Amd Vs Intel

**lancer** · October 11th, 2007

Perhaps this question is obvious.

I'm about to build a gaming rig, i already have the quad core q6700 extreme for video editing, but i'm not sure whats good for games anymore, been out of the loop for almost a year now.

These are the two i am looking at.

AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ Windsor 3.2GHz $209.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103191

or

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz $277.99
http://www.newegg.com/product/Produc...82E16819115017

Which is better, i have no idea on this one.

I obviously know the inherent positives for the quad, better multitasking etc.... but the amd has two cores which are both almost 1ghz faster.

But the intels overall power in 4 is far faster for programs that can utilize it.

**Unleashed** · October 11th, 2007

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/...2014646,00.asp

Hopefully that will sway your decision towards the light side (Intel).

**lancer** · October 11th, 2007

unleashed, what made you get the 8800gts over other v/cards? and how well does your rig run, are you happy with the motherboard?

**Aprox** · October 11th, 2007

The 8800 GTS is the best value for the money on the market right now

**lancer** · October 11th, 2007

ok well now i am looking at this cpu

Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 Conroe 3.0GHz $280
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115028

per toms hardware it even outperforms the q6600 in games, but not video, but i will be primarily using this rig for games.

**Sazar** · October 11th, 2007

The 6850 is a good option. If you are going multi-threaded, as most applications are now (most games are being developed with the Xbox360 as the development system and that has 3 cores), you would likely be better off getting the 6600. But, there is no real tangible difference between the 6600 or 6850.

**Unleashed** · October 11th, 2007

Originally Posted by lancer

unleashed, what made you get the 8800gts over other v/cards? and how well does your rig run, are you happy with the motherboard?

As said, it's the best value for money. The GTX would be nice, but the GTS has no problems at all handling anything I throw at it.

My rig is perfectly stable, the motherboard has been fantastic. It runs very cool and I haven't encountered a single problem since getting it.
Current temperatures on stock air cooling:

GPU memory: 46
GPU ambient: 43
CPU: 36
MOBO: 37

I play Company of Heroes, Battlefield 2, Medal of Honor Airborne and World of Warcraft all at 1280 x 960, with everything on full, and always get a minimum of 30fps. Never had a hitch yet. And I got 10067 in 3DMark06.

Seriously, if you follow my build to the tee you will not disappointed - I know I'm not!

**lancer** · October 11th, 2007

i may not following it completely, but i'll certainly use it as a benchmark.

**Sazar** · October 11th, 2007

Dude, if you're getting a GTS, why not save some bucks and buy a 2900pro and overclock it, comfortably, to 2900XT levels and enjoy?

I am wary of the lower_than_GTX cards due to the irritating texture evict issue that still remains unresolved after a year.

**Aprox** · October 11th, 2007

Sigh...

I hate constantly disagreeing with you Sazar, While I don't doubt that the 2900 Overclocked is a competitor of the 8800 series. It is a hassle, it generates more heat, and uses more power. The 8800 is guaranteed to perform well out of the box with the latest drivers, run at a nice temp (assuming you have good case flow) and not break the bank at the end of the month when you see your power bill. Additionally, the texture evict issue only plagues a small handful of people and of course the squeaky gear gets the most attention. I have had my 640 GTS since last Nov. and I have not had any such issues.

Perhaps, if you are willing to wait till the end of the month you can pickup a new 8800 GTS with 112SP instead of the 96 they come with now. Its going to be a silent launch so you wont hear much about it.

**Steevo** · October 11th, 2007

The new 2900's are 65nm process. Generate less heat and are more overclockable.

I know two guys who have a 2900Pro running beyond XT specs and are running cool.

**Tuffgong4** · October 12th, 2007

intel vs amd conversation going the nvidia vs ati route for some reason !?!?!?

go with the quad core unless you are getting a motherboard to support the new 1333 FSB. There isn't a tangible benefit to the faster FSB compared to the 1066 Q6600 but it just depends on what motherboard you choose,

comparing that to the amd is no contest. Also GHz is pointless to look at unless you are looking at the same architecture, intel vs intel or amd vs amd.

**Sazar** · October 12th, 2007

Originally Posted by Aprox

Sigh...

I hate constantly disagreeing with you Sazar, While I don't doubt that the 2900 Overclocked is a competitor of the 8800 series. It is a hassle, it generates more heat, and uses more power. The 8800 is guaranteed to perform well out of the box with the latest drivers, run at a nice temp (assuming you have good case flow) and not break the bank at the end of the month when you see your power bill. Additionally, the texture evict issue only plagues a small handful of people and of course the squeaky gear gets the most attention. I have had my 640 GTS since last Nov. and I have not had any such issues.

