Legion Hardware has posted fairly interesting comparison review between AMD Athlon64 X2 5200+ and Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 CPU. The Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 is very well priced at around $220 US. It comes clocked at 2.13GHz and features the 2MB L2 cache. Amazingly the 5200+ now costs just $220 US, this processor is clocked at 2.60GHz and also features a 2MB L2 cache. So now the real question is for around $220 US which processor presents itself as the best value solution?

For the moment at least the AM2 platform is a safe option uniting Opteron, Sempron and all Athlon processors. So given the option between the Core 2 Duo E6400 and Athlon64 X2 5200+ which would you choose? Personally I would still go with the Core 2 Duo as it really is a remarkable processor series. As I have stated in the past when on a tight budget, I would select the E6300 and if funds allow the E6600 would be my high-end option. However, if you have a similar budget to that of my friends which allows for a $220 US processor, the E6400 is a fine option.

While I would chose the E6400 based on the results seen here today, my friend still went with the Athlon64 X2 5200+ and with reason. As I said earlier, he wanted a high-end ASUS motherboard, preferably something that supports SLI should he choose that path, and a Nvidia chipset was a must. If he was to purchase the E6400 the ASUS P5N32-E SLI was the number one choice and with a price tag of $250 US it would have cost more than the processor. Therefore by going with the 5200+ he was able to pick up the ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe for just $180 US. At the end of the day the performance difference between these two processors is quite limited.

The reason I would chose the Core 2 Duo processor is because I am always seeking the very best performance for my dollar. This is what the Core 2 Duo delivers and given there are relatively cheap motherboard solutions out there, I see no reason not to purchase a Core 2 Duo processor. Both platforms have matured to a point now where building a system based on either can suit a number of budgets. Overall, I must admit I am amazed at how cheap the Athlon64 X2 processors have become and how well they compete with the Core 2 Duo's at their price point!