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Help me compare intel and AMD

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by sammo1999, 19 Oct 2005.

  1. sammo1999

    sammo1999 What's a Dremel?

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    I'm writing a paper for my freshman writing class comparing and contrasting Intel and AMD. I am going to argue that AMD is the superior brand.

    What points should I make? What makes AMD better?

    Lower Heat
    Cheaper
    Better For Gaming
    Better Dual Core
    ...
    ...

    Any specifics example I could include would be greatly appreciated too.
    (I will also be doing research and will post my finding here)
     
  2. dom_

    dom_ --->

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    how can you say a whole brand is better than another without going through EVERY item they make and comparing them. Then concluding on which has the best overall compared.
     
  3. sammo1999

    sammo1999 What's a Dremel?

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    Just saying in general.
     
  4. MrWillyWonka

    MrWillyWonka Chocolate computers galore!

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    I guess you're 4 points are valid in some ways, but if you are going to be writing an essay, you are going to need some hard evidence, so will have to be comparing! You can't really say that AMD is better because you think it is, you might know it is, but you have to prove it!
     
  5. yodasarmpit

    yodasarmpit Modder

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    I would wait until you gather all your finding before deciding which is superior.

    And you have to decide, superior in what way, gaming performance (in which games), encoding, working with mutiple applications, watching DVD's and so on.
     
  6. sammo1999

    sammo1999 What's a Dremel?

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    My paper is not meant to be "scientific" for lack of a better word. I didnt mention before but it is supposed to be one sided, and only point out the things that one does better. If intel is better for DVD encoding, for example, I would not mention that because it doesnt support my thesis that AMD is better.

    Its not for a computer class, so im sure my teacher will have no idea what im talking about. The idea is just to compare and contrast, while proving a point.
     
  7. Godboy_g

    Godboy_g What's a Dremel?

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    You might try googling around a bit, so that you can get a broader range of data. Any info you get from forums will mostly just be people's opinions. It might help if you try to narrow your topic down to a specific range of AMD processors, and compare them to the equivilant Intel versions. You could include benchmarks, etc.....

    Also you might want to check with your prof to make sure that you will be allowed to use an online forum as a reference. That being said.....

    AMD is better because acronyms ROCK! :rock: lol
     
  8. sammo1999

    sammo1999 What's a Dremel?

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    We do not have to site references. The more I think about this assignment the more stupid it seems. We could basically make a bunch of crap up as long as it proves our point. Maybe i'll hold off on the AMD -VS- Intel and just do something else that will be easier, if not as much fun.
     
  9. Lazlow

    Lazlow I have a dremel.

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    You could get away with it... first start by writing a hypothesis - you believe that AMD is better than Intel. Then do some research and write it up. Then analyse the research in the essay and draw up some results and conclusions. Then you can finally finish with after all your research you believe your hypothesis is still true...
     
  10. scotty6435

    scotty6435 What's a Dremel?

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    52%.... 52%





    :D
     
  11. TekMonkey

    TekMonkey I enjoy cheese.

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    Don't use the word believe though, write it as though it were a hard fact. You don't want to undermine yourself. :D
     
  12. Lazlow

    Lazlow I have a dremel.

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    My bad, as Tekmonkey said. But it is possible to argue that they're better, just as long as you back it up with research.
     
  13. Highland3r

    Highland3r Minimodder

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    Why do you have to argue which is the superior brand? Compare and contrast the 2 and come to a conclusion based on that. Intel cpu's are better for some things, and AMD for others... Why does 1 have to be a winner?
    Did you forget the Pentium M? It runs up there with the FX's for gaming.... ;)
     
  14. TekMonkey

    TekMonkey I enjoy cheese.

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    He said it's a one-sided argumentive paper he has to write.
     
  15. star882

    star882 What's a Dremel?

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    I actually once wrote a paper comparing Intel and AMD CPUs. The conclusion was to buy whichever one was better value.

