AMD 955 OR i5 750?

[swopenn]

I am building a new system. I already have an OCZ 600W PSU, and I found this Seagate 7200.11 1.5TB for $70 after rebate

MadAdmiral suggests the following for an i5 750 build:
CPU/Mobo: i5-750 and Asus P7P55D-E Pro $375
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 2x2 GB 1600 mhz CAS Latency 7 $115
HDD: Seagate 7200.12 500 GB $55
GPU: HD 5850 $300
HSF: Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus $35 (with free card reader)
Total: $880

That is a little more than I can afford. Can I reduce price by going the AMD 955 route while keeping the system efficient for gaming for its price? I plan to get the same HD 5850 since I understand that the gpu is the most significant component to gaming fps, and would not be bottlenecked wither by an AMD 955 or an i5 750 chip. This will be used for large RTS games like Starcraft 2 as well as FPS games like COD:MW2. Can I build an efficient system with the AMD chip while spending $700 on CPU,Mobo, RAM, GPU, and CM Hyper 212+? I intend to overclock both cpu and gpu slightly, but it has to stay stable since I'm building this for someone that won't understand how to make BIOS or Afterburner adjustments.

 

[zalittle]

Gaming specs are basically the same between the Amd 955 overclocked and an I-5 750 overclocked. Where the Intel chip shines is when you are encoding, compressing, and any arithmetic calculations. The Intel chip is 30 % faster giving higher productivity.
You can save alittle going with the AMD chip but the all around the cost will be basically the same considering which components you chose.

Windows 7/Ubuntu / Cooler Master CM690 II ADV and Hyper 212 plus / I5 750 @3.6 Ghz / MSI P55-GD85 / 1TB Caviar Black / 4GB Corsair XMS3 1600 / XFX 5850 / Silverstone Element 750w PSU

 

[Niklas_13]

For a gaming rig AMD will be fine you could save 110 this way



GIGABYTE GA-890GPA-UD3H AM3 AMD 890GX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813128435
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)
Service Net Replacement Extended Warranty
The product will be replaced and shipped directly to you at no charge(more info)
• 1 year: $17.99
• 2 year: $26.99
$139.99


SAPPHIRE 100282-3CODSR Radeon HD 5850 1GB 256-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
Item #: N82E16814102885
Return Policy: VGA Standard Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)
Service Net Replacement Extended Warranty Plan
The product will be replaced and shipped directly to you at no charge(more info)
• 1 year: $32.99
• 2 year: $54.99
-$5.00 Instant
$319.99
$314.99


G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBRM
Item #: N82E16820231303
Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy
$119.99



• AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor Model HDZ955FBGMBOX
Item #: N82E16819103808
Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)
Service Net Replacement Extended Warranty
The product will be replaced and shipped directly to you at no charge(more info)
o 1 year: $19.99
o 2 year: $36.99
• COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 compatible RR-B10-212P-G1 120mm "heatpipe direct contact" Long ...
Item #: N82E16835103065
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$5.00 Combo
$193.99
$188.99
Subtotal: $763.96

If you really need to save more ( You could drop to a dual cord CPU )