3May/100
CPU Comparison Shopping
I've been slowly working towards putting together a new PC build to replace my current one, a Core 2 Duo- based system I built about three years ago, which is starting to show its age. In the interest of comparison shopping, I put together a spreadsheet and some charts looking at the newer Intel (i5/i7) and AMD (Phenom X4/X6) processors. Turns out that Intel's Core i5-750 seems to be the best deal in processors for what I'm looking for in a system at the moment.
Raw Data
Clock speeds are in MHz, TDP in Watts, and cost is price in USD at newegg as of 5/3/2010. Processors with SMT (hyperthreading) are noted in the Cores column.
| Manufacturer | Model | Cores | Clock | TDP | Cost |
| AMD | Phenom II X4 955 BE | 4 | 3200 | 125 | 159.99 |
| AMD | Phenom II X4 940 BE | 4 | 3000 | 125 | 161.99 |
| AMD | Phenom II X4 965 BE | 4 | 3400 | 125 | 180.99 |
| AMD | Phenom II X6 1090T | 6 | 3200 | 125 | 309.99 |
| Intel | Core i5-650 | 2 | 3200 | 73 | 184.99 |
| Intel | Core i5-661 | 2 | 3330 | 87 | 199.99 |
| Intel | Core i7-920 | 4 (SMT) | 2660 | 130 | 279.99 |
| Intel | Core i7-930 | 4 (SMT) | 2800 | 130 | 294.99 |
| Intel | Core i5-750 | 4 | 2660 | 95 | 199.99 |
| Intel | Core i7-860 | 4 (SMT) | 2800 | 95 | 279.99 |