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AMD AM2 V Intel

If you just want a general PC for a bit of now and again gameplay, I wouldn't buy a top-end CPU. I'd buy a mid-range CPU and use the money saved on a decent graphics card.

eg.

E2180
Gigabyte G33M
2Gb Corsair PC6400 XMS2

will cost £168 from OcUK

Q6600
Gigabyte G33M
2Gb Corsair PC6400 XMS2

is £270 from OcUK

X2 5000 OEM
Abit AM-M2HD
2Gb Corsair PC6400 XMS2
Arctic Cooling Freezer 64

is £168 from OcUK so if you take the Q6600 budget and spend the extra £100 on graphics, you can have a Radeon 3850 Pro 256Mb for £10 less than the Q6600 or a 512Mb 3850 Pro for £10 more. You don't need to be a brain surgeon to work out which £270 rig will be better in games.

If you're not overclocking - AMD is more bang for your buck.
 
I would rather have if on a budget:

E2180
Gigabyte G33M
2Gb Corsair PC6400 XMS2


With the option to pop in a 45nm Intel cpu in a couple of months time.

Not once I have seen the OP mention he was on a strict budget as he was looking at a 115 quid dual core AMD.

Will a 45nm Intel penryn be slower than a AM2 5000 in the same price bracket?
 
easyrider said:
Not once I have seen the OP mention he was on a strict budget as he was looking at a 115 quid dual core AMD.
Click to expand...

The budget isn't the issue - I can easily spend the OP's money:D The issue is what's the best way to get him a decent system for the present and foreseeable future.

Anyway - will you accept that £270 spent on an E2180 system with a modern graphics card is a better bet for general use and some games than a Q6600 and an old graphics card? I think it is. I also think a £270 AMD X2 5000 based system is even better, at the moment.

easyrider said:
Will a 45nm Intel penryn be slower than a AM2 5000 in the same price bracket?
Click to expand...

Who knows? Right now it's faster £ for £ than an Intel system, so that's what I'm suggesting.

I've always advocated buying a system for now, as there will always be better stuff coming out, so buy the best thing that suits today, and live with it until you buy the next one.

[Edit]In fact, you probably ought to wait and see what these new 45nm CPUs are like, as AMD will almost certainly have to cut their prices again to compete in any way shape of form if early reports are to be believed[/Edit]
 
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ajgoodfellow said:
I don't know where you get the 5-15% per clock faster for the Core 2 over the Phenom - they're about the same clock for clock with the Phenom pulling ahead in synthetic benchmarks
Click to expand...

I might be looking at old reviews but from my understanding Core 2 Quads still have the edge. Reviews such as anandtech and tom's (granted, I sometimes take their articles and reviews with a pinch of salt) as well as comparisons on forums seem to appear the case. I could be wrong.

I think it would help to know how much the OP actually intends on spending. At the end of the day, it's tricky directly comparing Intel and AMD configs without knowing how much Longshanks wants to spend. It'll narrow the options down anyway.

In terms of WJA96's evaluation comparing the E2180 vs X2 5000+, without a doubt an X2 5000+ is quicker than the E2180. It's just, considering the overall cost of the 5000+, would a similarly priced E4500 or E6550 be slower?
 
Just a quick thing, If he gets a 1066Mhz FSB chip like the Q6600, then surely it would make more sense to buy OcUk Value PC8500 than any PC6400 ram?
 
For a 1066FSB (266*4) CPU, so long as the RAM is at least 1:1 with the FSB there is no problem. That'd be DDR2-533 and upwards
 
I think its worth buying a system now that will support penryn.

AMD have nothing to offer at the moment or the near future.

The 45nm Penryn will be a nice chip to have for both games and general PC use.

Why limit yourself.

The fun part of buying a new system is keeping your options open and being able to use new technology.

The intel route does that.
 
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At least until the next socket change, which IIRC is still approximately a year away (Nehalem). AM2+ is compatible with a lot of AM2 boards and apparently AM3 will work with AM2+/AM2 but whether those AM3 chips will have any major architectural changes to give it more of an edge over the competition is unknown.

In the mean time, 45nm Wolfdale/Yorkfields are popping up and at least the Engineering Samples seem to be quicker than existing Core 2 Duo's and Quads.
 
easyrider said:
I think its worth buying a system now that will support penryn.

AMD have nothing to offer at the moment or the near future.

The 45nm Penryn will be a nice chip to have for both games and general PC use.

Why limit yourself.

The fun part of buying a new system is keeping your options open and being able to use new technology.

The intel route does that.
Click to expand...

For us maybe - for the OP, simply not true - the ONLY thing that the 45nm offers over the current Quads is price - for a NON-OVERCLOCKER (like the OP) they bring nothing to the ball.

