Does AMD vs Intel matter in low budget "family" PC?

[AirForceElite]

Hello guys.
I was just curious, because I am up for total upgrade (very needed upgrade) to my PC this March, whether I should pay attention to to AMD/Intel war.

I mean most of you folks are enthusiasts who need to squeeze every single drop of juice from your system as you can.

Me on the other hand, I plan to get basic dual core computer (build it myself by the way) and be settles for the next 3 years.

I am currently using 3.5 year old PC....and if it wasn't for too much dust/slow hard drive/not being able to accept DDR2/etc i wouldnt even upgrade this PC.
So I have used it for 3.5 years or so, and I need to replace it with another "basic" PC.

The problem is that I am not sure whether all that AMD/Intel stuff should be ignored by me because i only plan to do the basic stuff such as:

- Firefox
- Photoshop
- iTunes
- DVD burning
- HD movie watching (.mkv files)
- World of Warcraft

The most hardest task this future computer will do is probably run: World of Warcraft + WinAmp + Firefox + MSN at the same time. That's the most hardest task that it will do....so can you guys tell me or at least direct me to the right way of what I should do regarding Intel/AMD issue?

I realize that Intel has upperhand any way you put it, and that Intel runs cooler which is very good for laptops due to extra confined space...but for a low budget user like me, does it really matter?

Short version:
I am not heavy user like some of you guys are...just do basic computer stuff like checking e-mail and chatting and watching YouTube with occasional World of Warcraft.
For that type of stuff, does it really matter if I go with Intel or AMD? I am very very broke after Boxing Day (Canadian version of Black Friday) and recently bought 46" Sony HDTV, Speakers, 22" LCD monitor + much much more...so I need to keep costs as much as I can

 

[taltamir]

intel running cooler is due to lower power consumption, which also reduces cost of operation...

Currently I intel doesn't just dominate the high end, it also dominates the mid range... Only the lowest end is worthwhile with AMD
If you buy a 50$ mobo and a 40$ cpu then AMD is your thing... if you can spend 100$ on each then intel is your best bet.

Only get dual core. Quad core is NOT fitting for your usage. (it will be slower and more expensive with what you want to do with it)

 

[Phunk0ne]

In your case, it would not matter at all which way you are going. Since you have 1- a very limited budget & 2- you do not seem to be an uberhardcore super abusive user like the rest of us "idiot hardware freaks on here", I'd say go either way, Intel or AMD, which ever is the cheapest for you =)

for a processor:
AMD: X2 3800+
Intel: E2140

I do not know for an AMD setup, but as far as for the Intel platform, a G33 chipset should do it for ya, couple it with some cheap 2GB DDRII-667 and you should be golden.

 

[taltamir]

Originally posted by: Phunk0ne
In your case, it would not matter at all which way you are going. Since you have 1- a very limited budget & 2- you do not seem to be an uberhardcore super abusive user like the rest of us "idiot hardware freaks on here", I'd say go either way, Intel or AMD, which ever is the cheapest for you =)

for a processor:
AMD: X2 3800+
Intel: E2140

I do not know for an AMD setup, but as far as for the Intel platform, a G33 chipset should do it for ya, couple it with some cheap 2GB DDRII-667 and you should be golden.

My mom is a simple user... and until I upgraded her to a 6400+ X2 she kept on complaining on how slow her computer was while surfing the web...
Then again her older comp was an athlonXP 2500 (barton).

E2140 or X2 3800 might be enough for you

 

[krnmastersgt]

I assure you, a lot of people here don't need to squeeze every bit of performance they can out of their systems, most do however think if I paid this much, why not get the most I can from it? I'm sure if you buy a car you don't pay for extras just to not use any of them, stretch your dollar to the limit is all most of us care about, a lot of people build on budgets too anyways, like me...sort of. Anyways there won't be a difference between most AMD and Intel CPUs, for what you're describing I think a Pentium D will do nicely, btw running all those applications at the same time doesn't stress the CPU as much as it strains the ram, so just grab a cheap cpu like the pentium D or the E2140 and get like 2-4 gb of ram and you're golden.

 

[Kharohz]

Click and forget.

Dell outlet..

 

[taltamir]

Avoid the Pentium D... the E2140 is a much better choice due to the OBSCENE power requirement of the pentium D... You will more then make up the difference in price at the cost of electricity on the first year alone.

 

[AirForceElite]

Isn't the difference between Pentium D and C2D very little? Like $20-30? (sorry i am not aware if pricing)

and my budget on march (my birthday btw) would be around $400.
stuff that i don't need:
monitor
keyboard/mouse
printer
usb thingies
DVD burner
speakers

but i will need obviously:
cpu (basic dualcore)
ram (1GB to save costs...2GB when will get more money)
mobo
cheap hard drive (i currently use 40GB IDE Western Digital drive...and that's enough for me lol...yes 40GB so even 120GB would be fine)
case

you guys think it's possible to do that and getting dual core machine?

