1090T vs. 965Bk

I would like to be building my next rig shortly after Xmas, with the hope being that I get some of the components FOR Xmas.

Realistically I will not be upgrading my computer every year, I just don't have the money for it, and I have too many other hobbies! This will mostly be used for gaming, but I am not OCD about ultra graphics settings, if it is playable on high or medium I am pretty happy for the most part, SC2 cannot be that different on ultra Vs. High and in the end game play is the same, it just looks more pretty on ultra... also movies, music, world wide interweb etc etc....

I would like to future proof this as much as possible, with the understanding that its almost impossible to do in the computer world, but it is possible in SOME sense...

Prolly looking at an AMD build as cost is a factor, and i am currently torn between 2 procs.

The 965 black edition quad core and the 1090T hex core:

Benchmark tests:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/102?vs=146

It seems logical to me that paying out for the x6 would be wise as multi threading is only going to get bigger and bigger, and with turbo core technology integrated, and the integrated memory controller, it seems like a better proc, but it is 65 bucks more, is that a worth while investment of my limited funds?

On benchmarks it would not appear to be 40% faster or better even though it costs 40% more... but again i would rather spend 65 now and know I am set for a bit rather than drop 100 for the 1090t a few years down the road...

Is my logic sound? Or am i over thinking it?

More cores and lower speed for a decent bump in price, vs, fewer cores, lil faster and more money to put into mem or graphics card....

1090t...all day long. The six threads, it's more robust Ram controller, it's colder running, it's turbo boost technology that will bump cores up to 3.6ghz when needed.

Not even a second though in my mind.

xokeman said:

1090t...all day long. The six threads, it's more robust Ram controller, it's colder running, it's turbo boost technology that will bump cores up to 3.6ghz when needed.

Not even a second though in my mind.

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Seconded sir.

More power! harrr harrr harr

xokeman said:

1090t...all day long. The six threads, it's more robust Ram controller, it's colder running, it's turbo boost technology that will bump cores up to 3.6ghz when needed.

Not even a second though in my mind.

Click to expand...

I'm thinking of building a rig with the 1090t, and am liking the idea of having 6 cores for $650 less than Intel's i7 970.

Any motherboard recommendations? I'm looking at this board:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157198

HSF & RAM recommendations?


-not trying to thread jack, all relevant to the OP.

Peeved Kitten said:

Seconded sir.

More power! harrr harrr harr

Click to expand...

Since you OC'd it, how does turbo boost work after the OC...?

For the money that board looks great, though I'd much rather see you get one with an 890fx chipset. The 1090t overclocks so easy I would hate to see you held back by an inferior board. Even a high end AMD board is still pretty affordable.

As far as heatsinks..the usual suspects as found discussed in the cooling forum. Thing about AMDs...the cooler you can keep them the better they overclock. Literally a couple degrees Celsius can garner you a few more mhz.

For the money, the 1090t is the best processor I have ever owned.

bigben6 said:

Since you OC'd it, how does turbo boost work after the OC...?

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Some boards will allow you to overclock the turbo boost as well...but many dont. Once you get a pretty high overclock you will want to disable turbo as it can complicate things and cause instability. Most people get 4ghz quite easily with a 1090t and a good air cooler.

6 cores at 4ghz...not much out there that can touch that.

xokeman said:

Some boards will allow you to overclock the turbo boost as well...but many dont. Once you get a pretty high overclock you will want to disable turbo as it can complicate things and cause instability. Most people get 4ghz quite easily with a 1090t and a good air cooler.

6 cores at 4ghz...not much out there that can touch that.

Click to expand...

What board would you recommend without doubling or tripling the price?

Thanks for the info on turbo boost, I'll keep that in mind!

bigben6 said:

What board would you recommend without doubling or tripling the price?

Thanks for the info on turbo boost, I'll keep that in mind!

Click to expand...

Any of these 11, sorted by 890fx chipsets. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ption=&Ntk=&CFG=&SpeTabStoreType=&srchInDesc=


I have had real good luck with the Biostar TA890FXE and the Gigabyte 890FXA-UD5 in my sig. Did well over 5ghz on both those boards with a 955, 965, 555, and 1090t.

Ram wise, had real good luck with Geil, Mushkin, Kingston, and G-Skill. I would recommend a 1600mhz 4gb kit from any with decent timings.

I like my CHIV if you can spring for DDR3 it's nice, but pricey. As for turbo, I run @4.3ghz 24/7 with turbo disabled, no need for it really.

Just for clarification...all AM3 and all 890fx boards are DDr3.

If you're looking for a little cheaper board I'd recommend the ASUS M4A79T, which is a very solid OC'er. It uses the older 790FX chipset but that's a much better option than a lower-grade 8xx series. Base price is still $150 but it has a $30 MIR.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131363


After that would be a 790X chipset.

Just be sure to watch for AM2+ (DDR2) v AM3 (DDR3) on the older chipsets ...

Can you explain the difference in north bridges to me, or do you have a link, again my goald is to future proof to a degree so i would rather spend a lil more now and be good for an extra 6 months or year donw the road, or even if i had to put off updating memory i have 4 gig DDR2 i'm assuming i can use temporarily, just a month or so till i save for some DDR3....

bigben6 said:

Can you explain the difference in north bridges to me, or do you have a link, again my goald is to future proof to a degree so i would rather spend a lil more now and be good for an extra 6 months or year donw the road, or even if i had to put off updating memory i have 4 gig DDR2 i'm assuming i can use temporarily, just a month or so till i save for some DDR3....

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Well first off understand that since the FSB has gone the way of the IDE, the NB on a motherboard has a much less important roll. In the AMD world we have CPU/NB, this in essence is what used to be the NB. It is now part of the IMC (integrated memory controller) and built into the CPU. The NB still left on the motherboard these days is little more than a connection point for the various subsystems.

As the motherboards go, they are tailored to the user. Some people want on board graphics...others plan to overclock like mad, others still just want it to work and work cheap. Generally speaking, a motherboard with built in graphics doesn't overclock as well as one without. Furthermore you just have to know the naming scheme. For AMD the top end stuff is 790fx & 890fx...not a lot of difference really, 890fx is simply the newest.

If you are looking for a future proof (if there is such a thing) build here is what you should know, in my opinion.

The only socket you need to look at is AM3, the only chipset will be an 89xxx, the only Ram is DDr3, the only CPUs are AM3. Forget about the rest, it's old tech.

Get an AM3 cpu (1090t), get a good motherboard (anything with an 890fx or 890gx), and DDr3 is pretty much mandatory...as none of those run DDr2.

This help?

xoke

bigben6 said:

Can you explain the difference in north bridges to me, or do you have a link, again my goald is to future proof to a degree so i would rather spend a lil more now and be good for an extra 6 months or year donw the road,

Click to expand...

By NB I'm assuming you mean chipset. It's not so much a matter of the chipset itself as it is the quality of the other components on the board. As a general rule motherboard manufacturers put higher end components on boards with the best chipsets, then starting "skimping" on this or that as the chipsets get less. This is, more or less, how I see the chipsets:

790FX, 890FX
790GX, 790X, 890GX*
770, 785G

*On the GX chipsets you really have to watch the board manufacturer and usually the price will tell the tale as much as anything. Some GX boards will have almost as good a quality as the FX boards. Others will be more like the 770 and 785G.

bigben6 said:

or even if i had to put off updating memory i have 4 gig DDR2 i'm assuming i can use temporarily, just a month or so till i save for some DDR3....

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That really isn't an option. AM2+ boards use DDR2 and AM3 boards use DDR3 - there is no mix and match. I would suggest AM3 since it's the latest. Also be aware that some 7xx chipset boards are AM2+, but there are also AM3 versions of those boards. Just be careful which one you get if you go that route ...

all very helpful guys, thanks so much, and it sounds like DDR3 slots are NOT backward compatible as i was lead to believe, so that is also good to know!!! This site is amazing, most other site I would get flamed and laughed at for my questions, it is a great learning tool, I hope to be a contributor and not just a leecher in the near future!

http://www.jr.com/cooler-master/pe/...are&SiteID=lw9MynSeamY-yY4*a75tydw9b4Iu9DZfNA

Would this be a good deal as well, looks like I COULD put it on my curent rib but it would also fit the am3 socket as well, thoughts?

bigben6 said:

http://www.jr.com/cooler-master/pe/...are&SiteID=lw9MynSeamY-yY4*a75tydw9b4Iu9DZfNA

Would this be a good deal as well, looks like I COULD put it on my curent rib but it would also fit the am3 socket as well, thoughts?

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It's not the best in the world...but for the money it performs very well. I just bought one today...and I paid $27

You not gonna get any better for $18 unless you steal one.

Temporarily out of stock, ordered it anyways, thats how this build will be, opportunistic and slow, but im hoping to have it together and running my march.... ish? Do you guys care If I PM you instead of public posts? Seems like for the Q's I have maybe not clogging the public forums would be nice?

bigben6 said:

Temporarily out of stock, ordered it anyways, thats how this build will be, opportunistic and slow, but im hoping to have it together and running my march.... ish? Do you guys care If I PM you instead of public posts? Seems like for the Q's I have maybe not clogging the public forums would be nice?

Click to expand...

If you must. Be aware, this forum isn't like others. There are no dumb questions...that's the point. At any given time there are a thousand "guests" looking over this forum, looking for information. They might be following things in this thread trying to learn as we type. If we do everything via PM they lose out.

Clog the forum, thats what it's here for. However, you can PM if you would like...although I cannot guarantee a response time on a PM. A post here is more likely to receive prompt attention.