Intel i7 2600K versus AMD FX 8150

Even though the Intel i7 2600K (baby 'almost twin' brother of the i7 2700K) came long before (in cpu time scale), the AMD FX 8150 showed up on the scene with a challenge.  Both these CPU's were launched in 2011, their speeds are close, they are both unlocked for overclocking, they have similar cache sizes and are being sold to the same market.  Both Intel and AMD were marketing these processors as their flagship desktop processors until the i7 2700K showed up on the scene.  But still the i7 2600K is almost a twin, and can still be considered to be one of Intel's flagship desktop processors.  They both sport multiple cores, and can handle pretty much anything you can throw at them.  Some key differences do exist.  And if you are price/performance sensitive, only one of them is the best choice for you.  We will start with the basics:

www.knowbytes.com knowbyte on YouTube knowbytes on BlogSpot	Intel i7 2600K	AMD FX 8150
Launched	January 9th, 2011	October 12, 2011
Speed	3400 MHz	3600 MHz
Level 3 Cache (L3)	8 Mega Byte	8 Mega Byte
Price (week of Nov. 10, 2011)	US $315	US $240

First of all, the speed difference is only approximately 6%. This may not be a minuscule speed difference when you are in the Gigahertz range...