 

[krnmastersgt]

Hmmm, thats 400 canadian right? *Checks currency conversion rate* Equal to 400 USD? Wtf? When did that happen? o_o anyways lets see a system for 390, the E2140 is like 65, ram can be had at like 60 for 2 gigs, there are 80 dollar P35 chipset boards right? I'm only familiar with nVidia chipsets so someone else's input on the board is appreciated, an 80 gb hdd is like 50, now you still have about 150 not including shipping to find a case you like with a psu, however that's not considering getting a GPU it's possible, just really tight from what I can see.

 

[AirForceElite]

as of GPU, i might as well got for some basic GPU...or even (wait for it...)







































...integrated video card (sue me)

hehe..i really don't see point in buying some super cooked video card.
I will only play World of Warcraft, and it runs fine on Intel GMA950 integrated laptops, and the only thing i am doubting is whether integrated can play HD .mkv files.

if it can...then good.
if it can't....then i am getting some dedicated card....still undecided.

i am on newegg right now (even though it doesn't ship to canada..i am using it for pricing reference only) but so far, the lowest Intel C2D + 775 socket motherboard costs twice as much as AMD dual core + AM2 motherboard.
Looks like I will be going AMD for their really nice prices in lower budget

 

[krnmastersgt]

Well AMD just can't compete with Intel in terms of top of the line, so just like with their cards, their retreating to the lower/midrange consumers and hope to gain some footing back there (and money) to start competing with Intel and nVidia, I find it sad that AMD assimilated ATI and therefore there is a lot of pertnered work going but Intel and nVidia still bicker over chipsets and whatnot so you don't see X48 chipset boards with Tri-SLI capability or anything like that. Such a shame the 2 giants can't work together, possibly their downfall. Anyways nothing wrong with integrated graphics if you can run off it, hope you can build this system for under 400 Btw don't build a system for really cheap if you know you'll regret very soon, sometimes it's better to hold out a little longer for new GPUs/CPUs to knock the prices down on former models.

 

[sutahz]

You can get a s775 mobo for pretty cheap that will handle new cpu's. I'd get a retail/OEM pentium dual-core w/ a $20 HSF (or even use the stock HSF and OC it... what.. 50%?) 2GB of DDR2 is like $30.
$47 mobo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813130121
$79 cpu
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819116036
$36 ram
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820161677
=162+~9ship = 171$ (+tax??)

AMD you say?
$50 mobo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813131183
$54 cpu
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819103775
$36 ram
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820161677
$140+~9$=$149 (+tax??)

Intel will OC more (motherboard willing), AMD is cheaper

Name brand memory: Ok, there's Geil and G.Skill for $40, so $4 (4/36=11%) more gets you that.
Hey, I'm just providing the OP w/ some options. If he wants to spend more on a mobo, thats great... but for nitty gritty cheapness.. gotta take a chance.
I use to be very anti-uATX, but built a budget pc for a friend, and it worked just fine. That mobo got 4/5 eggs.

NewEgg won't return without box

What are they doing w/ their boxes?

 

[krnmastersgt]

I personally think it's better to go with known companies for memory, but that might just be me o.o

 

[taltamir]

now i dont know about asus 50$ motherboards. but in the past it has been my experience that it takes about 10 hours of fiddling / replacing parts / etc to get these motherboards to work right. there were always issues, incompatibilities, etc..
I go with 100+ mothboards only now, from quality manufacturers... the type that I plug everything in, press the power button, and it works. And then I am done.

But as I said, I never got a 50$ asus mobo before. So maybe these are better.
mmm, lemme see, quick glance at user reviews on newegg and I see the following:
"Cons: Bought 6 of these 6/07 and three are dead by 12-07. Controllers are bad"
And some other saying similar things...

As well MOST people complaining that memory slot A1 was faulty.

"Cons: The board has a well known defect with slot A that was not documented when we purchased 50 of these for work system builds. 8 were DOA. Windows installation on the remaining 42 failed with Registry hive errors, BSODs, and plain old Windows not loading.. Not a SINGLE one of them was usable at all for us. Still trying to work around all the errors, as Asus support sucks and NewEgg won't return without box."

Yea, 50$ motherboards still suck.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

E2140 $60
2x1gb ddr2-667 $6 (after $40 MIR)
Giga P35-DS3L $90
XFX 8600gt $80 (after $30 MIR)
500gb 7200.11 $120

Thats $426 +shipping out of pocket, $356 after rebates


That CPU on that board will easily overclock to 3ghz, the 8600gt has the lates H264 hardware decoder for the latest HD playback and will plow throw WOW

 

[lopri]

You won't be able to watch 1080p .mkv movies without a discrete graphics card. (720p should be fine)

 

[taltamir]

that is indeed a good setup guitar daddy... and a solid motherboard...

Lopri, either CPU is fast enough to decode 1080p movies. Only very specific cards can do hardware decode, and those cards require the following for it to happen:
1. Hardware decode capable card
2. Hardware decode capable codec.
3. Hardware decode capable player (winDVD is the only one I know of).

So 99% of the time when you open a file, even with hardware decode capability, it is gonna end up being software decoded. which is fine since either CPU is fast enough.

 

[AirForceElite]

Originally posted by: lopri
You won't be able to watch 1080p .mkv movies without a discrete graphics card. (720p should be fine)

i think thats fine.
1080p file sizes wouldnt let me download it normally anyways...
it's just way too much hassle for little quality gain (at least i cant see noticeable difference between 720p and 1080p on 22inch 1650x1080 ViewSonic LCD)

what would you say is low budget video card just to be able to play 1080p without hiccups?

 

[Cookie Monster]

A geforce 8400GS, or a HD2400/HD3400 card *just released i think.

 

[taltamir]

it makes WAY more sense to spend that cost towards a faster CPU rather then a video card with video acceleration. The cpu would ALWAYS be faster, the video card doesn't play any games anyways, and just idles except when accelerating video.

 

[Amaroque]

I would go with a lower end C2D, and an inexpensive non-overclocking MB.

BTW: Avoid the P4D like the plague. I'd rather use any C2D, or AX2 over a P4D.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: krnmastersgt
just grab a cheap cpu like the pentium D or the E2140

OMG I can't believe someone's suggesting a Pentium D!!! Pentium D chips were NEVER the best choice of processor. Not when they were new, and definately not now. When they were new, the AMD dual core processors were better. Now, both AMD dual core and Intel Core 2 Duo are better. The E2140 is a "lite" Core 2 Duo and is a much better choice than the Pentium D for the sole reason that you get around the same performance, but drawing around 1/2-1/3 the power. Overclocking both, the E2140 will end up being much faster as it has a lot more headroom.

Originally posted by: AirForceElite
as of GPU, i might as well got for some basic GPU...or even (wait for it...)

...integrated video card (sue me)

I will only play World of Warcraft, and it runs fine on Intel GMA950 integrated laptops, and the only thing i am doubting is whether integrated can play HD .mkv files.

Sure, IGP can play MKV files just fine.

As for 1080P, the reason you don't see much improvement over 720P is that your monitor is LOWER resolution than 1080P video, so your software player will have to downscale the picture. With 720P the player will have to upscale it slightly. It's a wash.

Originally posted by: AirForceElite
The most hardest task this future computer will do is probably run: World of Warcraft + WinAmp + Firefox + MSN at the same time.

My wife was doing something similar with running WoW + Winamp + Internet Exploder + Yahoo Messenger + Ventrilo/Teamspeak (depending on which character/guild) all at the same time on a single core A64. Contrary to conventional enthusiast wisdom you don't actually need 4 CPU cores, tons of RAM and an uber video card to do such tasks. I know, some brains must be exploding right now trying to wrap themselves around this idea, but it is true.

What I would suggest for you would be something that can do the tasks you will ask of it with some room to grow but starting at a really low initial price.

MOTHERBOARD: AMD 690G chipset for socket AM2
REASON: Best integrated graphics (IGP) at this time for both gaming and multimedia. Has hardware acceleration of video decoding and should be able to tackle WoW on your 22" monitor at full resolution if you turn down the graphics quality somewhat. There is an Intel version but it is an older revision and kind of rare. You may want to find one with the video outputs that you need. All will have a VGA output, but you may want a DVI output. Some even have HDMI or s-video outputs. Also, if you "outgrow" the IGP, all these boards have PCI-E 16x slots so you can easily upgrade graphics. Finally, in theory these should all be able to run Phenom quadcores.

CPU: Fast dual core AMD
REASON: Those motherboards only take AMD chips. I would suggest the x2 5200+ with 1MB cache using 90nm core, NOT the faster MHz 65nm core with 512k cache. This is basically the lowest end of the highest end, if that makes sense to you. The highest end AMD dual cores are still on the "old" 90nm process but have 1MB cache. Now, this 5200+ model is available at either 65W or 95W, so of course I'd choose the 65W if available and if similar price.

RAM: 2x1GB kit, cheapest following JEDEC standards and either DDR2-667 or 800
REASON: JEDEC standards mean less headaches. I'm fairly certain that many of the "dead" motherboard or RAM reviews on Newegg are because of RAM incompatibilities and not dead parts. What are JEDEC standards? 1.8v at CAS 5. Why either 667 or 800MHz? The real world performance difference isn't a huge amount (though may be higher using IGP). If there is a big price difference then get 667. If not, get 800.