Be honest with me here

[Opeqa16x]

In terms of CPU performance, if all you did was gaming, web browsing and some mild video editing and didn't really care much about multitasking, is it really worth it to buy an Intel CPU over AMD? I mean, in gaming it's not like the CPU is going to make much of a difference in frames, web browsing differences will not be noticeable and video editing you might save a bit of time but not that much.

While I do like Intel, I've noticed that there is a heavy bias towards them (I've always been a bit biased myself tbh), and a lot of people keep knocking AMD for performance this, performance that, but is it really worth the extra premium you pay to get an Intel system, where Intel is constantly changing socket types and Intel components are generally more expensive than AMD components?

 

[Prolab]

Ive been an AMD fan for years. And i find their chips is as good as the intel counterpart. Granted, the new i7 are very tempting for me to get, but in the long run - ill probably stay with AMD for now. One - because i can upgrade my CPU w/o buying another board so the cost to upgrade is much cheaper in the long run. Two - the cost of parts are relatively cheaper than intel. And third, I find its a good performance/value in my case rather than going the intel route.

That being said, my BE 965 has been good so far. It flies through video encoding, great on my game (SC2), and it works quite well for my needs. As well, my AMD X2 server works quite well for me as well. The dual core has enough HP to stream 720p to multiple devices (PB, PS3) simultaneously and back up 5 of the other comps at home.

 

[_dangtx_]

per core per clock speed intel is the best. bang per buck id say amd. as always. go up in resolution and the gap diminuishes to 'meh' status. unless youre shooting for absolute numbers.

with am3 you can get a killer board for 100 bucks. 870a from giga,read sky's review of the beast. 1156 or 1366 you cant. well ok the p55 v sli was under 100 with the mir rebate but it doesnt touch the 870a. rams the same. everythign else is the same.


AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Overclocking (page 7) - X-bit labs


edit : with some exceptions. what i like about the xbit review is that they compare all the cpus at same clock rate. makes sense since people want to see what their 4 gig oc'ed cpu or whatever speed can do.


also look at this : AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Overclocking (page 9) - X-bit labs

 

[Caldezar]

Yes, Intel has higher top-end chips, but AMD's top processors are no slouches. As Dan linked the 1055t OC, it stacks up quite reasonably; and when you factor in the cost/performance ratio... AMD seems like a no-brainer for what you're after.

 

[Perineum]

It all depends on what you're actually thinking about. Top performance?

I'm playing EVERYTHING on an Intel Q6600, I think everything in AMD's lineup will beat that now.... so really, it doesn't matter, just be realistic in what you ACTUALLY need.

 

[JD]

The i5 750 typically nets better performance in gaming and daily tasks. The X6 1055T excels in heavily multi-threaded apps. And cost wise, I believe the i5 750 ends up being not too much more than a X6 1055T build.

Either way, you'll have a solid PC. It's more brand preference than anything IMO.

 

[_dangtx_]

the beef i usually have with intel rigs is the lack of very good cheaper boards. ok, lets say you score a 750 for 169.99 in super special, but then another 200 go for the board. not on am3..wait, im repeating myself

 

[Zero82z]

the beef i usually have with intel rigs is the lack of very good cheaper boards.

There are plenty of great budget LGA1156 boards. Obviously there aren't many for LGA1366 since it's not a budget platform.

 

[JD]

There are plenty of great budget LGA1156 boards. Obviously there aren't many for LGA1366 since it's not a budget platform.

Exactly.

Some quick examples of low-end stuff ($130-40):
Newegg.ca - ASUS P7P55D-E LX LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Newegg.ca - GIGABYTE GA-P55-USB3 LGA 1156 Intel P55 USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

And more mid-range ($155-70):
Newegg.ca - ASUS P7P55D-E LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Newegg.ca - GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3P LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Then a decent 890GX goes for ($150):
Newegg.ca - ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 AM3 AMD 890GX HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
Newegg.ca - GIGABYTE GA-890GPA-UD3H AM3 AMD 890GX HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

And 890FX ($190):
Newegg.ca - ASUS M4A89TD PRO/USB3 AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
Newegg.ca - GIGABYTE GA-890FXA-UD5 AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

And CPU wise:
$209 for the X6 1055T (Infonec Computers - Computer parts Canada, PC Components, laptop computers, motherboards, processors, CPUs and much more : AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Six Core 2.8GHz L3 - 6MB Cache L2 - 3MB Cache AM3 125W)
$199 for the i5 750 (Infonec Computers - Computer parts Canada, PC Components, laptop computers, motherboards, processors, CPUs and much more : Intel Core i5 750 / 2.66 GHz - LGA1156 Socket - L3 8 MB - Box)

Both use dual-channel DDR3, so that's a moot point. Basically either platform is the same price.

 

[Biff73]

High performance,low cost PCs,Intel will never beat AMD when it comes to bang for buck.