AMD vs Intel: Choose the Better CPU for Optimal Performance

  • Thread starter Saint
  • Start date
In summary, both processors are terrible and not worth the money. Intel still uses the same basic instruction sets from the 80's while AMD has made some advances with 64-bit technology. However, AMD is much cheaper and still offers good performance.
  • #1
Saint
437
0
:rofl: Let's vote which CPU is better? AMD or intel? In terms of overall performance.
Why?
 
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  • #2
Both processors are terribly constructed. Both of them still use the same basic, unchanged instruction sets since the 8086.
 
  • #3
I don't know the answer to the OP anymore, because the change to 64bit is making comparisons more complicated. For a long time Intel was a step ahead, but AMD gave more bang for the buck. That was still true a little over a year ago, but I have no idea what it is like now.

Maybe someone can tell us how the new 64bit processors are working out?
 
  • #4
graphic7 said:
Both processors are terribly constructed. Both of them still use the same basic, unchanged instruction sets since the 8086.
so what's the chip to use
or could u build a better one
 
  • #5
i would rather invest in AMD 64 bit CPU, so that i can install 64-bit Windows or linux.
 
  • #6
Both processors are terribly constructed. Both of them still use the same basic, unchanged instruction sets since the 8086.

Well, actually tons has changed but i agree its still a ****ty ISA (8086 was bad when it was new). The AMD64 is quite nicely cleaned up by adding a few more GPR's etc in 64-bit mode. They didn't go as far as i'd like but they took advantage of lack of backward compatibility.
 
  • #7
Saint said:
:rofl: Let's vote which CPU is better? AMD or intel? In terms of overall performance.
Why?
Generally, AMD is better for Gaming and optimized for AMD code..and Intel is better for media, encoding, and optimized for Intel code..
I hope that helps to clarify.
 
  • #8
I like AMD

but that's mainly for price
i haven't had much to compare it with
i have
one
AMD 2200
one
AMD 2600
one
intel p4 2.8
and
celeron 1.6
 
  • #9
Like Tom said, AMD is a lot cheaper, but for the same or near the same performance, but Intel is more corporate style, if you know what I mean..
I have 2 3.06GHz P4s, one at 3.45GHz, and the other at 3.28GHz, a P4 2GHz, a AMD 2400XP, and my server is a VIA c3 650MHz(lol)
I still like the 2400XP, and compare the feel to a stock P4 3.06GHz, so that may tell you somthing...but I wouldn't give up my P4 babies..


and..

Both processors are terribly constructed. Both of them still use the same basic, unchanged instruction sets since the 8086.

Why would you say that, the newer P4s have insane amount of instructions over the 8086..


clock speeds have increased,
bus speeds have increased
instruction sets are more complex and there are more instructions on die
the nm process has decreased substantually.
 
  • #10
Intel is endorsed by a lot of companies and even schools. For instance, any school in my state (Western Australia) have to use Intel processors. Every school is given a "guideline" (it's really a rulebook) for what components to buy for their computers. It's all VERY stupid.

Most governments SUCK when it comes to anything to do with the IT sector.
 
  • #11
Saint said:
i would rather invest in AMD 64 bit CPU, so that i can install 64-bit Windows or linux.

You'll be waiting a long time for the tecnology to actually be useful. 64-bit processors simply aren't needed at the moment, because practically no programs employ 64-bit data processing.

Also, Window XP-64 supposedly isn't coming out for a while...
 
  • #12
amwbonfire said:
Intel is endorsed by a lot of companies and even schools. For instance, any school in my state (Western Australia) have to use Intel processors. Every school is given a "guideline" (it's really a rulebook) for what components to buy for their computers. It's all VERY stupid.

Most governments SUCK when it comes to anything to do with the IT sector.
Why do they suck?
Intel is the most, pardon the expression, stable of all the brands to get, as say, if it had to stay on for 10 days or so, there would be significant damage to AMD XPs, but the P4 would have no damage, the AMDs are more "build it yourself" CPUs, and Intel is like you say, the most corporate..
 
