C2D E6400 or X2 6400+

[Guest]

I was wondering what CPU I would use for gaming better. I want a straight forward answer, I don't need to know they are outdated. I own either CPU and just need to know what mobo to buy, amd or intel. What CPU would be better?



Here are my two options:

Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 2.13ghz 2mb L2 Cache

AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ 3.2ghz 2mb L2 Cache Black Edition


I googled and am getting mixed answers.

Thanks!


Other than CPU and mobo here are my specs:

GTS 250 1gb
4gb G.Skill DDR2-800
500gb 7200 rpm 32mb HDD
Pixxo 500w PSU

 

[Supermuncher85]

I'd take the intel any day for the simplicity of a bsel mod. A hyper212 and a good motherboard with a decent over clock will make the intel outperform the amd by a fairly big margin. On stock they are about the same.

 

[Guest]

I'd take the intel any day for the simplicity of a bsel mod. A hyper212 and a good motherboard with a decent over clock will make the intel outperform the amd by a fairly big margin. On stock they are about the same.

Even though The amd is 3.2ghz and the intel is 2.13 ghz?

 

[Supermuncher85]

Again I'd only take the Intel for overclocking. BSEL is quick and cheap way to get more bang for the buck http://www.overclock.net/intel-cpus/341123-intel-bsel-vid-mod-guide.html obviously if you mess up with the circuit writer pen you might short circuit the CPU so use at your own caution. It got my e2180 running from 2ghz to 2.9ghz. Use an good aftermarket cooler though like the hyper212. You can reuse this later on lga1155 if you decide to upgrade down the line.

 

[megamanx00]

The AMD 6400 is a faster though you have to back a bit to find charts comparing the two

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/desktop-cpu-charts-q3-2008/Unreal-Tournament-3-1680x1050,819.html

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/desktop-cpu-charts-q3-2008/Crysis-1680x1050,818.html

Of course the gain is mostly due to the clock speed. Overclocking the E6400 to 2.6-2.7 would match or be slightly above the AMD depending on the application and of course reaching 3.0 would exceed it a bit. It is easier to overclock the AMD CPU but due to the fact that it's already running at a pretty high clock it doesn't have as much overclocking room as the E6400.

I say get an AM2+ board for the AMD simply because you can drop a newer AM3 CPU in there latter (even an X6 on a newer board) and good AM2+ boards are easier to get than good LGA 775 boards. If you don't plan on upgrading the CPU at all AND you can find a good LGA 775 board then you should go with the Intel.

 

[Guest]

The AMD 6400 is a faster though you have to back a bit to find charts comparing the two

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/desktop-cpu-charts-q3-2008/Unreal-Tournament-3-1680x1050,819.html

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/desktop-cpu-charts-q3-2008/Crysis-1680x1050,818.html

Of course the gain is mostly due to the clock speed. Overclocking the E6400 to 2.6-2.7 would match or be slightly above the AMD depending on the application and of course reaching 3.0 would exceed it a bit. It is easier to overclock the AMD CPU but due to the fact that it's already running at a pretty high clock it doesn't have as much overclocking room as the E6400.

I say get an AM2+ board for the AMD simply because you can drop a newer AM3 CPU in there latter (even an X6 on a newer board) and good AM2+ boards are easier to get than good LGA 775 boards. If you don't plan on upgrading the CPU at all AND you can find a good LGA 775 board then you should go with the Intel.

Thanks for the reply, I am going to just get an Evga nforce 750i mobo pretty sick.

 

[Guest]

Best answer selected by Wahmtwo.

 

[megamanx00]

LGA 775 boards with nVidia chipsets do not overclock as well as those with Intel Chipsets and seem to have more issues. Of couse, the 750i chipset is a better bet than it's older 600 series siblings but you would still do well to read reviews on the specific board you are thinking of to make sure it has some overclocking room. It would be better to go with a P45 board, but if you do go with that 750i board I recommend adding a fan to the northbridge.