AMD or Intel?

[Apokalipse]

you could get a Phenom 9950 and an SB750 motherboard for less than a Q9550
Newegg.com - Foxconn A7DA-S AM2+/AM2 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards

 

[Puddle Jumper]

you could get a Phenom 9950 and an SB750 motherboard for less than a Q9550
Newegg.com - Foxconn A7DA-S AM2+/AM2 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards

Yes, but a Q9950 + TP45HP would be faster, overclock better, and consume less power.

Newegg.com - BIOSTAR TForce TP45HP LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

 

[Apokalipse]

Yes, but a Q9950 + TP45HP would be faster, overclock better, and consume less power.

Newegg.com - BIOSTAR TForce TP45HP LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

and cost more, and not support future CPU's.

 

[Drizzt]

It costs a ton, and once again, you still get a socket that won't be going out of date soon.


^^ beat me to it by a second.

 

[NosBoost300]

ehhh, i'm not having uuber high hopes for intels nahalem right now.. lemme pull up an interesting find really quick

 

[Puddle Jumper]

and cost more, and not support future CPU's.

At this point there is no proof that Deneb will be faster than Yorkfield. I think it makes more sense to buy a fast cpu now than to buy a slow one and hope that AMD's future products are better.

 

[Drizzt]

All the sneak peaks point out at a great cpu coming out soon. Even if it does flop, the 9550 BE still out performs the q6600, is cheaper, and if the Deneb is better then you are set up to grab an awesome 45nm AMD cpu that can reach 4ghz on the stock air cooler.

Almost half of the community bought e8400's and such in preparation for nehalem..... So whats wrong with buying this way in hopes that the 45nm is a beast? Which it looks like it will be.

If you go the AMD way you won't even half to switch out your mobo or anything.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

All the sneak peaks point out at a great cpu coming out soon. Even if it does flop, the 9550 BE still out performs the q6600, is cheaper, and if the Deneb is better then you are set up to grab an awesome 45nm AMD cpu that can reach 4ghz on the stock air cooler.

Some of sneak peaks for Agena said it would be 5-40% faster than Kentsfield but it turns out Agena is actually slower so that doesn't mean much. If it does flop your stuck with the Phenom 9950 that has high TDP and is slower than a q9300 much less a Q9550.

 

[Drizzt]

If it does flop your stuck with the Phenom 9950 that has high TDP and is slower than a q9300 much less a Q9550.

But it is so much cheaper then them, it's not like you took a big loss at all, you still have a great CPU and alternative to the crappy q6600's out now.

 

[Apokalipse]

Some of sneak peaks for Agena said it would be 5-40% faster than Kentsfield but it turns out Agena is actually slower so that doesn't mean much. If it does flop your stuck with the Phenom 9950 that has high TDP and is slower than a q9300 much less a Q9550.

Deneb has the credibility of launching at 3GHZ, combined with the fact that Agena already can get 3.5GHZ on air or water, combined with benchmarks showing that early ES chips are already getting a descent IPC and PPW advantage

Plus, I don't think the K10 architecture was really supposed to shine in 65nm. Even Intel did not think a monolithic 65nm quad core could be done.
the technical data we have on AMD's 45nm process would indicate a lot of improvements (not just making things smaller, but also improved transistor design, and lower power leakage)

*edit*

But it is so much cheaper then them, it's not like you took a big loss at all, you still have a great CPU and alternative to the crappy q6600's out now.