1055T or i5 750?

[dhdude]

Thanks for all the replies guys, I can see its a bit of a hot topic. Ive read lots of reviews of both CPUs, and you guys seem pretty split over whats best.
Im just wondering if, as games become more multi-threaded (ie BC2) whether or not the X6s will start to shine more over the i5 750s as time goes on?
Again, thanks for the all the replies, its been most insightful

 

[dhdude]

Also I think I read somewhere that DX11 has native multithreading? If so, does that mean that any game natively coded for DX11 in the future will automatically use the extra cores?

 

[phanbuey]

Also I think I read somewhere that DX11 has native multithreading? If so, does that mean that any game natively coded for DX11 in the future will automatically use the extra cores?

In all honesty... between these two processors you will not run into any speed issues for a long long time. No one can say exactly what will happen to the software but the variations will be so small, especially with an overclock, that you will not go wrong with either one.

Back in 2008 everyone thought that the extra 2 cores on the q6600 will futureproof their system over a higher-clocked dual core... even to this day that is not so clear cut but games are and will continue to be so graphically bound that it will not matter.

If you really want to future-proof, now that I think about it - it will come down to the Mobo. Get the AM3 with dual x16 2.0 ports (750 will be limited to x8 x8, unless you pay out the ass) if you plan on being ATI only or Nvidia only. And bulldozer, as erocker pointed out will be out soon, and will most likely be competitive.

If you want to have options of SLI/CFX - which is a great way of getting cheap perf, get the 750 but be limited to dual x8 2.0 slots (5% or so slower at really really high rez).

 

[Dent1]

Im just wondering if, as games become more multi-threaded (ie BC2) whether or not the X6s will start to shine more over the i5 750s as time goes on?

Yes, as time goes on the X6 will be a more consistently better performer than the i7 as multi threaded applications will become the norm.

 

[Tatty_Two]

Yes, as time goes on the X6 will be a more consistently better performer than the i7 as multi threaded applications will become the norm.

Your right.... but we have been saying that for 3 years, I do think AMD is his best bet though, especially over the 750 as an all round chip.

 

[Wile E]

one benchmark... for the rest of that review the phenoms get their ass kicked by slower clocked Intel processors.

plus he's building a general purpose gaming rig. Its hard to recommend the phenom over the i5.

In some gaming benchmarks, the 975 beats a 980X too. Gaming is a terrible measure of cpu power. Any modern quad core or better will max today's games. The differences are irrelevant, as they all pretty much achieve smooth gameplay.

But, when you look at cpu intensive multithreaded tasks, the 1055T beats the 750 more often than not. X264 was just the one I know the best, as I use it a lot (via Handbrake and MediaCoder). I just don't know much about the others.

 

[Dent1]

. Gaming is a terrible measure of cpu power. Any modern quad core or better will max today's games.

I agree, because the thing that people have to realise is that some of the benchmarks they read about a particular processor can become invalid in gaming benchmarks because they are often not reviewed on the same day or date. Often they'll have the i7 results collected from months or weeks before and then they'll review the X6 which will be featured on a completely different set of hardware i.e. with a different video card brand or GPU model and hence the gaming reviews can bring about distorted results. However encoding reviews and general work related tasks focus on mostly just the raw power of the CPU and hence it is a more accurate measurement of performance as it isnt distorted by the different GPU combinations.

Also, to the OP, whether you buy a Intel i3, i5, i7, Athlon II X2/X3/X4, or Phenom II X2/X3/X4/X6 you will achieve at least 60 frames per second on high settings as long as your video card is adequate, so instead of focusing on what you'll get out of the processor today, think about what you'll get out of the processor in the short distant future, which is multithreaded applications.

 

[DanTheMan]

Great review comparing the two showed up today!

 

[Champ]

All these different opinions still have me lost. I guessing the x6 processor is "future proof", but I've seen the i5-750 hit like 4.3 on air and could probably hit 4.5 or higher on good liquid, which I thought would shoot away the 6 core advantage. I was AMD before and want to try Intel now, but I dn't know

 

[btarunr]

i5 750, 100-ish quid motherboard, 4 GB memory. Call it a day. i7 750 overclocks like a champ, is faster clock-for-clock to AMD K10, and reviews show it to outperform X6 1055T at games.

 

[Melvis]

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/Phenom_II_X6_1055T/8.html

 

[Lionheart]

1055T FTW, 750 is a great processor, its just the platform has no upgrade path that puts it off

 

[Champ]

1055T FTW, 750 is a great processor, its just the platform has no upgrade path that puts it off

That is very true, but it has the OC potential to last a last time.