I spend a lot of time on NvNews, the texture evict issue thread is one of the biggest there and it keeps getting bigger. If it is just a small handful of people, your definition of "small handful" is very different from mine

Also, the 2900pro consumes less power at idle and a little more at full speed. When OC'd, it will consumer a little more power at full speed, but the same at idle as the un-oc'd 2900pro due to the clocks being the same.

Also, the 2900pro is guaranteed to perform well out the box with the latest drivers too

Perhaps, if you are willing to wait till the end of the month you can pickup a new 8800 GTS with 112SP instead of the 96 they come with now. Its going to be a silent launch so you wont hear much about it.

The g92 is intriguing but if it also has a 256bit bus, as it is supposed to, that will be a slight handicap v/s the 320 and higher that the current higher end products have.

**LordOfLA** · October 12th, 2007

The only issue I have with the 2900XT is the OpenGL drivers.

Having switched to the 8800GTX I'm not having any issues what so ever. Incidentally the GTX is a dream card

**Unleashed** · October 12th, 2007

I haven't experienced this "texture evict" problem...

**Shamus MacNoob** · October 12th, 2007

Niether have I and I have had this 8800 since last Dec ....

**lancer** · October 12th, 2007

Additionally, toms hardware benchmarks the 2900's (either one) way below the 8800's (either one).

Is this false, is there somewhere that can show that the 2900 is faster?

**Sazar** · October 12th, 2007

Originally Posted by lancer

Additionally, toms hardware benchmarks the 2900's (either one) way below the 8800's (either one).

Is this false, is there somewhere that can show that the 2900 is faster?

The Pro and XT should be about the same as the GTS 320 and 640 respectively. There will be a back and forth tussle if you take a blend of all the sites.

There is a chart that Mike Chambers on NvNews releases once in a while which takes the average win/loss numbers from the main sites and charts it. Gives a good idea of which card is doing what in which game.

**Tuffgong4** · October 12th, 2007

since we are stuck on the ati vs nvidia debate...

is there really any way to lose this battle. You are going to get great performance out of either card you get. Some games do better on some and some on the others. It's what you feel comfortable with spending and buying , but you really aren't going to lose if you choose either one.

This isn't the days of the 9700 pro vs Nvidia 58xx/59xx.

It's great to be a card buyer right now,

**chastity** · October 12th, 2007

Well Intel or AMD processor depends your own feelings as much as any benchmarks for them, though price should be a factor.

Now for the video card debate, ATi is a division of AMD for what's that worth. Now just like the processors its a choice which brand you like over the one, benchmarks etc are all good and well but don't always reflect the way you use it, nor the games etc you play and again price should be a factor.

Me I would most likely go with Intel and nVidia but AMD/ATi can be just as good

View Poll Results: Which one?
AMD 64 X2 6400 Windsor 3.2GHz	0	0%
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz	17	100.00%
Voters: 17. You may not vote on this poll

October 11th, 2007	Top \| #1
lancer There is no answer! Joined: October 2004 Location: FL, USA Posts: 3,087 Blog Entries: 3 Reputation: 1430 Power: 137	Amd Vs Intel Perhaps this question is obvious. I'm about to build a gaming rig, i already have the quad core q6700 extreme for video editing, but i'm not sure whats good for games anymore, been out of the loop for almost a year now. These are the two i am looking at. AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ Windsor 3.2GHz $209.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103191 or Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz $277.99 http://www.newegg.com/product/Produc...82E16819115017 Which is better, i have no idea on this one. I obviously know the inherent positives for the quad, better multitasking etc.... but the amd has two cores which are both almost 1ghz faster. But the intels overall power in 4 is far faster for programs that can utilize it. "The world has just got smaller now, but people have got further away."

