Intel kept the LGA 775 socket for quite a while, but lately has been swapping processor sockets like mad. They introduced LGA 1366 in November 2008, LGA 1156 in September 2009, LGA 1155 in January 2011, and LGA 2011 is due later this year. And that's just desktop sockets, not server or laptop. And, of course the sockets are completely incompatible with each other, unlike how you can often stick a Socket AM3 processor into a Socket AM2+ motherboard and it will work.
Intel benchmarks consistently higher than AMD in the latest few generations of CPUs, but really, in actual gameplay, the difference is less significant - one may get 108FPS vs the other's 94FPS, but when they are both that high, is the difference really that important.
AMD is much more affordable, and hasn't gone through nearly as many socket revisions, making them easier to upgrade. Intel has the speed crown, and that does count for a lot. Both have come a long way on heat and power, and both overclock fairly well.
Some AMD motherboards won't allow nVidia SLI due to licensing, even though they support single-GPU nVidia cards, and multi-GPU AMD Crossfire. Some will, but not all, so that is something to watch if it's important to you. Most Intel motherboards are GPU agnostic and will support both SLI and CF.
All in all, it really only comes down to budget and preference. If you were playing a game on an AMD system one day, and the same game on a comparable Intel system the next, you likely wouldn't even notice the difference.
Comments
Intel kept the LGA 775 socket for quite a while, but lately has been swapping processor sockets like mad. They introduced LGA 1366 in November 2008, LGA 1156 in September 2009, LGA 1155 in January 2011, and LGA 2011 is due later this year. And that's just desktop sockets, not server or laptop. And, of course the sockets are completely incompatible with each other, unlike how you can often stick a Socket AM3 processor into a Socket AM2+ motherboard and it will work.
Intel benchmarks consistently higher than AMD in the latest few generations of CPUs, but really, in actual gameplay, the difference is less significant - one may get 108FPS vs the other's 94FPS, but when they are both that high, is the difference really that important.
AMD is much more affordable, and hasn't gone through nearly as many socket revisions, making them easier to upgrade. Intel has the speed crown, and that does count for a lot. Both have come a long way on heat and power, and both overclock fairly well.
Some AMD motherboards won't allow nVidia SLI due to licensing, even though they support single-GPU nVidia cards, and multi-GPU AMD Crossfire. Some will, but not all, so that is something to watch if it's important to you. Most Intel motherboards are GPU agnostic and will support both SLI and CF.
All in all, it really only comes down to budget and preference. If you were playing a game on an AMD system one day, and the same game on a comparable Intel system the next, you likely wouldn't even notice the difference.