Amd Intel Better???

Hello fellow overclockers!

im atm building a new rig and was wondering if i should go for intel or amd.

this chips has taken my attention: Intel Core i7 3930K - 3.2 GHz - 6 core -
LGA2011 Socket - OEM and AMD OPTERON 16-CORE 6272 2.1GHZ WO
SKT G34 L2 16MB 80W

Iam doing watercooling so i can overclock.

Please help ;D

im open for other suggestions.

It depends on what you are doing with these CPUs. If its something that uses many cores (like more than 6) than I would expect that 16 core monster would be better even with the significant clock deficit.

Im also not sure about that Opteron and overclocking 16 cores. Not to mention, you have a G34 board laying around that can overclock? That is a server socket and Im not sure about the availability of overclocking boards in that socket.

Thanks for fast reply ;D

The CPUs are being used for extremely hard core gaming and video editing etc..
and i dont think i need to overclock the opteron...

what motherboard would be good and affordble for the Opteron

I personally have no idea in g34 mobos, they are for servers. Its like un the old days where opterons we in that same socket. You nay also need ecc memory for that socket. Honestly, id go with 3930k.

How hardcore are we talking. If you video game more than you video edit. I'd suggest either a sandy bridge 2600k or ivy bridge 3770k. Though you say watercooling so perhaps ivy bridge. I say this because the platform as a whole becomes cheaper. And if you video game 90% of the time. More money into a graphics card(s) is more viable than too much into the CPU/platform and a weaker gpu.

That 16c Opteron is a server-grade processor. That means server-grade parts. Replace server-grade for super expensive. ECC RAM, server mobos... Expensive.

The only reason I'd buy a 16c Opteron would be if I required that horsepower for a server (IDK, a very big website with an extremely huge database or something among those lines). Not to mention that I still don't know a single game that can handle sixteen cores.

The G34 boards are NOT overclockable. Just picture it. A server is supposed to be reliable. A server isn't a playground. If a very big company relies on that server and that server crashed because the sysadmin decided to try to get 200MHz more, that sysadmin is getting fired. No one wants to get a one way ticket to the unemployment. Thereby, no one would use OC functions on critical servers. Hence, no motherboard companies even think on adding those functions.

Really, for a gaming system with a nice watercooling, your best bet is Ivy Bridge (Z77). If you will have constant HD video editing load (no, it's not worth to get an X79 just to add two titles to your cousin's wedding or your daughter's boyfriend's birthday party), then consider the X79.

Just my two cents.

tl;dr: Gaming, Z77. If you work in the video industry, X79.

Personally I'd go with the i7.

It also depends what price range we are talking about. For example, In the higher price range of CPUs, Intel will almost always dominate.

Atomichearse said:

It also depends what price range we are talking about. For example, In the higher price range of CPUs, Intel will almost always dominate.

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Frankly same with the lower range. If I had to pick a FX 4100 vs a i3 2100. I'd pick the Intel. The FX 4100 MAY be a little better in games... Once oc'd; but the power consumption is too much. A fully loaded i3 2100 pulls all of jack. For a quieter and more power efficient machine; I'd still stick with Intel.

Unless you're going a HTPC; then it's whatevers best for you. Cos I believe Intels HD 2000 isn't the best for HTPCs. I'd probably go an AMD e 450 or something for that.

Get the i7 3930K it's better at all the things you want to do.

wingman99 said:

Get the i7 3930K it's better at all the things you want to do.

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Including better at killing your wallet

I agree The AMD Opteron is a server monster and not really suitable for gaming and video editing.

Your best bet there is the i7

An option not yet discussed here is an Intel Xeon. If you really want a SERVER CPU, for the cores, but you're a hardcore gamer and want gaming performance, I'd say an Intel Xeon E5-2687W for you. They're basically what Sandy-Bridge-E was meant to be. 20MB cache, 8 sandy bridge cores 16 threads, socket 2011, They're Drop-In compatible with X79 mobos(However, you can't use an i7 on C60X, the E5-2600's home chipset!), and the 2687W has a clock speed of 3.1 Ghz. Decent clock speed, but like the Opteron, no OC. 3.1 is an OK speed though. They are an ever-so-slightly lower-clocked 3960X with 1/3 MORE! The WHOLE CHIP unlocked! And while I'd expect the 16 threads to be good for you, if you really want 16 Physical Cores, go with a Nice C606 board like EVGA's SR-X(SR-3)! Be warned, if you go with the SR-X though, you'll have to use a 2690, which is only 2.9 Ghz.

This. I've actually thought about a Xeon once or twice.

Definitely, it's one of the projects I will have to do once. A Xeon workstation.

txus.palacios said:

This. I've actually thought about a Xeon once or twice.

Definitely, it's one of the projects I will have to do once. A Xeon workstation.

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I made a dual Xeon workstation once. It used Pentium III Xeons and ran W2K(one of those server versions of W2K with dual CPU support). The Xeons actually had so much cache it would still be decent today, I think they had 3MB L2, though not sure it was a long time ago I don't have it anymore.

txus.palacios said:

Including better at killing your wallet

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yea, but if you want quality then you will definitely will go with Intel for sure. i7's are a bit expensive, but you have to pay for the quality as i said, it all depends on your wallet...and your needs.