Which pc should I buy? Intel i3 2100 or amd Phenom II 521?

Hi, my old computer recently got a bad svchost virus, so I'm thinking it's time for an upgrade. I have my eye on two refurbished PCs and was wondering which one is the better deal. Note: my old pc is an outdated pentium 4 with a geforce 6200 graphics card, so these PCs would be big upgrades to me.

For $340:
HP Pavilion Desktop Computer featuring Intel Core i3-2100 Processor (P7-1027)

Processor Type: Intel Core i3-2100
Processor Speed: 3.1 GHz
Processor Cores: 2
RAM: 6 GB PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM (Exp. To 8 GB)
Hard Drive Capacity: 750 GB SATA
Hard Drive Speed: 7200 RPM
Graphics: Intel HD
Pre-loaded Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit

or for $250:
HP Pavilion Desktop Computer featuring AMD Phenom II 521 Dual Core (P6823W)

Processor Type: AMD Phenom II 521
Processor Speed: 3.5 GHz
Processor Cores: 2
RAM: 4 GB PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM (Exp. To 16 GB)
Hard Drive Capacity: 1 TB SATA
Hard Drive Speed: 7200 RPM
Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 4200
Pre-loaded Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit

I'm looking for a cheap computer that would be decent for multi-tasking, I do a lot of website creation and 3d modelling/game programming using Blender. I'm a casual gamer, my favorite game being Medieval Total War II.

Which pc is the better deal? Is the i3 a big step up on the phenom (Which I've read is actually a re-named Athlon II)? For comparison, what games could these PCs run at medium settings? Also, would it be better to spend more on a graphics card with the $250 deal, or is the i3 more important than the graphics card?

Thanks for the help!

The Core I3 is a faster processor for most things, but the AMD has better graphics for light gaming. I have both graphics and can tell you it is true.

Even though the i3 is a dual core, it is multi-threaded, so it acts like a quad core.

Best advice would be go with the i3 and if the Intel graphics are not enough, you could always add an inexpensive video card. You can look up your game(s) on this site to see what minimum video specs you need. http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/cyri/intro.aspx

compare Amd is 3.5ghz intel 3.1ghz ,a =1000gb hdd i =750 ,ram a=4gb upgrade upto 16Gb i=6gb upgrade upto 8gb ,amd has better graphics for gaming intel so far, so buy amd and upgrade ram into 8gb u get better system value for ur money

Balance money in ur hand

You made the right choice, it's the far more powerful out of those 2 systems.

Well I have bought refurbished PCs in the past and they have worked really well for me. I'm also not too picky about the parts and if some higher quality graphics don't run top notch it shouldn't be too much of a nuisance to me. Thanks a lot for the advice though.