Q6600 or Phenom?

[LiquidIce1337]

I would like some advice on the following purchases. Use Newegg or something to list.

Memory
I am looking for a dual channel kit
2x2GB DDR2 1066 - within $110

CPU
I am a AMD fan and never have touched intel since my Pentium 200 W/MMX :laugh:
Right now I am leaning towards the Phenom 9850 or even the 9950 but more-so the 9850 because the 9950@140watts is not going to make my parents electrical bill happy, At least 125 is an improvement.

I don't know much about the Intel chips, I know I don't want my cpu to be less than a quadcore. Q6600 or better, I want to get as fast as possible without breaking my bank

looking to spend a max of $235 on a CPU give or take a little

Motherboard, well this is all up to compatability with the CPU.
-I would need nice integrated sound
-I don't need integrated video at all
-I only require ONE PCI-X16 slot and ONE PCI-X1 Slot
-I need 4x sata ports
-everything else firewire usb is pretty much generic across most boards. any extra bells and whistles is fine but not a priority.

looking to spend a max of $130 on a motherboard

Total Budget is about $460.. let the configurations roll!

 

[Markfw]

Q6600 is the no-brainer choice here. Under $2305. And the Gigabyte DS3R is under $130, no-brainer there, but there are a couple other good boards people may recommend. The memory ? I say OCZ, pick one...

 

[Idontcare]

Originally posted by: LiquidIce1337
Right now I am leaning towards the Phenom 9850 or even the 9950 but more-so the 9850 because the 9950@140watts is not going to make my parents electrical bill happy, At least 125 is an improvement.

Honestly the net impact on your parent's power bill for you running a 140W TDP versus a 125W TDP CPU is going to be negligable.

For power consumption concerns the first question to ask yourself is do you foresee the possibility of this system running fully loaded (all four cores at 100% utilization) 24 hours per day?

If the answer is "not likely" then you can stop worrying about power consumption as a decision maker. Here in Pennsylvania my overclocked Q6600's (3.3GHz) running fully loaded 24/7 cost me $15/month.

I recommend making your processor decision (9850 vs 9950) based more on price/performance considerations than performance/watt considerations.

Originally posted by: LiquidIce1337
I don't know much about the Intel chips, I know I don't want my cpu to be less than a quadcore. Q6600 or better, I want to get as fast as possible without breaking my bank

Given your comfort levels with AMD I recommend sticking with them. The last thing you want is to find yourself with an Intel system and buyers remorse as you wonder every day to yourself whether you would have been happier with that Phenom system.

You won't be dissapointed with either a Phenom or a Q6600, but psychologically you want to ensure you make a decision now that you know you won't second guess having made a year from now. And from the tone of your post that choice sounds like it ought to be "Phenom".

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Originally posted by: Idontcare
And from the tone of your post that choice sounds like it ought to be "Phenom".

+1

 

[LiquidIce1337]

Thank's for the great responses guys. I am going to stick to a Phenom system after careful thought this week. Idontcare opened my eyes to power consumption. I can safely say I want a Phenom 9950 now, however the motherboard choices on

AMD's approved list

http://products.amd.com/en-us/...f6=&f7=ATX&f8=140.000&

And they are really expensive, the only one I would consider is the MSI K9A2 Platinum. Even then it's still pushing my budget more than I want to. So after considering all that I may just stick with the 9850BE and go from there. So a motherboard choice is my next line of duty from there you guys can take it.

If you can find a good combo with a 9950 within my budget with the ram included, steer me there!

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

This mobo may interest you!

 

[LiquidIce1337]

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN
This mobo may interest you!

I saw that. I would love it but I have 2 weeks until I make this purchase, well more like a week and a half I am jsut going over options at the moment and that board probably won't be there when I get back from vacation here.

