100 CPU.

 

[MentalIlness]

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/21?vs=120

X2 555 wins.

 

[busydude]

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/21?vs=120 X2 555 wins.

No, it does not.

 

[MentalIlness]

No, it does not.

In gaming...yes it does. Which was my point. Because all of those other programs, I doubt would be ran as frequent as games would be.

 

[heyheybooboo]

It's still hard to beat 2 really fast cores fer yer basic day-to-day 'snappiness', and for most gaming.

But the thang about the original Phenoms is the clock speed. If you get a PhI to 3GHz it's gotta be in the PhII 920<->940 range, especially if you get the NB/IMC to 2400MHz (it took about 1.35v with some early ones IIRC - any more and it would fry). Here is the 555 v. PhII 920. Now look at the PhII 920 against the AII quad. Pretty damn snappy performance by yee Olde Original Phenom.

I'd buy it for $75 and tweak away on some sb7-10<->50, and fast DDR2s. Too bad it doesn't have a DDR3 controller for some 880/710 action.




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[evolucion8]

It's still hard to beat 2 really fast cores fer yer basic day-to-day 'snappiness', and for most gaming.

But the thang about the original Phenoms is the clock speed. If you get a PhI to 3GHz it's gotta be in the PhII 920<->940 range, especially if you get the NB/IMC to 2400MHz (it took about 1.35v with some early ones IIRC - any more and it would fry). Here is the 555 v. PhII 920. Now look at the PhII 920 against the AII quad. Pretty damn snappy performance by yee Olde Original Phenom.

I'd buy it for $75 and tweak away on some sb7-10<->50, and fast DDR2s. Too bad it doesn't have a DDR3 controller for some 880/710 action.


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Well, the original Phenom at such low price is quite a steal, if the buyer isn't interested in tweaking anything, definitively the Athlon II X4 is the better option, but if he want some action and save some money, he can get the Phenom I and overclock it, it should be able to match the more expensive Athlon II X4 635, but its power consumption will be considerably higher and there's no guarantee that he can make it, but its quite tempting regardless.

While in general use, it might still hard to beat fast dual cores in regular usage, current and future software is moving to multi threading, so it makes sense going quad because in the worst case scenario, the Athlon II X4 might be 15 percent slower than the Phenom II 555 X2, but in the best case scenario, the Athlon II X4 can be almost twice faster than the Phenom II 555 X2 (Like in Media Encoding software like X.264 encoder)

 

[heyheybooboo]

Yeah ...

I didn't mean to imply the original Phenom was a better choice, only that the mad scientists among us could have a lot of fun with it. And with the clock speed in the 3GHz range the PhI would be fun.

As far as the OP I admit a bias toward the PhII 555 as I have a dedicated quad box for all my video stuff --- otherwise, I'm on the fence as far as the PhII dual core <-> AII quad thing.

I'll let the experts work it out





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[ShawnD1]

I can help provide benchmarks for the 555. Does any one here still use an original phenom?

I was using one for a server but I lent it to a friend. They are good, but the overclocking is horrible. It was a 9600 black edition and it couldn't run any faster than stock speed without raising the voltage. I tried undervolting it to see if that works, and no you can't undervolt an OG phenom.

While most processors can do at least 20% overclock on stock voltage or a 20% undervolt at stock speed, an OG phenom can do neither. It needs every bit of voltage it can get, and it generates a huge amount of heat when overclocked.

 

[LoneNinja]

I was using one for a server but I lent it to a friend. They are good, but the overclocking is horrible. It was a 9600 black edition and it couldn't run any faster than stock speed without raising the voltage. I tried undervolting it to see if that works, and no you can't undervolt an OG phenom.

While most processors can do at least 20% overclock on stock voltage or a 20% undervolt at stock speed, an OG phenom can do neither. It needs every bit of voltage it can get, and it generates a huge amount of heat when overclocked.

That's B2 stepping that was such a terrible chip, B3 was actually decent although it couldn't match the overclock of a C2Q, they still usually managed 3.0-3.3Ghz.

 

[jvroig]

B3 was actually decent although it couldn't match the overclock of a C2Q, they still usually managed 3.0-3.3Ghz.

I believe my Kuma was a B3 stepping (I'm sure there were no other steppings available), and it did manage a 3.24GHz 24/7 OC. It could not manage anymore, despite the thermals being excellent (41C loaded in an airconditioned room, using the Phenom II X4 965 stock heatsink).

Any B3 Phenom I X4 that can achieve the same clock would probably be competitive with a stock Phenom II X4 945. Such a 9950 would certainly seem more appealing than a 555BE, but in light of other, more modern options (Athlon II X4 line), I'd really find it hard to settle on a 9950, unless it was a really good bargain like $60-70 new.

 

[Lark888]

First, I am biased by an excellent over clocking 555. However, when I purchased the CPU, I had similar questions and decided that the 555 would be best for my apps. The main reason for my upgrade was for gaming. The secondary use was infrequent encoding with a multiple threaded application.

The stock 3.2 ghz speed and 6 mb cache was definitely better for gaming. I also over clock and had previous experience with a 720 tri core unlocking. At 100 bucks and discount on a 555 motherboard setup, it was my choice.

If you are willing to live with a two core CPU in case you do not have success at unlocking, there is no question that the 555, IMHO, is the best CPU. If you are primarily a gamer, likewise the 555 will over clock better and work the vast majority of games.

With an unlocking motherboard, you are likely to get three or four cores running from 3.5 to 4.0 ghz with reasonable cooling.

In my case, I usually run two cores almost all the time at 4ghz even though I can run four core at 4.0 ghz since it does not help 99 percent of the time ( the percent of time i use it for non threaded apps like gaming). I choose two for lower power consumption and nice cool temps while over clocked.

If you are not an ardent oc person, the four CPU chips are pretty nice and run well out of the box.

 

[maniac5999]

I also have a Kuma (B3 stepping phenom 1 x2) and mine sits comfortablyat 3ghz and 1.28v. I can hit 3.13ghz @1.33v, but 3.25ghz isn't even possible at 1.5v. This is about par for the course for late Phenoms. as we can see from the bench, at the same speed a Phenom and an Athlon II are trading blows in the benchmarks: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/21?vs=106

Now, where it gets interesting is that while they're about the same clock for clock, at 3-3.2ghz a Phenom is tapped out, but the Athlon II should be able to hit 3.6-3.8ghz, and do it using much less power than the Phenom will at 3ghz.

Personally my vote is for the Athlon II