Intel Computer

Which is better a AMD Phenom X4 9500 quad core processor or a Intel Pentium Dual Core E5200? ?

I have never owned a processor other than a Pentium. Is a AMD processor good quality and fast? And is it compatible with all the software that the Pentium is? The AMD looks faster it is a quad core with 6GB of Ram and the Pentium is dual core and comes with 4 GB of ram but I don't know if they are a direct comparison.

Public Comments

1. The AMD has four cores at 2.2 Ghz each. It costs $175 or so The Intel is a low end dual core at 2.5 Ghz each. It costs $75 or so. There is no direct comparison. Totally different chips for totally different purposes at totally different prices. What do you want to do and what is your budget and what shops are you looking at? The AMD will do everything the Intel does and it will do it a lot faster especially with the extra RAM (as long as you are using a 64 bit version of windows or Linux otherwise more than 3 -4 Gigs of ram is a waste).. Best wishes Matthew
2. The 9500's are good but some say they are bugged with only using 3 cores. I have a 9500 and a 9600 and got very good performance out of them. I am using a q6600 right at the moment because my motherboard blew with my 9600 in it. I do know the 9600 doesn't overclock well at all, but it depends on each individual CPU I think. I could only get mine from 2.3 to 2.4 in bios... That could have also been the motherboard. Don't base your opinion on the ram. I use 4gigs of ram and really even in games never use more than 1.5 in vista x64bit... You only need that much ram if you are really multitasking many of programs and running games at the same time... It is a chance you take with the 9500, might be a good chip or it might be a bad chip. You really need a little more for gaming than the e5200 and it is one of the more sluggish core2duo's on the market... Right now if I were to build a new system, I would go with an i7 CPU from Intel. The CPU starts out at $299 and the cheapest MSI motherboard is $220, add a 4gig kit of DDR3 for $114 and you have a monster of a computer that will last you way into the future...