So Many Choices
The idea for this review came about when AMD announced a few new CPU models a week or so ago. With these new models, and Intel’s Core i3 series, there is a huge variety of choice in all price ranges. But it is particularly interesting in the $100-150 range for a number of reasons. First of all, it is a pretty good ’sweet spot’ to spend when building a new system. Doing so allows more budget for a good video card, or just for a good medium-budget PC overall. Secondly, the variety at this price range is staggering. You have everything from dual cores, to quad cores, to dual cores with HyperThreading, and even triple cores. And then you have CPUs with full cache, mid-sized cache, and even no final-stage cache at all. There are some brand new CPUs that slot into the $100-150 price range, and some that have come down from $250 to $300 when they were first launched.
The $100-150 price range is fascinating, and we’re going to cover it all, with 10 CPUs to look at today.
Let’s take a quick look at how they stack up against each other:
| Model | Family | Clock Speed | Cores Threads | Final Stage Cache | TDP | Release Date | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core 2 Quad Q8300 | Yorkfield | 2.5 GHz | 4/4 | 2x2MB | 95W | 11/08 | $150 |
| Phenom II X4 945 | Deneb | 3.0 GHz | 4/4 | 6MB | 95W | 07/09 | $150 |
| Core 2 Duo E7600 | Wolfdale | 3.06 GHz | 2/2 | 3MB | 65W | 06/09 | $145 |
| Core i3 540 | Clarkdale | 3.06 GHz | 2/4 | 4MB | 73W | 01/10 | $140 |
| Phenom II X4 925 | Deneb | 2.8 GHz | 4/4 | 6MB | 95W | 07/09 | $140 |
| Core i3 530 | Clarkdale | 2.93 GHz | 2/4 | 4MB | 73W | 01/10 | $125 |
| Phenom II X3 720 | Heka | 2.8 GHz | 3/3 | 6MB | 95W | 02/09 | $125 |
| Athlon II X4 635 | Propus | 2.9 GHz | 4/4 | 4x512KB | 95W | 01/10 | $120 |
| Phenom II X2 555 | Callisto | 3.2 GHz | 2/2 | 6MB | 80W | 01/10 | $99 |
| Athlon II X4 620 | Propus | 2.6 GHz | 4/4 | 4x512KB | 95W | 09/09 | $99 |
As you can see, I arranged these based on price. Sitting at the very top is the oldest CPU with the lowest clock speed. In fact, if it wasn’t for the Core i3, this article would have been pretty much all about AMD . But now that Intel has finally paid some attention to this price range, it will be interesting to see how they do against AMD, who have been pretty much forced to stay in the sub-$200 range with even their highest-end chip (the 965 Black Edition, which currently costs about $180).
Next you have the 945, which is just below the top desktop CPU from AMD. It has a full L3 cache, and isn’t crippled in any way other than clock speed. The 925 is the same – just a lower clock speed.
Drop down $5 and you could get yourself a dual core E7600. Wolfdale, The original Phenom-Killer, was a great chip when it came out almost 2 years ago. The E7xxx series has a 3MB cache that is shared between the two cores, but is otherwise the same as the E8xxx. With just two cores, no HyperThreading, and a small cache, this chip is starting to show its age. At least at this price point.
For just $5 less, you can have another dual core that is a whole different story. We reviewed the Core i5 661 last month, and while it was impressive in some ways, it was certainly a niche product. At $145 and less though, the Core i3’s could give AMD a run for their money. With HyperThreading (but no Turbo Mode) and next-gen microarchitecture, the Core i3 should make the E7600 look obsolete (or even plain silly).
Still kicking it at $125 (or less, if you get the OEM version) is the X3 720. Basically this is the same chip as the X4 925, but with one core disabled for binning reasons (IE the chip fails as an 925 but is perfectly fine as a 720). It has a full 6MB of L3 cache, shared among the three cores. I belive this model has been discontinued by AMD, so it may not be around for long. How much that matters, we’ll find out.
Sitting at $120 is one of the cheapest true quad-cores you can get – the brand new Athlon II X4 635. It has an impressive 2.9 GHz clock speed, but no L3 cache at all. This can either be completely irrelevant, or a huge detriment, depending on application. You can also get a X4 620 for just around $100.
Also at $100 is AMD’s fastest-ever dual core – the Phenom II X2 555. This has a full 6MB L3 cache, shared between the two cores. It also has a completely unlocked multiplier, making overclocking ridiculously easy. At 3.2 GHz though, there may not be much headroom.
So you can see what I meant when I said there is a ton of variety in the $100-150 price range. And I barely even included any models that merely have a lower clock speed! Just the Phenom II X4 and Core i3.
Then, using processors both, I remain with AMD, never has given problems me.
Got an Intel in my first laptop and with in a week, i could take a calculator and compute faster than my computer. on my computer that i have now, built it, i have an AMD phenom II. It runs like a dream even six months later. i would totally get an AMD again, plus i can get the same stuff that intel makes for a lot cheaper. Intel has the market, but AMD has the quality.
Thanks for this review! It was very helpful and very detailed. Much appreciated. Cheers!
I think I’ll pick up the i3 after this, it’s slightly cheaper than the AMDs and apparently Intel have been doing a better job anyway.
Cheers
it’s more than 1 year that intel can’t beat amd, in each price, amd processor are always more powerful than intel ones, and i can’t understand all the people that continues to think that intel is better only because it is more expensive…there are a lot of causes for the highter cost of intel, and surely it’s not because of the power of his processors…i suggest to all intel supporter to study a little of amd\intel history
Completely agree with you on that, Its sad that people who want to build a mad fast computer would buy a 1000$ i7 that has the same speed as an AMD Phenom II for 200$ because the Intel has a slightly bigger cache or just because its Intel.
I smell a fanboy in here….Both Intel and AMD is good , but they also have their drawback…..and the price of intel and AMD processor is not the same around the world.Here Intel are 30% cheaper than AMD that have same performace.Stop showing your fanboyism attitude
Lol @ game over.
Actually no. How about you stop talking about the history. How about now? In terms of performance, the top amd parts is still competing with midrange intel products such as the i5 or even the q**** series.
Ever since the Q6600 Intel has been in the lead for people who wanted the best possible performance from a CPU.
Also even the i7 920 which is one of the cheapest i7’s has been known to be overclocked to 4.5ghz on AIR. Plus hyperthreading and all. Intel is tough to beat.
Its irrelevant to see how fast you can over-clock a processor and say that is better because it can be over clocked this much. Plus over-clocking competitions and experiments have nothing to do with daily tasks of a computer. It burns up processors and just because its air doesn’t mean much. If i take a computer in the middle of winter and run it outside at 20 degrees f i can guarantee you its going to over-clock like crazy and still be stable with air cooling. WHO CARES that Intel runs a Cray super computer its irrelevant in daily life. AND currently you can buy a 3.2 GHZ x6 amd for about $200 compare that to an i7 with the same speed for a $1000. Buy a 2 processor Motherboard and two AMD’S and you can super compute to your hearts content. Price vs. performance is key not overall performance. Its like comparing a 2 liter engine from a BMW to a Honda civic of course the BMW’s going to get more HP but it doesn”t matter because the BMW costs 10 times as much
AMD is tough to beat AT THIS PRICEPOINT.
Jesus, how hard is that to understand for you people? I sometimes wish I was as retarded and ignorant as some of you because life would probably be much easier to cope with.
The i7 is a great chip. I agree, but saying that it can clock “this high” is irrelevant, it’s a 300 dollar chip! And for the record, I’ve seen more often than not that the ceiling for i7-920s is 3.9-4.0 GHz without AGGRESSIVE cooling. It’s a 45nm chip, for someone to say they run it at 5GHz on air is probably assuming you’re an idiot.
ALSO!!! Look at this.
i7 920 running at 5.0ghz on AIR. That is a 2.34ghz overclock. That is insane. And its done under load on air.
I mean come on. How in the world does that make Intel lower than AMD?
