AM2 Or Conroe?

[Shando]

Hi, I'm in the process of building my own computer, and am having trouble choosing a CPU and motherboard. In my experience it has always been that AMD are better for games, but with Intel releasing Conroe, there is speculation that things have changed. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with conroe CPUs and how well they perform against socket AM2 CPUs. Thanks!

~Shando

 

[aliasaid]

well its not speculation, there have been countless benchmarks released, and conroe is the clear winner. if you have a strong budget, then conroe is your choice. if you have a sub $1000 budget its probably better to stick with AMD...

 

[Jinru]

If you aren't looking to purchase a monitor, speakers, keyboard, etc.. then you can definitely manage a budget Conroe build under the $1000 mark with a E6300 and a DS3 mobo.

Conroe wtfbbqpwns nearly every benchmark against AM2 =), but with the release of Conroe comes a huge price drop of AM2.

 

[Shando]

Wow thanks. I wasn't expecting that much of a difference between the two. I have roughly a $2000 budget, so which Conroe CPU and motherboard would you reccommend?

~Shando

 

[idiotec]

With that budget I would go with an E6600 and an Asus P5W DH mobo.

 

[bum]

Well I've given a numerous recommendations and I'm not actually a conroe fan, but I think I'll say this this time around: Both are great systems and will serve you well for a long time. If you are an enthusiast and statistics matter to you, then Conroe is the way to go. BUT if you place value more on money and would like to spend less on a system that will probably serve you just as well go AM2 or even 939.

I'm not gonna get into it more as I just got called into work but if you choose AM2 I will certainly help you pick out parts for a nice system. Conroe isn't my speciality and I'm not aware of everything out there for it so one of the other guys could better help you with it.

 

[Ridlyn]

I would go with the conroe. Espicially with a $2000 budget. Like someone said before get the e6600 and the Asus P5W DH mobo get the Tuniq Tower-120 2x120mm fans and oc that thing to like 3.4Ghz or more.

 

[UA_Iron]

With a budget that large you have a lot of options open to you.

Ultimately the video card is what will hold you back; this review gives a good perspective:

http://legitreviews.com/article/365/1/

AM2 is an intermediate step between 939 and AM3, its lifespan will not be as long as Core 2 duo - in my opinion.

Availability of processors, support, and motherboards is much greater than the AM2 however.

But with a large budget I think Conroe is a good choice

I am looking into buying the Asus P5B-deluxe
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131028

And an Core 2 Duo E6400 - once they become available and the tytan Newegg sells them.

Also, apparently this RAM will overclock to DDR2 1000+ with CAS4 timings... (not 100% positive on that)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820220095

that would be well under a grand, then you could spend money on some outrageous video card like a 7950GX2, or wait around for a DX10

 

[Jinru]

You only seem to be asking for a CPU and mobo. Give us detail on what you already have picked out for the rest of your rig.

 

[massacreinfallx]

With your budget i recomend the E6600. NO LOWER, as the lower "conroes"really have allendale cores.

BUT!

Im sick of hearing all of this conroe talk. Yes it is a more powerful CPU but who needs that much processing power? a 3800+ will handle anything you can throw at it atleast until the next gen AMD cpus are out. also conroes only have extremely overpriced not so great mnotherboards out now. And it will stay that way for a while. I was in your position and i decided to save some money for a better GPU because i will be gaming and its more important. Its all a quesion of if you plan on upgrading soon. If not, and with your budget get the conroe. If you are just going to be upgrading in the near future anyways, go with the am2.