Athlon or Intel

[castledragon]

Which is better?
Athlon 6400 Dual-core or Intels3.0 duo-core. I am not looking to over-clock just yet. will be doing some gaming, movie making, and some work with photoshop cs. i would like to know what other people think. I am leaning towards the Amd, so just go with it?

 

[adlep]

If you are on a budget, go AMD.
My friend can spend only about $400.00 on the PC and that includes a GPU. I can get the X2 Athlon 64 based platform around $50.00 cheaper than the Intel based dula core solution. So for me that is a tie breaker.

 

[SlowSpyder]

Everyone here will tell you to go with the Core 2 Duo. And, at 3.0Ghz it is a good deal faster then the Athlon 64 6400+. But, either one will do what you want it to do, and probably do it well.

 

[harpoon84]

adlep, that doesn't exactly answer the OP's question...

A 3GHz C2D (E8400) would be about ~31% faster than an X2 6400+, according to Xbitlabs: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articl...-shootout_9.html#sect0 so obviously it's 'better'...

 

[TankGuys]

As others have mentioned, for budget systems, AMD is a nice deal. For mid-high range machines, Intel wins hands down.

2-3 years ago, we shipped thousands of AMD processors, and one single Intel processor. Since the launch of Core 2 Duo, it has completely reversed - we've moved thousands of Intel chips, and not a single AMD processor since.

To be sure, 99.99% of our customers are overclockers and enthusiasts who aren't after budget chips, so that skews our numbers... but it's interesting nonetheless.

 

[Extelleron]

There's certainly areas where AMD CPUs make sense, as others have said in the budget space and with non-overclocked systems.

You just can't beat AMD value in the low-end... I recently picked up a Phenom 9500 for $107 + shipping (off eBay, but brand new).

 

[harpoon84]

Originally posted by: Extelleron
I recently picked up a Phenom 9500 for $107 + shipping.

Wow, thats incredibly cheap! Where from?

 

[Extelleron]

Originally posted by: harpoon84

Originally posted by: Extelleron
I recently picked up a Phenom 9500 for $107 + shipping.

Wow, thats incredibly cheap! Where from?

eBay, but brand new in box.

Not my favorite place to buy PC components, but at that price I'll give it a shot.

Some guy had a bunch of Phenom 9500s and 9600s apparently.

Sorry for any confusion, I probably should have mentioned it was not from a retailer like newegg.

 

[harpoon84]

I see, well, good for you!

Yeah, $107 is a far cry from $195 (Newegg price).

 

[v8envy]

Heck, for $107 for a 9500 even I'd have a hard time finding fault with that value proposition. At $195 I can only point and laugh.

And TankGuys, you had to have moved at least a *FEW* 9850 phenoms. Even though they've only been out a week or so there's already 4x as many 9850 owners on these boards than all the B2 Phenom models available since last fall put together.

BTW, I'm an enthusiast who's after budget chips -- E2180 ($70ish) and X3210 ($215-ish), to be precise. Both on budget DS3L boards. I didn't find AMD offered anything worthwhile at equivalent pricing when I was shopping for my systems, and that hasn't changed much since.

 

[daveybrat]

OP, if you go AMD, get the X2 5600+ instead of the 6000+.

The 5600+ runs at 2.8GHz with 2MB L2 cache and consumes 89Watts

The 6000+ runs at 3.0GHz with 2MB L2 cache and consumes 125Watts (ugh!)


I'd rather have the more energy efficient 5600+ for $122 over the 6000+ for $153 (newegg)


Just my opinion.

 

[Extelleron]

Originally posted by: daveybrat
OP, if you go AMD, get the X2 5600+ instead of the 6000+.

The 5600+ runs at 2.8GHz with 2MB L2 cache and consumes 89Watts

The 6000+ runs at 3.0GHz with 2MB L2 cache and consumes 125Watts (ugh!)


I'd rather have the more energy efficient 5600+ for $122 over the 6000+ for $153 (newegg)


Just my opinion.

I would say if you are going for a dual-core AMD, go for a 65nm chip that will only be slightly slower (because of less cache) but consume less power and will be much cheaper.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819103214
G2 stepping chip (ending is DO on G2 OEM, DD for G1 OEM) so should be an easy 3GHz+.

And TankGuys, you had to have moved at least a *FEW* 9850 phenoms. Even though they've only been out a week or so there's already 4x as many 9850 owners on these boards than all the B2 Phenom models available since last fall put together.

Tankguys doesn't even appear to sell the 9850.

To tankguys, the reason you haven't sold any Phenoms is your pricing is way too high. You can get a Phenom 9500 <$200 retail or a 9850 for $235, yet you are currently charging $275 for a 9500 and $305 for a 9600 BE. You guys have great pricing on Intel chips but not on AMD chips in my experience.

What AMD needs to do is price Phenom more competitively....I can get a Q6600 for cheaper than a 9850 BE and for the same price as a 9550, and neither CPU will be close in performance. Now if the 9850 vs <$200 and the 9550 in the ~$150 range, then Phenom would be a good buy. The die-hard AMD fanboys take real offense to my line of thinking though... I ended up getting banned @ AMDzone for arguing that Q6600 for $189 was a better deal than a $235 9850 BE. :laugh:

 

[v8envy]

Well, it *is* AMDzone.

AMD does eventually drop prices -- but in my recent experience it's always been too little too late. When I was in the market for a quad I'd have given the 9500 a shot at $150. It was over $200 at the time. A hot deal on a X3210 came around and I jumped on it.

By the time 'hot deals' on the 9500 for $150ish rolled around they were no longer interesting.

Same thing with the 3870. They're *finally* showing up for hot deals at $140 AR, but the 9600s are $20 or more cheaper, and even 8800GTs can be had for not much more. Had AMD been more agressive with price cuts earlier they'd have moved much more inventory.

 

[superstition]

e2140 oem - $54
gigabyte DS3L motherboard - $84
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro - $16.50
MSI GeForce 8400gs fanless - $28 (not for high speed gaming)
STT 2GB DDR 800 ram - $34
Enermax Chakra case (with 250mm fan) - $52
SeaSonic S12 II SS-380GB PSU (120mm fan, quiet, 80%) - $57
Hitachi Hitachi 320GB 0A35411 (7200 rpm 16MB cache) hard drive - $57
Samsung SH-S203B/BEBN 20X Double Layer DVD+/-RW SATA Internal Drive (Black), Bulk w/Software - $28
SYBA SD-VIA-3F firewire card - $6
Yate Loon D12SL-12 120mm exhaust fan - $4

Total: $410.50

 

[angry hampster]

Originally posted by: daveybrat
OP, if you go AMD, get the X2 5600+ instead of the 6000+.

The 5600+ runs at 2.8GHz with 2MB L2 cache and consumes 89Watts

The 6000+ runs at 3.0GHz with 2MB L2 cache and consumes 125Watts (ugh!)


I'd rather have the more energy efficient 5600+ for $122 over the 6000+ for $153 (newegg)


Just my opinion.

My 4800+ (Brisbane 65nm) ran 2.99GHz with 1MB L2 cache. Not sure of power consumption, but it was perfectly stable at that clock.

 

[magreen]

"Had AMD been more agressive with price cuts earlier they'd have moved much more inventory."

Yeah, I agree v8. AMD had the same problem with not aggressive enough price cuts in H2 2006 when c2d came out. They stayed way on the wrong side of the price/performance curve for way too long. Blustering on about achieving a 30% market share no matter what the cost... And by the end of H1 2007 they had lost all the market share they'd gained from the A64/P4 era. It was obvious to everyone watching that would happen -- the e6300 and e6400 were priced like the x2-3800 and x2-4000 and were kicking the snot out of them.

They just refuse to take a good hard look in the mirror and price appropriately until far too late.

 

[v8envy]

Hmm, lemme take a crack at the cheapest AMD solution to compete with $410.50 using newegg prices:

AMD 4000+ x2, retail w/ fan. $54
ECS 690GM $50 or biostar 780G $90 mainboard
Corsair 2gb ram, $30 AR
case & psu: antec sonata III with EarthWatts 500: $99 AR
same hd, optical, firewire, no additional 120mm fan: 91
---
$324 with 690g, $364 with 780G.

Without overclocking in the picture that setup should be very comprable in all tasks, possibly better in gaming using option 2. Almost 25% cheaper for the first option. Also, since OC is not part of the picture it's possible to skimp on the case and PSU further and get some $50 beige box with a '500 watt' psu.

AMD is still king of the non-OC bottom of the barrel build, by a country mile.

 

[superstition]

Almost 25% cheaper for the first option

A non-overclocking motherboard doesn't compete with the DS3L system I put together, especially since we're talking about the same price for the CPU and the motherboard. As for the Antec case, there's nothing specifically AMD about that choice, although the Seasonic and Enermax combo is going to be quieter and have better cooling I bet. Sure, we could get the processor with the stock cooler for a few dollars more. But, my build is budget without cheaping out with things like ECS motherboards and power supplies with noisy 80mm fans. Plus, does the integrated video on those motherboards really compare with the GeForce 8400gs?

The e2140 MO I have does 2.8 GHz on stock voltage with my DS3L. I have that Seasonic PSU, too, and it's basically inaudible. So, people who don't want to worry about overclocking hassles can put such a system together with minimal fuss. Sure the chip can go higher. I was running it at 3.2 GHz with Gigabyte's auto voltages on, but I prefer sticking to near the default. 1.350 in BIOS gets me to 3 GHz.

 

[v8envy]

Actually, the EarthWatts 500 is OEMed for Antec by SeaSonic. The EA380 should be indistinguishable from your PSU once the label is off. You'd lose your bet on cooling -- the sonatas are very good for airflow even with a single 120mm fan.

And yup, the 780G integrated video is more than comprable with an 8400GS. It'll even do far more than your build -- it's capable of playing 1080i and 1080p content from commercial blu-ray DVDs with as little as a single core 2 ghz Sempron.

I've got the same box -- previous version of the sonata, EA500, DS3L, E2180 that'll hit 3.33 ghz with the gigabyte auto voltage, same 3 ghz with 1.325. And an 8800GT. So my wallet says that's a local maximum for performance for a local minimum of price. My point is, for the bottom of the barrel basic desktop the vastly superior nature of 690G and 780G integrated video makes the cheapest possible box... cheaper.

For Grandma, I'd go AMD. Unless I can find a Dell or HPaq cheaper. OCing is not part of the picture here. For performance, yeah, Intel all the way.

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: v8envy

BTW, I'm an enthusiast who's after budget chips -- E2180 ($70ish) and X3210 ($215-ish), to be precise. Both on budget DS3L boards. I didn't find AMD offered anything worthwhile at equivalent pricing when I was shopping for my systems, and that hasn't changed much since.

i should let you know. That chip is one hard ass mofo to kill. :X

Im trying to kill this E2200, and its taking a hugh beating. I even have it lidless, meaning ihs is gone.

Ummm of course its under water, but voltage wise, and endurance wise. Dayam.


anyhow On Topic:

Intel has nice stuff, if your comparing a wolfdale to a Athlon thats like saying tortus meet hare only the hare is a that duracell bunny.

Im sorry, theres no nice way of saying this.

In straight numbers wolfdale stock has a ~10% advantage over intel's own C2D line. Factor in the imensive overclocking powers (if you get semi-lucky), it be more like slug meet f22 raptor. :X

 

[Gikaseixas]

since OP is not talking $$ i'm assuming money's not a problem therefore 3ghz from Intel right now is better than 3.0 ghz from AMD.

No comparison as the new Wolfdale is even faster than the already amazing previous generation C2D.

Get a E8400

 

[superstition]

Originally posted by: v8envy
Actually, the EarthWatts 500 is OEMed for Antec by SeaSonic. The EA380 should be indistinguishable from your PSU once the label is off. You'd lose your bet on cooling -- the sonatas are very good for airflow even with a single 120mm fan.

A 250mm fan beats a 120mm fan in the cooling department. An 80mm fan, SeaSonic OEM or not, beats a 120mm fan in a PSU in cooling and noise. I've read a number of reviews that say the Earthwatts series is noisy in comparison with an ultra quiet PSU like the one I suggested. Also, one site said the Earthwatts has mediocre cooling and may overheat to some degree - lessening the life of the supply.

And yup, the 780G integrated video is more than comprable with an 8400GS. It'll even do far more than your build -- it's capable of playing 1080i and 1080p content from commercial blu-ray DVDs with as little as a single core 2 ghz Sempron.

Does it do full 1080p? As far as I know, the 8400gs does 1080i.

 

[castledragon]

I just wanted to tell everyone thanks for the input, i think i will be going with an intel. i wish amd would get it together would love to stay loyal to them.