  • #13
Also, Window XP-64 supposedly isn't coming out for a while...

No, you can get the http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/64bit/evaluation/upgrade.mspx right now. The finished version is scheduled to come out late 2004 or early 2005. It's not that long of a wait.

SuSE has had their 64-bit version for quite a long time now.

You'll be waiting a long time for the tecnology to actually be useful. 64-bit processors simply aren't needed at the moment, because practically no programs employ 64-bit data processing.

Not true, they've been leading quite a few speed tests around the net and in periodicals. They are suppose to work great for digital media or gaming tasks.
 
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  • #14
No, you can get the trial version right now. The finished version is scheduled to come out late 2004 or early 2005. It's not that long of a wait.

I didn't know that. All I've heard is that it won't be released until midway through 2005. Thanks for the new information!

Dagenais said:
Not true, they've been leading quite a few speed tests around the net and in periodicals. They are suppose to work great for digital media or gaming tasks.

Mainstream use? I don't see many companies jumping on the 64-bit train. Sure, gaming and media could sure use the extra boost, but for the majority of computer users who only use data processing, etc, it isn't needed yet.

That's my opinion anyway.


Why do they suck?
Intel is the most, pardon the expression, stable of all the brands to get, as say, if it had to stay on for 10 days or so, there would be significant damage to AMD XPs, but the P4 would have no damage, the AMDs are more "build it yourself" CPUs, and Intel is like you say, the most corporate..

I was referring to the dictatorship-like grasp the government has on tecnology in schools in WA. I wasn't specifically talking about Intel being chosen over AMD. I agree with that choice, but not the fact that they don't let schools choose the technology they'd like to buy. Do you have any idea how difficult it is for our "IT guy" to order a custom computer? Even just a decent graphics card for a media computer?
 
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  • #15
I don't see many companies jumping on the 64-bit train.

Most of the large PC makers are using Intel chips for their consumer line. Dell, IBM and Gateway are examples of this.

However, the PC manufacturers who do use AMD have used 64-bit CPUs in their line of 'home computers' for awhile now including, EMachines, ABS, Polywell and HP.
 
  • #16
alexkerhead said:
Why do they suck?
Intel is the most, pardon the expression, stable of all the brands to get, as say, if it had to stay on for 10 days or so, there would be significant damage to AMD XPs, but the P4 would have no damage, the AMDs are more "build it yourself" CPUs, and Intel is like you say, the most corporate..


Funny how my AMD Athlon 1700+ XP has run att maximum load (seti@home on 24/7) for over 1 year (with total down time meassured in days (very few of them at that)).

It's just crap that AMD procs are not as stable. Newest Intel procs have a lot more problems with overheating than any AMD. So please think before you post next time.
 
  • #17
AxMi-24 said:
Funny how my AMD Athlon 1700+ XP has run att maximum load (seti@home on 24/7) for over 1 year (with total down time meassured in days (very few of them at that)).

It's just crap that AMD procs are not as stable. Newest Intel procs have a lot more problems with overheating than any AMD. So please think before you post next time.
lol, you need to get a grip, I never said all AMDs were unstable.^.^ I meant in general.
I have a 1700XP, woot!, I can say whether or not I like the stability.
WHen the fan goes out, you are el'screwed..
I own a 2400XP also, and it would fry without a good fan on it.
This was all I emant really, sorry for the lack of words in my previous post..
That is why huge businesses use Intel and VIa, because if somthing were to happen to the cooling, the PC would be semi-operational, so work could go on, but AMD would need immediate repair..
That is all I am saying there dude..
 
  • #18
I will 2nd [or 3rd, 4th, etc] the motion that AMD is more bang for the buck, at least up to the past year or so. I jumped off the Intel bandwagon over four years ago and never looked back. It has been my experience a comparable AMD CPU will perform as well or better than the Intel equivalent at a fraction of the cost. It was the first legitimate competitor to the Intel corner on the market and put some sorely needed downward price pressure on Pentium processors. That's a good thing in and of itself.
 
