AMD or Pentium?

[Radar]

I'm thinking about upgrading my bunky old computer which has served me very well over the years. It is getting a bit cranky. Can anyone shed some light on what is better, the AMD or Pentium? I would be using my computer mostly for processing images and surfing astronomy sites :Chessy_Smile:

[Draig]

Hi Radar,

I Personally prefer AMD CPUs coupled with a ATI graphics card and an ASUS motherboard. Try to avoid using the built in video cards that a lot of motherboards come with as these just pinch your main system memory.

As I stated this is my personal opinion there are others out there who will disagree with me, but I feel that the AMD CPU has evolved into a very relaible very fast CPU.

:hmm: Two other things LOTS of DDR2 RAM - at least two gigabytes worth and stick with Windows XP Pro.

Cheers Colin

[Noel Carboni]

No recommendation here, just my thoughts...

The high-end Intel processors execute the AMD 64 bit instruction set, meaning it's possible to run XP x64 edition on an Intel-based computer. I've been doing it for several years now, and it's the ticket for performance with things like photo editing.

My own particular computer preference is Dell brand workstations. Mine's a dual Xeon Dell Precision 470 system (now 2 years old). I was a bit hesitant to get into the 64 bit OS, but since Dell integrated the system - i.e., got all the hardware to work right with XP x64 - I've been more than happy with it. It NEVER crashes, and runs all the stuff I ever want to use - all at the same time.

I second the recommendation for putting in as much RAM as you can afford. I have 4 GB, and Photoshop just can't seem to overwhelm it. :)

-Noel

[AstroTasmania]

Hi Noel,

I build my own PC's, have done for years, so much cheaper and not locked into a specific manufacturers architecture, however, I have to admit that my new laptop is a DELL - and one where I was able to specify the components I wanted i.e high res screen, extra RAM, bigger hard drive and so on. I am very pleased with its performance and it is the way to go I think.

I seem to be forever upgrading my family of desktop machines, the top end one gets a new MB/processor etc. which then filters down the line and the oldest version drops off the pile. This means that I am using only what I need for various applications and for some applications Win 98SE is better than XP with all its overhead and so on, one machine is a 486 with 3.1 and never misses a beat telling me where my big scope is.

Horses for courses I suppose, and I enjoy the building part as well as the using.

Clear skies...

[Radar]

Thanks for the feedback guys. :thumbsupmate:

[chris]

G,day Ray,

I think for many years that the AMD processor was far more advanced than the intel, so i bought one, however now that intel have gone to their new 65nm technology i think they have leap frogged AMD in performance and future capabilities.

Just my opinion!

Cheers
Chris

[Radar]

Hmm, :hmm:

Thanks or the feedback Chris. What did you use the new 65nm intel chip for most though? I've read that some chips work better doing certain functions, ie gaming, image processing, etc.

Cheers

Ray

[chris]

Hi Ray,
I am mainly into gaming so at the time i purchased my AMD processor, i believe AMD were miles ahead of Intel in performance.
I don't know of any recent tests on the latest intel processors compared to the AMD ones however there were some tests done a while ago with AMD Athlon 64 and Intel Pentium 4.
http://www.zdnet.com.au/reviews/hardware/components/soa/Processor_benchmarks_Intel_versus_AMD/0,139023397,139157363-17,00.htm

I think the new intel core 2 quad processor is far more advanced and Intel will also be moving to 45nm technology in early 2008.


Cheers
Chris

[Noel Carboni]

Two things are virtually certain:

1. In this fast paced world of development, evaluations even a few months old are becoming irrelevant in a hurry.

2. WHATEVER new computer you buy, it will be blindingly, amazingly, unbelievably fast compared to whatever you're using now. But don't worry, someone will make the software more complex and less efficient to compensate before long. :)

Given that second item above, I choose to go with a manufacturer that integrates the new developments in all the components into a system. That way I can actually hope to use all that blinding speed to do something useful, day in and day out.

-Noel

I leave you with this thought: If it could be done, how long would it take to boot up Windows 1.0 on a modern computer? It took a minute or two back in the early '80s and computers are what, 10,000 times faster now? Yet it still takes a minute or two to boot one up. ;)

[AstroTasmania]

Hi Noel

A bit like using a Mack truck to deliver an egg, look at the fuel used to start the engine!

For many applications we don't need all the start up overhead, Windows would be really smart to fire up only what is needed to deliver the egg! but maybe that would be too smart?

Clear skies...

[Radar]

Yeah the operating systems just keep getting heavier and heavier. Has anyone had any experience with windows Vista yet?

[Draig]

Hi Radar,

Yes I am running Vista (Business Edition) on my workstation at the moment. So far the memory hungry little bugger hasn't caused any problems and it's been running for two weeks without rebooting! Not bad for a two year old (well mostly) pc. My pc is an old Athlon XP64 2800, 2gb DDR Ram and an ATI X700 Video Card with 256 RAM.

I don't have many Astronimcal programs on it at the moment just Virtual Moon Atlas and Cartes do Ciel. I also have Office 2007 Enterprise Edition but I have not loaded any Photographic Software. When I do load photo editing software I will be doubling the RAM on this machine.

Radar when it comes down to it it is your choice on a new pc. It is a lot like buying a telescope - you always look for a good brand and a shop with a good reputation to buy it from. I recommend buying a computer from reputable company that can guarantee that their product will not only work with what ever operating system is installed on it BUT can also deliver a good backup service. The two brands that meet this are HP or Dell.

Good Luck with what ever you decide.

Cheers Colin

[Radar]

Cheers Col. I will post the specs here as I come close to purchasing something, and you guys can give me your opinion. :pipethinker: