[walksalone]

Hi. I am building a computer and I have most the parts picked out except for the CPU. I think my GPU will be a hd 4870. This computer will be primarily for gaming and some occasional video converting. I can't decide whether to go AMD or Intel for the processor. I see that the AMD phenom ii x4 940 black edition and the Intel Core 2 duo e8500 are the same price. I know that the Intel has a slightly higher clock speed than the AMD but the AMD has 4 cores, runs at 3 ghz and has an unlocked multiplier for overclocking. I would appreciate some advice about which one to pick. I don't have a preference for either company.
Also, I would spend up to $250 on a CPU so if anyone has a better suggestion I would appreciate it.
I live the US by the way.
thanks

[Carbon]

The X3 720 is going to be better than the E8500 in this scenario regardless, so first dump the E8500 entirely out of the race - the speed difference in single-threaded is negligible especially if you overclock the X3. Your choice then is between the X3 720 and the X4 940. I'd lean toward the 940, but if the conversion stuff is only very occasional I would just get the X3 720. The 720 is going to excel in price, slightly in gaming, heat, and overclockability. The X4 will excel in video conversion slightly to moderately if that conversion is threaded (probably is) and you do it often.

Make the decision based on first and foremost how much conversion you'll be doing, how large the videos are, if you're rendering using an encoder that's multithreaded, and other things like how hot your case will be and if you want to do some overclocking. The X3 is very flexible and you shouldn't overlook it: the third core makes it a pretty excellent contender, but only you can decide which one to pick because you know how much of each you'll be doing better than I.

Also, good choice on graphics card, I'd usually say get the 4890 though, it's usually worth the extra cash at the res you start wanting a 4870 for. Either way, though, it should be good.