Wanting to compare two CPU' - AMD 8 core VS. Intel i7 -opinions needed

pparks1 · 28 Jan 2012

Ty Tonus Burman said:

However, I want to know what you all think, in terms of sheer opinion: Will i notice a significant upgrade if i go for the i5, over my current CPU? ( AMD Phenom II X4 940, 3.0GHz) Or, should i save my money and wait for something else to come out? I know intel is releasing their Xenon processors soon, and that will make the price of all the current ones drop.

This is always the most basic question, but so hard to quantify.

For me personally, I'm running an Intel Q9550 quad core...which I've had now for 2.5 years. While I have considered numerous times of upgrading to one of the Core i3/i5/i7's and the Sandy Bridge models, I simply don't see the performance jump enough for what I do with my computer.

Since I do use this PC for some gaming and bought BF3 when it was released, I did buy a new video Card (evga 570GTX) to replace my much older card (evga 9800GTX+). Honestly, this card pumped much new life into my box. I play BF3 at high settings, and 1920x1080 and it performs flawlessly.

I have no intention at all of upgrading probably for at least another 12-18 months. As a computer enthusiast it's always hard to wait this long, but I have to realize that since I still find my computer to be a blistering fast beast...I really won't benefit much from it being even faster.

Ty Tonus Burman · 28 Jan 2012

Damn, CPU Physics. I would love it if my brain had a chip like that for my upcoming physics exam

Thats a shame that I even bought the AMD chip back then, because the I5's were on the market =l

I know i wouldn't experience double the speed/performance just because i have double the scores, but im still undecided about if it's worth the upgrade. Keep in mind i would need a new MOBO, and new RAM (although that would also be an upgrade to 16gb DDR3 Ram)

Ppark, your post meant a lot, because I too am thinking about getting a new graphics card before i get a new cpu. Hopefully, i will benefit from the same boost as you did, but that's for another thread.

Thank you all to everyone who's commented. Reputation will be adjusted.

Britton30 · 29 Jan 2012

Since you are going from AMD to Intel perhaps, I would wait a few week for the new Ivy Bridge chips and boards with the new 7 Series chip sets. If you were going from Sandy Bridge to Ivy I wouldn't recommend it though since IVB will see little performance boost over Sandy. But to start with an Ivy, then yes. Also would be a good idea to see some reviews on them too.

16GB of RAM I think would be overkill since many people here run many games at max settings with 8GB and don't use it all and still have an enjoyable experience.