Intel vs AMD: Intel CPUs If you're after performance above else
(and you've plenty of money) then Intel
processors are the way to go. At least,
in general - there are several different
families available and you need to be
careful which you choose. Intel Core 2 CPUs are still available, for
instance, but they've been around for a
long time, no longer represent a good
deal and unless you're working with an
old motherboard, are probably best
avoided. Instead you'll be considering a Core i3,
Core i5 or Core i7 processor, which will
deliver budget, mid-range or high-end
performance, respectively. Except, of
course, it's not quite as simple as that,
because these CPUs now come in two main flavours. The mainstream Core i3, i5 and i7
processors are available in a Socket
LGA1156 package (this defines how the
CPU connects to the rest of your
system, and so means you'll need a
Socket LGA1156 motherboard as well). This doesn't represent the very latest in
Intel technology, but it's relatively
reasonably priced, and there are plenty
of compatible motherboards around at
all price levels. The latest Core i3/ i5/ i7 processors,
code-named Sandy Bridge and available
in an LGA1155 package, are rather
more interesting. Not only are they up to
40% faster than their predecessors, but
they also come with an on-board graphics chip, so if you're not looking for
much in the way of video performance
then you probably won't have to buy a
graphics card. The CPUs and Socket LGA1175 boards
you'll need to run them are more
expensive, but only marginally (they're
still available on sub-£1,000 PCs) so if
you're looking for a good mainstream
Intel solution then these are the way to go. There is a small complication, though.
Intel recently identified a problem with
the SATA controller in the Sandy Bridge
chipset, and had to recall many
motherboards. The issue is fixed now,
but supplies of some boards may remain short until April, so you might
have to shop around. The other option available right now is to
choose a Core i7 CPU in an LGA1366
package. This will allow you to run the
very fastest 6-core Core i7 CPUs, which
deliver great speeds and are very
overclockable. They're also hugely expensive, though, lack extras like on-
board graphics chips, and aren't actually
that much faster than the high-end
Sandy Bridge systems, so we'd
recommend you avoid them in most
situations. Intel vs AMD: the AMD competition AMD processors aren't currently able to
compete with Intel for raw speed, but
that might be changing soon, and in the
meantime they're able to deliver capable
performance at an excellent price. And
AMD is also far better at backward compatibility than Intel, so there's no
confusion over socket types and
multiple incompatible versions of the
same CPU: buy an AM3 motherboard
and it'll run just about anything. AMD's Athlon II processors, for instance,
are the budget products. They're
available in X2, X3 and X4 varieties (the
number tells you how many cores they
have), and in different model numbers
according to their clock speed. Performance isn't so great, but Athlon II
CPUs will fit in both socket AM2+ and
AM3 motherboards, so you'll have plenty
of choice when building your PC. AMD's Phenom II family are their
mainstream products, equipped with
more cache memory than the Athlon
II's, and running at higher clock speeds
for better performance. They're
available in X2, X4 and even 6-core X6 varieties, and again the CPUs run on
both AM2+ and AM3 motherboards. And AMD plans to release new
processors, code-named Bulldozer and
Llano, starting this June and July. Many
of the CPUs will include on-board
graphics chips, some will have 8 cores,
and it's rumoured that performance will be 50% up on the Phenom II, which if
true would mean they'll deliver speeds
very similar to Intel's Sandy Bridge
systems. For the best results you'll need to run to
run AMD's next generation CPUs on the
upcoming AM3+ chipset motherboards,
but the good news is that once again
AMD are working to ensure backward
compatibility. And so if you buy an AM3 motherboard today, you can equip it
with an Athlon II CPU, but still upgrade to
a Bulldozer CPU later on, and you
shouldn't have too much of a
performance penalty. Intel vs AMD: which is best? We've looked at the two product ranges,
then - but which is best? It all depends
on what you're looking for. If price is key, then the AMD Athlon II X2
255 makes an excellent choice. It's
available for under £40 as we write, and
has more than enough power to handle
basic PC tasks. If you've a little more money and need
extra performance from your CPU, then
AMD's best mid-range offering is
perhaps the Phenom II X4 965, some
35% faster than the Athlon II X2 255,
and yours from around £100. Intel's LGA1156-based Core i3-560 is a
similar performer and available for the
same price, though. And the new
LGA1155-based Core i3-2100 goes
further still, delivering perhaps 10%
more speed for under £100, so that would probably be our preferred choice
here (depending on your motherboard
requirements). And if performance matters more than
anything else, then right now there's no
substitute for the LGA1155-based Core
i7-2600K (the K means the multiplier is
unlocked, allowing the CPU to be
overclocked). It's perhaps twice the speed of the AMD Athlon II X2 255, yet
is relatively affordable (in Intel terms at
least) at around £240. If you don't have to buy your CPU until
the summer, though, it may be worth
waiting. AMD's Bulldozer promises
performance very similar to the high-end
Intel chips, and experience tells us
they're likely to be significantly cheaper - so postponing your PC for a month or
two could save you a noticeable amount
of cash.
