Yeah, go for Intel processors. They are pretty stable and power efficient now compared to the days of P4. AMD, man... don't know bout them, had some bad experience with it last time around.

Past experiences have shown me that Intels are better than AMDs... so there's my answer.

makhan

@~TheMadManAzn I went for 2x2gb after all :] It will be easier to update some day and I don't think 4x1gb would perform better enough for me to see the difference.

2x2gb is fine as well. It does allow you to upgrade also if your otherboard supports 8gb or 16gb. I am gonna build a computer for a friend very soon. He has a $1600 max budget so lets see what I can do. Once parts are ordered I will post some parts lists and once I get it build I'll post some benchmark numbers.

I was an AMD fan in the past but in recent time's Intel has taken a leap ahead in quality and bang for your buck.

@TheMadManAzn

Seeing as your looking to build a new PC for the $1600 range, here is what I built about a month ago for a similar budget

http://valid.x86-secret.com/show_oc.php?id=332650

Everything is still at stock settings i haven't gotten off my ass to over clock it yet >.<
Just in case it helps give an idea of what you may want to build, or maybe you'll build something completely different

Well, I have spent a little time searching out stuff for my friend, here is my list:
Intel Core2 Quad Q6600
EVGA NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI
Patriot Viper 2x2GB DDR2800 (4-4-4-12)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3750330AS
MSI 8800GTS (512MB) Overclocked to 678MHz/1944MHz(ram)
Sparkle 900W powersource
Zalman 9500A (cpu fan)
LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner

Lets see my choices here.

The processor was easy, this is definately the best processor for the money.

Motherboard, I like ASUS and EVGA so this was a relativly easy choice. I wanted to get a motherboard with PCI-E 2.0s. I also hope the 780iu chip will support some decent overclocking.

RAM, I have recently become a patriot fanboy, lol. I have used their products in the last computer I built and it worked really well so I am going with them again. It is also a cheap set of DDR2800s at 4-4-4-12 timings.

This harddrive is really good performace and price. Out of all the harddrives on Tomshardware this one consistantly performs very well.

Videocard, I really haven't tried MSI before, nor do I really care that it is pre-overclocked, it was just the cheapest 8800GTS (G92) I could find. I was really torn between the 8800GTS and the 8800GTX. In truth, the GTX is better in most ways, the wider memory bus and just more memory will make it a little more future proof. But in the end, I figured the 8800GTS is better just because it runs almost as good and i can get it for $100 cheaper, lol.

Powersource, not much to say there. I spent a while looking for a good combination of price and reliability. I also wanted one that has atleast 2 PCI-E 6pins and 2 PCI-E6+2 or 8pins. I just wanted to make sure my friend has options in the future when upgrading cards and stuff.

CPU fan, my friend is kinda concerned with noise but he doesn't want to sacrifice performace. The Zalman 9500A has both. I might also overclock his computer a buit for him and watercooling is both too expensive and he is not comfortable with it so this was a good choice in the end.

Optical drive, not much to say here. I like Lite-Ons are good drives, it was pretty cheap.

There is one choice I have not made yet and that is case. I was not sure what he wanted, style, functionality, storeage conditions, etc. I think he wants something normalish shaped. It will be stored in the open. Here I am trying to get good airflow but not too loud. Originally, if he wanted a crazy looking case I would have like to see his tru the Tagan/ABS "El Diablo". It is pretty sweet looking and sounds like it has good airflow and quietness. I am leaning towards the Cooler Master COSMOS. It is designed for quietness. It also has a clean look but definately has a little edge to it. It's downfall is iut is a little pricey, but I think it is a quality case and worth the money.

I think (since I haven't been keeping myself up to date like I used to) that Intel's processors are the better deal (b/c of performance/price ratio or whatnot), and are extremely stable and reliable.

Though I still love my old overclocked AMD 64 3000+ (@ 2.8 ghz on stock cooling).

Intel's line of quad cores currently available like the Q6600 is the way to go. AMD line of quads are cheap, but the performance gains are minimal to the average user. At this point, you can purchase a quad core at reasonable prices, comparable to buying a high perfomrance Core 2 Duo. Push come to shove, its all about the budget of the build.

Yeah, I checked up on newegg, and the Intel processors seem to be the way to go since they have the best bang for the buck.

Yup. If you can afford the price, go for Intel.
It's worth it .

Amd tends to be cheaper but Intel is better for gaming and stuff. I think amd runs cooler but Idk if thats true or not.

Intel for Crysis all the way...I 'm actually as prejudiced towards AMD as i am to Macs

Intel = Game


AMD = internet

Neither vendor is "better" then the other. One of them is always ahead of the other and then it switches because one becomes lazy. Currently Intel is leading however there are a number of things that Intel needs to do in order to NOT allow AMD to surpass them again.

Intel is STILL using a Northbridge. The memory controller needs to be moved on board chip. Thankfully they have this slotted for their next gen chips if I remember correctly.

Intel also needs to bring out a true quad-core CPU. Their current "quad" cores are NOT true quads. They are two dual core CPUs slapped on the same chip. The only true quad-core right now is AMD's Phenom.

AMD's B3 stepping on their Phenom Quads has corrected the TLB errata error, improved performance fairly well, and they've been able to boost the clock frequency as well. Phenom is performing quite well now against certain Intel chips and that will only continue as clock speeds increase. Plus the Shanghai core Phenom will be upon on soon enough and that should level the playing field. But only time will tell.

One thing that people are forgetting is that we need AMD to keep Intel on their toes. If AMD were to die (it'll never happen) Intel would then have a monopoly. Prices would skyrocket and new technologies and higher speeds would not be happening as fast as they currently do.

-S1

I think that its more a personal question "which CPU should i buy". Some people swear on INTEL and some on AMD. But today the benchmarks show that there's always a CPU with the similar performance from both companies.

So i think, you should buy the one with the best price/performance.

I have used both, personaly I have not had a problem with either. If I had to chose one I would probably get another intel though, just for the name.