Anartik.com’s Blog

Since I moved on from my Intel P3 years ago I jumped on the AMD band wagon. I went through multiple AMD processors up to my last system with an Athlon X2 4400 (socket 939). Since that time AMD ceased to be a viable alternative for anyone wanting a true performance system. Some AMD loyalists might argue that point but Intel’s devasting performance lead is undeniable. As much as I had come to dislike Intel there was a clear choice for a better chipset and CPU. As such for my last build I went with a E8500(would have bought E8600 but was not out yet) and a X48 motherboard. I have my likes and dislikes but AMD and Intel are not sports teams and I’m no ones “fanboy”. He who sells the best price/performance product gets the sale. For gaming where multi threading, beyond maybe two cores, has not taken hold yet a faster dual core is still the best option. Sure there are some extreme options but the prices are not worth it IMO. I’ve had my eye on the Q9650 3ghz for a while but the price has not moved much and as of today around $550(which I’m not paying). That processor should do 4ghz+ on my system. Anyway more on topic…

I’m very happy to see AMD has made the launch of the 45nm 2.8 ghz 920 and 3ghz 940 Phenom II. They are still clock for clock slower than Intel (3ghz 940 ~= 2.66ghz Q9400) but it is a step in the right direction and something of a return to competition. While there is nothing there to make me run out and buy one it provides a great upgrade option to current AM2+ users and is (finally) supposed to be a great overclocker. It also provides an economical and viable alternative to Intel for those wishing to build a quad core system(at least if Intel does not retaliate and drop prices).

I think most of all I thank AMD for finally doing something to put some competitive price pressure on Intel. I may yet buy that Q9650 and/or eventually jump to I7.

Jim Phillips
anartik.com