So? AMD or Intel?

[Rifter]

Not quite the correct comparison. Equivalent AMD boards are indeed ~20$ cheaper.

That AMD board is based on their old Northbridge, supports CFX, has integrated Sata3. It's not quite comparable.

its as comparable as you can get, and i used the same series of board from gigabyte so they have similar power circuitry and heatsinking of the VRM's and the same build quality. I could have used this comparison

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813138173

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813138163

Thats biostars cheapest AMD and intel boards with a IGP and 4 dimm slots, and the intel board is cheaper by $15.

 

[Markfw]

OK, I know its apples and Oranges, but....(all prices newegg)

The cheapest AM3 motherboard is $40, and the cheapest 1156 board is $65.

No open box.

CPU's, the cheapest AMD is single core, and $30, and the cheapest dual core is $48
Intel's cheapest is a dual-core and $54.

So from a purely price point of view, the AMD's are cheaper.

That said, I do really think that AMD is best at the low end, and depending on your use, they trade blows in the middle, and Intel owns the high end right now.

 

[Castiel]

Lets see i3 dual core for $125 to $150 or quad core phenom for same? Not to mention, cheaper MB's for AMD than Intel.

It still comes down to your decision on whether money or performance is more important.

Not really sure how you can beat a 540/H55 combo for 189.99. I3's overclock easily past 4ghz and put a hurting on the A2 X4's.

 

[amenx]

If all I did was email, browsing and general applications (like the majority of consumers I presume) then AMD would be the logical choice. But as an enthusiast who wants better performance at a slightly higher cost, Intel it is.

 

[Phynaz]

OK, I know its apples and Oranges, but....(all prices newegg)

The cheapest AM3 motherboard is $40, and the cheapest 1156 board is $65.

No open box.

CPU's, the cheapest AMD is single core, and $30, and the cheapest dual core is $48
Intel's cheapest is a dual-core and $54.

So from a purely price point of view, the AMD's are cheaper.

That said, I do really think that AMD is best at the low end, and depending on your use, they trade blows in the middle, and Intel owns the high end right now.

Yeah but Mark, who with a brain is actually going to us a $40 mb?

 

[Vette73]

AMD = Best bang for the buck.
Intel = Best bang.

This.


AMD offers more for the dollar while intel is if you have more money and don't mind paying extra.

 

[tweakboy]

Which ever color your like green or Red ! nvpanel vs CCC center

 

[Makaveli]

^^ ????????

 

[Rifter]

^^ ????????

dont try and figure out tweakboy, it will give you a huge headache trust me.

 

[magomago]

Yeah but Mark, who with a brain is actually going to us a $40 mb?

if you aren't overclocking there is no issue. A few % in performance isn't going to make a huge difference. Even basic motherboards come with most of the ports that people use.
For years I used ECS motherboards (never had a single one fail on me dating all the way to the K7S5A) with the Frys combos that came FAR and did not encounter a single problem.

 

[pmv]

Related question - what's the situation with sockets and platforms and future upgrades now? Because I'm totally confused about this (still on AM2 at the moment, any upgrade would mean a new motherboard, new ram, new OS, and hence really a new PC).

Is there _any_ current upgrade path for either intel or amd that isn't a dead-end, as far as the next crop of CPUs are concerned? The next AMD chip will need an entirely new socket, right?

 

[Lonyo]

Related question - what's the situation with sockets and platforms and future upgrades now? Because I'm totally confused about this (still on AM2 at the moment, any upgrade would mean a new motherboard, new ram, new OS, and hence really a new PC).

Is there _any_ current upgrade path for either intel or amd that isn't a dead-end, as far as the next crop of CPUs are concerned? The next AMD chip will need an entirely new socket, right?

Yes, both will need new motherboards.
A current Socket AM3 processor would work in a future new motherboard (AM3+ motherboard), but a future new CPU (AM3+ CPU) wouldn't work in an AM3 (current) motherboard.
And SB also needs new CPU/Socket.

 

[pmv]

@lonyo

Thanks for reply.

 

[AtenRa]

AMD Phenom II X4 955 = $144,99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-808-_-Product

Intel Core i3 540 = $124,99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-221-_-Product

Phenom II X4 955 has better multithreaded performance and AMDs 800 series motherboards have better features like SATA-3 and 2x 16 PCI-e.

Core i3 540 vs Phenom II X4 955 Review
http://forum.oktabit.gr/content/intel-core-i3-540-review

Phenom II X6 can easily compete against Core i7 CPUs (Up to core i7 950) at the same price and again AMDs 800 series chipset has more features (P67 and SandyBridge will change that).

 

[Castiel]

Phenom II X6 can easily compete against Core i7 CPUs (Up to core i7 950) at the same price and again AMDs 800 series chipset has more features (P67 and SandyBridge will change that).

X6 can only compete if it's clocked 600mhz higher then the 950. Clock for clock it gets it's clock cleaned.

 

[Gillbot]

This.


AMD offers more for the dollar while intel is if you have more money and don't mind paying extra.

yes

Find what your budget is, then find what performance you NEED. Go from there and see what you can make fit.

 

[Powermoloch]

I'm always an AMD guy since day 1.

Especially the good ol' days of the sempron paris, that guy was a beast when it came out. Performance/Price CPU i need and let the GPU discrete cards do all the workload

 

[AtenRa]

X6 can only compete if it's clocked 600mhz higher then the 950. Clock for clock it gets it's clock cleaned.

I dont care even if it needs 10000MHz, at Factory default speeds AMD X6 can compete with Intel Core i7 950 at the same price point.

 

[Red Storm]

I think SB almost makes this debate irrelevant for now (except in the budget sector) since it's superior in every measurable aspect. Of course if you're looking for a $100 CPU then AMD is a viable alternative depending on your uses, but personally I wouldn't buy any AMD CPU over $150. Anything over that and the price/performance of SB takes over even if its priced a bit higher.

Not exactly. SB killed off low end overclocking. If anything, it gave AMD an opening to cash in on.

I was very interested in SB, but I have no desire to buy a motherboard with either chipset, both of which disable different features of the chip. Looks like more waiting for me.

 

[SickBeast]

I have yet to see anything that can match my Phenom II X4 905e for the price I paid ($140 including a crossfire motherboard). My CPU overclocks to 3.8ghz and absolutely crushes an i3. The only app that seems to favor the i3 is Starcraft 2. I'm confident that my CPU would beat the i3 overclocked to 4.6ghz in the majority of benchmarks as well.

 

[edplayer]

I think SB almost makes this debate irrelevant for now (except in the budget sector) since it's superior in every measurable aspect.

I basically agree with this.

There are a few groups we can break this into. Those that buy pre-built and those that build their own. Those that buy pre-built, they're probably gonna get at least partially screwed, next!


For those that build their own. There are those that care about performance and those that don't. For those that don't really care, get the best bang for the buck. That would likely be some Athlon X2 with a 780G motherboard (or better). I think Microcenter has a X4 + motherboard for $96.

If performance doesn't matter to you, almost any cpu choice should be OK these days. Probably used computers even which some people are giving away.


Now for those that do care about performance, the 2500K really slammed this market. Its a $216 choice and makes it very difficult to consider almost any other cpu (maybe the 2600K though...). Seriously, even if you work at McDonald's, an extra shift or two would cover the difference. Is an extra shift that much for something you will use 2~5 years? And if the extra money is really THAT MUCH to you, you probably shouldn't be buying a new computer. Maybe you should be picking up one of those craigslist freebies instead...