AMD vs IntelFollow

There are a lot of variables. Can't necessarily just compare clock speeds. Chip architecture can affect things, as can the platform as a whole. You also could consider whether you're going to be keeping things at stock speeds, or overclocking, as that can influence which might be a better pick in a price bracket. A further consideration is what sort of computing you'll be doing. Some are optimized for one architecture or another, or more commonly, have varying degrees to which they're able to be split over multiple cores.

Taking all that into consideration, there are times where AMD will be better, and times where Intel will be.

That said, the comparison you have is slightly off. You could aptly compare the i5 750 to a Phenom II x4 965BE, which is much more comparable in price ($195ish) and still marginally outperforms it at stock clock in most things. http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/102?vs=109

Yep. About the only "wrong" choice out there right now are the dual core i5 chips - those cost what they do because of the integrated GPU, and offer lackluster performance for the money.

Otherwise, honestly, if you're building a machine with a focus on gaming, your GPU choice will likely make a far bigger impact. You still want something decent, of course, but if it's one or the other, spend $300 on the GPU and $200 on the CPU, rather than the other way around. That sort of thing.

When picking a CPU you also have to look at hidden costs such as RAM type and motherboard when working with your budget. Also things like power consumption might factor in as well if you're like me and leave the comp on to torrent.

Unlike Kao, I've never had a problem with Intel or AMD chips. Hell, I've even got an old Cyrix box around here, and it works perfectly. Take that for what it's worth.

check out the benchmarks but the AMD phenom series tends to be a better price/performance than intel atm