Would like an AMD vs Intel opinion (I've been out of the loop for a while)

[eLiu]

Hi all,
I've been out of the loop for a while but a friend has asked me to part a system... I'd like your opinions on the following two (AMD vs Intel) CPU+Mobo combinations, each costing about $300. Of course, if you have other CPU/mobo combinations to suggest, I'm all ears so long as the combined sum is roughly $300.

The machine will be used at college for some gaming, coding, and office tasks.

AMD:
mobo :: $125 :: MSI K9N SLI Platinum (nForce 570)
cpu :: $179 :: AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+ (Windsor, 2x1MB cache)

Intel:
mobo :: $150 :: ASUS P5K LGA 775 Intel P35
cpu :: $165 :: Intel Core 2 Duo E6320 Conroe 1.86GHz (4MB cache)

Some notes:
>Upgrade path is important. I see that the P35 supports quad-cores, so that's a big plus. But according to AT's latest article on "Phenom", the next gen X2 and X4 CPUs will be backward-compatible with current AM2 motherboards. How firm is this? AMD has always been a bit more sketchy (imo) in terms of deciding what sockets go where (I remember when Socket A was supposed to go past AthlonXP.)

>Overclocking may/may not happen; for now it is not really in the plan. So I'm not interested in "Buy _____ for $50 less and hope it can OC to ludicrous speed".

I'm having difficulty reaching a decision which is why I'm appealing to ATGH. It seems that at stock settings, the 5600+ will beat out the E6320. But I feel like Intel's upgrade path has more guarantees right now (e.g. Penryn) than AMDs. Maybe it's worth the extra $20 to get the E6420 instead...blah

Agh! What would you guys suggest?

Thanks,
-Eric

 

[Inspector Jihad]

hmmm...i'm interested in the answer as well.

 

[Syran]

I'd probably go with the intel route personally.
And if you can wait just over a month, cuts coming july 22 in alot of the pricing for their processors.

 

[eLiu]

Originally posted by: Syran
I'd probably go with the intel route personally.
And if you can wait just over a month, cuts coming july 22 in alot of the pricing for their processors.

Good point on the price cuts: I will see if my friend is willing to wait. It looks like the new 1333mhz FSB chips will be priced very, very competitively. I can't find any data on the 6x00 or 6x20 series, but at the same clockspeed, the new 6x50 series will cost like 40% that of the equivalent 6x00/6x20. Nice.

But assuming I have to buy now-ish, why do you say that you'd personally rather go the Intel route? Is that just a personal bias?

 

[Syran]

Originally posted by: eLiu

Originally posted by: Syran
I'd probably go with the intel route personally.
And if you can wait just over a month, cuts coming july 22 in alot of the pricing for their processors.

Good point on the price cuts: I will see if my friend is willing to wait. It looks like the new 1333mhz FSB chips will be priced very, very competitively. I can't find any data on the 6x00 or 6x20 series, but at the same clockspeed, the new 6x50 series will cost like 40% that of the equivalent 6x00/6x20. Nice.

But assuming I have to buy now-ish, why do you say that you'd personally rather go the Intel route? Is that just a personal bias?

Actually, it's not. I have more AMD systems in my house then C2Ds. (Opteron 144, 170; X2 3600+, 64 3700+) vs (e6300 & e6600). I think the motherboards are more ready on the AMD side, but the processors have been very solid with intel this round, and I don't see that switching anytime in the near future. I think at this time, you will probably see a much better upgrade path as well with the Intel systems. AMD isn't giving enough information out about upcoming products to be really secure in what's for the future; whereas intel seems to be very solid on it.

Also, apparently the < 1333mhz processors overclock to 1333 really nice.

Course, the next question is, what's he pairing it all with?

 

[eLiu]

Yeah I haven't been able to find much about AMD's upgrade path. And what has been said wasn't stated with much confidence if you ask me. Actually that's pretty typical of them... I remember when SocketA (that's what I'm on, lol) was supposed to carry us into Opteron.

But yeah I wanted to go with Intel this time around too from the start until I saw how much AMD's high-end chip prices have fallen. I've just heard so much good stuff about the C2D chips.

Oh and another fairly compelling reason to go Intel is for power draw/heat reasons... C2Ds run surprisingly cool. (Keep in mind that the last time I seriously followed chips was just as Preshots rolled out.)