October 11th, 2007	Top \| #2
Unleashed We Speak Geek Joined: July 2003 Location: Fredericton, Canada ex Norwich, England ex Hougang, Singapore ex Durban, South Africa Posts: 1,249 Reputation: 460 Power: 124	Re: Amd Vs Intel http://www.extremetech.com/article2/...2014646,00.asp Hopefully that will sway your decision towards the light side (Intel). CPU: Intel Core2 Q6600 \| Mobo: BFG nVidia 680i SLI \| RAM: 2GB 2x Corsair XMS6400 \| PSU: Hiper 580 Watt \| HDD: WD160GB SATAII \| GFX: BFG GeForce 8800GTS OC 640MB \| DVD: SAMSUNG 20x DVD+/-R/RW/RAM SATA

October 11th, 2007	Top \| #3
lancer There is no answer! Joined: October 2004 Location: FL, USA Posts: 3,087 Blog Entries: 3 Reputation: 1430 Power: 137	Re: Amd Vs Intel unleashed, what made you get the 8800gts over other v/cards? and how well does your rig run, are you happy with the motherboard? "The world has just got smaller now, but people have got further away."

October 11th, 2007	Top \| #4
Aprox OSNN Veteran Addict Joined: August 2004 Location: California, USA Posts: 2,735 Blog Entries: 1 Reputation: 2036 Power: 142	Re: Amd Vs Intel The 8800 GTS is the best value for the money on the market right now

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October 11th, 2007	Top \| #5
lancer There is no answer! Joined: October 2004 Location: FL, USA Posts: 3,087 Blog Entries: 3 Reputation: 1430 Power: 137	Re: Amd Vs Intel ok well now i am looking at this cpu Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 Conroe 3.0GHz $280 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115028 per toms hardware it even outperforms the q6600 in games, but not video, but i will be primarily using this rig for games. "The world has just got smaller now, but people have got further away."

October 11th, 2007	Top \| #6
Sazar F@H - Is it in you? Joined: April 2002 Location: Between Austin and Tampa Posts: 14,886 Reputation: 4110 Power: 312	Re: Amd Vs Intel The 6850 is a good option. If you are going multi-threaded, as most applications are now (most games are being developed with the Xbox360 as the development system and that has 3 cores), you would likely be better off getting the 6600. But, there is no real tangible difference between the 6600 or 6850. Help to find cures for Alzheimer's, Mad Cow (BSE), CJD, ALS, Huntington's, Parkinson's disease, and many Cancers. Folding@Home, is it in you?

October 11th, 2007	Top \| #7
Unleashed We Speak Geek Joined: July 2003 Location: Fredericton, Canada ex Norwich, England ex Hougang, Singapore ex Durban, South Africa Posts: 1,249 Reputation: 460 Power: 124	Re: Amd Vs Intel Originally Posted by lancer unleashed, what made you get the 8800gts over other v/cards? and how well does your rig run, are you happy with the motherboard? As said, it's the best value for money. The GTX would be nice, but the GTS has no problems at all handling anything I throw at it. My rig is perfectly stable, the motherboard has been fantastic. It runs very cool and I haven't encountered a single problem since getting it. Current temperatures on stock air cooling: GPU memory: 46 GPU ambient: 43 CPU: 36 MOBO: 37 I play Company of Heroes, Battlefield 2, Medal of Honor Airborne and World of Warcraft all at 1280 x 960, with everything on full, and always get a minimum of 30fps. Never had a hitch yet. And I got 10067 in 3DMark06. Seriously, if you follow my build to the tee you will not disappointed - I know I'm not! CPU: Intel Core2 Q6600 \| Mobo: BFG nVidia 680i SLI \| RAM: 2GB 2x Corsair XMS6400 \| PSU: Hiper 580 Watt \| HDD: WD160GB SATAII \| GFX: BFG GeForce 8800GTS OC 640MB \| DVD: SAMSUNG 20x DVD+/-R/RW/RAM SATA

October 11th, 2007	Top \| #8
lancer There is no answer! Joined: October 2004 Location: FL, USA Posts: 3,087 Blog Entries: 3 Reputation: 1430 Power: 137	Re: Amd Vs Intel i may not following it completely, but i'll certainly use it as a benchmark. "The world has just got smaller now, but people have got further away."

October 11th, 2007	Top \| #9
Sazar F@H - Is it in you? Joined: April 2002 Location: Between Austin and Tampa Posts: 14,886 Reputation: 4110 Power: 312	Re: Amd Vs Intel Dude, if you're getting a GTS, why not save some bucks and buy a 2900pro and overclock it, comfortably, to 2900XT levels and enjoy? I am wary of the lower_than_GTX cards due to the irritating texture evict issue that still remains unresolved after a year. Help to find cures for Alzheimer's, Mad Cow (BSE), CJD, ALS, Huntington's, Parkinson's disease, and many Cancers. Folding@Home, is it in you?

