Core 2 Duo or AM2 Advice?

[easyrider]

Would have to agree - AM2 is both viable and quick.

At stock (taking into account the cheaper price of Mobo's), the AM2 is arguably a better bet.

Decent C2D set up = £225
Decent AM2 (x2)set up = £160

Only when the Overclock issue is raised does it become the standout option(intel)

Rubbish


You can get a decent C2D setup for £160

Conroe mobo can be had for 50 quid with :

LGA 775 for Intel® Dual Core Pentium® D / Pentium® 4 / Celeron® D, supporting Core™ 2 Duo
- Intel® 945P Chipset
- Supports FSB 1066/800/533 MHz processor, EM64T CPU and H-T Technology
- Untied Overclocking : During Overclocking, FSB enjoys better margin due to fixed PCIE/ PCI Buses
- Supports Dual Channel DDRII667/533 x 4 DIMM slots, with max. capacity up to 4GB
- Supports ATI CrossFire™
- 1 x PCI Express x 16 slot
- Additional AGI Express slot to adopt 2nd PCI Express x 16 VGA card, and other PCI Express x4, x2, x1 interface cards
- 1 x PCI Express x 1 slot
- Hybrid Booster – ASRock Safe Overclocking Technology
- Supports Gigabit LAN 10/100/1000 Mb/s
- Supports 2 x IEEE1394 headers
- 4 x Serial ATAII 3.0 Gb/s, support RAID (RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 10, RAID 5
- 2 x eSerial ATAII 3.0 Gb/s, support "Hot Plug" function
- HDMI_SPDIF header, providing SPDIF audio output to HDMI VGA card, allows the system to connect HDMI Digital TV/projector/LCD devices.
- 7.1 channel with High Definition Audio
- Windows Vista™ Premium Logo Hardware Ready
- ASRock 8CH_eSATAII I/O: 2 eSATAII ports, 2 ready-to-use USB ports

All the top end features of mobo's costing 3 times as much.

 

[Oliet_No1]

Ok taking that "cheap option" I could do a decent AM2 option for 140.

 

[Mista.Gee]

Whats the problems with AMD at the moment don't they all do the same thing as Intel. I'm not one for looking at benchmarks and comparing FPS all i'm looking at is getting a decent setup.

AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+ 2.20GHz (Socket AM2) - Retail - £117.49 inc VAT.
Abit Fatal1ty AN9 32X (Socket AM2) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard - Retail -£117.49 inc VAT.

I am taken by this so far.

 

[easyrider]

Ok taking that "cheap option" I could do a decent AM2 option for 140.

specs please?

what mobo and what chip?

 

[easyrider]

Whats the problems with AMD at the moment don't they all do the same thing as Intel. I'm not one for looking at benchmarks and comparing FPS all i'm looking at is getting a decent setup.

AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+ 2.20GHz (Socket AM2) - Retail - £117.49 inc VAT.
Abit Fatal1ty AN9 32X (Socket AM2) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard - Retail -£117.49 inc VAT.

I am taken by this so far.

C2D is in a league of its own.

AM2 current cpu's are based on the old 90nm process.

Its old technology.

All AM2 is,is socket 939 with DDR 2

C2D is 65nm newer more efficient technology.

 

[Oliet_No1]

AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ 2GHz Socket AM2 L2 1MB 2 x 512KB retail Box - @ 89.42inc Vat

The Mobo = £49inc Vat

Product Description MSI K9N Neo-F - motherboard - ATX - nForce 550
Product Type Motherboard
Form Factor ATX
Dimensions (WxDxH) 19.8 cm x 30.4 cm
Chipset Type NVIDIA nForce 550
Multi-Core Support Dual-Core
Max Bus Speed 1000 MHz
Processor 0 ( 1 ) - Socket AM2
Compatible Processors Athlon 64, Sempron, Athlon 64 X2
64-bit Processors Compatibility Built-in
RAM 0 MB (installed) / 4 GB (max)
Supported RAM Technology DDR II SDRAM
Storage Controller ATA-133, Serial ATA-300 (RAID)
Audio Output Sound card - 7.1 channel surround
Networking Network adapter - Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet

 

[Mista.Gee]

What could i get for £300 on a Decent Intel Core 2 Duo Processor and Motherboard. Not a great fan of Gigabyte motherboards had a few issues in the past with a few of the Motherboards.

 

[easyrider]

AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ 2GHz Socket AM2 L2 1MB 2 x 512KB retail Box - @ 89.42inc Vat

The Mobo = £49inc Vat

Product Description MSI K9N Neo-F - motherboard - ATX - nForce 550
Product Type Motherboard
Form Factor ATX
Dimensions (WxDxH) 19.8 cm x 30.4 cm
Chipset Type NVIDIA nForce 550
Multi-Core Support Dual-Core
Max Bus Speed 1000 MHz
Processor 0 ( 1 ) - Socket AM2
Compatible Processors Athlon 64, Sempron, Athlon 64 X2
64-bit Processors Compatibility Built-in
RAM 0 MB (installed) / 4 GB (max)
Supported RAM Technology DDR II SDRAM
Storage Controller ATA-133, Serial ATA-300 (RAID)
Audio Output Sound card - 7.1 channel surround
Networking Network adapter - Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet

The cpu has less cache than the 6300 and is not as fast.
The mobo I suggest has far more features including Xfire,Firewire,SATAII,High definition audio etc..

In fact the mobo I suggest has far more features and costs around the same.

Nice try!

