Which Build? AMD vs. Intel

[nerdvernacular]

Which of these builds do you think would give me better performance? For the most part, I'm into heavy multitasking, running photoshop, firefox with quite a few tabs, dreamweaver, chat apps, interface enhancements (objectdock), firewall, etc.. I play the occasional game, although I do most of my gaming on my 360. The Intel set is significantly cheaper, but I'm curious how they'd stack up. Also, I was curious how that Intel board was for future upgrades? I realize the 939 set is soon to be phased out for AM2, so with AMD I'd have to upgrade board and CPU.
Thanks in advance!

AMD set

NZXT LEXA-NP Black/ Silver Aluminum Construction Plastic Front Panel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Model #: LEXA-NP
Item #: N82E16811146018

ASUS A8N-SLI Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Model #: A8N-SLI
Item #: N82E16813131524

eVGA 256-P2-N553-AX Geforce 7600GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
Model #: 256-P2-N553-AX
Item #: N82E16814130283

Rosewill RP550V2-S-SL 550W Power Supply - Retail
Model #: RP550V2-S-SL
Item #: N82E16817182031

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Manchester 2000MHz HT Socket 939 Dual Core Processor Model ADA4200BVBOX - Retail
Model #: ADA4200BVBOX
Item #: N82E16819103547

CORSAIR XMS 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model Twinx2048-3200c2pt - Retail
Model #: Twinx2048-3200c2pt
Item #: N82E16820145575

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200KS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Model #: WD3200KS
Item #: N82E16822136003

LITE-ON 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE Model SHW160P6S05 - OEM
Model #: SHW160P6S05
Item #: N82E16827106014

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
Model #: ARCTIC SILVER 5
Item #: N82E16835100007

Scythe SCNJ-1000P 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooling Fan/Heatsink - Retail
Model #: SCNJ-1000P
Item #: N82E16835185001

$1146 after rebates

Intel set

NZXT LEXA-NP Black/ Silver Aluminum Construction Plastic Front Panel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Model #: LEXA-NP
Item #: N82E16811146018

Gigabyte GA-8N-SLI Socket T (LGA 775) NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Model #: GA-8N-SLI
Item #: N82E16813128316

eVGA 256-P2-N553-AX Geforce 7600GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
Model #: 256-P2-N553-AX
Item #: N82E16814130283

Rosewill RP550V2-S-SL 550W Power Supply - Retail
Model #: RP550V2-S-SL
Item #: N82E16817182031

Intel Pentium D 930 Presler 800MHz FSB LGA 775 Dual Core Processor Model BX80553930 - Retail
Model #: BX80553930
Item #: N82E16819116238

pqi 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5400) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model MAC42GUOE-X2 - Retail
Model #: MAC42GUOE-X2
Item #: N82E16820141017

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200KS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Model #: WD3200KS
Item #: N82E16822136003

LITE-ON 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE Model SHW160P6S05 - OEM
Model #: SHW160P6S05
Item #: N82E16827106014

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
Model #: ARCTIC SILVER 5
Item #: N82E16835100007

Scythe SCNJ-1000P 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooling Fan/Heatsink - Retail
Model #: SCNJ-1000P
Item #: N82E16835185001

$931 after rebates

[786ARS]

intel are also bringing out a new line of chips based off the centrino cores. As for your selection i would go AMD, because they are a lot better at multitasking than intel dual cores. Also if possible, look and see if you can get the Lexa case w/o a psu, and get a psu seperate.

[Alaron]

Either build will work fine for your needs.

I do want to suggest a new power suppy. Rosewill's are on our bad list, you can do much better. This Antec is perfect: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817103931

If you aren't planning on SLI in the future, you can pick up a motherboard without it to save a few bucks. The A8N5X for AMD is an excellent board.

[kram 2.0]

Adding onto what Alaron already said, you do not need thermal compound and a heat sink fan in addition to a retail processor purchase unless you are purchasing the OEM version of the processor. The cooling contraption that comes with the retail processor purchase is more than adequate to work - both with the Intel Pentium D route and the Athlon 64 X2 route.

Try to purchase the DVD burner as a Retail version as opposed to an OEM. Some very nice software come with Lite-On Retail DVD burners that you may use after installing the drive.

kram

[nerdvernacular]

I was adding the fan so the system would run quieter and cooler. I'm kinda picky about noise. I may get into overclocking down the line. Do any of those non-SLI AMD boards support SATA 3.0 gb/s? I've got the full Nero Suite now and some other DVD burning software, so I probably don't need the retail.

[Alaron]

Originally Posted by nerdvernacular Do any of those non-SLI AMD boards support SATA 3.0 gb/s?

The A8N-E does, and it is an excellent board. A tad more expensive then the A8N5X though.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131530

[nerdvernacular]

cool thanks!