Which is the better processor?

From personal experience, AMD Phenom II series wins the gaming war hands down.

I have used AMD for quite some time, and have also used Intel. AMD performance while gaming has always been superb.

I'm sure you can get a decent AMD Phenom II X4 (yes, quad core) for fairly cheap now, along with a decent sized video card(I picked up an ATi 4670 1GB card for about $100, and it works great on all games that I play, which includes GTA IV on full/performance settings.

I currently utilize the AMD Phenom II X4 3.0Ghz Black Edition, which IMO is an amazing processor.

-Patton

 

I would go with computer B and I will tell you why!

While the Intel Core 2 Duo is a good processor, the AMD Phenom II X2 is a LOT better. Now before you spout, "YOU'RE JUST BIASED BLARGALARGH!" I will give you technical proof. There is more to a processor than just the clock speed. While it IS a big part of determining the overall speed there is are also a couple other factors. Mainly, the cache and FSB/HT speed.

I researched the C2D that you have listed and the Cache size is 3MB. The Phenom II X2 however has a 6MB cache size. This makes a huge difference in how many commands and how many processes can be done at a time! It affects the overall "multitaskability" if you will. While running CPU intensive processes, it will be much faster in switching between and processing more commands than the C2D with the smaller Cache.

The second is that the Phenom II is the more recent and newer model. Core 2 Duo CPU's were introduced on July 27, 2006, and while that model is a bit more recent, the Phenom II CPU's were released on February 9, 2009. As far as computer technology goes, the newer the better!

I know a bit more about the technical and hardware aspect of computers, so this is all just my opinion. These are just a few facts of why, personally, I'd choose computer B. You can research all this by yourself but I'll guarantee you that computer B would be a lot better processor wise. I also must say that a higher speed graphics card is a bit bigger factor than the memory size. 9600GT's are actually still surprisingly good though! Happy Gaming!