Yeah I read my history, maybe you should read hard facts and do research.
How does that make intel “lower” than AMD?
Well, I can run all the same video games as you, but I might be running them at 65-75 fps while you run them at 80+ fps.
Difference is, I payed HUNDREDS of dollars less than you.
Unless your main income is rendering and uploading 1080p youtube videos or perhaps work in movie/motion picture editing and special effects what do you really need a CPU like that for?
If you read your history, you’d know that the K6 AMD cpu’s were the crown wearers of the performance market, not too long ago. Please, don’t boast facts that you just made up the top of your head because although you may look like you know what you’re talking about to the ignorant reader, the more informed will know that you’re full of s**t.
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=222967
There is the link.
Nice work, good comparison
Phenom ii x4 wins!! Getting mine after I sell my phenom x3 haha!
Want to know why Intel is more expensive than AMD? Read the shocking news here
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/may/13/intel-european-commission
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8047546.stm
@ Michael THANKS FOR OPENING THE EYES OF VARIOUS PEOPLE WHO THINK INTEL IS GREAT IN FACT ITS JUST PURE BULLSHIT
Intel uses the extra money that they charge the consumer to pay for more marketing, and hence increasing their popularity at the cost of the consumer’s hard earned money.
Amd is better today look at the AMD 6core :D only 300$ and is only a couple bucks more expensive than the I5 and is 200$ cheaper then the i7 not to mention they didnt have to come out with a whole new Socket like intel so thats like 200$ cheaper again.
oops as it turns out the 6 core is only $204.99 :D so…..
[...] omgacracker: oops as it turns out the 6 core is only $204.99 :D so….. [...]
thats simple AMD is perfect
intel had launched i7 which is advanced thn any AMD procssor but wait for a month or two you get thuban with 6core that is un beatable even by i9
Wrong. Intel i7s are still much more faster than the AMD Thuban 6-cores. This doesn’t mean by any stretch of the imagination that Intel is superior to AMD. That’s where a lot of you folks seem to be missing the point. At 200 dollars, there is no Intel alternative to match the performance of AMD. Now, there is indeed a reason why those 6-cores are in the 189-239 dollar range. Because the Nehalem architecture is vastly superior to the K8 architecture, but requires an arm, a leg, and four fingers off the remaining hand in order to afford it.
Let’s get this straight, i7 quad cores and six core CPUs (except for higher-end Xeon’s) are the fastest CPUs in the world. AMD Phenom II x4/x6 are the highest price/performance CPUs in the world, arguably.
That’s what makes competition of two chip makers so beautiful, imagine how much a machine with the same performance of AMD’s lineup would be if Intel had a monopoly. A scary thought, indeed.
intel is running successfully because lot of people don’t know about amd and its quality they just know one name intel that’s all…..
intel waste ……..amd is best……..
[...] yogeshy: intel waste ……..amd is best…….. [...]
Intel is better unless your only goal is buying the best budget CPU for like $100. Go beyond the the low end CPU’s and Intel runs circles around AMD.
AMD has it’s fanboys like Macs do.
amd quality,performance and hard rock.amd is best.
I love AMD. All my pc and laptops are AMD
i thinking loooong and hard about jumping the fence, and going the amd path. Especially now those tdp’s are now under the 100w mark! for quads anyway
Clock speed doesn’t really matter, if you have a processor clocked at 2.5 ghz with a 1 mb cache and one clocked at 2 ghz with a 2 mb cache the one with a bigger cache usually runs faster.
LOL !!! 6core AMD can’t even compete with 4core i7. In fact the T1090 beat the i7 920 by 5%, that means it loses to the i7 930. Or equals it at best.
So, AMD has quality, yes, but Intel has power. I7 are still unbeatable. I9 is coming out, Intel already makes massive 32nm processors, i3 and i5 @ 32nm are in the way.
AMD have the best -$100 proc. the best -$200 proc. But, +$200 proc. Intel is the way to go. Consumes less power, heats less and performs better.
