AMD or Pentium?

[jdavis]

laptop or desktop? build yourself, storebought or ordered off the web? budget pc, average pc, high end pc or extreme gaming pc? Will you be playing games, rendering pictures, ripping CDs, writing PDFs, programming databases or just surfing the net? Pentium 4, Celeron, Athlon XP or Athlon 64? What is your tech level with PC's you a do it yourselfer or a never open the box type?

I could go on, what you've asked the the equivilant of a Coke vs Pepsi question, or a Ford vs Chevy one. Which one is better? well that depends on what you want out of it. If you are looking from a strictly budget standpoint go with the AMD processors, AMD machines are always cheaper at the same levels and performance is always similar (only a real computer junky could tell the difference between the two at similar rankings) but there are several areas where the intel P4s are much better than the AMD chips and areas where the AMD chips are better. If you are just wanting to surf the web and play some occasional games, with some occasional office or word work then you might as well get a Celeron processor (web surfing is not all that dependant on how fast your computer is). Here is the best help I can give you, do some research and shop around before you buy anything, there are so many variables that go into what makes a computer a good one, the fastest processor out there with a cut rate video card is still a crappy machine for games for instance, and having more and faster memory is as important if not more important that processor speeds.

Link to wonderful article comparing current Intel & AMD cpu's: http://www6.tomshardware.com/cpu/20031223/index.html

 

[mps42]

Can-o-worms

That's what that question is. A BIG ol' can-o worms. However, as a self proclaimed computer geek and, since I work with and on computers for a living, I'll do my best to answer the question as asked.
Which is BETTER? Neither. Either BRAND of CPU will run 99.995% of all software currently being sold or written for the general publc.
A better question might have been "Which processor is better for ME given the following: I need a reasonably fast, stable computer that will run windows applications like Word and Excel, get me on the internet and let me play a few of the newer games as well but I only have about (eg) $800 to spend on the new computer.
The answer to THAT question would almost assuredly be AMD. Specifically the AMD AthlonXP series of processors in the 2000+ to 2700+ range. I have configured, built and sold systems like the one listed below for anywhere from $600 to $1200 literally DOZENS of times and they are very stable, reliable and last an average of 2 to 5 years before NEEDING an upgrade to keep up with software.
Hope this helps:

Case: Aspire X-Dreamer II (with 350W PSU) - $59
CPU: AMD Athlon XP 2800+ Barton - $124
Cooling: Vantec AeroFlow VA4-C7040 - $23
Motherboard: MSI K7N2 Delta-L - $73
Memory: 512-MB (2x256-MB) Kingston PC3200 DDR - $80
Hard Drive: 80GB Western Digital SE - $70
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon 9600 Pro - $148
Monitor: Samsung 955DF - $191
Sound Card: 6-Channel Integrated - $0
Speakers: Logitech Z640 6-Piece Speaker System - $60
CD/DVD-ROM: AOpen 48x24x48x16 Combo Drive - $47
Communications: Onboard LAN - $0
Mouse: Microsoft Intellimouse Optical - $15
Keyboard: Microsoft Multimedia Keyboard - $15
Operating System: Windows XP Home - $84
Floppy: Panasonic, TEAC, etc. - $10

Total: $999 plus tax and shipping.

 

[maddmic]

Ok, so now I'm curious. Where do you get your supplies? I'm guessing that you're going through a wholesaler if you're building machine for people? I'm currently looking into a small business of my own and am wondering if wholesale prices are truely that much less than street prices.

As for the debate, chalk another one up for AMD. Those Xeons cook, but aren't cost effective. I've had an AMD proc since I first started building my machines and have not been let down yet. They have earned my business.