I can't make up my mind. I am looking at how easy it is and cheaper it is to throw together a q6600 system, found a nice motherboard for it already. I mean I have been building systems for a good 10 years now I think I can ahndle putting a q6600 system together.

here's the motherboard I came across. I don't know how good quality the soundcard is http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813130181

or this one I am leaning more towards
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813131322

the only other reason I want to run the intel besides the price and speed/performance is the fact I am going to be running a hackintosh in dual boot with vista

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

If I didn't buy my 9300 already, i'd be lookin at a 9950...

 

[Markfw]

Can somebody fill me in as to why there is any reason to buy a Phenom, when you have to start from scratch ? Intel is less money, and faster, and overclocks better, and uses less power and runs cooler, so what am I missing here ?

Aside from being a fanboy.....

 

[hotdogchef]

I just got a Q6600 ($189), mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) ($124) and a ASUS P5Q Pro ($149) from Newegg and it has worked and overclocked great. The mediocre AMD CPU reviews scared me away from them after being a lifelong AMD CPU buyer.

 

[LiquidIce1337]

Originally posted by: hotdogchef
I just got a Q6600 ($189), mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) ($124) and a ASUS P5Q Pro ($149) from Newegg and it has worked and overclocked great. The mediocre AMD CPU reviews scared me away from them after being a lifelong AMD CPU buyer.

This most closely defines how I have been feeling amongst the research I have been doing. That, and that fact I'd like to try intel again.

Where did you purchase the processor and ram from?

 

[scoobyx13x]

Originally posted by: Markfw900
Can somebody fill me in as to why there is any reason to buy a Phenom, when you have to start from scratch ? Intel is less money, and faster, and overclocks better, and uses less power and runs cooler, so what am I missing here ?

Aside from being a fanboy.....

I was wondering the exact same thing. Let me know if you find the answer.

 

[Mwing]

Originally posted by: Markfw900
Can somebody fill me in as to why there is any reason to buy a Phenom, when you have to start from scratch ? Intel is less money, and faster, and overclocks better, and uses less power and runs cooler, so what am I missing here ?

Aside from being a fanboy.....

support amd, give them chance to catch up intel, competition, price goes down, consumer happy

 

[aigomorla]

kentsfield vs phenom.

LOL... this is gonna get very messy.

But Kentsfield would spank phenom in every benchmark you threw at it.

And if you overclock the kentsfield, well.. lets just say, you'd hate yourself if you didn't get it.

 

[heyheybooboo]

If you are considering the Phenom you should wait until the end of the month and see how the new mobos with the sb750 look.
(And it will probably drive down the price of boards like the GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-DS4 for $125 a bit)

The black edition Phenoms seem to OC 400MHz at stock volts & HSF simply by increasing the multiplier.

 

[heyheybooboo]

Originally posted by: aigomorla
kentsfield vs phenom.

LOL... this is gonna get very messy.

But Kentsfield would spank phenom in every benchmark you threw at it.

And if you overclock the kentsfield, well.. lets just say, you'd hate yourself if you didn't get it.

Mainconcept H.264 Encoder
24 sec HDTV 1920x1080 mpeg2 (mpeg2 to H.264)

Phenom 9700 = 63 sec
Phenom 9600 = 65 sec
Phenom 9500 = 68 sec
q6600 = 69 sec

From Tom's CPU Chart

 

[rchiu]

Originally posted by: heyheybooboo

Originally posted by: aigomorla
kentsfield vs phenom.

LOL... this is gonna get very messy.

But Kentsfield would spank phenom in every benchmark you threw at it.

And if you overclock the kentsfield, well.. lets just say, you'd hate yourself if you didn't get it.

Mainconcept H.264 Encoder
24 sec HDTV 1920x1080 mpeg2 (mpeg2 to H.264)

Phenom 9700 = 63 sec
Phenom 9600 = 65 sec
Phenom 9500 = 68 sec
q6600 = 69 sec

From Tom's CPU Chart

Yeah, people here at AT always assume everyone is gonna OC. Sure if we are talking about OC, Q6600 is gonna spank Phenom. But if not, you can find some great Phenom, mobo and/or memory deals while not missing much in CPU power.

