To me high-end means any CPU that costs more than $200. Mainly I want
something that can play blu ray smoothly and can rip and transcode video
reasonably fast. Almost any new CPU can do all that, but I don't have to
get the cheapest of everything. Someone steered me toward the AMD 955, a
quad-core CPU costing $160. According to some benchmarking tests, it
renders video as fast as an Intel CPU costing around $200. I can't see that
Intel has anything for less than $200 that offers comparable value. If I'm
missing something, clue me in. That is why I'm here.
Intel traditionally held the software developer's and business market
-- what went into their CPUs was the original blueprint or yardstick,
as serious measure of computing in the most pragmatic sense. What
happened, though, is Intel held that premier standing - be around an
Intel 386/16 - at a very costly premium for a couple years. Intel
made you pay through the nose, and very dearly at that, in order to
use their EMS (expanded memory) implementation (best thing going,
again). It wasn't until AMD and Cyrix (for a relatively short while)
got into the EMS action, that computers dropped into easily-affordable
hobbyist pricing. Well, here we are and AMD is hanging on to the job
of keeping Intel's prices honest. AMD's heyday is probably going to
be their Dresden plant and the AMD XP series Socket A implementation;-
I'm not quite sure of their business modeling since 2008 and an
overall economic demise since the real estate debacles. Personally, I
held a grudge for the longest time against Intel, because of that very
first 386/16, which worked indiscriminately through the 640-1meg
address, virtually paging simultaneous applications. But, around
Intel's Duron (an updated Celeron), I said screw it and bought my
first Intel (in a really, really long time). Though most of my
computers have been AMD, to be honest -- I do expect more (better
integrity and reliability) from Intel. In other words, if somebody
said to me -- money's no object, just don't screw up, and build me the
best you're capable -- I'd drop their load into Intel. Comes time for
me to update, though, dunno...I could go either way. What others are
saying about the heat and AMD, I'll go along -- well-reviewed OEM CPU
coolers and case designs for an AMD setup is nowhere near an arm-&-leg
on money well spent. Better said is both deserve at least that -- I'd
just give a little extra care in ensuring AMD measures up to a build
done right in the cooling dept.
