[Jasmyne]

Hi Guys,

I am reviewing a purchase of a new computer. Two prices are given to me. One with an Intel Processor and one with an AMD processor. The price difference is significant but I don't want to buy something I won't be satisfied with. I am a power user and I often have 4 big softwares running at the same time... such as PhotoShop, GoLive, Cakewalk and Word.

Is the AMD processor good? Or should I simply spend the extra bucks for the Intel?

My father bought a Celeron a few years ago and that was crap... I'm not familiar with the AMD don't want to make the smae mistake my dad did.

Waiting for your expertise.

Jasmyne

[dannyboyfx]

www.tomshardware.com has a list of how some processors stack up. which ones are you looking at. I seem to remember Intel Pentuims doing better with multiple applications. Don't go celeron.

[AvvY]

Celeron is the cheap intel line. Thus avoid it.
Samperon is the cheap AMD line. And is alright, but not for your needs.

Go for an Athlon, anything around 3000+ to 3500+ would be great. I don't know if it would be worth spending more for anything about 3500+.

One thing you need to realise is that AMD isn't all about the ghz, but overall performance. So a 3000+ is only a 2ghz proc, but will general out performe a 2+ghz intel.

The 939 socket (amd) is the premium versions, and will be the standard for longer, so avoid the 754 pin versions. you also have the option of dual core with an athlon x2, but that will be significantly be more expensive. so you should weigh up if you NEED dual core and the benefits of it over dual processors which can be achieved using AMD Opterons (although this will get expensive).

Basically, decide how much you have to spend and see what is available. AMD is generally cheaper than Intel, but this doesn't mean lesser quality parts. Infact AMD is often said to be better bang for your buck than the intel chips.

Late,

[loserOlimbs]

Avvy summed it up about perfectly.

If you have the exact model numbers and prices we can tell you more though.