AMD is good and if you can afford Intel i'd say go with Intel. However here is my system.
AMD Athlon Xp 2100+ (1.73ghz)
MSI K7N2G gaming board (died due to power supply not being strong enough, replaced with same for only 45$ about a year and a half ago, it was my fault it died)
Thermaltake 430watts power supply (really good power supply and well worth the 40 or so bucks I paid for it)
ATi Radeon X1650 Pro 512 MB from Sapphire AGP X8
40GB HDD with 8mb cache at 7200 RPMS
2GB 2100+ DDR RAM. (1 stick is 2100 512mb and the other two is 512 2700 and a 1gig 2700+ but they run at 2100 speed since they have to run at the lowest ram speed)
I use to have a Geforce 4 TI 4600 SE 128mb which I gave away to someone and replaced the fan on it. Those have bad fans. Basicaly I only had to replace the video card(which I gave away and fixed on my own), the motherboard which died due to have a 350watt power supply which wasn't good enough when I added a dvd drive, and the motherboard).
This computer is from newegg all the parts I mean and it's lasted me over 4 years and still going strong. It is a low-mid end system but I play games just fine. I can play Half Life 2 with HDR if I wanted to. It might get a lil choppy here and there but mostly it's smooth. I mainly play Warcraft 3 so it's not that intense and runs just fine. I've played FEAR combat online just fine.
This system for me is great because if a game is optimized graphically wise then I can bet on running it on low-med settings. I can run games on high but it will eventually lag.
What you need to do is clean out your computer every 3-6 months with an air pressure can. That will increase the life of all your components. If something dies just replace it. Since I put the same exact motherboard I didn't have to reinstall Windows XP. However when I did upgrade the video card and ram I had to call microsoft to reactivate. It was no hassle though since I had a legit copy of XP and I just told the person on the phone that and they gave me my installation ID.
I don't see why your system or mine won't be able to run many many more years to come. It's all about cleaning your system and maintaining parts. I had to get rid of a fan I had bought since I broke it but I still got my case fan and my exhaust fan. My PSU has 2 fans and of course I got a fan on top of my heatsink. Today I cleaned out my computer and it runs even better. (Since I live in carpet the dust accumulates lots in 3-6 months)
Anyway you will be fine. I recommend going with Intel core 2 duo though. AMD is good too and gives you great value.
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