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[Eternal_Newbie]

I have to buy a new motherboard and CPU and I am extremely confused by the present situation with Intel and AMD CPU's.

My present system has an Intel Core 2 Duo 6300 CPU  and an Asus P5B motherboard with 3 Gig DDR2 so you can see I'm a little out of date with things.

Overclocking is not important to me and my funds are limited. I CANNOT spent more than £300  and would prefer not to spend more than £250 on motherboard ram and CPU.  This system also has to last me at least 3 years.

The only things my new motherboard has to have is a PCIE slot for my Radeon 5770 (which i bought when I thought I was going to build a new computer last year) and 4 Ram slots I will be putting in 2x4 Gig DDR3 for 8 Gig (preferably 1600Mhz) and want to be able to add more RAM.

I will be playing games and doing some 3D graphics on this computer.

At the moment the main reasons I can see for buying AMD is that all AM3+ motherboards have 6 SATA III channels as standard, whereas Z68 motherbords have only have 2 as standard (can't afford X79? series) so they are better future proofed in that respect. And an FX 6100 has 6 threads VS 4 for a Core i5 2400 and it overclocks better. 6 cores seems a compelling argument for rendering, but then I look at benchmarks and It seems an AMD FX6100 is no faster than a Core i3 2100.

So If I buy an AMD FX 6100 based system it would be because it's significantly cheaper, and in the hope that the next generation of AMD CPU's kick serious ass and work in socket AM3+

Or I pay more, buy a Core i5 2400 now, get more bang (but less theads) now and a potentially less future-proof motherboard.

Either system will be a major step up from my Core 2 duo

I'm presently looking at 2 basic setups

AMD - £215.50

1 x   AMD FX-6 6100 Black Edition 6 Core 3.3Ghz Socket AM3+ 8MB L3 Cache Retail Boxed Processor   
1 x   Gigabyte GA-970A-D3 Socket AM3+ 8 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard   
1 x   Crucial 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600Mhz Ballistix Sport Memory Kit CL9 (9-9-9-24) 1.5V

Intel - £252.99

1 x   Intel Core i5 2400 3.1GHz Socket LGA 1155 6MB L3 Cache Retail Boxed Processor   
1 x   Asus P8Z68-V LX Socket 1155 Onboard graphics output 8 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard   281367
1 x   Crucial 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600Mhz Ballistix Sport Memory Kit CL9 (9-9-9-24) 1.5V

At present despite I'm leaning towards the AMD build because it's significantly cheaper, at the £70 - £80 price point AM3+ motherboards seem better and It's still a big step up from what I've got. I suppose i could go for a Core i3 instead of an i5, but like I said in the title I'm confused.

EDIT: Should this have gone in the PC building Megathread, if so sorry.

[pwhodges]

It's important when comparing AMD and Intel to be aware that the AMD processors with more cores don't necessarily have as many floating point units as cores; so the additional cores are more like Intel hyperthreading.  Which processor is better value depends critically on whether what you are going to run uses a lot of floating point in the main processor (as opposed to GPU).

[Eternal_Newbie]

It's important when comparing AMD and Intel to be aware that the AMD processors with more cores don't necessarily have as many floating point units as cores; so the additional cores are more like Intel hyperthreading.  Which processor is better value depends critically on whether what you are going to run uses a lot of floating point in the main processor (as opposed to GPU).

Still confused, either is still a vast improvement. However 3d rending is likely to benefit from more threads and also suffer from lack of FPU. But I don't do much 3d work, really.

It's very annoying that P67 and H67 motherboards are thin on the ground in the price range I am looking at (£50 to £80 for the motherboard), as IMHO Z68 motherboards don't seem as good value in that price range at the moment.

It would also appear that Phenom 2 X6's are better that FX2's (more FPU's) but more expensive. And AMD Llano's look interesting but I don't think they are what I'm looking for (although, realistically, may be all I need)

I also have ghastly memories of one of my first PC's, with a Cyrix 6x86 and it's laughable excuse for a FPU.

I think I need to think this over more.

EDIT: Z68 not X

[Jimor]

I'm hardly an expert, though I just did build my first computer on my own. I think the big question for you is that unless there is a specific downside to getting an AMD vs. Intel for a vital application you're trying to run, I don't think you'll really notice the difference, and you'd be fine going with the budget considerations as your primary criteria. It sounds like the SATA versatility of the motherboards you're considering might be something that also helps you in the long run.

From the standpoint of tech specs, I probably made a "mistake" going with AMD over Intel for my Adobe Production Suite editing computer, but with the budget I was on, I was able to get something that was still light years above what I was using, and I still have enough upgradeability to go if I need to push it harder in the future.

[bicostp]

Today's CPU market is a lot like the old Pentium 4 / Athlon 64 days, only backwards.

That i5 2400 will wipe the floor with anything AMD has on the market today. You could even get an i3 2100 for now and upgrade to an i5 2500 later when you've got the money. (The i3 is "only" a dual-core, but it's still faster than most of AMD's lineup for day-to-day use.)

e: I believe today's LGA1155 motherboards will also take the next-generation 22nm Ivy Bridge CPUs once they come out.

[Skaltura]

What bicostp said.

I have noticed that Intel CPUs cover a wider performance range as compared to their AMD brothers, if you get a decently future-proof mainboard you can get phenomenal results just by swapping in a better CPU. So .. if you can swing it, go Intel. I had to pick AMD in 2010 because I couldn't afford Intel (specifically, the extra 60 EUR for the mainboard of choice) and I'm now paying the price because I want to get a new nVidia GPU this year and that will most likely require a new mainboard/CPU (not for compatibility reasons, but because otherwise the CPU will become the bottleneck of the system and needlessly hold back that shiny graphics card).

[Eternal_Newbie]

Yeah, I'm starting to think so. I have a sentimental attachment to AMD and am naturally cheap, but at the moment Intel seem better value for money, if more expensive. And this has to last me for at least 3 years so that's a big consideration.

I think I will go Intel, my present Core 2 Duo (my first Intel CPU) has given great service.

Thanks for the advice everyone.