AMD 6core heats a lot more than an i7 930, consumes A LOT more(130W vs 95W) and performs WORSE.
THE AMD SIMPLY ROCCKKSS BUT IT IS NOT POPULAR DUE TO NON-PUBLICITY OF ITS PRODUCTS……..
Ignoring the fact that the comparisons were made without actually having an i3, but emulating the chip on an i5 (which may or may not be valid) these benchmarks ignore an important factor. If you’re trying to compare them head-to-head on a SYSTEMS cost basis, how can you ignore the fact that the i3 and i5-6xx series chips contain an internal GPU? This is equal to about a $50 video card, so shouldn’t the cost of those processors be discounted by that amount?
Another critical element that’s ignored is that of heat dissipation. The i3s run at a meager 73 watts, some of those AMD parts are nearly twice that BEFORE overclocking. Lower power at base clock frequencies translates to more OC headroom. Higher power means a bigger PS, more expensive after-market cooling, and a bigger case with lots of fans and ventilation. Nobody ever mentions that, nor the noise generated by all those fans. If you don’t think that’s significant I suggest you stuff a 60W incandescent bulb down your shorts and plug it in.
Guys,i wanna medium range gaming pc.price range-upto of i3. Plz suggest intel or AMD? Their cos & cons? I need to run PCSX2 also-PS2 emulator
hiiii its upoon you what features you want /need but i will suggest you better go for an A.M.D phenom iix4 quad core
LOL @ the amd fan base. I owned plenty of AMD chips as well as Intel and right now I have Intel Core i3 530 overclocked to 4.4GHz that’s a budget chip which is killing plenty of AMD chips at the moment AMD needs to get it together.
hahaha intel’s the best i had an amd phenom ll x2, but eventually didnt work out quiet right, so now i have a i3 530 overclocked to 4.4ghz..runs like a dream…intel rocks !!
Its a shame you did not show the conclusion for the Q8300, it is still beeing sold here. But after reading this I will be buying the I3-530. It is intended for playing one game only, WOW Cataclysm.
f**K all of your comments!
AMD is cheap yet has a GREAT performance. Intel sucks!
Briefly and simply: AMD Phenom II X4 945 or Intel Core i3 540 ?
I´ll play on it games…. so what? Thaks
Hii…LOL on all…..for gaming AMD is best for fast performance Intel is best..now as you wish and which one you wan, for what purpose you want to get…
The one who says intel is good your wrong, because after 2 years every intel has problem, bet me i am ready to bit anything. AMD is best on cooling also and in everything.
Thanks men. I opted for AMD :) there is my future PC:
http://www.alza.cz/acer-aspire-m3203-d189676.htm
But it is in Czech, i don´t know if it will be interesting for you :D
intel cheating their customers by overpriced their products.compared to intel amd is more value for money, so amd is the best .AMD rocks……
ok, i LOVE AMD, but in all honestly, all you guys.. amd is not dishing up the goods. sure, the processors are cheap, and yeah, sure, the specs seem really great. but if you compare the top with the top, Intel is king at the mo. There was a time where AMD was pretty untouchable, maybe in a few years time they will come back with a punh. but at the mo… Intel is no 1
@ d moment Intel is king in terms of performance. Fine, AMD is best 4 gaming but wat’s d point if its gonna overheat and burn, remember not every1 lives where snow falls. I’m African, I live in Africa, I use my Intel PC’s under almost any condition for how ever long without getting scared of over-heating but AMD; no AC, no fan, don’t bother cause ur gonna hv 2 put it off in about 3hrs. In terms of price wouldn’t u rather pay 4 sumtin 1ce & chage whenever u feel like dan buying 1 inferior only 2 get 4ced 2 buy anoda? So, I’ll root 4 Intel, u should 2!
You can’t really compare AMD and Intel because they have absolutely different business strategies. AMD is focused on consumers concerned with budget, making great chips for reasonable prices. Intel is focusing on performance concerned consumers. Therefore, I can say this: I want the best for less. I will pay $200 for a 6-core Phenom, rather than $1000 for a six core i7. Sure maybe Phenom is slower, but I can assure you that Black Ops would work the same on both systems.
