AMD Athlon or Intel Core2duo?

[peter_ming]

Hi everyone,

My current PC is running at P4 2.8Ghz on a Gigabyte mobo (I forgot the type), with 1.2 GB DDR RAM. I just upgraded from onboard VGA to NVIDIA card via AGP slot (no thanks to the mobo). I mainly use this PC to view videos, listening to music, some small jobs in making DVDs, and sometimes converting videos. While it has been handling the job quite admirably, it has shown its age somehow, especially in handling HD videos (it came of as slideshow with sound rather than a smooth video).

I plan to build another PC specifically to be used as my home audio/video station, this PC will be linked to my 42" LCD display which has Full HD resolution. Now I'm stuck with choosing between AMD Athlon X2 or Intel Core2Duo. Rumor has it that AMD handles graphical content better than Intel, but I'm not sure whether 'graphical' is by means videos or games? I rarely, if ever, use my PC for games. Also after comparing the price tags it seems Athlon is friendlier to my budgeting than Core2Duo (an Athlon 64 x2 6400+ 3.2GHz is still yet cheaper than Core2Duo E8400 3.00GHz).

Can anyone help me put my confusion to rest?

Thanks,
Peter

 

[tastegw]

if your going dual core

go with the E8400, its masses better than any of the x2's by AMD

if your going budget but still good chips,
get either a E5200 or a x2 7750 both chips perform and cost around the same.

 

[peter_ming]

thanks for the input, I think I'll go with Athlon X2 (either a 6000+ or 6400+, I can't find a 7750 yet).

Now on with the mobo, do I need to have separate or onboard VGA card? I'll connect it to my 42" LCD running on Full HD, so can onboard VGA handle this well? I don't do games, photoshops, or overclock (can't understand it so rather not risk it).

Some thoughts after searching the web:
Newegg.com - ASRock ALiveNF7G-FullHD R3.0 AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 7050 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards
or
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-MA74GM-S2H AM2+/AM2 AMD 740G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards

For optical drive I'll stick with DVD rom for now, but will probably upgrade to Blu-Ray in the future. If the onboard VGA does'nt support Blu-Ray, can I upgrade the add-on VGA in the future? Or I have to totally redo the mobo?

Any suggestion will be appreciated.
Peter

 

[hikaricloud]

If you're grabbing an AMD, grab this setup:

Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!

The onboard should be fine for the TV, it all depends on what resolution it supports.


EDIT: By the way, those mobos you picked out? One's deactivated and one's out of stock. Better idea to go with I posted.

 

[peter_ming]

Thanks Hikaricloud!

Yes, I realize that those two mobos are either out of stock or discontinued on newegg.com, but they are still available in my country (Indonesia - poor me? ;-)), and I still can't find x2 7750 online, I'll have to go hunting for it offline tomorrow!! What about going with X3 8450? My local retailer has it for U$ 104, triple core is surely better than dual core, even running on lower GHz?

The mobo suggestion is certainly worthwhile, I'll hunt it at local stores also.

Thanks again for any suggestions.
Peter

I notice X2 7750 is running on 65nm, while x2 6000 and x2 6400 are still on 90nm, so 7750 is understandably better.

 

[hikaricloud]

The X3 series was kind of a flop. The x2 7750 can probably outperform it, and will be cheaper. The die shrink to 65nm is part of it.

For a mobo, what you want to do is find a northbridge that is either a 780 or a 790 series...780G and 790GX or FX being your better options. They have great onboard video, and are beetter quality. Brands to stick with would be Biostar, Gigabyte, and Asus.

 

[parsalian]

A gx will do a good job overclocking those x3 and once overclocked they perfom really good, even more if u multitask a lot!

 

[goraiden]

Core 2 duo is faster. Or get yourself an i7 if you're after the FASTEST performance you can get.

 

[peter_ming]

@ parsailan

I'm not familiar at all with overclocking, so i prefer not to overclock anything in case of mishap

@ goraiden

your advice is tempting, but I'm stuck with my budget, so i'll just have to content myself with athlon for the time being

also, i heard that athlon heats more than core2duo, especially during max performance, so I have to pay special attention to the cooling system, is it true?

i'm still hunting for x2 7750 but can't locate one so far, better luck next week then

 

[tastegw]

if your in the US

here is your 7750 with your name on it
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
$78 after shipping

edit: also, since you dont overclock, the 6000 or 6400 would be more performance for you, but minimal.
the 7750 clocked to the 6000 or 6400 speeds is better, but @ stock speeds the older 90nm win by a small amount.

just something to think about, still i would get the 7750, because it runs alot cooler than the other 2 listed. (mine ran 10C cooler on the same rig than a 6400)