I am trying to build my own gaming computer, just trying to find the right parts. I am in need of help between these 2 processors the Phenom II x4 955 or the new Sandy Bridge i3-2100.

I know most of you are going to go w/ the new 2nd generation sandy bridge because its better for sc2 and gaming, but I would also like to know other reasons(if there is) why i3-2100 is better than the p955 or vice versa. And if someone can explain what hyper threading is :D, I googled it but the sites make it more complicated as for I am not a computer nerd.

edit: would like to mention I am only debating on these 2 cpu's.. currently on a budget don't say to save up for the i5-2500 or w/e

Tleaf

Canada181 Posts

March 24 2011 22:46 GMT

you could just build this...

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/build-a-pc-overclock-athlon-ii-x3,2811.html

$500 usd

But, reading this will help

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-overclocking-processor-recommendation,2866.html

it's about cpu's and how go they are vs price and bench marked using various games including sc2 i can't really help you more than that

Soleron

United Kingdom1324 Posts

March 24 2011 22:58 GMT

The processor is wired up so that, at the same speed, it can work on more instructions at the same time compared to the Phenom. There's a lot of factors that go into this, you can't tell just by looking at the marketing numbers like clockspeed.

Hyperthreading is using some of the parallel resources within a core that aren't being used for one thread to work on another thread. So putting four threads on only two cores, but not as good as four individual cores.

The Phenom does have more real cores though so on tasks that can take advantage of 4 cores fully it should be faster. Unfortunately most games use only 2-3 cores well.

You might want to wait until Bulldozer/Llano when AMD becomes competitive again?

For gaming you'll find GPU choice much more important than CPU - what have you got for that?

TriZen

England219 Posts

March 24 2011 23:16 GMT

I can't give you much advice other than I have used the i3 2100 and I'm currently running the 2500k, the difference in gaming isn't too much (this meaning that the 2100 is near or on the same level). Haven't used any AMD processors, but I can recommend the 2nd generation intel processors without any problems :D. I can't say anything bad about the 2100 from my experiences, it was a solid CPU capable of completing anything I threw at it without any problems.

As Soleron said, the most important choice that you're going to have to make is GPU, as long as your CPU doesn't bottleneck (limit) it then it is good enough.

iloveroo

Canada294 Posts

March 24 2011 23:25 GMT

@Soleron

Thank you for your advice and input.

My dad is helping me pay my low budget pc so I am just debating on those 2 processors.

As for bulldozer/llano, aren't those processors going to cost quite a bit? and from what i've read on tomshardware bulldozer/llano release date is june/july

For my GPU, I was thinking the radeon 6850/70, please don't recommend nvidia gtx 460, i read a lot of reviews between the gtx 460 and/vs radeon 6850, leaning towards the 6850 more atm.

edit: will change my mind picking the gtx 460 over the radeon 6850 if someone can explain the differences between the 2 and such.

Greek820

Canada210 Posts

March 25 2011 00:00 GMT

i'd get the 2100, better architecture then 955, overall better processor shown in benchmarks, also leaves you to upgrade where as am3 is soon to be at the end of its day, 6850 is a great card btw, as u see i have it lol, andi m at 1920x1080

Freezard

Sweden1019 Posts

March 25 2011 00:47 GMT

i3-2100, it's a very powerful CPU for its low price and you can easily upgrade to a better with socket 1155. It's in the same class as last generation i5-680/750 and those are very sufficient for gaming.

Radeon 6850 or GTX 460 doesn't really matter - it's about personal preference.

a176

Canada6688 Posts

March 25 2011 00:59 GMT

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1501/21/
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-gaming-cpu-core-i3-2100-phenom-ii-x6-1075t,2859-8.html
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/the-sandy-bridge-review-intel-core-i7-2600k-i5-2500k-core-i3-2100-tested/20
http://techreport.com/articles.x/20188/6

naim

41 Posts

March 25 2011 01:14 GMT

have you considered buying better components with sandy bridge cpu and use the on chip gpu until you have enough money to upgrade?
May sound weird but could be an option and enough to play sc2.
If you do so, make sure you use one with a "K" since they have the better HD 3000 onboard graphics.

