Question

Should i get an amd phenom ii x6 6 core @ 2.8GHZ or an intel core i5 quad core 3.2GHZ? The amd chip is about $20 cheaper, but is it the clock speed that's gonna make it worth it?

Answer 1

I have a Thuban 1055t (6 cores) and its a really good cpu, I have mine running at 3.5ghz with its stock cooler just fine, but if you want intel, then the only i5s I can recommend you are k series like the core i5 2500k, this cpu is just amazing, if you can, get one of these, if not, then I would go with the Thuban.

Answer 2

I recommend the i5 over the phenom for performance reasons too, even though I am an amd fan :-D

Answer 3

if you're gaming, however, the CPU isn't likely to be your performance bottleneck. Best to invest in the best graphics card you can buy.

Answer 4

Just to correct my first post, its not "k series" its the new i5 2XXX family, any of those should give you better performance than the thubans, just dont get the old i5s (760, 760, etc)

Answer 5

The Phenom is (fake). I use this term loosely because it doesn't lie about it, it simply does not tell you. The Phenom certainly has higher cores but it fails at all the other specs. And yes, CPU are literally useless if used for gaming and is mostly used for general processing e.g. rendering of anything (music, video, 3D).