AMD VS INTEL? Dual core vs. Quad?

[brawleyman]

I realize that this has probably been beatin' into the ground. My specs for my machine are below. I am going to be upgrading my computer in the not too distant future (actually get a whole new computer possibly).

The programs I use are AutoCad LT (and soon full version) for 2-d, Sketchup for 3-d, and possibly some other 3-D programs for my own designing at home. I also play some mild games such as Star Wars Battlefronts and NFS Underground 1. I have over 12,000 songs, 400 music videos, tons of pictures and other misc stuff stored on my compy. Right now, my computer seems to be pretty fast for what I am wanting to do with it, but I want it to perform better in CAD with hatches, viewports and stuff like that and better in Sketchup since it seems that it is mostly CPU bound.

I don't know if anybody here uses those programs, but I want to know which would be better for them. My games run fine, except I will definetly upgrade my video card on a new computer if I get one. With the stuff that I am doing right now, is my computer good enough for what I have or should I upgrade to a whole new computer? Would I be better off just upgrading my RAM and hold off for a while and see what AMD and Intel do next? Would there be any significant jump from my AMD 2.4 to newer AMD or Intel. Would Quad Core help me in any way? (sorry about the big paragraphs, I just want to put out as much info as possible so that you don't have to worry about asking so much)

 

[badnewcastle]

I don't have any experience with the new AMD's so I can't comment on whether to go with Intel or AMD, though I love my Intel.

Here is a good article to help you decide between dual-core and quad-core. I think (could be wrong) you will see for your apps the quad might be better for you. Though for gaming I have recommended dual core over the Quad core.

 

[CptCrunch]

They both over clock well, but clock for clock, intel will win. In the same notion, AMD might save you a bit on the wattage, and the cost to performance ratio prefers AMD at this time.

 

[brawleyman]

Yeah, I like the pricing of the AMD and I personally have always had AMD in my systems. However, I am wanting to find out which would be better for AutoCad and 3-D...seems from the last time I knew of, AMD was better at rendering and pure speed for math, which AutoCad and Sketchup thrive on. I just don't know if it would be worth it to get a whole new system, get a faster AMD, or just upgrade my RAM and call it good for now. It seems that as far as the stuff that I do, dual core would be sufficient for me for now since even design programs don't really take advantage of quad core, however are getting pretty good with dual core. I don't do any encoding or hardly anything with video, just listening to my music and watching some videos. Otherwise, it is drafting and gaming.