Saturday, November 01, 2008

Intel vs AMD : Clearing Up The Myth



Let's say you are given 2 options :
A. Intel Pentium Dual-Core E2180 (2.0 GHz) + Biostar P35D2-A7 (total price: RM525)
B. AMD Athlon X2 5200+ (2.7 GHz) + Biostar TA780G M2+ (total price: RM495)

If you choose option A because you heard people say that Intel rules and AMD sucks, then you are half right. The reason is that Intel really rules......IN THE HIGH-END(RM 600++) section, while AMD sucks because they can't compete in the high-end. But that does not mean that in the low-end(RM200~350), AMD still sucks.

Option A and B, both their performance are almost equivalent (see this, the 5200+ and E6420 you see are 2.6GHz and 2.13GHz respectively, try to gauge the performance yourself). But the difference is the motherboard. While both MB(motherboard) are almost the same price, the AMD MB sports extra features, like an integrated graphics card and smaller chipset die (55nm - means less power consumption).

Not to mention that AMD MB can support next-gen cpu while Intel cannot. Intel likes to change their chipset cpu support every year, so the Intel MB you bought this year might not be compatible with the cpu that released next year.

So it all boils down to choices, whether you prefer AMD or Intel.

Remember, this post is for the non-overclock, average guy. If you are an overclocker, stop telling people to buy Intel cpu because they overclock better, NOT all people understand or want to take the risk of overclocking.

2 comments:

SkyChin said...

Who said existing socket cannot support the latest CPU?It requires you to update the bios[same as AMD's],you know what?LGA775 has been stands for yrs alrdy,opposed to AMD's939,AM2,AM2+ roadmaps.Now they only unveiled the new 1366 socket for the Nehalem aka Bloomfied.

However,in performance and value calculations,AMD's still wins.You do the math.

And also,i have to enlighten you about lower fabrication process doesn't FULLY representing in lower power consumptions.You have to consider along the thermal design power[TDP] which relates alot of complexities of the engineering of a particular CPU/GPU.

Lastly,to be honest that Intel is easier to overclock.You know what?Just buy adjusting the multiplier and bus speed.Maybe if Ram if u wish to.But for AMD's,there a dimm[RAM] table to adjust thus u have to combine with the HyperTransport link also.And most of AMD's processor are locked in multipliers[Except Black Editions].

Ray said...

haih...the existing socket can support, but not the chipset. My p965 chipset can only support core 2 quad q6xxx, even with the latest bios. Not q8xxx nor q9xxx.Whoa, i must have forgot to mention that socket am2 and am2+,not before, can support AMD's denab cpu( their next gen cpu) with bios update.

Of course, amd still wins in price/performance. But in performance, Intel wins. Price? AMD wins. That's why the configuration i made are all AMD based. Cause their price/performance wins~

hmm...well....at least amd's chipset have lower power consumption than intel chipset (p4x)right? i once read that the some intel chipset have to add IHS (integrated heat spreader, normally found on cpu). Hmm...guess lower fab doesn't lower tdp.

err..i'm a intel user...so i know that they overclock easily. but i like to try my hands on amd some time, see how i can overclock.

speaking of amd, didn't you have a phenom and 790gx motherboard in you house now? why don't you write some guide about overclocking it~