Phenom II X6 VS. Quad-Core i7-930

[orianthi]

Which is better for 5 (or more) boxing, a 6-core AMD Phenom II or an Intel 4-Core i7-930. I am under the impression that it’s like more threads (6-cores) versus more power (i7), not sure if i’m right - i have always assumed this. I’m upgrading a 2nd PC from a Core 2-Duo but i might be better off upgrading mine (Phenom X4) and using it as the 2nd PC. I would think more threads are better for multiboxing but these are 2 very different CPU architectures so it can’t be a core to core comparison.

Newegg.com - Intel Core i7-930 Bloomfield 2.8GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80601930

Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition Thuban 3.2GHz 6 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor HDT90ZFBGRBOX

[Grondir]

Go for the i7 if you need the upgrade to last. They're a much better chip than the Phenom.

But if you're not in a rush to upgrade yet, wait for the new Intel Sandybridge chips around Christmas/January time

[orianthi]

do you really need the integrated features of the sandybridge especially the graphics? most of us are likely still going to use those big 100+ watts(?) video cards unless using a laptop. but you are probably right with i7 (HT on) over AMD. an AMD system is probably cheaper but intel remains the best bang for $$$ at the end.

i'm just curious if we really need that i7 power with 5-boxing (WoW for now) instead of a 6-core cheaper AMD. there's a noticeable improvement on my system (Phenom X4, 8GB, 5830s in XFire @2x1920x1200 - max settings on all clients (using FTL) except shadow and multisampling) if i'm just 4-boxing so it results to an urge for upgrades.

[p0weruser]

I've been trying to debate this myself for a long time and still have yet to come up with a good conclusion, I know for sure that the AMD x6 will handle it all just great, but the problem is there are no test out there have been run to see which is better.

You have to take this in respect.
AMD always has the same chipsets, so when Bulldozer comes out next year with AMD's version of HT, which is going to be a 4-module(new term) cpu which end up being 8-cores. 2-cores per module, and each module can have the ability to turn off then overclock(pipe the watts) to another module which over clocks the cores.
So what i'm trying to say is buy an AM3 today, you will be able to upgrade to a new cpu down the road if you want to, buy an intel board today, you are stuck with the cpu's that only fit in the mobo socket. Amd sticks to the ability to upgrade with out spending a crap load of money for a new board and etc parts.

Also, if you wait til next year, the new AMD motherboards will have quad-channel ddr3, which is 8-slots of memory modules, which can turn out to be 32GB of ram OMFG, that's allot of WoWs running.

Okay, i'm rambling now, I'll stop now.
I7 is great, but buy for what you need.
AMD x6, 2x4GB, 2x5830, will do just great!
I've heard some people havn't even seen there CPU hit max with the AMDx6 running mulitbox. Check the other sites out there.

[burningforce]

i always read that the 1090T is beats i7 in multi-threaded applications, like video/audio conversion, benchmarking, etc.

for gaming, since many games are not multi-threaded and do not use all of the cores, the performance of the 1090T takes a hit when running single-threaded applications. Now i7 will be better in games if overclocked 3.0Ghz+, but if you do not like or plan to overclock and want to upgrade to bulldozer, get the AMD. I found a nice writeup, I think it was at xtremesystems site or someplace like that. I will post it when I find it.

[burningforce]

here is a decent write-up with pics

AMD Phenom II X6 1090T BE & Phenom II X6 1055T Review - TechSpot

basically the amd processors took a big FPS hit when gaming vs. the i7-930.

I do not know amd processors that well, does your system now have trouble boxing? if not, I would just hold off until newer tech comes around. No sense spending gobs of cash if your system is already working well. Also if your processor is running at stock settings, try finding some guides to help you overclock it. This can breath new life into an aging system

edit**
here is a nice comparison tool from anandtech
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/146?vs=47

WoW is on the list as well, not sure what hardware is being used along with the processors that is giving them a low FPS score, but the amd is lower then the i7.

[orianthi]

it’s just that i have to upgrade a 2nd PC before WoW’s cataclysm. my current system works fine but like i said, when i turn off 1 account/client and 4-box (instead of 5) i get a minor but noticeable improvement so i’m under the impression there is still room for improvement and any upgrade isn’t an overkill (moreover for other demanding games). i’m not upgrading just for this reason but because there’s an oppurtunity to upgrade (with my 2nd PC).

my CPUs are a little bit overcloked but not too aggressive like i do before (sub-zero/thermoelectric (peltiers) cooling), i’m not into those anymore.

well, it’s easier know which chip runs a certain application (like WoW in this case) faster (benchmarks), but won’t there be difference if several of these applications are ran simultaneously. most game benchmarks are running 1 instance of the game only.

[burningforce]

I am not sure about the performance loading and using multiple instances of WoW and mult/single-threaded applications. I would assume it will still be a single threaded game no matter how many instances you run.

I did remember that there was an updated to the WoW client that made it utilize more cpu cores, but not sure how many threads it would run. I am not even sure if a application is using 2 cores, does that mean it is a multi-threaded application.

I believe this is far beyond my experience as a computer user, perhaps maybe the folks at http://hardforum.com/ can assist you better then I can.

[HaoleBoi]

I notice you are asking on a 6core AMD vs. a 4core Intel, is price the factor? I run a 980X Intel i7 6core and I can tell you I noticed a big increase in performance when 5boxing. But if the only 6core option you have is the AMD then I can't speak for that because I have never used it, therefor cannot recommend it. But as for the 980X it's a big thumbs up.

Other things that improved my 5box performance was moving from Vista x64 Ultimate to Windows 7 x64 Ultimate, and switching to SSD's

[Tim]

I believe the i7 930 blows the X6 up big time in performance.