AMD or Intel cpu for a new pc?

[Jekht]

Simple question, which processor should I go for, presuming the budget for the processor is quite high.

I'm tempted with the Qx6800 quad core, even though everyone keeps telling me it's a waste of money and I should get a 6600 (which from what I hear I could OC to an amazing speed)

Thoughts and suggestions welcome! :)

[G0rF]

Intel are ahead of the game ATM performance-wise.

There are very few properly multi-threaded applications ATM that can make use of a quad-core (look at an apple-quad. Watch it use one core maxxed out while the other 3 sit doing nowt).

[Veube]

G0rf's spot on.

Right this second Intel's Core Duo 2 Double Twin thingies wooop the ass of AMD.

Quad core ? Hmm, they're just trying to keep up with Moore's law until they can figure a new architecture, methinks.

[G0rF]

Quad core ? Hmm, they're just trying to keep up with Moore's law until they can figure a new architecture, methinks.


BINGO!

That said... I'll be getting one in a week or 2...

This is because I don't get an annual upgrade budget.

Being half of a whole, negotiations are required for large purchases.

These negotiations succeed, at best, once every few years.

Any PC I buy has to be able to compete for at least 2 or 3 years, so, if I can get next years processors now, I have to.

[Tytanya]

I will be upgrading in the next 6 months, was hoping amd would have a processor to compete with the intel sets by then but otherwise the quad core would be my choice. Vista will probably gobble 2 processor cores when its all singing and dancing and I suspect 2Gb memory will also be closer to the minimum required than the optimum... operating systems are designed to make you demand more powerful machines :-/

[ObiSToN3D]

a just hate Intel.. at any cost ill avoid it, the OC cability of a decent amd an motherboard, ya cant go wrong and the tempreture too even OC'd is still reasonably cool..
Intel run so hot you can cook yer breakfast on the dam things unless you start hookin up water blocks all over the show like twaggy..
in my theory, something thats gonna get hot will eant to blow up in mycase.. and me in at a intell or ham is defo not a good idea:-/

[ham2000]

I agree to going with AMD, runs cooler, plus doesn't have any overhead running 32bit code on a 64bit OS due to its architecture. Where Intel has to do complicated emulation.(at least on Itanium)
Heard something about a tri-core comming from AMD might be something to look at.