What should I go with?AMD or Intel?

[starmanwarz]

Until now I have been using only AMD cpu's just because they were way cheaper from the Intel's.I have an AMD 64 3500 and I am looking for an upgrade.I have already checked the buyer's guide and I found some very useful info but I still havent decided.In my price range,my choices are the AMD ATHLON 64-X2 4600+ 2.40GHZ and the INTEL CORE 2 DUO E6400 2.13 GHZ LGA775 1066 FSB.I see that many people here talk about the Intel's,no one talks about AMD's.What would you suggest?

 

[apt403]

The E6400 out performs the 4600+ in, well, everything. If you can afford it thats the one you should get.

 

[starmanwarz]

Thanks.I forgot to mention that im not really into overclocking.

 

[apt403]

Thats a shame, the C2D's are great oc'ers.

 

[starmanwarz]

It's not that I dont want to oc it,its mostly bacause I dont know how to do it and erm..Im abit scared.

 

[gOJDO]

C2D E6400

 

[epsilon84]

Toss a coin. :lol: :lol: :lol:

No, actually, don't do that, that's a very bad idea.

 

[The_Hanz]

Toss a coin. :lol: :lol: :lol:

No, actually, don't do that, that's a very bad idea.

Sound advice.

I am an AMD fan myself but going C2D anyways. They perform better than AMD for much less money invested.

 

[Wisecracker]

Until now I have been using only AMD cpu's just because they were way cheaper from the Intel's.I have an AMD 64 3500 and I am looking for an upgrade.I have already checked the buyer's guide and I found some very useful info but I still havent decided.In my price range,my choices are the AMD ATHLON 64-X2 4600+ 2.40GHZ and the INTEL CORE 2 DUO E6400 2.13 GHZ LGA775 1066 FSB.I see that many people here talk about the Intel's,no one talks about AMD's.What would you suggest?

Depends upon your computing environment and your wallet. Give us an idea what you would like to do with your computer and provide some details about your current system, i.e.:

What type of mobo?
RAM?
video subsystem?
OS?

Don't buy a bunch of new stuff unless you are a trust fund baby and the cash is burning a hole in your pocket!!

 

[starmanwarz]

Gaming and surfing only.
Here are my specs:
Asus A8N-E mobo
2GB of RAM
ATI RX800XL(soon to be replaced with a 8800GTS)
XP SP2

 

[BaronMatrix]

Gaming and surfing only.
Here are my specs:
Asus A8N-E mobo
2GB of RAM
ATI RX800XL(soon to be replaced with a 8800GTS)
XP SP2

If you go with AMD you may be able to keep your mobo. But unless you would like to be ridiculed you should go with E6400.

 

[MU_Engineer]

What about just upgrading the CPU in your board to a socket 939 Athlon 64 X2? The rest of your system is still pretty top-notch and it's not really time to replace all of it IMHO. Get an Athlon 64 X2 4600+ or 4800+ or an Opteron 180 or 185. All of those chips should serve you pretty well and be a decent upgrade over the 3500+ while not requiring you to buy a whole new board and RAM.

And unlike what BaronMatrix says, nobody should ridicule you if you do an upgrade to a newer AMD CPU in your current board. BM's a bit, er, melodramatic is the right word. He has himself gotten ridiculed for being a very enthusiastic AMD fan in the face of a bunch of very enthusiastic Intel fans. So don't mind what he says as it was a snipe at certain other forum fellows. If you want to upgrade your CPU to an X2, by all means do so (and I think that's actually the smartest move in your situation.)

 

[Wisecracker]

I have yet to hear of any S939 NF4-based motherboards with a dual-core aware BIOS version that can't run a dual-core S939 Opteron.

Dual Core Opty's should now range in price between
$154 - $335 - - - - hurry if youin's be interested because the prices are going up

 

[starmanwarz]

Sounds cool,but I will have to upgrade my mobo too!Or not?I think that it doesnt support X2 cpus.

 

[MU_Engineer]

Looks like it does support Athlon 64 X2s:

http://usa.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=3&l2=15&l3=171&model=455&modelmenu=2

Look under the "CPU" heading.

 

[Wisecracker]

Yer A-Seuss s939 is good to go dual core with the latest BIOS

 

[starmanwarz]

Thanks alot I never thought of that!I might give the X2 a try.I hope I wont be dissapointed.