iloveroo

Canada294 Posts

March 25 2011 01:47 GMT

#10

@naim

What do you mean buying better components?
and from what I've read the onboard chip isn't really that great....
I don't get what you're trying to say and imply

Greek820

Canada210 Posts

March 25 2011 02:19 GMT

#11

just grab a 2100 and a 6850, theres nothing to lose and onboard sucks..sandy bridge or not lol

Wakizashi

Finland6 Posts

March 25 2011 03:57 GMT

#12

If you are on a budget get a proper motherboard and Phenom II x2 555 use core unlocking to get 4 cores and OC a bit and you are good to go. And as for onboard chip? pls. just get an affordable gfx card (Ati has more raw power but nvidia uses its recources better personally I go for ati)

ZeaL.

United States5955 Posts

March 25 2011 04:18 GMT

#13

The shitty thing about the i3-2100 is that there's no overclocking capability. The 955 and i3-2100 actually compare pretty evenly at stock but you can OC the 955 to 3.7 ghz on air which would pull it ahead of the i3. OTOH, if you get a P67 chipset with your i3 you can eventually get an i5-2500k and that would annihalate anything AMD has.

iloveroo

Canada294 Posts

March 25 2011 04:34 GMT

#14

Yeah I was planning on maybe getting the i5-2500k probably sometime in the summer
don't really care about bulldozer/llano as I see them being pretty pricey

Wakizashi

Finland6 Posts

March 25 2011 04:57 GMT

#15

intel is most likely allways better and more expensive than amd... If I had the cash I would have used Intel aswell but Im dead broke ;D but seriously going for 955 is a waste since 555 outperforms it http://www.anandtech.com/show/2927 for refrence. Id go for some 890GX chipset motherboard with that tho.

EDIT: And if u want to be a nerd baller go for Phenom II 1090T Its price has dropped quite a bit and it challenges plenty of those Intel CPU's head on. (its around 200€ where I'm from)

Soleron

United Kingdom1324 Posts

March 25 2011 11:42 GMT

#16

On March 25 2011 13:34 iloveroo wrote:
Yeah I was planning on maybe getting the i5-2500k probably sometime in the summer
don't really care about bulldozer/llano as I see them being pretty pricey

If you're not building until summer then hold off on processor choice until then. If you want to buy now then buy now.

6850 is a good choice.

Bulldozer/Llano will likely be cheaper than the equivalent Intel products; AMD often are. Where did you read that BD/Llano would be expensive?

naim

41 Posts

March 25 2011 12:23 GMT

#17

On March 25 2011 10:47 iloveroo wrote:
@naim

What do you mean buying better components?
and from what I've read the onboard chip isn't really that great....
I don't get what you're trying to say and imply

Erm...say a gf gtx 460 is 160$.
an i5-2500k is ~100$ more than the i3, take it and you sill have 60$ left.
The onboard chip isn't that good, true. Picking all components and then upgrading soon makes no sense either.
I dont know your budget and what components you choose, it was just an idea of what i would do.

iloveroo

Canada294 Posts

March 25 2011 17:16 GMT

#18

On March 25 2011 21:23 naim wrote:

Show nested quote +

... wth, youre still not making any sense..
the i5 is $100 more than the i3, thats more than my budget
How do I still have $60 left?

a176

Canada6688 Posts

March 25 2011 17:19 GMT

#19

On March 25 2011 13:34 iloveroo wrote:
Yeah I was planning on maybe getting the i5-2500k probably sometime in the summer
don't really care about bulldozer/llano as I see them being pretty pricey

if you want a -k cpu to overclock, you need to buy a P67 board which will cost much more than the budget H-series.

Greek820

Canada210 Posts

March 25 2011 18:05 GMT

#20

dude it's easy...2100(because its better than the 955 lol) and 6850, or gtx 460, ur choice just get w.e's cheaper lol, just grab a 2500k when ever u have the money and u wont regret it, the 555 will not last u as long as the 2100 and what are you going to do when the 555 isnt enough for you, upgrade to a 6 core? cause no game will even take advantage of the 6 cores lol...there's not even a gaurantee that you can unlocked the other 2 cores, don't go with onboard, get a p67 so u can overclock when u get ur 2500k