What is the best CPU for the price?

[gamerx456]

Hey, I'm currently building a gaming rig. I already have the parts picked out except for the motherboard and processor. I know for a fact that I'm getting a crossfire motherboard in case I ever need to upgrade to a dual GPU in the future.
Here are the specs:
IN WIN Maelstrom black full atx case
HIS AMD 6950( I'll crossfire when ever it gets outdated)
Windows 7 Professional 64 bit
G Skill Rip Jaws 8GB DDR3 1333mhz ram

So I'm trying to decide between an Intel Core i3-2100 Sandy Bridge 3.1 ghz and an AMD Phenom II x4 925 Deneb 2.8 ghz. Obviously the AMD has the slight advantage because of the extra cores, but does it effect gaming and which would you recommend? I chose the i3 because they are at the same price point on newegg, and I want to see which is the best for my money. I've previously been told to not use an AMD processor for a gaming desktop. Thanks for any help

 

[Supernova1138]

The i3 would probably be better for gaming at present as many games are not optimized to fully utilize quad core processors, the slower clock speed of the AMD quad would be a disadvantage in some games. This does depend on what kind of games you intend to play, RTS games, and some very poorly coded console ports *cough*Grand Theft Auto 4*cough* do see a performance boost when using a quad. Also you may be better off with the quad in the long run if you intend to Crossfire, as the i3 may cause a bottleneck in that scenario. It comes down to if you want better performance now from the single GPU setup vs. potenitally better performance from the dual GPU setup later.

 

[gamerx456]

Best answer selected by gamerx456.

 

[gamerx456]

Thanks. It's AMD for me