Athlon vs Intel, I was wondering

[muchmark]

Hi,
This forum and others like it seems to have a disproportional amount of people having problems with AMD Athlon rather than with Intel. Has anyone notice this ? My opinion is that do it yourselfers are most likely to use AMD chips while corporations use mostly Intel. I was just wondering.

Regards...

[GroundZero3]

This forum and others like it seems to have a disproportional amount of people having problems with AMD Athlon rather than with Intel. Has anyone notice this ? My opinion is that do it yourselfers are most likely to use AMD chips while corporations use mostly Intel. I was just wondering.

The reason why most people are using amd I believe is because AMD makes a faster and cheaper chip than Intel. If you go onto pricewatch and check out the chip prices. Intel is so expensive!
When you buy an Intel you are paying for the name more than the speed.
As for problems with amd like you said it seems more people are using amd and well that’s why theres a lot more questions about AMD than Intel. I think AMD makes a great stable chip. But it also depends on the mb, ram and other hardware you get with the system. Also some people do not know how to cool an amd chip and those suckers get hot too.
Hope that explains some

JaYsin

[This message has been edited by GroundZero3 (edited 07-31-2001).]

[Brangwen]

I echo GroundZero's sentiments. I add that many computer self-builders switched over from owning a familiar chip (Intel) to a less known CPU, AMD. (At least that was the case with me.) This Spring when I decided to build a new system, I had already built / assembled a half dozen Intel powered boxes. It was new and exciting to me to try something different. Something other than the "same ole Intel" with many factors to consider, components and chipsets to learn about. AMD intrigued me. Intel did not. My 72 year old "bud" was an "Intel man" till I called him a weenie (in jest) and we both built AMDs, being competitive as Hell from choosing chips, mobos, components, cases, et cetera. Great fun. My 1.33GHz at 1.54GHz is an incredible chip, and I have NO complaints about my fantastic system. The experience has been a challenge and great fun.

Brangwen http://www.sysopt.com/forum/wink.gif

PS: And my system kicks the **** of any Intel I've seen!

[This message has been edited by Brangwen (edited 07-31-2001).]

[RayH]

Personally, since the earliest days of the XT I've always had a clone microprocessor, starting with an NEC V0-20 which is a clone of the Intel 8088. My computers have have always done what I've needed them to do.

Most of the trouble is actually with the chipsets! I don't like VIA. So I've switched to building Intel with Intel chipsets!

I've built two this year for my college sons. They are on the opposite coast. They don't build computers. I feel the Intels will be more reliable!

[doctj]

I agree with the Via chipset being the cause of AMD's problems. I think AMD should enter the chipset business fully like Intel to remove this last hurdle to widespread acceptance. I have a friend who built a dual intel p3 system with the via chipset and 686b southbridge. We're having almost identical problems with win2k, our video cards and zip 100 drives even though my system is athlon based.

[Dputiger]

I agree, that the instabilities most people have are VIA, not AMD, based, but even so, I've worked with nothing but VIA chipsets ON AMD boards, and am having no problems.

Frankly, I'd rate AMD above Intel in every category, from value to reliability.

Especially considering the Pentium 4 throttles down to 50% speed in order not to over heat on a regular basis. Seems to me that building a processor that overheats, THEN forcing it to down-throttle to combat the problem is not a sign of reliability--just the opposite.

[daveleau]

Yes, the instability is linked to VIA, not AMD. There are so many chipsets for Intel, including the aging, but rock solid BX chipset, that people just don't have as many setup problems. Also, so many more people are going AMD. Since many more are buying them, it will appear that more problems arise with AMD. I just went from a strict Intel systems setup where I had 3 Celerons and 2 PIII's to an all T-bird setup. i am using two different VIA chipset mobos, and have LOVED it! SO MUCH more sped for the money. The only drawback, is that they run hotter, but they can also handle more heat. The max on an Intel chip is 50C, where it is closer to 60C on an AMD (for stability).

Dave