Should I go with AMD or Intel?

[thirdshiftdj]

if you don't mind open box
Newegg.com - Open Box: ASUS P5Q PRO + XONAR DX LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard Bundle
you stated your budget is $150 for cpu and $100 for mobo, correct? You can take the money saved on the cpu and put alittle towards the mobo.

 

[Apokalipse]

If the most demanding game you'll run is CS 1.6, you could run it easily on an AMD 780G motherboard. And you don't need an extra video card.
The 780G has a DirectX 10.1 GPU that can be used for HD video decoding, and you'll easily be able to run your HDTV on it.
Newegg.com - ASRock A780GXE/128M AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards

an X2 5600+ is cheap and more than enough for Photoshop
Newegg.com - AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600 Brisbane 2.9GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

Probably RAM would be a lot most important for system responsiveness, so get 4GB (it's cheap), and disable paging file.
Newegg.com - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

 

[ricanflow]

And later down the line you can still add a video card for better performance.

 

[veg1992]

And later down the line you can still add a video card for better performance.

Ya you can Hybrid CFX a HD 3450 or HD 3650

 

[ricanflow]

I was referring to just getting a better card.

 

[Apokalipse]

I was referring to just getting a better card.

and he was referring to specific cards which you can use in crossfire with the onboard GPU

 

[Ksingler]

Didn't notice this got more replies, thanks. My bro got his taxes today, so I'll be ordering the parts very soon today. Quick CPU question before I order, the 5400+ BE isn't there anymore, but I saw that this available now Newegg.com - AMD Athlon 64 X2 7750 Kuma 2.7GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache 2MB L3 Cache Socket AM2+ 95W Dual-Core black edition Processor - Processors - Desktops how would that compare to my original choice Newegg.com - AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM2 125W Dual-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops ? The BE is just .3ghz slower, but is 65nm(better?), has L3 Cache(better?), has a higher HT 3600mhz, comes with heatsink and is slightly cheaper. - No overclocking will be done on this PC.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

The x2 7750 BE is a all around better cpu than the 6000+.

 

[wizzardxexe]

AMD = Another Major Disaster. Stick with Intel.

Why is your name PH3NOM then lol.
AMD is fine, i have a 7750 kuma (just got it), and on stock cooling and heating it's OC'ed to 3.1 ghz, on load at around 61 degrees C. It can play crysis (warhead) on 790gx IGP on mainstream 1024*768 fine.

I'm not saying that you should/need to overclock, but that's basically what you are intended to do with this CPU.

 

[Ksingler]

Ya, I would if it were my computer, but my brother doesn't know anything about OC, and it would just be better if everything ran stock for him and his girl. I ended up going with the Kuma and this Newegg.com - Antec Neo Power 500 500W ATX12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies power supply for future upgrades.