AM2 5200+ or C2D 6320?

[Anders]

Same old question but I’d like to check if conventional wisdom regarding best power for pound is still Core2Duo.

Price wise,
AM2 5200+ £108 = C2D 6320 £107
AM2 5600+ £116 = C2D 6420 £120

Can anyone point me towards some benchmarks that compare these? The best I’ve found is this that suggests 5000+ > E6300, but it’s not quite the processors listed above.

[staffsMike]

I dont know of any benchmarks but it all depends on whether you're going to overclock really. The E6320 in most circumstances with overclock over 3GHz while remaining fairly and cool where the AMD's won't.

I use an e6300 at work and it's a little slow for me so i would take the amd if you are leaving it stock.

[Sprite]

I agree with Mike, if you're not going to OC then go with the AMD, if you ARE going to OC then definitely go with the C2D.

Try some benchmarks at THG ?

[Anders]

Thanks, I probably would overclock it. I’ve recently overclocked my Opteron 144 so I’ve got over the fear of blowing things up. It was surprisingly simple with hind sight. If I were to overclock, is it worth spending the extra £13 on the 6420?

This article is an interesting read. If the processors are clocked at the same speed then C2D gives better performance. Therefore a C2D at ~3GHz sounds like a good bet.

CPU Chart is a great idea, although it doesn't have these exact processors.

[staffsMike]

You might get a small gain with the 6420..maybe £13 worth lol

[Blitzen]

For the sake of £12 the Intel is DEFINITELY the best choice.

The AMD is older technology so why buy it new?

[Anders]

Thanks, 6420 is seems then. Motherboard wise I’m looking at the Asus P5N-E SLI NF650i or Asus P5B i965. They look pretty similar but P5N supports 1333 MHz FSB, would this be useful for overclocking or is that for top end CPUs only? I’m assuming the 650i is the more recent chipset. SLI is not essential as I can’t see me buying two graphics cards anytime soon.

[staffsMike]

i think the p5b does support 1333hmz afaik..the deluxe at the least. The 965 chipset is very good...probably the best.

Although i like my 680i.

[Clunk]

P5B supports 1333 cpus.

If you dont need SLI, get the P5B, its a better board, the 680i boards are troublesome to say the least.

[Agent]

Intel - if not just for the chipsets at the moment

The nForce range on the AM2 has its fair few share of issues. 965 was far far more less problematic for me

edit - dam you clunk!