Trying to decide between 2 pc's.Follow

I'm certainly no expert on the topic, but if it's for video/graphic editing, the PC with more video horsepower makes sense.

The Intel is going to be slightly, minisculy faster than that AMD processor. But I don't know if it would be $70 worth. Honestly for that price range you would be better off building most of a computer, waiting a month and then building the rest of it and making a decent gaming rig for $1,000

My roommate has apparently decided he no longer feels like building us a new pc, so I definitely have to choose between these two. My bf is wanting to upgrade the video card at some point, the sooner the better, so I guess the video card doesn't really make much of a difference after all.

I just don't understand if there's a difference between AMD and Intel processors. My roommate claims that Intel is superior because the government subsidizes AMD and Intel gives them technology so that they can keep up, that way Intel doesn't get accused of having a monopoly or something. I trust him about computers, but I can't tell if he's just being a snob or if it really makes a difference.

I also found another computer model that is pretty comparable to the other two: It's made by cyberpower. It will end up being the cheapest of the three since it has free shipping, and actually looks a bit better in some of the stats.

Okay, that's what I figured. Even if AMD falls behind in technological advances, their midrange stuff would theoretically be about the same. My roommate is trying to convince me that Intel is always better. In that case we'll probably go with the Cyberpower machine, but unless my bf gets a job soon it's going to have to wait a few months anyways. I was hoping to get one now, but it's just not a good idea atm budget wise.

There is a slight difference between a PC for gaming and a PC for image/3D/model editing/making. I think image editing requires more RAM compare to gaming as you only need roughly 2Gb of Ram for most games.

I do not think CPU matters much between the 2 model you listed. Because they are more or less at the lower end of the technology race between AMD and Intel. Most of the stuff non-business people talk about AMD and Intel are for more expensive CPUs like the i7-920 vs the 6-core AMD..etc. AMD tends to be more suitable for gaming stuff because they are more efficient at using their power while Intel generally has more raw power.

It boils down to what kind of GPU your bf is going to upgrade to. The CPUs of the systems you listed are mid-range dual-core CPUs. Those will become the bottle neck when you are gaming if your bf is getting a much more powerful video card (a 5870 ATI, for example). I'd recommend getting a 4-core CPU now or upgrade the CPU along with the GPU when you have more money.

Also, if money is a big problem, you might want to ask someone you know to slowly build you a PC by scavenging used/cheap stuff online. Several items can be free if you know someone who is upgrading their PC systems. I looted a case, DVD drive, keyboard and mouse from my buddy when he was upgrading his gaming rig. It's possible to build a decently good PC with just $200-$300 if you manage to find cheap/free stuff near by.