[RjBass]

Ok so Christmas is coming up real fast and both my kids are asking for dual core cpus and all the additional hardware to go with them for Christmas. It figures that I couldn't have some regualr boys who just wanted a football or something.

I personally was thinking of getting them the AM2 socket X2 but prices on the Pentium D's are a bit better. I will prob spend about $150 per cpu.

Any thoughts as to which way I should go?

Edited by RjBass, 09 December 2006 - 03:38 PM.

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For what purpose do they intend to use the computers? Games? Schoolwork? AMD processors tend to be found in comps used at work, office, etc., while computers used for games are usually run by an Intel processor. Personally, I would choose a Pentium D for the much better price and performance, but that's just my opinion. Also take into consideration the speed of the processor, as both brands sell various processors of the same type that perform at different speeds, Ghz wise. Even then, a Pentium D processor at 2.8 Ghz sells for several hundred dollars less than an AMD Athlon X2 at the same speed.

Edited by TheQuij, 09 December 2006 - 04:39 PM.

[TheQuij]

For what purpose do they intend to use the computers? Games? Schoolwork? AMD processors tend to be found in comps used at work, office, etc., while computers used for games are usually run by an Intel processor. Personally, I would choose a Pentium D for the much better price and performance, but that's just my opinion. Also take into consideration the speed of the processor, as both brands sell various processors of the same type that perform at different speeds, Ghz wise. Even then, a Pentium D processor at 2.8 Ghz sells for several hundred dollars less than an AMD Athlon X2 at the same speed.

Edited by TheQuij, 09 December 2006 - 04:39 PM.

[Kurenai]

Technically speaking...the exact opposite is true. Athlons tend to have the edge in raw performance, leading to their use in gaming pcs, and intels tend toward stability, lending themselves to servers, workstations, and the like.
It's also hard to directly compare Intel and AMD processors, due to the difference in naming conventions and architecture. Essentially, the 4 digit number naming an AMD processor is it's speed when compared to an Intel processor. For example, an Athlon 3800+ compares directly to a 3.8ghz P4.

As to the subject, between an Athlon X2 and a Pentium D, the X2 wins. Currently, it looks like this:

Pentium D < Athlon X2 < Intel Core 2 Duo

[TheQuij]

Ha... take Kurenai's opinion; I guess I have a completely distorted perspective on the quality of processors, lol. I think I must hold some sort of vendetta against AMD.

Though, which one is better for the money that he is willing to spend? The question is asked in this thread's description, but has it been answered?

Edited by TheQuij, 09 December 2006 - 05:24 PM.

[Kurenai]

Good call, forgot about that. For that kind of cash, right now, I'd say a socket AM2 3800+ X2, tigerdirect.com has them for $159. The alternative on the pentium D side is a 3.0 9xx series, $189 or so, slower front side bus, and it will perform a bit below the 3800+.
If you want to not have to upgrade again too soon, you may want to pick up a core 2 duo, they start at around $180, and you can just buy the lowest model, and upgrade after prices drop sometime around feb.

[RjBass]

Ya actually I was looking at the 3800+ X2 on Newegg for $149. Since the new A3 socket from AMD is supposed to be backwards compatable to the A2 I was thinking it would be a better choice, expecially when the quad core configurations come down in price.

My kids will be using the machines for alot of gaming as well as running simple office applications for school. My older kid (at 10 years old) also love to work in Photoshop CS2 and Dreamweaver MX4. A comparable 9x Intel Pentium D on Newegg is only $119.