i'm going to build a computer and i wanted to know which is preferred for a gaming computer amd or pentium? and why? also what type of motherboard? and why? what i want to get is an AMD athlon 3700+ possibly socket 939 and a DFI LanParty motherboard are those good choices for a gaming pc? please help me out! JT_24

if you have a better choice of Processor and motherboard i should use to get my full moneys worth i will spend up to $250 possibly 300 and up to 250$ for the motherboard if that helps at all please help me out! LOL JT_24

Hi JT_24 The best processor for gaming applications is one that can handle data that changes rapidly. Intel processors are very quick, and when combined with any 695 or 875 PE class chipset motherboard will give blistering performance, but it may not compete with a comparable AMD running on an Nforce 3 or 4 chipset motherboard when running games. The primary reason for this is to do with how the processors handle their input queuing, as I understand it, both use predictive pipelining where the processor lines up future processes based on what you are doing. In an office environment, this gives the Intel an advantage, as Microsoft Word, Excel etc don’t really create too many situations where the entire pipeline is no longer valid due to changing application state and needs to be flushed and re done, and Intel use long queues. Games however create application states where the input pipelines have to be continually updated to reflect the game state. Here, the AMD has a huge advantage as it only takes 2 clock cycles to clear its pipeline whereas the Intel takes 4. Also, for gaming, AMD can take advantage of the unified driver architecture provided by Nvidia as long as you use an Nvidia card (I’d recommend a 60 00GT or above). I know there is an Nforce chipset now available for Intel, but if early reports are to be believed it looks like it does not provide comparable performance. So it kinda helps to think of the two chips a little like 2 and 4 stroke engines for motor cycles, without all the grease and stuff. If you want a motorcycle that will provide butt clenching performance and response (Gaming), you get a 2 stroke or to continue the anology, an AMD. If you want more controlled power delivery and a smoother ride(Office applications), go for a 4 stroke, or Intel.. I used to be an Intel freak, with an 875PE Gigabyte MB using a 3.4 P4 overclocked to 4.1Ghz using a coolermaster refrigerated case. Don’t laugh, but when the machine blew over Christmas I purchased an AMD setup instead and can say right from the outset, its just much smoother for gaming. Bf 1942 and Bf2 never played as well on my Clocked up to hell Intel as they do on my new AMD 64. Utwig

The A64 3700+ San Diego & the DFI LANPARTY board are an excellent choice. If you have no intentions of ever using the SLi feature, you might wanna get the DFI nF4 Ultra-Infinity instead & save about $30 Hellz Yea!

Without a doubt AMD is the way to go when it comes to gaming, furthermore you can see Athlon 64 3700+, is the sore thumb in the price/performance data below, so skip it as suggested, if possible. http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,1876694,00.asp http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,1854726,00.asp StopBadware

I'm sure they're basing their article on default clock speeds, but I have to disagree. The 3700+ is a San Diego w/1MB L2...the 3800+ is a Venice w/512k L2. The 3700+ is at least $50 cheaper & will easily overclock the extra 200MHz to match the clock speed of the 3800+ & it would perform better. Hellz Yea!

jam, You know you can always overclock the 3800+ too, so the potential overclock gain is somewhat parallel for both processors. StopBadware