  • #19
alexkerhead said:
lol, you need to get a grip, I never said all AMDs were unstable.^.^ I meant in general.
I have a 1700XP, woot!, I can say whether or not I like the stability.
WHen the fan goes out, you are el'screwed..
I own a 2400XP also, and it would fry without a good fan on it.
This was all I emant really, sorry for the lack of words in my previous post..
That is why huge businesses use Intel and VIa, because if somthing were to happen to the cooling, the PC would be semi-operational, so work could go on, but AMD would need immediate repair..
That is all I am saying there dude..

P4 wannt work that well either without cooling (ok it would slow down to a crawl which is still unusable for any real work, try running XP on something that works att couple of MHz...). Besides AMD has implemented heat protection in all newer procs so that's old stuff you are talking about. Fan failure wouldn't do any damage. And besides things like fan failure and similar are so rare that it's no real concern anyway. Like I said mine has been upp and running for 1 year att ful load and not a single problem with cooling.
 
  • #20
Chronos said:
I will 2nd [or 3rd, 4th, etc] the motion that AMD is more bang for the buck, at least up to the past year or so. I jumped off the Intel bandwagon over four years ago and never looked back. It has been my experience a comparable AMD CPU will perform as well or better than the Intel equivalent at a fraction of the cost. It was the first legitimate competitor to the Intel corner on the market and put some sorely needed downward price pressure on Pentium processors. That's a good thing in and of itself.
I will say AMD is great for the price, but only for the end-user, but people like me who run code, and encode stuff, well, need a CPU that is designed pretty much for that..
 
  • #21
AMD will roll out the dual-core processor for desktop ahead of intel in 2005.
 
  • #22
And so the processor wars begin...

Why don't we just say one's better for word processing/office stuff, and the other's better for gaming and media?

Just get whichever processor is better for your computer's main function.
 
  • #23
The most powerful desktop in next year will be Dual core 64-bit CPU + 1GB DDR800MHz RAM + SATA HDD + 256MB PCI EXpress Graphic card + Creative Audigy 7.1 Channel Sound card
 
  • #24
Saint said:
The most powerful desktop in next year will be Dual core 64-bit CPU + 1GB DDR800MHz RAM + SATA HDD + 256MB PCI EXpress Graphic card + Creative Audigy 7.1 Channel Sound card
Nice idea for a PC, but you forgot one thing...CASH
 
  • #25
Saint said:
The most powerful desktop in next year will be Dual core 64-bit CPU + 1GB DDR800MHz RAM + SATA HDD + 256MB PCI EXpress Graphic card + Creative Audigy 7.1 Channel Sound card
Nice idea for a PC, but you forgot one thing...CASH
AMD is no longer cheaper for the same performance..
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=914142
P4 3.4GHz $299

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=698446
AMD 3400 $299

AMD is no longer going on the "bang for buck" idea, they are now trying to directly compete with Intel.
 
  • #26
alexkerhead said:
AMD is no longer cheaper for the same performance..

AMD is no longer going on the "bang for buck" idea, they are now trying to directly compete with Intel.
AMD long ago stopped trying to be cheaper than Intel at every performance level, but AMD and Intel still have different price/performance curves, so which is cheaper/faster depends on how much money you are looking to spend. From http://www.pricewatch.com/m/mn.aspx?i=3&f=1 [Broken] , while a P4 3.4 and A64 3400 will cost you about the same ~$285, an XP 300 costs about $100, while a P4 3.0 costs $180.

And as you can see, AMD holds the performance lead in the mainstream desktop market right now, though both have faster limited production chips (P4 EE and A64 FX). Amd's fastest mainstream chip is the 3800, while Intel's is the 3.4.
 
