Intel or Athlon

[PuNk42AE]

Which do you prefer for your computer? I've always had Intel Chips but I know alot of people have been happy with Athlon's now.

[JR]

Really it's a matter of personal opinion. Since the dual cores came out they have been pretty close.

[Yoda]

Ive always been an Althlon guy but the upper-end Intels are awesome now. Anything from the E6600 on up.

[Tigeraholic1]

Ive always been an Althlon guy but the upper-end Intels are awesome now. Anything from the E6600 on up.

Very true.

[PuNk42AE]

Which one would you go with?

Intel® Core™2 Q6600 Quad-Core (8MB L2 cache,2.4GHz,1066FSB)
Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E6850 (4MB L2 Cache,3.0GHz,1333 FSB)

[Yoda]

Good question. It depends on what you plan to do with it. I don't know which programs are even designed to use the quad-core. I might go with the E6850. Make sure you get a botherboard that supports 800mhz RAM.

[PuNk42AE]

So go 800MHz instead of 667MHz ram? I'm thinking of 4 gigs.

[PuNk42AE]

Also which Vid Cards do you prefer? nVidia's or Radeon's?

[djhutch]

My home computer has Intel, & I've been very pleased with it.

[Tigeraholic1]

Also which Vid Cards do you prefer? nVidia's or Radeon's?


Best on the market:

nVidia Gforce 8800 (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3094833&CatId=1558)

Radeon V7600 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814195051)

I have owned two nVidia's PCI xpress that have melted, I have had the Radeon listed above for a while and so far so good.

[Tigeraholic1]

I have the duo, FSB (front side bus) makes a huge difference. Overclocked to 3.5 Ghz, I would not reccomend any higher unless you are running one of these Water cooling system (http://www.xoxide.com/coolit-systems-tec-water-cooling.html).

[PuNk42AE]

This is some of the particular's i'm thinking of...

Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E6850 (4MB L2 Cache,3.0GHz,1333 FSB)
4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz - 4 DIMMs
512MB Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT
500GB - 7200RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 16MB Cache
Dual Drives: 48x Combo + 16x DVD+/-RW w/ dbl layer write capable

[Ranger]

Intel. Simple reasons too. I took a Microsystem Design course in my undergrad where I studied the Intel architecture.

[Corky]

I have been using AMD for about 7 years now in my builds. Works great and the price has generally been better. Currently have the Athlon 64 X2 and it runs great. 4 gig of 800mhz RAM (of course XP Windows only lets me use about 3.4 of it. This machine does everything I need it to - photo editing, office applications, and some gaming.

[shauntacular]

This is some of the particular's i'm thinking of...

Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E6850 (4MB L2 Cache,3.0GHz,1333 FSB)

I have one of these 3.0g Kentsfields in my work machine. It's a good chip, but honestly I don't put it through its paces just running office apps. For my personal upgrade I'm doing soon™ however I think I'm going to go with the AMD 6400+ for value.

The 8800GT is a fantastic card and I'm very excited about it. It's the no-brainer choice right now if your video card budget is above $200.

[RedRamage]

...I would not reccomend any higher unless you are running one of these Water cooling system (http://www.xoxide.com/coolit-systems-tec-water-cooling.html).
.
f you think you can find a better cooler then this, you may as well just punch yourself in the face multiple times right now!

[PuNk42AE]

Where do you usually buy all your parts, and how do you know if they will work together correctly?

[ewsieg]

So go 800MHz instead of 667MHz ram? I'm thinking of 4 gigs.

FYI, in terms of computers:

- mhz is a measurement of speed.
- gb is a measurement of storage size.

[PuNk42AE]

4GB of Ram at 800MHz or 667MHz is what i'm talking about.

[pape06]

For buying parts, you can't find a cheaper place than MicroCenter. However, I don't know how many exist. If you are willing to do all your shopping online newegg.com is the best place.