I was running an AMD X2 4200+ @2.7ghz w/ DDR400 OCZ Platinum 4x1Gb, when I upgrade to my current E8500@4.0ghz w/ DDR2@1000mhz 4Gb I saw a triple increase in fps during GTA IV play and I saw a double increase over all. With just a CPU/RAM/Mobo upgrade I saw a night and day increase just going to Intel from the old S939. In my opinion going from 15fps avg to 45fps is pretty good jump and very worthy of an upgrade (this is back when I was on my G92 8800 GTS 512mb @870/2106/2000). I also saw other games like UT3 and Crysis give near a triple increase (2.5x to be exact). Very rewarding for a CPU/RAM/Mobo upgrade which didn't even run me $250 (got the Mobo and RAM for free)
Would be a disaster for CPU consumers if AMD were gone. Expect to pay through the nose for Intel chips if that happens.. cant understand why anyone would say good riddance to AMD.
Why is it in a fight people always want the under-dog to win? Why is it when a common man takes on corporations and wins he's heralded a hero? Why is it when an under-dog cpu manufacturer tries to match the ONLY other cpu manufacturers product and sell them to you at a much cheaper price while only being slightly less powerful, do the majority of folks rip the p!$$ and wish them all the bad luck possible? AMD are like the common man, they make very good cpu's and for the most part, they try to make everything as compatable as possible. I know a lot of users who have AMD and wouldn't have a pc if it hadn't been for AMD back in the day. I realise that when your 14yrs old and your friends system (which cost 2-3times as much gets you a few more fps ingame)....that it's hard for you immature mind to see the beauty of an AMD rig. All that matters is that "mummy, he gets 3 more fps than me.....my rig sucks....I soooo hate it.......his pc is like a million times faster than mine". For us guys who's nutz have dropped though, we kinda appreciate what AMD are/have been doing. Virtually identical performance for a third to half the price means a lot. Maybe not to little benchmarking boys who cry for a fast Pi run.......but the vast majority of users on this planet don't belong to the "I need another 3fps club".
Not everyone plays strictly games, you are incorrect in saying that even an 8600 outperforms a 9950 (nevermind the P2s) in benchmarks, especially ones that are non gaming related. Also? Some people don't buy new processors every year. A 9950, or P2 of any flavor will stay relevant when cores become more and more used. 8500, 8600, they won't. Any benchmark or game that can use as many threads as the processor can manage, the 9950 and especially P2s are going to destroy the dual core. No compe****on. The only time a dual core= a quad core is in -some- games. And even this is changing.
+1 i dont get why people would hate AMD, were they not around when AMD were > intel? or do they just have zero sense of value for money :/
what about Intel too? http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_012109_news_intel_layoffs.17ce0b17.html?npc
Honestly AMD is now offering great bang per buck. They're back in the game... barely. However, you can bet your butt off that intel is able to slaughter AMD on a whim by slicing it's prices. They've already knocked $200 off the Q9650.
How about slicing prices off motherboards for Intel too? $160 for AMD Phenom 9950 BLACK EDITION 2.6GHz Quadcore $230 for Intel Core2 Quad Q9400 2.66GHz At Newegg Yup AMD still offers best bang for prices, especially when it comes to combining with motherboards & CPUs. It would become interesting if Intel someday ever get to lower their prices under AMD's on similar design, including motherboards.
A cheap microATX motherboard for a Q9650 is about $50 A cheap AM2+ mobo runs about $40 The 9950 is no comparison to the Q9300 let alone the 9400, you got to step up to the new 940 for that or conversely step down to the Q6600. The way I see it the Phenom II 940 competes with the Q9400 & Q9450 the phenom II 920 beats out the Q6600 narrowly in price-performance. I wouldn't even talk about the old phenoms versus any intel chip since the E6600, simply due to the ridiculous difference in overclocks.
Not everybody overclock their pcs, most people in my life, including pc tech experts I know of don't, and I don't overclock my pcs that way they have the stability and longer life because I don't buy new cpus & motherboards every year or generations like overclock fanboys. I have too much other things to pay for and leaving very little for pcs. These items I was speaking of is about average in both price & performance, not top of line or overclocking abilities. It like comparing Toyota Supra to a Ferrari, they are both fast enough, but they have different prices and engines. I have never before brought any top of line cpus & motherboards right after they were released, too expensive. I never brought MicroATX, probably never will, and I don't want one for my next new system coming this year. Right now, Phenom 9950 seems good choice for me at this time, but I will to see about that when I am ready to buy new system in spring or summer.
Yahoo news saying Intel is slashing 6,000 jobs http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090122/bs_nm/us_intel yeah good riddance. It just bad economy going on, not only AMD & Intel, that many companies in world (including those outside of pc's world) are also affected.
It's kinda unfair to compare a x2 4200 ($40 on Newegg) to a e8500($189). I bet you would have seen similar improvements if you bought a Phenom 9850 ($180) or the new PII 920 ($195), which was my point in the original post.
What is "unfair" about comparing performance increases with new upgrades? I wasn't saying the X2 4200 was a representation of AMD's current performance, I was just saying how much of leap the E8500 is over the old A64 architecture. No one said that upgrading to a Phenom II wouldn't also provide large gains over the old A64 X2, but I didn't buy a Phenom II... Why would I pay more money for a slower CPU? The E8500 was only $179 and I obviously could have gone quad if I wanted to; however I chose the faster dual core for better performance now instead of hoping for increased performance down the road with quads (spotty software utilization of 4 cores in today's software). Yes you would see gains anytime you upgrade to newer hardware, however the E8500 consistently pulls higher FPS than any of the Phenom II in 90% of games at a lower price.
