Topic: Motherboards Intel-VS-AMD

[twiggy]

I have decided to build my own PC and maybe upgrade me older one later on. The first thing im looking at buying for it is the motherboard. What is the best to buy? well first off all a Intel or AMD? Then which one out of them? what should i look for?

Mark

[Clive]

I don't know which one of our techies will be online first Mark.  Sandra is a night owl so she won't be here till midday.  However Lobo or someone else may be around to advise you long before that.

[Sandra]

Hi Mark, what exactly do you want the PC to do and have you any idea of your future needs ?
Are you very rich ?  
 
Intel v AMD often comes down to personal preferences usually arrived at by either good or bad experiences with one of them that you had used previously.

Intel

For : From what I have seen they seem to work with any peripherals and software without hassle.
Reliability.
Apparently less problems with cooling the CPU.

Against : Very expensive.

AMD

For: Very fast for gaming,can be overclocked by nutters enthusiasts.
Cheap,lots of speed for less cash.

Against :I have had problems with software not working properly on AMD but works ok on Intel.
I have had problems with peripherals not working on AMD which work fine with lesser specifications of Intel.
Need to have very reliable and efficient CPU cooling as they tend to run hotter than Intel especially if overclocked.

As I said peoples views are coloured by their own experience and I have found that Intels have never given me any problem whereas I have had problems with my AMD ones(other will no doubt have found the opposite to be true),having said that,the two PCs I now use are both AMD.

I think that you will find that from any board manufacturer there will probably be a slight increase in the price of their Intel version of the same board compared to their AMD one,possibly around 10%

The main jump in price between the two makes are in the CPU.
An Intel CPU of a similar speed to an AMD could be 50%,(or even greater),more expensive.

If you can let me know your needs I may be able to point you in the right direction but again motherboards have their own fans and one person will recommend one make where another person will say I wouldnt have one of those again  

Sorry if this hasnt been too helpful,but its a bit like asking which is the best car for me to buy  

[twiggy]

I was talking to my uncle about it. I mainley using it for gaming and picture editing. He said im best getting a AMD with enough room to upgrade the RAM maybe up to 2Gb. I found this http://www.epcbuyer.com/code/products.asp?recid=965&subcatid=39&catid=24 would this be a good choice for what im going to be using it for?

Thanks Mark

[Sandra]

It should be ideal for that Mark,the only thing that isnt as up to date as some others for top specifications(within reason anyway) is that it only has a 4 X AGP slot, a lot of boards now have 8 X slots.
A 4 X AGP card will be ok as far as I know with all current games and for the forseeable future.
I am not a gamer so am unaware of the limitations of a 4X compared to an 8X.
A friend recently built a top spec Intel PC for himself which only had a 4 X AGP slot and he is using the 8 X card that he had in his earlier PC and says he cant see any difference when playimg games,so it probably wont be a problem  

[twiggy]

Well that sounds great i think i will be ording one of them when i have chossen the rest of the system. Which i will consult with use here no doubt. Thanks Sandra you have been a real help ovwer the last 2 days.

[Sandra]

Glad to help Mark