Don’t forget AMD is also making ATI Video Cards and are battling Nvidia at the same time. Right now ATI is beating Nvidia and a year ago Nvidia was # 1. I like AMD because it’s an underdog company that’s doing good no matter what Intel or Nvida fanboys say, although If i had the money I would surely love to try out Intel Chips.
amazing, the amd fans are truly diehard. of course it all boils down to personal preference really but i don’t understand the whole pissing contest. yes intel has been known to cost more than amd. in some cases you pay for marketing, in some cases you ultimately get what you pay for. comparing a honda civic to a bmw is a ridiculous point. stop and think what a jackass you look like in your riced out 4banger trying to ‘dis’ the guy in his bmw. kinda paints the picture doesn’t it?
obviously both camps have a certain level of quality or they would’ve gone the way of via chips. yea, remember those? to make these comparisons strictly based on cost, yes it was a fair shootout. but is that the only point to base your decisions on? to some people performance is more important in which case i tip my hat to intel. after all coming straight from amd’s website the ‘competitive’ comparison they give for their flagship processor is against core 2 quads. perhaps they were scared to show their performance against intel’s i7. taking cheap shots at intel’s quality just proves the point. i’m not personally a huge fan of apple for my own reasons, yet they do strive for quality. which mac was it that sported the amd lineup again? thought so.
interesting how back in the day it was amd fans who were bragging about overclocks and the ‘value’ they obtained in doing so. now that intel does it better amd fans are whining that it’s not legit? amd fans used to brag their chips ran cooler and now that intel does it better they whine? same goes for die size, power consumption etc. over and over, intel does it better. not really sure where the argument is other than amd followers have nothing left to brag about so now they’re just throwing slurs to intel at random. go ahead, keep using amd. but if you’re going to pout about it, no one wants to hear it.
as an afterthought, who cares how many cores you have? bragging rights? i’d bet dollars to donuts most of you don’t even have a clue how little of your system you’re using (or are even able to use due to software limitations – yes, in the future..and someday the sky may turn purple and i may shoot lollipops out my rear). maybe i’m mistaken, maybe every one of you who so eloquently point out the other camp ’sucks’ are mit’s best and brightest, animation artists for pixar or whatnot.. but truth be known, 6 cores isn’t gonna get your ‘pron’ to load much faster than your buddy’s 2 core system. lol
hello all,
my system [phenom x4 965, 3.4Ghz, 4gb ddr3ram(1333 fsb, transcend), onboard ati radeon hd4200, asus motherboard, 600W iball SMPS, WinXP]. my onboard card can share upto 896 of ram. So pc is presently running on 3.25gb ddr3ram
Ok now i recently put call of duty-4. this game needs 7-10 free harddisk space. my system meets all requirements as well.
the sad news is even under default settings the game is just not performing well. i am cursing myself for spending so much money on such a stupid system.
one the other hand a friend of mine bought an i3–3.04ghz, 4gb ddr3ram(1333 fsb) & intel motherboard with onboard “intel HD graphics”
at a much cheaper rate. he has Windows7 ultimate.
this onboard card “intel HD graphics” is performing like hell at maximum resolution, antialiasing, texture settings & what not. not only call of duty-4, it is running call of duty -6 equally well. this card also shares 896 of ram only. “intel HD graphics” is the best onboard card that i hav seen so far.
for a person like myself who has been an amd fan this is bad. i will put windows7 on my system & check again. although i don really this is going to make much of a difference what with Windows7 using more system resources than winxp. otherwise i am left with no choice but to buy i3.