Add to that the fact that the current 775 Mobos become obsolete after the 1st round of 45nm, where the AM2(+) boards will continue for potentially the next couple of years and the picture looks a little different.

I have to say I think cheapest system with savings to GFX card is THE answer ;) - subject to budget and req obviously!
 
cavemanoc said:
For us maybe - for the OP, simply not true - the ONLY thing that the 45nm offers over the current Quads is price - for a NON-OVERCLOCKER (like the OP) they bring nothing to the ball.
Click to expand...


A Quad core penryn is around 400 mhz faster clock for clock than current quads.

So a 2.4ghz Quad core penryn is like having a 2.8ghz Q6600.

So low end penryn chips will pull ahead even more from current AM2 offerings.
 
which is why amd are lowering the phenom to dualcore prices in the next few weeks so a phenom for a 100 quid will be very good.if you running at stock and on a budget amd is better, if you oc then intel wins.there is no need for a quad in gaming unless you play like 3 of the thousands of games that fully use them.
quadcore isnt needed unless you photoshop or do heavy video stuff in gaming it wouldn even add up to 1 percent.by the time it is needed for most games the technology now will be obsoleet (chex the spelling :p) so if you thinking of quad no point as youll not even touch it for at least a year in gaming.unless you play supreme commander 24/7.best bargin really is a 2180.
 
Cheers guys.

As for the graphics card, i already own a 7600 GT 256mb PCIe card and don't look to change it just yet.

No, i am not planning to overclock the CPU but i may consider it in time.

I want a system that can run fast now with the potential to be upgraded in the near future.

Price range is around the max £250 ish. Or there abouts.

I already have the PSU, Corsair 520w, DVDrw, TJ08 Case, Hard drive.

Got to decide now if its AMD or Intel. Yes, i will be playing some games and i will be using the pc for Surfing, general pc stuff etc etc.
 
Right guys, its between these 2 then:

Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.66GHz (1333FSB) - Retail

AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 6400+ Black Edition 3.20GHz (Socket AM2) - Retail

Which should i go for?

Would i be better off going for the Intel and clocking it slightly to get a better clock than the AMD or would the AMD be a better CPU( Can that be clocked?).

I have to take into consideration heat too as the case i have is a mATX one but has good cooling.

Is it a better idea to buy the E6750 now and then have a motherboard that is ready for a newer chip or get the AMD?

Is the E6750 a better CPU at stock than the AMD at stock?

Help!!!
 
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Spend the Extra 30 and get a Q6600 like I posted in post 2.

You have the answer.

I have given you it and many others.

C2D Clock better than any other Cpu out there.

The Amd 6400 will have little headroom for clocking.

Just cause the Amd is 3.2ghz does not make it faster than a 2.66ghz C2D.

The Amd 6400 is the slower chip.

A c2d clocked to 3.6ghz destroys every AMD by a massive margin.

The C2D is faster but the 30 quid on the quad is worth it for resale alone come penryn.

Your asking questions I have already answered.I have already said its best to have a mobo that supports the new 45nm chips.


Hence my advice.
 
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The E6750 is marginally better yes. It doesn't run quite as hot as the 6400+ and it also comes bundled with a CPU cooler. Not a brilliant one but shouldn't be a problem at stock at all.

What we really need to know is whether you've definitely ruled out overclocking. Seeing that you're talking about overclocking, all I can say is there is no comparison.

Typically an X2 6400+ will clock to around 3.5GHz, and roughly the same for the E6750 although the retail box cooler may hold you back to 3.0-3.2GHz. Cooling shouldn't be an issue in a TJ08 as if I recall correctly it is a tower format case with front and rear 120mm fans.

slow posting and an unrefreshed page. As above ^.
 
Thanks. Just confused at the different clock speeds. The AMD 6400 clock looks nice but you say the E6750 is still faster even at stock?

Not sure if a quad is the way to go. Then again it is only about £30 more than the E6750!! Lots of people have said in other posts that the quad is not worth it as it won't be noticeable or it won't be used for months and months with gaming etc.

E6750, Q6600, AMD6400!!!!! Aaaaaaaaghhhhh, Nightmare decision time for me!!

I quite like the idea of going over to Intel but i have also read that it is slower in windows!! Surely not?

How much can the q6600 be clocked to and what temps would i expect to see? I am used to having a very cool CPU!!

Please keep the advice / views coming as i need to decide very soon!! Thanks
 
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I don't think anyone has ever said anything other that if you are overclocking then go with the Intel CPU. An overclocked E2180 at 3.2GHz (quite feasible) will beat a stock x2 6400.

However, pretty much any modern CPU will be wasted in games as that graphics card will be the system bottleneck.
 
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