AMD or Intel?

GiantMidget · 17 Jan 2011 at 20:09

people i need to decide and what make i should get, i need the computer for gaming, but if you all would just say which you you think i should get and a reason that would be great

vanandjuanunited · 17 Jan 2011 at 20:09

What budget?

GiantMidget · 17 Jan 2011 at 20:11

up to and around £150

VFM Addict · 17 Jan 2011 at 20:14

GiantMidget said:
up to and around £150

Hope that's for the cpu alone. Personally I'd go for an Athlon II x4 640 and put the rest of the budget towards a better gcard.

GiantMidget · 17 Jan 2011 at 20:17

why would you go AMD though? because Intel is faster. and i already have a good graphics card

the1gooner · 17 Jan 2011 at 21:49

GiantMidget said:
why would you go AMD though? because Intel is faster. and i already have a good graphics card

What graphics card do you have?

If you are saying Intel is faster then it looks like you already answered your own question.

pieman109 · 17 Jan 2011 at 22:03

Intel for speed, AMD for bang for buck. In gaming the GPU counts the most so you're not gonna any difference in performance between either cpu providing you've got them overclocked to 3.0ghz-3.2ghz minimum. There are a few exceptions to the rule, ie, arma 2 reacts well to a fast cpu, in the main, it won't matter.

chipps101 · 17 Jan 2011 at 22:06

if you already have your graphics card and are buying a new mobo for the cpu anyway the you may as well just get a i5 2500 for £164, even without overclocking it destroys anything else at that price range.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/288?vs=186

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/288?vs=191

Slam · 19 Jan 2011 at 09:47

Despite having always run AMD platforms I found myself forced to go with Intel because I wanted the option of running SLI.
(Was happily using a 5770HD but have switched to GTX460s).

martynpd · 19 Jan 2011 at 15:04

if you have 150 then get an amd.

shadow_boxer · 19 Jan 2011 at 15:12

Might be helpful to tell us what you already have in terms of graphics card/psu etc.

£150 for CPU alone? Motherboard budget?

Have you already got DDR3 RAM?

GiantMidget · 19 Jan 2011 at 19:58

the ram i just bought is GeIL 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz VALUE PLUS Dual Channe
the graphics card i have is temporary and im saving up for a ATI Radeon 6950 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express,
the budget for the motherboard is around £100 but i want it to be able to crossfire. as in time if i was to upgrade my graphics i plan to get another of the same.

tekkas · 19 Jan 2011 at 20:04

AMD thats a low... budget

look for a phenom II x4
+ most boards are under 100 £

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 19 Jan 2011 at 20:11

This motherboard will do symmetrical Crossfire at PCI-E 2.0 8X/8X and has USB3.0 and SATA3.0:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-251-GI&groupid=701&catid=1903&subcat=1782

This motherboard uses an older chipset but can do symmetrical Crossfire at PCI-E 2.0 16X/16X:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-339-AS&groupid=701&catid=1903&subcat=1481

This motherboard does symmetrical Crossfire at PCI-E 2.0 8X/8X AFAIK and is under £60:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-025-FC&groupid=701&catid=1903&subcat=1481

Here is the web-page for the Foxconn motherboard:

http://www.foxconnchannel.com/product/Motherboards/detail_spec.aspx?ID=en-us0000444

I assume the OP is getting a decent PSU though.

GiantMidget · 19 Jan 2011 at 20:16

i have been looking at that one, a friend of mine has the 3.40GHz and he says its very good, and the 3.20GHz could be easily overclocked to a similar speed. so that one seems quite a likely choice.
but i still want to look around until im certain.

GiantMidget · 19 Jan 2011 at 20:20

yeah the PSU im getting will do fine, and i like Crosshair 3 but it is quite old, i would prefer something a bit newer but with Crossfire 16X/16X

shadow_boxer · 19 Jan 2011 at 20:26

So CPU/MOBO combo for £250?

Are you looking to overclock the cpu at all? If not then a basic SB setup just squeezes into your budget.

Your basket
Product Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i5-2400 3.10GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £149.99
(£124.99) £149.99
(£124.99)
Asus P8H67-M Intel H67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Micro-ATX Motherboard - (Sandybridge) £83.99
(£69.99) £83.99
(£69.99)
Sub Total : £194.98
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £9.50
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £40.90
Total : £245.38

As mentioned before, if gaming is the priority then I'd go for a Phenom II X4 and put the savings towards a 6950.

dandos23 · 19 Jan 2011 at 20:27

GiantMidget said:
yeah the PSU im getting will do fine, and i like Crosshair 3 but it is quite old, i would prefer something a bit newer but with Crossfire 16X/16X

If I remember correctly were you going to get the Antec TruePower New Modular 650W Power Supply?

Would that be powerful enough to run crossfire?

GiantMidget · 19 Jan 2011 at 20:39

hmm, im not sure to be honest

dandos23 · 19 Jan 2011 at 21:11

I suppose that the PSU does say that it can SLI so it should be ok.

The Intel chip that fits in your budget is the Intel Core i5-2400 3.10GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155
The AMD chip that fits in your budget is either the AMD Phenom II X6 Six Core 1055T 2.80GHz (Socket AM3)

or

AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 965 Black Edition "125W Edition" 3.40GHz (Socket AM3)

As far as gaming, a quad core would be best. The Intel at £149.99 cant be overclocked as its not the K chip and the AMD is £129.98 (or £119.99 if you go for the 955 and overclock it).

How much difference do you think you will see between Intel and AMD in games and do you think it is worth the extra £?