Comeon amd do something
Judging by the build you have posted it should be vary capable accept for one problem… No real gamer uses onboard graphics. If you are a hard core gamer you will have a dedicated graphics card weather you are using a laptop or a desktop. Onboard graphics are simply a selling point for vendors when people are looking for the absolute cheapest budget build. My personal gaming rig is about 2 years old and is using a Phenom 2 940 3.0, 4GB ddr2-1066, 9800GTX+ dedicated graphics card, 4 sata ssd’s in a raid 0 array (tested to 700MB/s read and 650MB/s write) and a single 1.5TB 7200RPM drive for storage. I can play every major game out there on this system, on high or mid/high settings. The only major bottleneck i have on my system is still the video card, which if i had the money and the need I could easily upgrade to something better. What I am saying is buy a decent mid range or better $150+ dedicated graphics card and make sure all drivers and software are up to date and try your game again.
ok. thanks for the comment buddy. i am already buying nvidia gtx460 for my phenom x4 3.4Ghz.
but what i am saying is the onboard-intel- hd card plays call of duty-4,6, gothic-III, farcry-2 etc games very very well even when set to high or ultra-high settings. the processor is i3. i will test some new games on i3 & see.
cheers
AMD is the future of world it has everything
amd processors overheating is just an intel`s propoganda, i have been using amd processor for the last six years and never had any overheating problems,i used windows vista plus other various virtualization softwares like vmware and virtual box simultanously running 3 or more operating systems, everything works smoothly, amd is best for the price u pay.
@ DANISH- WHICH A.M.D CPU DID U BUY ?
yall should really shut up! Read the article and go on with your life. Who cares if someone wants one cpu or the other. If you’re not gonna buy the one you like for them. Shut the F*ck UP!
Hey genius
plz help me out ,i wanna assemble a new pc range $470 (monitor nt included) what i just want is
1- high processing speed
2-good graphics 4 gaming
3-no overheating
4-anything u sugest fits in this $470 budget ! Thank man !
hey, guys, stop discussion over intel and amd, both have, there own technologies to make a procesor, now they have brought core i second gen process with inbuilt hd graphics, which is there plus point, where as has not anything like this, if compared to fist gen core i processors, amd Phenon II X6 processors are far better than intel i5 and Lower i7 processors, where as intel i7 extreme edition is good than amd Phenon II x6, but intel causes Somestimes complexibilities and overheating, and amd make it’s processors cheaper and better than intel. hence if are getting to buy a processors lower than intel second gen core i processors, I recommend Amd phenon II X6, buy it, i also have good amd processor with whom i feel that i have a good processor
I am just looking to buy a Hp and there are two different types of processor the Intel and AMD. I am a college student and just want whats the best. I had a Dell with Intel and it was great for being a student but last Christmas it was stolen. I just need help to find out which one is a better run for my money. I dont want bull crap just a straight up answering AMD or Intel
It depends on exactly which CPU is in each one.
I have a Amd phenom ii X4 925 and it is seaving me awsomly I reacently overclocked it to 3.2 GHZ.
I would like some opinions and information. I have a HP Pavillion with an AMD processor. I was told that my AMD processor runs hot (this is how it was made) and it fried my motherboard which also caused my hard drive to have bad sectors. My computer is only a year and a half old. I purchased no extra warranty. HP is the worst company in the world to deal with. I have to eat the whole loss even though I found articles stating this is a common problem that within 10 years will be fixed with all the new nanotechnology. Well in the meantime, how do I determine the best computer to purchase? AMD may be a good product but if it is frying motherboards, why are they using them. From the research I have been able to find, Intel only has 1 processor that runs as hot as all of the AMD processors. So you with the need for speed, better have a full blown cooling system around your processor or it will fry your motherboard.
Any suggestions?
Breed your consumer young.
Assuming that people with less income are young, and not paying for the electricity bill, a 300W video card and a CPU that uses a insane amount of energy should not be a problem.
In the office, drawing CAD, using Word, Excel Powerpoint, I cannot think of a reason why anything beyond the Pentium M was developed. If you have the money, and rendering video is what you are doing, there is little reason to get a slightly slower system.
Gaming is a totally a different issue, but I think that AMD makes the decision to sell the chips cheaper and cater to younger people with less cash. Perfectly adequate for gaming, in the long and short term. The best i7 today will be trumped in about two years – 1200$ versus a 300$ today’s top AMD.
Everything depends of the application.