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  • #27
russ_watters said:
AMD long ago stopped trying to be cheaper than Intel at every performance level, but AMD and Intel still have different price/performance curves, so which is cheaper/faster depends on how much money you are looking to spend. From http://www.pricewatch.com/m/mn.aspx?i=3&f=1 [Broken] , while a P4 3.4 and A64 3400 will cost you about the same ~$285, an XP 300 costs about $100, while a P4 3.0 costs $180.

And as you can see, AMD holds the performance lead in the mainstream desktop market right now, though both have faster limited production chips (P4 EE and A64 FX). Amd's fastest mainstream chip is the 3800, while Intel's is the 3.4.
Here is my main Computer running 3.4GHz with a P4 B, and as you can see, the old B's have a some kick in them..
http://alexrushing.com/miscpictures/megaownage2.jpg [Broken]
 
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  • #28
alexkerhead said:
Here is my main Computer running 3.4GHz with a P4 B, and as you can see, the old B's have a some kick in them..
http://alexrushing.com/miscpictures/megaownage2.jpg [Broken]
Nice. I run an XP 2500+ overclocked generally to 3200+ speeds (downclocked it a little for the summer though).
 
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  • #29
russ_watters said:
Nice. I run an XP 2500+ overclocked generally to 3200+ speeds (downclocked it a little for the summer though).
I am glad you like to o/c, it is my hobby, also just received a sl6dv P4, so I will be overclocking some uberness soon..
btw, is that 2500 a barton? or a mobile?
if it is, you could do 2.6GHz with it on air, and that would be uber fast..
 
  • #30
alexkerhead said:
btw, is that 2500 a barton? or a mobile?
if it is, you could do 2.6GHz with it on air, and that would be uber fast..
Barton. Its a little more than a year old. I'm happy with the overclock I'm getting, but I sscrewed up with the motherboard choice: I have an Epox 8rda and its fsb is nowhere near as overclockable as the 8rda+. 190 is my max depending on timings.
 
  • #31
russ_watters said:
Barton. Its a little more than a year old. I'm happy with the overclock I'm getting, but I sscrewed up with the motherboard choice: I have an Epox 8rda and its fsb is nowhere near as overclockable as the 8rda+. 190 is my max depending on timings.
still very nice CPU..

I have a 2400 barton running 2.4GHz, but they are not the good ones, what I would like as in AMD would be a 2500 Barton Mobile, with multiplier unlocked..
Got the 2.4GHz up to 3.2GHz on my ASUS board, but I need better mem.
 
  • #32
anyone use VIA or Transmeta ?
 
  • #33
I've had my 1.4ghz Thunderbird for quite awhile now, and I'm *very* satisfied when it comes to performance. Over the years that I've had it, I've seen it outrun a few Pentium 3 and first-generation Pentium 4 processors.

A few years ago, I would've saved Intel for servers and high-end workstations (dual Pentium 3 Xeons are awesome, I know). Now that AMD has the Opteron, my next workstation will be an dual Opterons, of course.
 
  • #34
Saint said:
anyone use VIA or Transmeta ?
yuppers, got a VIA C3 650MHz in my server with a passive cooler, and runs 29c when transfering files for two days and folding..
 
  • #35
BigStarFish said:
Do you able to tell me what VIA is you are telling ?

Sorry Being interupting. I have really deep interste in computer chunks and links.
:wink:
not a problem, I am glad you are taking interest..
VIA is the third place competitor in the CPU market, mostly being used for blade servers, etc...
They are the coolest running CPU on market, usually only wanting a passive cooler, and somtimes, like in blade servers, no cooler at all..
My C3 is a Samual core, witha 100MHz bus, with a multiplier of 6.5x.
Here is a 1GHz version(not samual)(it is an ezra), it is on par with the performance of a 600MHz P3, but the C3 does not need any good cooling, I just recommend a passive heatsink..
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...CP2-V450-1000 C&SRCCODE=NEXTAG&CMP=EMC-NEXTAG
 
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