 

[gOJDO]

Your mainboard supports dualcore CPUs.
I thought that you are going to sell your old stuff and buy new.
If you can just sell your old CPU and keep the mainboard, an Athlon64 X2 CPU will be the best choice.
5000+ is roughly performing same as E6400, although the E6300 is a 5000+ equivalent for gaming. Also, good choice would be the 4800+ 2.4GHz 2x1MB L2, which is marginaly slower than the 5000+, but is more worth for the money.
If you want to overclock your new CPU, Opteron 170 is the best choice with the best performance/price factor.

Good luck

 

[Wisecracker]

< ---- Not a Fan Boy but just got another Opty 170 4 days ago for $172.00

The Opty's will double your L2 cache over the Toledo X2.

And I've learned that for some folks an *OC* is never a simple thing but in the case of your mobo, an Opty and a few well-placed questions on the internets and yull be multi-task kickin' arse . . .

 

[Barcelona_Xtreme]

That's true, but name one place where you can still find 170s

Here's a link for an Opteron 170:

NewEgg

 

[BaronMatrix]

What about just upgrading the CPU in your board to a socket 939 Athlon 64 X2? The rest of your system is still pretty top-notch and it's not really time to replace all of it IMHO. Get an Athlon 64 X2 4600+ or 4800+ or an Opteron 180 or 185. All of those chips should serve you pretty well and be a decent upgrade over the 3500+ while not requiring you to buy a whole new board and RAM.

And unlike what BaronMatrix says, nobody should ridicule you if you do an upgrade to a newer AMD CPU in your current board. BM's a bit, er, melodramatic is the right word. He has himself gotten ridiculed for being a very enthusiastic AMD fan in the face of a bunch of very enthusiastic Intel fans. So don't mind what he says as it was a snipe at certain other forum fellows. If you want to upgrade your CPU to an X2, by all means do so (and I think that's actually the smartest move in your situation.)

True no one SHOULD but that's not the case. A guy asked about a fan for 5000+ and was told he had to get Core 2 or he was wasting his money.

 

[Barcelona_Xtreme]

Well, its all who you talk to and whether you are friends with the people here. If the people here think you're a n00b and don't think you know you what you're doing, they're probably going to ridicule you regardless. But if you know the people and they trust your judgement, it might only be a simple question of why you bought it and when. I am an am2 user myself and its not to say the am2 is slow or anything, just conroe is a lot faster. I think getting a 939 opty 170 would be the smart choice here, because the opty's are proven ocers plus it is the smart decision because its a lot cheaper.

But if you know all the benchmarks and then still say amd is better just because you personally like amd more, than that's another story

The real problem I've been watching in these forums is that people come here asking for advice and in a sudden they're recommended to go with intel no matter what!

These are just intel's marketing trolls doing their job in a public forum where people come here for advice but instead they got mislead to buy intel and only intel. This is becoming a nasty habit in THG's forums.

Core2s are good in some apps and X2s are good for other type of apps. it all depends on the kind of apps you use for a living.

 

[Wisecracker]

Well, its all who you talk to and whether you are friends with the people here. If the people here think you're a n00b and don't think you know you what you're doing, they're probably going to ridicule you regardless. But if you know the people and they trust your judgement, it might only be a simple question of why you bought it and when. I am an am2 user myself and its not to say the am2 is slow or anything, just conroe is a lot faster. I think getting a 939 opty 170 would be the smart choice here, because the opty's are proven ocers plus it is the smart decision because its a lot cheaper.

But if you know all the benchmarks and then still say amd is better just because you personally like amd more, than that's another story

I don't have any friends here. Shoot I don't have ANY friends because I'm often ill-tempered and liquored-up :lol:

AMD versus Intel ??? WHO CARES !!! Get what you want and enjoy it.

We are all pawns in the manufacturers marketing games. Obsolescence drives profitability - or we would all be surfing on our Tandy 1000's.

Even though I'm still pissed at Intel for Rambus I run my OR840 every day! Some builds just work . . .

And don't get caught up in the hype . . . .

EDIT: Opps! Back to the thread. Go with the Opty 170 for $194!

 

[Heyyou27]

< ---- Not a Fan Boy but just got another Opty 170 4 days ago for $172.00

The Opty's will double your L2 cache over the Toledo X2.

And I've learned that for some folks an *OC* is never a simple thing but in the case of your mobo, an Opty and a few well-placed questions on the internets and yull be multi-task kickin' arse . . .

Actually, the Toledo core has 2x1MB of L2 cache.

 

[bobbknight]

If you have a good 939 skt board, and you upgrade to the newest bios for x2, go for the amd chip.
Or you can spend cash on a new motherboard, chip and ram.
It all depends on what you wish to spend.

DDR2 is still to expensive for me to go the Intel route.
I would not even bother with an AM2 right now, though this may change in the future.