 

[btarunr]

Nah, right now i5 750's upgrade path is just as long as that of 1055T.

With i5 750, your gaming rig is set for the next 2~3 years. There's ample upgrade path for LGA1156 with i7 875K (an unlocked processor) for "cheap", i7 880, i7 890, etc. Intel will release new chips for this socket till late 2011.

Around that time, AMD too will have a new socket. Thuban is one of the last AM3 chips you'll find. Core i7 800 series processors with HyperThreading easily match up to Phenom II X6 in multithreaded performance, and outperform them in <4 threaded applications clock-for-clock. OC headroom is higher, too.

 

[Tatty_Two]

All these different opinions still have me lost. I guessing the x6 processor is "future proof", but I've seen the i5-750 hit like 4.3 on air and could probably hit 4.5 or higher on good liquid, which I thought would shoot away the 6 core advantage. I was AMD before and want to try Intel now, but I dn't know

They said a dual core was future proof in 2007, they still brought out quads in late 2007/2008....... I have always wondered what "Futureproof" really means (I think it's simply a term us enthusiasts use which does not even apply to many of us as we tend to swap out components far too rapidly anyways), many gamers still use dual cores as most games are single thredded still, some multithredded games should actually be called dual thredded as they can only use 2, for the handfull of games that use 3or more, at the end of the day, in a "typical" (Read single or dual thredded) game, what would give you the better graphics performance (read no bottleneck) using say an HD5870, a Dual core E8500 Wolfdale at 4.2gig or a 1055T at 3.8gig? (I am talking 24/7 speeds here) Since the game will use the same amount of cores on either chip, some would say the Wolfdale......... now is that futureproof, possibly not, unless you only play predominantly games.

IMO a decent quality quad core with a bit of overclocking headroom, coupled with some other decent hardware is pretty much going to see anyone out for a fair while, whichever option you choose, you will neither be right or wrong in your choice.

 

[Dent1]

with HyperThreading easily match up to Phenom II X6 in multithreaded performance, and outperform them in <4 threaded applications clock-for-clock. OC headroom is higher, too.

I dunno, in reviews in multi threaded performance (non gaming) the X6 are in a league of its own and dominated the i7s with exception to the extreme editions which have 12 threads.

That is very true, but it has the OC potential to last a last time.

The overclock headroom will not make any difference, a 4 GHz overclock is considered about normal on a 1055T via FSB, at best you'd get an extra 200M-300MHz with the i5 or i7 which isn’t enough to drastically close the performance gap.

Also, remember a few years back, people were yelling to shoot for a high end core 2 Duo over the Core 2 Quad, those people that didn’t listen and bought a Q6600 still own a Intel processor that’s can still contend with the top 10 CPUs, those that got the E7xxx and 8xxx are upgrading to quads after realising that their gaming requirements have outgrown their CPUS i.e. Battlefield BC2 and GTAIV.

 

[mdsx1950]

I dunno, in reviews in multi threaded performance (non gaming) the X6 are in a league of its own and dominated the i7s with exception to the extreme editions which have 12 threads.

Not really.. the i7 975 (8 threads) beats the 1090T lol.

 

[Dent1]

Not really.. the i7 975 (8 threads) beats the 1090T lol.

In multi-threaded applications? Maybe so but the 975 is an extreme edition and costs $1,000.

My point is that those people with quad cores (Q6xxx/9xxx) on socket 775 are in secure positions even now, whilst those on dual cores are planning their quadcore upgrade as their worrying about bottlenecking their next GPU.

 

[mdsx1950]

In multi-threaded applications? Maybe so but the 975 is an extreme edition and costs $1,000.

My point is that those people with quad cores (Q6xxx/9xxx) on socket 775 are in secure positions even now, whilst those on dual cores are planning their quadcore upgrade as their worrying about bottlenecking their next GPU.

Yeah in multi-threaded apps.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3674/amds-sixcore-phenom-ii-x6-1090t-1055t-reviewed/6
http://www.techspot.com/review/269-amd-phenom2-x6-1090T-and-1055T/page7.html

Thanks to Tatty and Wile for the links


P.S: I wasn't questioning your knowledge. Just pointed out that its possible for an intel EE quad to beat a AMD 6 core.

