Computer help - AMD vs Intel processor for desktop

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Originally Posted By: 92saturnsl2


Intel, on the other hand, had its own chipset with variations that correlated to a certain market segment-- entry level, midrange, performance and server. Choosing one was as simple as deciding which features you wanted and how much you had to spend, but you always knew what you were getting, and with very few exceptions, were always rock solid.

There's no question that factored into an OEM's decision to offer Intel's CPUs. After a time, Nvidia became the de facto AMD chipset, until AMD began releasing their own on a large scale. Things were always simpler on the AMD side since then, for better or worse...


I was in the same boat. Made decisions pretty easy. I had both a Slot A with an AMD 760-series chipset (which was rock solid) and a Slot 1 P3 on a 440BX. Both top of the desktop line at the time. Both boards were ABIT, a brand that had a pretty dramatic fall from grace. I'm sure you remember them too
smile.gif


Yes, I recall NVidia really being the "go to" for anything that wasn't a major low budget build, in which case VIA, SiS and ALI were on the menu. But even the NVidia chipsets had their own share of issues. Remember the entire absence of storage controller drivers? Having to use the "generic" windows ones? LOL! Then AMD bought ATI and started pumping out their own complete chipset solutions again for the desktop, laptop and workstation market. It seems to have worked out well IMHO as it filled that hole that was missing
 
Originally Posted By: 92saturnsl2
I hope AMD releases something big, and fast. I like AMD just as much as anybody (probably more) but I still live in reality...


The new Ryzen stuff from AMD looks quite promising.

I've always been an AMD fan since the 486 days -had the Am485, K5, K6, Athlon, Athlon XP before going Mac in 2002. Even built and sold a bunch of them. I found them to be excellent performers and very reliable. In some cases better than Intel. When I was doing PC's I'd actively find AMD systems. IMHO, Intel is a scummy company on the order of Microsoft.

Their Opterons were superior server chips for database and VMware workloads when VMware was in its beginnings - more performance and lower power and cost than a comparable Xeon.

If I were building a system today it'd be an 8 core FX series CPU.

Only reason my machine now has Intel is it's a Mac. My next machine (HP Spectre x360) will have Intel only because nobody makes a stylus 2-in-1 with AMD inside. If I didn't need that I'd get another AMD.
 
I like this thread but I`m not at all technical on computers. I was wondering what would be the right for me? I mainly use my computer for just internet surfing,forums ,email, and online banking.Looking for something that browses quick and will hold up, reliable.Say the same computers have the same processor and similar everything else should I be afraid to by a certain brand computer?If I do purchase I would look for something under $400 on sale.
 
I've had the best of luck with HP and Lenovo on the PC side of things. My Dad has had a few Asus laptops and they seem to also hold up well. Dell is garbage.

Other than that I'd say pick the fastest CPU and most RAM you can afford.
 
Originally Posted By: Jimkobb
I like this thread but I`m not at all technical on computers. I was wondering what would be the right for me? I mainly use my computer for just internet surfing,forums ,email, and online banking.Looking for something that browses quick and will hold up, reliable.Say the same computers have the same processor and similar everything else should I be afraid to by a certain brand computer?If I do purchase I would look for something under $400 on sale.


I would find that last computer the OP linked to... It's a heck of a deal for under $400. Note that you'll have to provide your own monitor and peripherals.

Edit:

The computer the OP decided to purchase is no longer on sale. It used to be under $400. Here is the link: http://www.staples.com/Lenovo-IdeaCentre...product_2454229

See if it comes back on sale, or find another equivalent if you can.. It was a heck of a deal.

I would recommend finding someone who builds computers on the side in your area... Most folks can build a sub-$400 PC with a solid state drive, that will perform worlds faster than anything you can buy from a prebuilt manufacturer.
 
Originally Posted By: Jimkobb
I like this thread but I`m not at all technical on computers. I was wondering what would be the right for me? I mainly use my computer for just internet surfing,forums ,email, and online banking.Looking for something that browses quick and will hold up, reliable.Say the same computers have the same processor and similar everything else should I be afraid to by a certain brand computer?If I do purchase I would look for something under $400 on sale.


I'd recommend not over-thinking it. Your use case is very basic. Our desktop computer performs the exact same functions: internet, email, and online banking. Oh, and we use Excel for our personal finance worksheets. That's it. For the most part, I've transitioned to Chrome OS for most of my personal computing (which demonstrates just how basic of a use case we're talking, here), but we still have our desktop. It's a Dell Inspiron 660s, something we paid $300 for at Best Buy many years ago. It has a very basic Intel Pentium dual-core processor, 4 GB of RAM, and a 120 GB SSD that I installed. It's faster than we need it to be, doing the things we do. It's a small form factor desktop, so it's not a huge tower.

In my humble experience, anything with any half-decent processor and at least 4 GB of RAM will have you computing 5 or 10 years into the future still. In any case, few of these come with SSDs (Solid State Drive). Replacement of the mechanical hard drive with an SSD will usually get you more performance benefit than more RAM.

HP AMD A6/8 GB

Lenovo Intel i3/4 GB

Lenovo i5/8 GB

That last one looks like one similar to what was mentioned earlier in this thread. If you can find it, great. It would, quite honestly, be WAY overkill for what you're doing, but it would certainly future-proof your purchase. Either of the first two would be great options.

I've had great experience with Dell (every computer I've owned has been one, and every company for which I've worked has been a Dell shop). Don't overlook buying directly from Dell (or even from the Dell Outlet). Their Inspiron Small Desktop with an i3 processor with 4 GB of RAM runs $399, and is very similar to the first Lenovo linked above.

I'm also going to close with the recommendation that you at least consider a Chrome OS-based machine. If your use is truly 100% online as you indicate it is, I think your satisfaction will be MUCH higher with a Chrome OS-based machine than with a Windows-based machine. The primary reason we still have our Dell with Windows on it is because that's what my wife is comfortable with. I've switched to almost all Chrome OS for what I do. The devices are inexpensive, generally of decent quality, and the whole experience is completely modular. If you like a desktop form factor, they make things called Chromeboxes that are about the size of a couple of slices of bread stacked on top of each other, and you plug a monitor and keyboard/mouse into them. Chrome OS certainly can't do everything, but it's worth considering.
 
I purchased the last Lenovo I posted with the i5 6400, 2x4gb ram, 1tb and an AOC 24" LED monitor and a Dell 5660 envy printer for $583 after taxes.

So far, this computer boots very quickly and very quick. I still don't like Windows 10 but its much better than 8. Much quicker than I anticipated from my old i5 460m processor in my laptop (only a dual core). I'm glad I stuck with the intel vs the AMD, if I would have got the AMD and not been happy, I would have regretted no sticking with the intel. Got webroot installed and all the updates done so far. Next will be to download libreoffice and a few other things. Then it will be time to drop it off and set it up for them.
 
Originally Posted By: volk06
I'm helping a family member find a low priced desktop for general computer use. No games or anything intensive, just surfing the web, email, and office products.


Most of these posts are a pizzing contest on the best processor, or which motherboard has the most power. Since you want simple things, I'll give you my experience: About a month ago, I bought a refurb computer from Newegg. It's only used for surfing the web. It's an HP computer with Windows 7, DVD/CD burner included and was $99, plus $1.99 shipping. I'll probably put Ubuntu someday. While there's no way I'd recommend it for hard business use, it works great for the one reason I bought it.
My $.02 worth.
 
6950x

/thread



Seriously, I don't think there is a processor / machine for sale now that cannot handle most users computer needs. Unless you are a hardcore gamer or doing massive video conversions etc, just get whats cheap.
 
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