    AMD or Intel?
    Twenty years ago, only hobbyists and businesses owned computers. Now, computers are not only extremely popular, but they're used for more tasks than ever before. From doing schoolwork to making movies at home, a computer is an everyday tool. Programmers have been creating many new and unconventional uses for computers, including HDTV recording, advanced media centers, and Internet TV. Recently, computers are being used as canvases for various forms of high-tech art. Case modding, as it is called, involves modifying computer cases to make them look or work better. Some computers look like those from a science fiction movie, while others don't even look like computers. Another form of computer modding is called overclocking, the act of making hardware, usually CPUs, to work faster than their design speed. Overclockers prefer to overclock hardware that is fast to begin with. As a result, a common debate among overclockers is "AMD or Intel". To answer this question, we have to consider important characteristics of the CPUs, including but not limited to, core clock speed, architecture, FSB speed, and price.
    Intel invented the CPU in 1971, three years after the company was founded. The CPU revolutionized the electronics industry and made home computers possible (Intel). Later, Japanese memory chip manufacturers put pressure on Intel, so Andy Grove decided to put more effort into CPUs. Soon, the rapid growth of the PC industry gave Intel an advantage. This, combined with other innovations, caused Intel to dominate much of the PC industry (Wikipedia). Nowadays, Intel is a major driving force behind today's Internet Economy (Intel).
    AMD was founded in 1969 to manufacture logic chips. Six years later, it released a clone of the 8080 CPU. At roughly the same time, it made CPUs of its own design. However, that design did not thrive very well, so AMD stuck with the x86 architecture. Soon, AMD's first true success occurred with the Athlon CPU. It was 35% faster than a Pentium 3 at the same clock speed. This caused Intel to redesign the P6 core and manufacturing difficulties resulted due to the rushed design. AMD used Intel's trouble to its advantage. For the first time, AMD caught the media's attention (Wikipedia).
    Currently, Intel doesn't have much technological advantage. It does usually add enhancements to its CPUs faster, but AMD often puts the same enhancements into its CPUs shortly after Intel does so, negating that advantage. However, the "Pressler" core CPUs will use the 65nm process while AMD is sticking with its 90nm SOI process (Shimpi). The actual advantage of this is controversial, though.
    Intel's main advantage is that it is very well-known. There are numerous TV ads for Intel, almost everyone who owns a PC has heard about Intel, and it has had a mostly good reputation throughout its history. Intel CPUs are also used a lot in name brand PCs from Dell, HP, Toshiba, Sony, and many others. Almost all of the PDAs on the market use Intel CPUs.
    One of the greatest weaknesses of Intel CPUs is that so far, all of them use a shared bus. This problem becomes worse when there are multiple CPUs, as the bandwidth per CPU decreases as the number of CPUs increases (Yager). Just like how traffic jams form on highways when there are too many cars, a traffic jam will form on a CPU's data bus if there is too much data. This causes more wait states for the CPU and the performance decreases.
    There are no market disadvantages for Intel's desktop CPUs, for they are very well-known. However, Intel does not currently market 64-bit mobile CPUs, leaving an opportunity for AMD to thrive. In fact, AMD found its Mobile Athlon 64 so successful that it's planning the Turion, the next generation of the mobile 64-bit CPU (Mainelli). That will likely cause problems for Intel later on as more people are convinced that AMD makes great mobile CPUs.
    Intel's attempt to create a 64-bit CPU failed because it wasn't backwards compatible. The Itanium, as it was called, runs existing 32-bit software very slowly. People do not like to invest in totally new software just to make it work on a new server. Besides, there wasn't much software for Itanium (Coffee). It's the classic "chicken and egg" problem; there is no market for a CPU without software, and there is no market for software without a CPU for it to run on.
    AMD's chief advantage is the use of up to four data busses on its Opteron CPU. As the number of CPUs increases, the total bandwidth increases. The Opteron's on-chip memory controller reduces memory latency and gives each CPU a dedicated memory channel. Communications to other CPUs and the rest of the system is done with HyperTransport (Yager).
    Intel does not plan to market 64-bit mobile CPUs in 2005. Unlike Intel, AMD is already marketing a mobile 64-bit CPU, the Mobile Athlon 64. AMD also plans to release a new 64-bit chip, called Turion, in summer 2005 (Mainelli). AMD has an advantage over Intel because it's the only company that currently manufactures mobile 64-bit CPUs.
    AMD's only major technological disadvantage is that its Opteron CPU requires ECC memory. However, Opterons were meant for business applications, where ECC memory is often used for reliability and stability reasons. For high-end home PCs, AMD's Athlon 64 FX performs almost as good as an Opteron and takes standard PC memory.
    AMD's biggest problem is that it isn't as well-known as Intel. However, that's changing as AMD becomes more well-known, particularly in the IT marketplace (Wikipedia).
    The general advice is to let money be the guide. Buy CPUs that have the best performance for the dollar. For PC builders, AMD CPUs are often cheaper than Intel CPUs of the same performance. Also make sure that the other hardware is high quality to avoid slowing down the CPU. Buying a high-end CPU and then slowing it down with a cheap motherboard is not a good investment. Ask computer experts for advice. Computer technology changes so fast that books and other articles become outdated very fast.
     
  16. mUrml

    mUrml What's a Dremel?

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    I truly like the fact that one of your criteria is Gaming....
    I wonder why... Gaming isnt the biggest market in cpu manufacturing, wether you like it or not... So you would probably try something like "stability" etc...
     
  17. Firehed

    Firehed Why not? I own a domain to match.

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    Heh, I get nailed for that all the time in persuasive essays. I have this thing about putting words in people's mouths I guess.

    Anyways, dig up some benchmarks. At the same price point, compare performance in several areas. Compare price points at X performance level. Compare associated costs (motherboards, ram [ddr/ddr2, as intel uses the latter and amd the former]). Throw in something with Cool 'n' Quiet, and how it'll save the environment and cut back on global warming, or something that'll find that special place in a treehugger. Do something like "Putting $600 into the motherboard, processor and system memory between the two brands, while keeping all other remaining components the same, you get X performance out of the Intel machine and Y out of the AMD." Toss in something about stock heatsink noise levels and how air cooling for a Prescott tends to lead to mental instability.

    Basically, opinions will be worthless. Yes, the gaming community will all say AMD is better, but in a writing piece about it, you need statistics. Gaming is a worthy benchmark, but as mUrml said, most people aren't gaming. Maybe something fun about how Intel is effectively bribing Dell to only use their procs. But you need general-use info as well.
     
  18. Shadowed_fury

    Shadowed_fury Minimodder

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    Rofl, so true! ;)
     
  19. MNC Fear

    MNC Fear Banned

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    AMD has the jump at the moment but it always seems to swing the way the GPU wars do. There will never be a clear winner only one will ever be better at some things than the other and itll keep changing.
     

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