Wow, this really turned into a mahoosive argument.
How about we start respecting each other's points of view?
The thing is, that because of the massive architecture differences, it is hard to do proper comparisons. AMD and Intel processors work in different ways.
I think the question to be asked is not which is a better cpu, but which is better for what I need? Both brands will do nicely in gaming, some better than others, some will be more efficient.
Few years back, AMD was the way to go. Now, Intel seems to have the crown, and from what I seen and all the reviews I read (both online and in magazines) , AMD plays catch up. In very general way: high-end AMD will match a mid-range Intel - both with price and performance.
So look this way: will you be upgrading processor soon? Get Intel, as the high-end Intel cpus have no alternatives in the AMD range.
Are you planning to stay with your processor? Choose AMD as they tend not to change their chipsets all that often, and in few years they should catch up nicely, or maybe even get ahead of Intel, who knows?
As far as all they years of my experience goes:
1. Low-end: choose AMD;
2. Mid-range: it doesn't matter, but prioritize higher clock speeds than amount of cores;
3. High-end: choose Intel, as AMD does not have a cpu to fit this spot, yet.