The rest of the system will go something like this:
HSF: retail Intel contraption (may be replaced if it is too noisy or unsatisfactory... opinions on that?)
RAM: 2GB of DDR2 (so cheap on Hot Deals, maybe I'll go for 3 or 4GB; DDR3 is too expensive)
video: 8600GT (wants DX10 and hardware decoding)
HD: 320GB 7200.10 SATA (she already has a 400GB external)
CD/DVD drive: already have
floppy: have an external one
PSU: namebrand 400-500W (brand not picked yet)
Case: Something nearly free on Hot Deals
OS: XP or Vista (free from school)

 

[AlphaOmegaX]

I myself have had one and only one computer with an intel processor.

I tried amd and haven't turned back since. It's my preference.

 

[eLiu]

Originally posted by: AlphaOmegaX
I myself have had one and only one computer with an intel processor.

I tried amd and haven't turned back since. It's my preference.

I don't really have anything against/for either company. I remember P3s being the sh1t when they came out, but AMD soon took over & held the lead with thunderbird followed by athlonXP (sp). And it was hard to want to buy Intels during the P4 era (maybe except Northwood), and *especially* when Prescotts came around.

But now the story is different... the CPU battle (from the enthusiast POV) seems to be tighter than it has been in a long while.

 

[Syran]

You should be just fine with the retail intel fan as long as you aren't oc'ing any. If you plan to OC, the Tuniq tower 120 is impressive, fairly easy to install, but it's a monster, and can't for sure say it will fit on the board.
2GB of DDR2 is just fine, make sure you go 2x1GB thou, so you have room to upgrade to 4 if the need arises in the future.
I like the Corsair 520W PSU, it's Modular (which, once I went modular, I never went back, I love it for cabling)
One thing you may want to watch out for is a sata optical drive. The jmicron ide ports on the 965 motherboards (and probably p35 as well) were notorious for having compatibility issues with optical drives, especially with installing windows. You can find a sata optical drive for < $40, might want to pick one up if only for doing installs and such.

 

[eLiu]

Yeah I'm doing 2x1GB--probably PC800. Modular eh? It looked kind of gimmicky but I suppose I can give it a try since this will be someone else's computer, lol. The dvd drive is external so I don't think I have to worry there, but thanks for the heads up.

Cool... good info here. Thanks folks and esp Syran.

 

[jpeyton]

Overclocking?

Yes: Get the Intel setup.
No: Get the AMD setup.

Kthxbye.

 

[tuteja1986]

Originally posted by: jpeyton
Overclocking?

Yes: Get the Intel setup.
No: Get the AMD setup.

Kthxbye.

 

[Roguestar]

Originally posted by: jpeyton
Overclocking?

Yes: Get the Intel setup.
No: Get the AMD setup.

Kthxbye.

 

[eLiu]

Overclocking is a maybe. But right now the upgrade path is making me want to go Intel this time around (nothing against AMD... my own machines have all been AMD). And after the price drop, I think Intel will be solidly ahead in performance for the amount of $ I'm spending.

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: eLiu
And after the price drop, I think Intel will be solidly ahead in performance for the amount of $ I'm spending.

Then post again after the price drop.

Originally posted by: eLiu
Overclocking is a maybe.

It's not rocket science; just a yes or no question.

 

[eLiu]

Originally posted by: jpeyton

Originally posted by: eLiu
And after the price drop, I think Intel will be solidly ahead in performance for the amount of $ I'm spending.

Then post again after the price drop.

Probably will... but I wasn't aware of the price drop until Syran pointed it out.

Originally posted by: eLiu
Overclocking is a maybe.

It's not rocket science; just a yes or no question.

There will probably be mild OCing but we're not about to buy a watercooling set up or a $70 heatsink, i.e. OC as cheaply as possible.

 

[bryanW1995]

Originally posted by: eLiu

Originally posted by: jpeyton

Originally posted by: eLiu
And after the price drop, I think Intel will be solidly ahead in performance for the amount of $ I'm spending.

Then post again after the price drop.

Probably will... but I wasn't aware of the price drop until Syran pointed it out.

Originally posted by: eLiu
Overclocking is a maybe.

It's not rocket science; just a yes or no question.

There will probably be mild OCing but we're not about to buy a watercooling set up or a $70 heatsink, i.e. OC as cheaply as possible.

You should buy the intel system if you are planning any overclocking at all. You will find that a "mild" overclock on the intel system is 30-40+%, while a mild amd overclock is 5-10 %. C2d could have been released at much higher frequency but amd has been asleep for 18 mos so intel hasn't needed to push the envelope. That's bad for the average joe but ok for us! Plus the upgrade path for intel, as you mentioned, is outstanding.

 

[eLiu]

30-40%? Geez that's intense. Reminds me of the AMD Tbird (socketA) days--buy 1ghz, OC to 1.4-1.6ghz easy. If 30-40% is "mild" then I'll have to OC... thanks for the info.