Intel versus AMD has anyone ever changed their loyalties?

[$eamonk3y]

What's wrong with AMD? (I'm about to buy one). They seem to be way cheaper for what you get...

$eamonk3y

[roorooroo]

I just buy the best bang for pound (buck) processor whenever i'm upgrading. I've had both AMD and Intel many times.

[aidanjt]

What's wrong with AMD?

Nothing at all.

[Georgy291]

They wouldn't if they were charged 1000s for the low end.

meh my point was apple dont make their own chips, they just get w/e is offthe shelf and overprice it alot

[shadowmaster]

I tend to go with the best value for money, but I admit I have a slight soft spot for AMD. So if ever the situation arises where there are two cpu's, both equal in performance and price, I'd pick the AMD

Currently from what I can gather atm AMD seem to be better value for money especially if you have a smaller budget (£500 or less). If you have something like a grand to spend then Intel seem to be the best atm with the I7.

[Sputnik]

Most of the PC's I've put together have been with AMD CPU's I was tempted to go with Intel e5200 this time but, used an AMD 720be in the end.

One thing is for sure, I will never pay more than £150 for a CPU ever again.

[kalniel]

meh my point was apple dont make their own chips, they just get w/e is offthe shelf and overprice it alot

Same as Dell, Mesh, SCAN, Cyberpower, Viglen etc.? They all get off the shelf chips rather than make their own.

[Funkstar]

What about yourself, do you have a preference AMD or Intel? can anyone hear you imagine what would happen if AMD went out of business? Intel could charge £1000 for their low end CPUs. And what could anyone of us do about it? If they ever get a total monopoly, maybe by buying out AMD in a hostile takeover, each one of us is going to be royally screwed, no ifs and buts no maybes.

Can intel afford to let AMD fail though?

The amount of regulatory pressure Intel would be under from the DoJ and the EU would be horrific. Neither side of the atlantic would let Intel be the only mainstream desktop, laptop and server processor vendor. Likewise there is no way in hell Intel could take over AMD, it just wouldn't happen.

What I can see, is Intel pumping money into AMD in exchange for a non-controlling stake in the company, or just as temporary loans. The same goes for Nvidea to be honest, they would get hammered if they were the only real graphics vendor. There simply isn't enough competition in the system component market for any more consolidation or for any of them to go bust. Someone would need to step in to prop the market up.

[synaesthesia]

As with many, I generally buy on a combination of whats best at the time and what will offer the best/easiest upgrade paths. Currently I believe that honour lies with AMD on the AM2/AM3 platforms, as the i5/i7 deal isn't exactly fantastic for moving forward IMO.
However, I don't like AMD as a company too much. Years of absolutely shoddy software from their graphics arm and some truly shocking hardware faux pas such as the Phenom and the original Athlons.
Each have had their absolute gems of course - the Thunderbirds and Barton's were AMD's jewels in the crown, the latter of which wouldn't have been an "ooh, I remember those fondly" name without, ironically, nVidia's input. And of course the Core2 kit from Intel.
Swings and roundabouts though - in my opinion, sticking with one company just out of any form of brand loyalty is like cutting your nose off to spite your face.

[Kumagoro]

If performance is much the same for similar money I would choose AMD over intel.
More competition is good so why not.

The last computer I built for a friend used Phenom II , a 790X mobo, and an ATI 4670.
I could possibly have got more from using an intel and nvidia combo but I think the
difference would not have been significantly noticeable.

[staffsMike]

Last few I have built are AMD due to the better IGP options available

There's nothing in the CPU's day to day in my opinion, even back when it was early C2D vs X2..

[Sputnik]

Last few I have built are AMD due to the better IGP options available

That is one of the reasons I went AMD after taking your advice on the AMD IGP's

[Funkstar]

AMD systems are also just easier to build in my opinion.

I'm not talking about physically putting them together, but deciding on the components in the first place.

When building my C2Q desktop, it took me ages to work out what chipset I should be using. I was limited to a low profile system with a µATX motherboard, but all the different variations of chipset and the shear choice of motherboards was daunting.

Building my HTPCs though was dead easy. AMD have done a good job with the AM2/+/3 socket.

[staffsMike]

The standard HSF fitting is far easier and better on the AMD's though. Takes but a moment to fit them and you have the backplate as standard, a far better design imo.

[kopite]

I was a fairly big AMD fanboi for a long time but when i built my last system it seemed daft to go for anything other than a intel q6600 chip. The price/performance of the chip seemed to beat everything else out there at the time and Its done me well since then.

My HTPC uses AMD for the reason mentioned earlier(IGP is a lot better for HTPC useage) And also because the chip i got (think its the 4850e) is really low powered and with the help of a scythe ninja can be run passively.

[DeludedGuy]

I never understood this nonsense about being a fanboi, just get whats best for you.

I have had 2 Intel systems and 2 AMD systems, both were great, I'm going to upgrade in the next 2-3 months and I'm currently looking at the AMD X4 940 but I havent ruled out Intel if they bring their prices down.