October 11th, 2007	Top \| #10
Aprox OSNN Veteran Addict Joined: August 2004 Location: California, USA Posts: 2,735 Blog Entries: 1 Reputation: 2036 Power: 142	Re: Amd Vs Intel Sigh... I hate constantly disagreeing with you Sazar, While I don't doubt that the 2900 Overclocked is a competitor of the 8800 series. It is a hassle, it generates more heat, and uses more power. The 8800 is guaranteed to perform well out of the box with the latest drivers, run at a nice temp (assuming you have good case flow) and not break the bank at the end of the month when you see your power bill. Additionally, the texture evict issue only plagues a small handful of people and of course the squeaky gear gets the most attention. I have had my 640 GTS since last Nov. and I have not had any such issues. Perhaps, if you are willing to wait till the end of the month you can pickup a new 8800 GTS with 112SP instead of the 96 they come with now. Its going to be a silent launch so you wont hear much about it.

October 11th, 2007	Top \| #11
Steevo Spammer representing. Joined: September 2004 Posts: 2,566 Blog Entries: 2 Reputation: 1630 Power: 135	Re: Amd Vs Intel The new 2900's are 65nm process. Generate less heat and are more overclockable. I know two guys who have a 2900Pro running beyond XT specs and are running cool. Meow. Equal oppertunity hater.

October 12th, 2007	Top \| #12
Tuffgong4 The Donger Need Food!!!! Joined: June 2002 Location: Chicago Posts: 2,465 Reputation: 840 Power: 153	Re: Amd Vs Intel intel vs amd conversation going the nvidia vs ati route for some reason !?!?!? go with the quad core unless you are getting a motherboard to support the new 1333 FSB. There isn't a tangible benefit to the faster FSB compared to the 1066 Q6600 but it just depends on what motherboard you choose, comparing that to the amd is no contest. Also GHz is pointless to look at unless you are looking at the same architecture, intel vs intel or amd vs amd. Home Intel E6600 \ Abit AB9 Pro \ 4 gig Corsair DDR2-667 \ EVGA 9800GT \ HDD 1 320GB sata + 1 1.5TB sata \ 1 1TB backup drive / Samsung S183L SATA DVD-RW \ Windows 7 Pro x64 Laptop Asus UL30VT\ Intel CULV SU7300 \ 4GB Ram \ Intel Integrated + Nvidia 200m \ 500GB HDD \ 13.3 inch LED \ Windows 7 Premium x64

October 12th, 2007	Top \| #13
Sazar F@H - Is it in you? Joined: April 2002 Location: Between Austin and Tampa Posts: 14,886 Reputation: 4110 Power: 312	Re: Amd Vs Intel Originally Posted by Aprox Sigh... I hate constantly disagreeing with you Sazar, While I don't doubt that the 2900 Overclocked is a competitor of the 8800 series. It is a hassle, it generates more heat, and uses more power. The 8800 is guaranteed to perform well out of the box with the latest drivers, run at a nice temp (assuming you have good case flow) and not break the bank at the end of the month when you see your power bill. Additionally, the texture evict issue only plagues a small handful of people and of course the squeaky gear gets the most attention. I have had my 640 GTS since last Nov. and I have not had any such issues. I spend a lot of time on NvNews, the texture evict issue thread is one of the biggest there and it keeps getting bigger. If it is just a small handful of people, your definition of "small handful" is very different from mine Also, the 2900pro consumes less power at idle and a little more at full speed. When OC'd, it will consumer a little more power at full speed, but the same at idle as the un-oc'd 2900pro due to the clocks being the same. Also, the 2900pro is guaranteed to perform well out the box with the latest drivers too Perhaps, if you are willing to wait till the end of the month you can pickup a new 8800 GTS with 112SP instead of the 96 they come with now. Its going to be a silent launch so you wont hear much about it. The g92 is intriguing but if it also has a 256bit bus, as it is supposed to, that will be a slight handicap v/s the 320 and higher that the current higher end products have. Help to find cures for Alzheimer's, Mad Cow (BSE), CJD, ALS, Huntington's, Parkinson's disease, and many Cancers. Folding@Home, is it in you?

October 12th, 2007	Top \| #14
LordOfLA Godlike! Joined: February 2004 Location: Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK Posts: 7,031 Blog Entries: 5 Reputation: 4137 Power: 212	Re: Amd Vs Intel The only issue I have with the 2900XT is the OpenGL drivers. Having switched to the 8800GTX I'm not having any issues what so ever. Incidentally the GTX is a dream card If HK-47 and GLaDOS had a child, the character they create would cause the video game world to overdose on awesome. -sheridanmovieguy: Dragon age forum user.

