Considering going Intel, should I join the darkside?

I'm doing the exact same thing as you. I had spec'd out an AMD system, then I was talked into going intel. So far I spec'd out a intel E6600, CPU,
intel mobo - D975xbx 2, or Asus P5N32 SLI SE deluxe
with a 8800gtx vid card

From what I've read so far , right now intel is the top dog

I could only recommend AMD's now if you are building on a really tight budget and don't won't to make something with high performance.matthewjackman

Well...im planning on building my own system in March around the second gen release of DX10 cards. Now, my question is about which way to go with the processor. Im an AMD guy...in other words, I know nothing about intel chips (just like im an NVIDIA guy not an ATI guy). Now...I know i can easily figure out which motherboards are compatible with Intel DUO's ETC, but I want to know personally what you would reccomend (AMD Dual Core or Intel Core 2 Duo). The "word" is that DUO's are better than AMD X2 dual cores...but i can save like 150 dollars if I go with AMD. What do you think?

or ? habitat

I'm not really biased towards either company, I'll get whichever is faster at the time I need a new build. That being said, Intel is currently quite a bit ahead of AMD, not only that, their prices for the gamers that wish to overclock are unbeatable. You can spend $180 on the E6300 and exceed the performance of an FX-62. If you have a bit more money to spend, the $320 E6600 is ideal. To put this into perspective since you know about AMDs, at a stock clock speed of 2.4 ghz the E6600 beats the FX-74. It will easily get to 3 ghz and 3.6 ghz+ with an aftermarket heatsink. No AMD cpu can even touch that currently. There is no reason to go AMD right now unless you want to spend less than $180 on a cpu. BeavermanA

In that case, I would suggest going with the AM2 system; At least nowadays, you could get a fairly fast X2 and a 590SLi board for fairly cheap.codezer0

I've went to NewEgg and compiled a Core 2 Duo list and I think you should be able to work with it just fine with your budget.

Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 Processor
http://www.newegg.com/product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819115013

Gigabyte P965-DS3 Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813128012

Corsair XMS2 2 GB DDR2-800 Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820145590

Thermaltake ToughPower 750 Watt Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817153038

Western Digital 160 GB SATAII Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822136062

Samsung DVD Burner SATA Optical Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16827151141

NEC Floppy Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16821152005

Total comes around $821.20, which would leave you $400, which should be enough to cover your $80 case and 8600 video card, heck maybe even a 8800 video card. Your call though, since you said you're going to build the system around March, prices could change.
GamingMonkeyPC

If you want a gaming rig, I would advise getting a Core 2 Duo, especially an e8*** series (they just came out). However, you can get a good AMD processor for alot cheaper. AMD's faster processor, the X2 6400+, is a little faster than the e6600. It costs $165ish, whereas the e6750, which is substantially faster costs $185ish. However, the processor to get right now seems to be the e8400 @ $220ish, if that's in your budget.

Personally, I can't imagine myself buying an Intel CPU, so I'm probably bias, but a decent AMD processor isn't going to be the bottleneck when gaming. So as far as gaming goes, I doubt you will notice any difference between the two with the same GPU. The GPU is almost always going to be the bottleneck, and when it isn't, the framerate will be so high you can't tell the difference anyway (60+ frames per second). If games are your main concern, personally I would save money with an AMD CPU and put it towards a better GPU, but I admit, Intel do offer better performance, so if you feel you need a really fast CPU then buy an Intel CPU. I haven't been keeping up with the current prices of Intel and AMD, but I have to admit that clock for clock, Intel are a few hundred mhz faster, and you may be able to get a faster Intel CPU even in the budget price bracket now even if it is clocked lower than the AMD, so I don't really feel that I can strongly say I recommend buying AMD for any situation. But as I said, I would still buy an AMD CPU :P .

I may have missed some stuff, but you say you may buy an 8600, in which case that would bottleneck your system more than your CPU would. So I would suggest maybe a 3850 over the 8600, much better performance for a reasonable price, to go allong with what ever processor you have.

Sorry for going off topic.

I may have missed some stuff, but you say you may buy an 8600, in which case that would bottleneck your system more than your CPU would. So I would suggest maybe a 3850 over the 8600, much better performance for a reasonable price, to go allong with what ever processor you have.

Sorry for going off topic.

m2twkisfun

lol wthBaselerd

hahahaha.

:D

[QUOTE="m2twkisfun"]

I may have missed some stuff, but you say you may buy an 8600, in which case that would bottleneck your system more than your CPU would. So I would suggest maybe a 3850 over the 8600, much better performance for a reasonable price, to go allong with what ever processor you have.

Sorry for going off topic.

Indestructible2