 

[phanbuey]

Ok look (bad car analogy warning)

Do you need a Hemi Pickup truck? or do you need a sports car?

both have more than enough HP but they're used for different sh*t... sports car for fun, pickup for heavy loads. He don't need the pickup because he wants a fun car.

i5 750 beats the 1055T pretty handily in games, no denying that. When both are at 4 ghz it beats it decisively. OP wants a gaming rig. Who the F*)( cares what this chip does in extremely-multithreaded apps? He is not building a crunching workstation. He's building a rig that can play games the best bang/buck.

I keep reading these "but it can encode faster" comments... who cares? its for a gaming rig. and the other chip gets whooped in gaming. "... but encod-" NO! nobody is f*($&( encoding anything. Mutlithreading and HT dont even belong here because HT hurts gaming, and 6 threads is about 3 too many for games.

 

[Dent1]

mdsx1950, fair enough a 8 threaded 975 extreme edition can outperform a X6, but its still $1,000.

Who the F*)( cares what this chip does in extremely-multithreaded apps? He is not building a crunching workstation.

You are missing the point slightly, he might not be building a crunching workstation but he is buying an investment. These multi-threaded discussions seem irrelevant now but it has to be discussed and through about as an option because this is the direction that gaming is heading, so its early preparation.

Mutlithreading and HT dont even belong here because HT hurts gaming, and 6 threads is about 3 too many for games.

This is 100% true not enough games support 6 threads, but when they do (and will) only 1 of the two CPUs in question is prepared. If multi threading is irrelevant we may as well quit whilst we are ahead and recommend a single or dual core CPU instead.

I keep reading these "but it can encode faster" comments... who cares? its for a gaming rig. and the other chip gets whooped in gaming. ".

Again you are missing the point, it doesn’t matter which CPU is faster in gaming because both CPUs are overkill in gaming, they both achieve above 60FPS without bottlenecking the GPU. Its irrelevant whether the X6 gets 90 FPS and the i5/i7 gets 102FPS, they both can get above 60FPS and hence both CPUs are overkill for gaming. Although both CPUs are overkill in gaming today, only one CPU will still be overkill in gaming tomorrow...

 

[GSquadron]

@dhdude
This review will clear up your mind:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/Phenom_II_X6_1055T/

 

[ucanmandaa]

You should also mention p55 chipsets shortcomings when comparing these two processors. AMDs 8 series chipsets got native sata 6gb support up to 6 ports i think. Number of sata 6gb ports on newer P55 boards are only two and on some motherboards you lose pci express bandwidth when using sata 6gb and usb3.0 at the same time.
If multi gpu setups, sata 6gb and usb3.0 are not important then i5 750 is a great choice
I just ordered a 1090t and a crosshair iv just for the reasons above.

 

[eidairaman1]

when it comes to multi threaded apps Id say a Hex will obviously be better than a quad especially when it comes down to price selection. HT to me is just like P4, not really anything special.

 

[phanbuey]

Again you are missing the point, it doesn’t matter which CPU is faster in gaming because both CPUs are overkill in gaming, they both achieve above 60FPS without bottlenecking the GPU. Its irrelevant whether the X6 gets 90 FPS and the i5/i7 gets 102FPS, they both can get above 60FPS and hence both CPUs are overkill for gaming. Although both CPUs are overkill in gaming today, only one CPU will still be overkill in gaming tomorrow...

Right but there is a noticeable difference when its not 60 fps but 40 FPS and 45 FPS with the same gfx card. Multi threaded games that use more than 4 threads will not be out for a long time, and those that ARE out (like Anno 1404) are faster on the i5.

"Anno 1404 makes the most of multi-core processors and shows a gain of 15.8% when you go up from 4 to 6 cores: we’re a long way off the 50% theoretical maximum, but Anno 1404 does nevertheless stand out compared to most other games! The Phenom II X6 1090T cannot however compete witth the quad core Core i5/7s here. It falls between the QX9770 and the Core i5-750, while the 1055T is at the same level as the Q9650 and the Core i5-670."

-http://www.behardware.com/articles/789-10/amd-phenom-ii-x6-1090t-1055t.html

i5 has much faster memory access and lower latency, it is a better gaming proc than the phenoms for various reasons, even in multithreaded games. 1055T can match it in a best-case scenario, but it also costs more and eats more juice. I highly doubt that the 1055T will be substantially better even in multi-threaded games. if and when they ever come out.

Also, take the Overclocked power consumption into account. the top bar is stock... the bottom is OC'd. So yeah... when he gets his gtx 480 used cheap, he can put it in to the OC'd 750 system without having to have a beast of a PSU. less money on PSU more money on beer and hookers.