Which $400 gaming system is better?

XJLanzaro · 15 Jun 2012

I have 2 systems in mind right now, both will use the Sapphire Radeon HD 5570 because I already have that card. My budget is strict. Which one of these systems do you think is the better?

Intel System:

Case - Cooler Master Elite 430 Mid Tower ATX Case
Motherboard - MSI H67A-G43 Intel H67 ATX 1333 LGA 1155 Motherboard
CPU - Intel Core i5-2400 3.10 GHz 6 MB Cache
HDD - WD Caviar Blue 500 GB SATA III 7200 RPM 16 MB Cache
RAM - Corsair Vengeance Blue 4 GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM
PSU - Cooler Master Elite 460W ATX SATA PCI-E Power Supply

AMD System:

Case - Cooler Master Elite 430 Mid Tower ATX Case
Motherboard - GIGABYTE GA-970A-D3 AM3+ SATA 6Gb/s ATX Motherboard
CPU - AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black AM3 3.4Ghz 512KB
HDD - WD Caviar Black 1 TB SATA III 7200 RPM 64 MB Cache HDD
RAM - Corsair Vengeance Blue 4 GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM
PSU - Cooler Master eXtreme Power Plus Series 500W ATX Power Supply

Zepher · 15 Jun 2012

The Intel based one is more powerful.

chris1neji · 15 Jun 2012

The intel based processor is actually more powerful as much as i hate to say it, however your comparing them from different price points one is about 190 vs 120 dollars.

I do not know how noticeble the performance is noticeble in gaming since i do not owned either.
I would never go with a 16MB cache for a HDD though, also although i havent look at the connecters of both power supply 500 watts is more breathing room than barely any from the <500.

pparks1 · 15 Jun 2012

The 16MB cache WD Caviar Blue's are just fine. I use them in a desktop at work and it's just as fast as any other computer with a 32MB cache drive.

I highly doubt you would ever see a difference, while gaming, between 8mb cache, 16mb cache, 32mb cache or 64mb cache.

AstaLaVista · 15 Jun 2012

I would opt for the Intel, for gaming, they are just superior. I would try to go with at least 8GBs of Ram instead of just 4. I would also make sure my PSU handles the juice from the video card.