AMD Athlon versus Intel Pentium

[Jerry]

Probably not the right newsgroup, but I'm trialing vista RC2 on a Gateway
Pentium 4 2.6 GHZ and am considering getting a new pc.

I've always had Intel Pentiums but I see a lot of advertising for AMD
Athlons. I use my pc for email, surfing and photo editing.

Could I get some opinions as to which is a better processor Intel or AMD.

Thanks in Advance,
Jerry

 

[Kerry Brown]

That's a lot like asking if you should buy a Ford or a Chev. Both AMD and
Intel make good CPUs. The overall design and features of a system make more
difference than which brand of CPU is in it.

 

[will_s]

Probably not the right newsgroup, but I'm trialing vista RC2 on a Gateway
Pentium 4 2.6 GHZ and am considering getting a new pc.

I've always had Intel Pentiums but I see a lot of advertising for AMD
Athlons. I use my pc for email, surfing and photo editing.

Could I get some opinions as to which is a better processor Intel or AMD.

Thanks in Advance,
Jerry

at the moment...Intel Core 2 Duo by a country mile

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

I use a Core Duo, Core 2 Duo E6600, and AMD64 x2 4400+ on three of my boxes
and have no complaints about any of them. If you are buying today, I
recommend the Core 2 Duo.

 

[Jeff Gaines]

Could I get some opinions as to which is a better processor Intel or AMD.

As others have said the Core 2 Duo is top of the pack at the moment -
after AMD being leaders for quite a while. That could well change again
over time of course.

The E6600 seems to be the sweet spot at the moment.

 

[Richard G. Harper]

Neither is substantially "better" than the other. At times one will
represent a better value than the other based on performance and market
price but in the end it won't really matter which one you bought because
either processor will get the job done and either processor will be outdated
within six months of the time you purchase it. ;-)

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Shell/User] (e-mail address removed)
* NEW! Catch my blog ... http://msmvps.com/blogs/rgharper/
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
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[Alias]

Probably not the right newsgroup, but I'm trialing vista RC2 on a Gateway
Pentium 4 2.6 GHZ and am considering getting a new pc.

I've always had Intel Pentiums but I see a lot of advertising for AMD
Athlons. I use my pc for email, surfing and photo editing.

Could I get some opinions as to which is a better processor Intel or AMD.

Thanks in Advance,
Jerry

Both are good. AMD is much cheaper.

Alias

 

[Rick Rogers]

Good analogy, as like the Ford/Chevy debate, both processors have their
proponents. I find the AMD's to be a better buy, but the Intel faithful will
say the same about theirs.

I'd say that Jerry should spend just as much time, perhaps more, picking out
a motherboard. Then worry about which processor fits it. Email and surfing
run with minimal processor usage, but the photo editing is the real
cruncher. You will want dual channel ram that supports as much memory as you
can afford. Don't skimp on the speed ratings here either, you want a system
that runs DDR2 PC5300. The less paging you do, the faster the system will
be.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org

 

[Jon_Hildrum]

I'm an AMD fan and all my 5 machines use AMD processors. Cost VS performance
when I bought them. However, if were to upgrade today, I believe I would go
for an Intel Dual Core.

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

I think that the feature AMD describes as "enhanced virus protection" is
nothing more than DEP. It stops the execution of code injected into an
instruction stream if the OS supports it, but it does not provide the kind
of virus protection that AV scanners do. It does not look for signatures
and such.

I have been using and AMD64 x2 4400+ for a year and a half and love it.

 

[Jerry]

Thanks to all of you who responded to my question. I see now how complex it
is. Definitely will have to do more research.

Thanks again and Happy New Year.

Jerry

 

[David R. Norton MVP]

Probably not the right newsgroup, but I'm trialing vista RC2 on a
Gateway Pentium 4 2.6 GHZ and am considering getting a new pc.

I've always had Intel Pentiums but I see a lot of advertising for
AMD Athlons. I use my pc for email, surfing and photo editing.

Could I get some opinions as to which is a better processor Intel
or AMD.

Real simple answer, AMD give you a bit more performance per dollar than
Intel, Intel right now has the fastest overall processors.

So to sum it up, if having the fastest available in important to you,
go with Intel, if money matters get AMD, if you want the absolute
fastest computer on earth, give up, what ever you buy will be several
generations obsolete by the time you get it home and plug it in. <sigh>

 

[Guest]

Collin,
Well, after re-reading AMDs information, it appears that likely you are
correct regarding Athlon x2 using the DEP process. It least, the Athlon x2
utilizes the similar if not same protcol as Windows DEP. Since AMD maintains
the Athlon x2 enhances virus protection likely their claims are factual,
wishfully.

The best part, using Athlon x2, Vista OS, DEP, Defender, and BitLocker 256
encryption I remain confident my Vista(s) OS are very safe and secure from
hostile attacks to the extent that I am not convinced third party anti-virus
applications are necessary, specifically with safe browsing habits.

Also, Intel does not describe their processors as having enhanced virus
protection; logic dictates there is a reason that Intel does not and AMD
does... be that as it may, in my view, AMD is the best and safest way to run
a Windows OS. No, I do not represent AMD, just a more than very satisfied
Athlon x2 user.

Thank you for your information.