 

[easyrider]

What could i get for £300 on a Decent Intel Core 2 Duo Processor and Motherboard. Not a great fan of Gigabyte motherboards had a few issues in the past with a few of the Motherboards.

6600 and DFI 975X

 

[Fr0dders]

It's given me some good thought into all this and looking into all avenues before i purchase.

lets throw some facts into the argument. Here is a benchmark done on oblivion.

A £110 Core 2 Duo e6300 gives you higher fps than the £140 X2 4600. This is surely a much better buy. It isnt just oblivion either. take a look at

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2795

and you'll see its every game.

yes the motherboard you have mentioned is a good one for AM2. But it doesnt matter how good the mobo you choose is if the CPU you put in it is pants. You've already stated you're not going to overclock, so its pointless people suggesting you get an nforce 680 mobo. A £100 Asus P5B will do you just fine, and is on the Intel 965p based chipset, specificly designed for conroe.

so total setup is £210. and will be much faster than your higher priced AMD setup

AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+ 2.20GHz (Socket AM2) - Retail - £117.49 inc VAT.
Abit Fatal1ty AN9 32X (Socket AM2) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard - Retail -£117.49 inc VAT.

Total £234.99 inc VAT

£235 AMD setup 76fps
£210 Intel setup 82fps

8 % improvement for 10 % less cash. Thats why AMD is such a nobrain option.

 

[easyrider]

lets throw some facts into the argument. Here is a benchmark done on oblivion.

A £110 Core 2 Duo e6300 gives you higher fps than the £140 X2 4600. This is surely a much better buy. It isnt just oblivion either. take a look at

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2795

and you'll see its every game.

yes the motherboard you have mentioned is a good one for AM2. But it doesnt matter how good the mobo you choose is if the CPU you put in it is pants. You've already stated you're not going to overclock, so its pointless people suggesting you get an nforce 680 mobo. A £100 Asus P5B will do you just fine, and is on the Intel 965p based chipset, specificly designed for conroe.

so total setup is £210. and will be much faster than your higher priced AMD setup



£235 AMD setup 76fps
£210 Intel setup 82fps

8 % improvement for 10 % less cash. Thats why AMD is such a nobrain option.

Nicely put,

The die Hard AMD fans just dont get it!

I notice the people suggesting AM2 have AM2 rigs themselves.

 

[Mista.Gee]

Intel DP965LT 965 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard - Retail - £82.24 inc VAT.
Intel Core 2 DUO E6300 "LGA775 Allendale" 1.86GHz (1066FSB) - Retail - £124.54 inc VAT.

Is this any good for gaming etc?

 

[easyrider]

Intel DP965LT 965 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard - Retail - £82.24 inc VAT.
Intel Core 2 DUO E6300 "LGA775 Allendale" 1.86GHz (1066FSB) - Retail - £124.54 inc VAT.

Any good for gaming etc?

DS3
DFI 975
P5B

are all better mobo's than that.

 

[Mista.Gee]

Not a big fan of Gigabytes Motherboards had a few issues in the past with them on both Intel and AMD platforms, by the time i come around to purchasing next week the DFI would be back up in price. Well i have got £300 to spend on a Processor and Motherboard so may as well make the most out of it.

 

[Oliet_No1]

The cpu has less cache than the 6300 and is not as fast.
The mobo I suggest has far more features including Xfire,Firewire,SATAII,High definition audio etc..

In fact the mobo I suggest has far more features and costs around the same.

Nice try!

The FACT of the matter is that AM2 option is the cheaper option, its not better (thats not in question).

It is around 10% weaker but is maybe 15% cheaper = better bang for buck.

And i dont give a flying **** about brand loyalty either.

 

[easyrider]

The FACT of the matter is that AM2 option is the cheaper option, its not better (thats not in question).

It is around 10% weaker but is maybe 15% cheaper = better bang for buck.

And i dont give a flying **** about brand loyalty either.

There are conroe mobos about costing 35 quid.

So again you are wrong.

And suggesting AM2 is better bang for buck is ludicrous

 

[Mista.Gee]

As long as it would play my games in max settings the AMD option is very close to me right now. I remember the days when everyone loved the good old AMD.

 

[easyrider]

As long as it would play my games in max settings the AMD option is very close to me right now. I remember the days when everyone loved the good old AMD.

I came from an AMD rig.

Ill jump ship again when AMD have a faster CPU than INTEL.

Fact is AM2 is slower inferior tech right now.

The graph clearly shows the C2D being better than any AM2 chip currently.
How many more facts do you need?

 

[Mista.Gee]

At the end of the day both will play my games like oblivion in max detail with a good graphics card, i'm not going to personally sit there and look at how many FPS its doing really. When i come around to the purchasing of the graphics cards im going to go for the 8800 series. So i have this feeling that AMD maybe the better option for me right now, i expect AMD soon will release a decent Processor.

At the moment i think AMD have good processors at the right price.

 

[easyrider]

At the end of the day both will play my games like oblivion in max detail with a good graphics card, i'm not going to personally sit there and look at how many FPS its doing really. When i come around to the purchasing of the graphics cards im going to go for the 8800 series. So i have this feeling that AMD maybe the better option for me right now, i expect AMD soon will release a decent Processor.

At the moment i think AMD have good processors at the right price.

You sound like a fanboy.

A 6600 will be in a different league to any AM2 rig in oblivion with a 8800 series card.

Why you would want to buy a slower CPU for the same price is beyond me

All the facts are staring you in the face and you still come out with

"AMD maybe the better option for me right now"

It laughable,ludicrous and just plain stupid