Good evening. I hope it's the right place to ask. I was just wondering - which route is actually better - AMD or Intel? I'm going to build a PC myself, mostly for music, videos and games. As I'm a fan of Elder Scrolls games series, I spend a lot of time playing Skyrim now on my laptop, spent much time playing Oblivion and Morrowind back then. Once again, back to the question, which systems are better - AMD or Intel - for such games like Skyrim, which require huge resources. Maybe someone even could type some examples, which graphic card (AMD Radeon or Nvidia GeForce) I should choose, how much RAM, preferred motherboard and processor.

Thank you for your opinions and answers.

Oh great, this will be fun. :sadvaultboy:

They're both basically the same.

Actually AMD is taking their cards off the table with processors. They're going mobile now. So I'd go Intel for future support.

Not really, the current Intel chips kill AMD in terms of instructions per clock and single threaded speed. Since Skyrim is optimized for two cores, it's definitely Intel all the way. I'd get a 2500K or wait for Ivy Bridge.

Step 1. Go to Tom's Hardware.
Step 2. Read reviews and compare prices, performance and compatibility.
Step 3. Do the same elsewhere to verify what you've read.
Step 4. Buy.

I prefer Intel. Their recent crop of processors and chipsets have been the best performance for the price out of the box. That said I have a Radeon because at the time I was able to pick up a $250 card and turn it into a $500 card with nothing more than flashing the firmware.

They have their advantages and disadvantages over each other.

Do some research. There are tons of websites that compare one CPU to another. It could help you decide, however I just wouldn't base it on one websites comparison. Look for multiple comparisons of the same two CPU's. Sometimes what one place finds, notices, tests; another doesn't. Or there's a bit of a "preference" before hand, which favors one over the other.

Uldred

http://news.softpedia.com/news/AMD-Not-Competing-With-Intel-Anymore-Goes-Mobile-237103.shtml

clicky

Intel CPUs are faster than AMD's.

And although I actually have an AMD graphics card, I read that it is better to pair Intel CPU with GeForce graphics card.

i52500k > beats any AMD CPU currently including the bulldozer (the major let down)

If you can afford one I would recommend that.

And again if you can afford it Nvidea is powerful most of the time and has more reliability anything below 50s isn't worth it you need to get top card of its gen like 460 to 480 or 570 or 580.

AMD & ATI = Budget Builds

Intel & Nvidea = Power rigs

pretty much

Hrmm Chandler, AZ ... Must work for Intel LOL... :hubbahubba: But yes, Intel CPU's tend to out perform AMD's in most aspects. Though many people swear by AMD for gaming machines. Personally I go with Intel as I have seen too many AMD cpu's go poof and burn up.

Haven't heard of it until now, that probably answers my questions.

I just upgraded to the Phenom 980 Black edition pared with my old HD5870 and they work perfectly (everything maxed in Skyrim). To be honest I don't think you can go wrong with either Intel or AMD, but I'm pretty happy with my AMD machine. Not to mention, my new MB, processor and ram was only $400 CAD. The intel one I wanted would have been $500+.

I see. And what's the difference between the i5 2500K and i5 2500? I mean, why would I pay more for i5 2500K than pay less and get an i5 2500? I've read that's just the overclocking difference and even the i5 2500 can be overclocked?

2500k can overclock more which will give you a bigger bang for you buck so if your CPU becomes slow on standard settings you can just OC instead of 4x in the 2500 its ~50x

Intel have the better CPUs, and Nvidia cards have Physx (seeing as we're mentioning cards) but other than that there's not really any disadvantage with buying an AMD GPU. The driver issues people will inevitably bring up aren't really a problem any more.

My Specs:

I5 2500K
2G 6950
8G DDR3
850W PSU
Cooler Master HAF 932 Advanced case

I run Skyrim at ultra settings, 30-60 FPS
depending on the number of NPCs on screen.

This rig is probably overkill.

Back to OP's question of AMD vs Intel.
Intel Processors are faster per core, per clock.

There are AMD rigs capable of maxing syrim (and other games)
for cheaper than an Intel rig.

For your CPU Intel will offer better performance,
but AMD is still capable of getting the job done.

As far as Nvidia vs ATI cards?
Kind of a wash really, look at these cards for gaming:
Nvidia: 560ti, 570, 580
ATI: 6950, 6970

Any of those cards will get the job done.

Looking at the bechmards (ref. AnandTech),
it appears ATI cards scale better when crossfired.

To sum it up:
Look at benchmarks, and read reviews before you buy.
Both Intel and AMD/ATI can get the job done.

Personally I use AMD. Both for Graphics Card and Processor.
The game isn't optimized for AMD, so for this I'd maybe go for Intel. But it's really only personal preference.
I hope tehre will be a compatibility patch coming though, my FPS is bad. I normally get 30-40, but I'd prefer to have it higher and more stable.

Since I wanted an Laptop and something at a reasonable budget. I've always been a fan of AMD. Nothing against Intel, it just a personal preference where possible.
AMD it was for me, I have been waiting for AMD to finally make a decent job at entering the mobile market and they did a good job with the Llano range.
Many people focus too much attention to Raw CPU power and forget there is alittle more to it than that. Nope AMD does not compete on raw power, but there is features beyound raw power.

I love overclocking and getting the most out my hardware which is where AMD almost never disappoints, I've always found it quick, easy and get the best results with an AMD based system.
How many laptops can overclock from 1.6hz to 2.6hz on stock cooling, and undervolted with nothing more than a simple piece of software. It runs cooler than it did before.
This Llano based laptop can and it was easy. This far from the extreme, many people are acheiving this. It still does a good job of declocking itself and saving my battery when needed.

Even it's intergrated graphics can run Skyrim on High, with crossfire it does Ultra.
Afterall the AMD intergrated gfx is actually pretty powerful it's Directx 11 and actually has a good amount of pipelines (intel intergrated gfx are well knowing for being bad).

So my advice atleast consider AMD. It's worth considering. My previous laptop was an Intel I was happy, it performed well, but I couldn't tweak it and it ran hot.

Intel for gaming~ AMD.... Isnt so great right now.

lol this is the last board to ask. Do your research eslewhere, far better more accurate sites, take all comments here with a grain of salt.

It's quite simple. Intels are better for gaming.

AMD all the way. I refuse to buy anything from Intel or Nvidia.

I've built several gaming rigs over the last decade or so and up until this generation would have said AMD all the way. However, Intel just kills them now and my most recent build is Intel and it rocks.

I completely agree with the poster who recommended Tom's Hardware, but I would also recommend Newegg for both price shopping and customer reviews.