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October 12th, 2007	Top \| #15
Unleashed We Speak Geek Joined: July 2003 Location: Fredericton, Canada ex Norwich, England ex Hougang, Singapore ex Durban, South Africa Posts: 1,249 Reputation: 460 Power: 124	Re: Amd Vs Intel I haven't experienced this "texture evict" problem... CPU: Intel Core2 Q6600 \| Mobo: BFG nVidia 680i SLI \| RAM: 2GB 2x Corsair XMS6400 \| PSU: Hiper 580 Watt \| HDD: WD160GB SATAII \| GFX: BFG GeForce 8800GTS OC 640MB \| DVD: SAMSUNG 20x DVD+/-R/RW/RAM SATA

October 12th, 2007	Top \| #16
Shamus MacNoob OSNN Veteran Addict Joined: January 2002 Location: Brossard,Quebec Posts: 4,199 Blog Entries: 1 Reputation: 1481 Power: 182	Re: Amd Vs Intel Niether have I and I have had this 8800 since last Dec .... ASUS PN5-E SLI,Intel E8400,2 x 8800GTX 768mb SLI,ASUS VW266H 26 inch LCD, 8 GB Crucial Ballistix Tracer, Silverstone Strider 850watt PSU.Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit.

October 12th, 2007	Top \| #17
lancer There is no answer! Joined: October 2004 Location: FL, USA Posts: 3,087 Blog Entries: 3 Reputation: 1430 Power: 137	Re: Amd Vs Intel Additionally, toms hardware benchmarks the 2900's (either one) way below the 8800's (either one). Is this false, is there somewhere that can show that the 2900 is faster? "The world has just got smaller now, but people have got further away."

October 12th, 2007	Top \| #18
Sazar F@H - Is it in you? Joined: April 2002 Location: Between Austin and Tampa Posts: 14,886 Reputation: 4110 Power: 312	Re: Amd Vs Intel Originally Posted by lancer Additionally, toms hardware benchmarks the 2900's (either one) way below the 8800's (either one). Is this false, is there somewhere that can show that the 2900 is faster? The Pro and XT should be about the same as the GTS 320 and 640 respectively. There will be a back and forth tussle if you take a blend of all the sites. There is a chart that Mike Chambers on NvNews releases once in a while which takes the average win/loss numbers from the main sites and charts it. Gives a good idea of which card is doing what in which game. Help to find cures for Alzheimer's, Mad Cow (BSE), CJD, ALS, Huntington's, Parkinson's disease, and many Cancers. Folding@Home, is it in you?

October 12th, 2007	Top \| #19
Tuffgong4 The Donger Need Food!!!! Joined: June 2002 Location: Chicago Posts: 2,465 Reputation: 840 Power: 153	Re: Amd Vs Intel since we are stuck on the ati vs nvidia debate... is there really any way to lose this battle. You are going to get great performance out of either card you get. Some games do better on some and some on the others. It's what you feel comfortable with spending and buying , but you really aren't going to lose if you choose either one. This isn't the days of the 9700 pro vs Nvidia 58xx/59xx. It's great to be a card buyer right now, Home Intel E6600 \ Abit AB9 Pro \ 4 gig Corsair DDR2-667 \ EVGA 9800GT \ HDD 1 320GB sata + 1 1.5TB sata \ 1 1TB backup drive / Samsung S183L SATA DVD-RW \ Windows 7 Pro x64 Laptop Asus UL30VT\ Intel CULV SU7300 \ 4GB Ram \ Intel Integrated + Nvidia 200m \ 500GB HDD \ 13.3 inch LED \ Windows 7 Premium x64

October 12th, 2007	Top \| #20
chastity OSNN Veteran Addict Joined: July 2002 Location: Arizona near the Grand Canyon Posts: 2,099 Reputation: 613 Power: 146	Re: Amd Vs Intel Well Intel or AMD processor depends your own feelings as much as any benchmarks for them, though price should be a factor. Now for the video card debate, ATi is a division of AMD for what's that worth. Now just like the processors its a choice which brand you like over the one, benchmarks etc are all good and well but don't always reflect the way you use it, nor the games etc you play and again price should be a factor. Me I would most likely go with Intel and nVidia but AMD/ATi can be just as good