Special Edition: Core i7 920 vs Phenom II 955 BE

Although the Core i7 is more expensive, does it perform better? It depends. If you do frequency-dependent tasks, the Phenom is for you. For most cases though, the i7 beats the Phenom, including gaming and video editing. Why? The i7 has triple channel DDR3 technology linked directly to the CPU. The AMD can use DDR2 or DDR3 memory, but it only supports dual-channel memory technology. The Phenom, though, can overclock a bit higher if you're lucky. Both utilize quad cores, but the Intel costs more, on Newegg, as of now. The Intel LGA1366 motherboards cost more than AM2+/AM3 motherboards. Also, there are far more cooling units compatible with AM2+/AM3 than socket 1366.

When shopping for a Core i7 CPU, try to get a D0 stepping because they overclock better. Even if you don't overclock, they should undervolt better as well. Try to keep the price under 290USD. At this time, Micro Center is selling the i7 for 200USD, which is tempting, but don't forget the extra $50 for the motherboard and the extra $30 for the RAM. Micro Center currently carries the cheapest i7 I have seen.

When shopping for a Phenom II, try to keep the price below ~240USD. Also you may want to consider the DDR2 only 940 BE (~190USD). The AMD Black Edition CPUs and Intel Extreme Edition CPUs feature an unlocked multiplier. Current AMD Phenom 2 BE processors are:

550-Dual Core
720-Triple Core
940-Quad Core DDR2-only
955-Quad Core

For the intel EE:

Core 2 Extreme QX9650-Quad Core
Core 2 Extreme QX9770
Core 2 Extreme QX9775 (socket 771)
Core i7 965 EE
Core i7 975 EE (~1000USD)

Some good coolers for the LGA1366 socket are:

Xigmatek Thor's Hammer
Zalman CNPS10x
Thermalright Ultra-Extreme 120 LGA1366
Zalman CNPS 9900
Cooler Master V8
Thermalright IFX-14
Scythe Mugen II
*May need to buy brackets

Some good coolers for the AM2/AM3 sockets are:

Xigmatek DK
Xigmatek Thor's hammer
Zalman CNPS10x
Zalman CNPS 9900
Zalman CNPS 9700
Thermalright Ultra Extreme 120
Thermalright IFX-14
Scythe Ninja
Scythe Ninja Copper
Scythe Mugen 2
Scythe Kama Angle
Tt Big Typhoon
Tt DuOrb
CM V8
CM Hyper 212

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