 

[LiquidIce1337]

I have read all the benchmarks. Done my research, and heard your outcry's it's clear and simple the Q6600 or better is the way at the moment. I still love AMD but I don't want to wait for the their newest, I'll be happy with Intel my old friend. To believe it all started with the K5-133 and K6-2 with 3DNow! lol those were the days of system building. Especially when motherboards had AT connectors and you had to know which powerplug went on which side or you'd fry your precious motherboard, and ISA sound cards and modems had jumpers on them to set the IRQ.

Anywho, Thanks for your help guys. The clear choice for me as far as price goes is the intel, it stays within my budget and allows me to get a motherboard that's not so bare as I want decent integrated audio and solid caps. I also like the fact that the intel run's cooler (thats huge) because I do not have air conditioning whatsoever up here in Massachusetts and it's constantly hot and humid in my room. I have plenty of cooling in my Antec solo though.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Originally posted by: Markfw900
Can somebody fill me in as to why there is any reason to buy a Phenom, when you have to start from scratch ? Intel is less money, and faster, and overclocks better, and uses less power and runs cooler, so what am I missing here ?

Aside from being a fanboy.....

Could you imagine how much cheaper the intel chips would be if AMD had a competitive product? Lets not laugh at 'competitive product' but you see my point, and if you don't, ... next time buy a 650$ Nvidia card

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN
If I didn't buy my 9300 already, i'd be lookin at a 9950...

Incase you missed it.

 

[SlowSpyder]

Originally posted by: Markfw900
Can somebody fill me in as to why there is any reason to buy a Phenom, when you have to start from scratch ? Intel is less money, and faster, and overclocks better, and uses less power and runs cooler, so what am I missing here ?

Aside from being a fanboy.....

I have always used AMD stuff and was pretty familiar with their product. I've never been unhappy with anything I've bought from them, infact usually they exceed my expectations. So, call me a fanboy if you want, but I bought my Phenom because of that more or less. Despite all of the negativity the Phenom gets on these forums, I've found it to be quite a decent chip. I'm not some blind fanboy and am not going to tell you that it's a better buy then the Intel quads, for most people it certainly is not. But, I will tell you it's better then what most people here will give it credit for.

OP, good luck with the new build, I doubt you'd be unhappy at all with either choice.

 

[Markfw]

SlowSpyder, I have read many of your posts. You never try to tell people its better than Intel, and admit to possibly being a fanboy, thats a fine opinion to have, and I respect that. Exactly my point however, thats the only reason to get one.

And remember, 18 months ago or so, I had 14 AMD CPU's in this house, now I have 1 AMD and 9 Intel, so I sure am not a fanboy on either side....And Intel was the dark side for me from My K6-166 all the way to X2 4800.

 

[Gikaseixas]

Congrats on your decision, the Q6600 is a great cpu but the 9850 is very good too, you wouldn't notice a difference between the 2 (when not overclocked) I have mine at 3ghz and it flies, it's a great cpu once you fine tune it

 

[Hugh H]

Originally posted by: Mwing

Originally posted by: Markfw900
Can somebody fill me in as to why there is any reason to buy a Phenom, when you have to start from scratch ? Intel is less money, and faster, and overclocks better, and uses less power and runs cooler, so what am I missing here ?

Aside from being a fanboy.....

support amd, give them chance to catch up intel, competition, price goes down, consumer happy

Not at the price of me having a lesser rig just so that they can live...

 

[Idontcare]

Originally posted by: Markfw900
Can somebody fill me in as to why there is any reason to buy a Phenom, when you have to start from scratch ? Intel is less money, and faster, and overclocks better, and uses less power and runs cooler, so what am I missing here ?

If someone is a DIY AMD builder but has next to no experience (or confidence) in building Intel systems then they will likely be better off building a Phenom system if they are not the type of person who is going to invest the time in doing their homework so as to become adequately knowledgable in building a decently performing Intel rig.

For example, if they build a Q6600 system but stick with the stock cooler and really don't know how to get all four of those damned push-pins to properly lock then they are going to be pissed, irritated, and underwhelmed with their Intel build.