To AMD or to Intel - Discussion: Pros and cons

Hi folks

"You pays your money and takes your choice" !!

Usually although AMD is cheaper I find sticking to INTEL has less problems --especially if you start using Virtual machines, and various 3rd party GPU's.

OK you pay certainly more but it does seem to lessen problems -- as in all things it's your budget that might sway the decision.

All I can say I've got on test an ageing HPE Proliant GEN 8 server (added a 1/2 height graphics -Intel card as the onboard stuff was only VGA) with a 2.8ghz 2 core celeron chip and the later HPE Proliant microserver Gen 10 with an AMD 4 core chip -- guess which server performs better -- especially on I/O and networking --the almost Dinosaur old Proliant Gen 8 server.

In fact I'm thinking of taking the PROLIANT GEN 10 (AMD based server) to the tip-- getting a used Proliant Gen 8 microserver with an older dual XEON set for 95 USD on ebay -- no RAM / HDD's etc but I can cannabilize RAM and HDD's from the Gen 10.

Nothing but problems with CPU drivers, video cards etc etc with AMD - --stick to INTEL and while it might cost more you won't break too much. (And if there is a problem INTEL usually work on it pretty quickly --unlike the AMD Ryzen fiasco a while back).

I don't think I'll ever bother with AMD again.

Cheers
jimbo

I haven't bothered with an AMD since Athlon 64-x2. Been with Intel since.

However, in building a new PC for my son, we have gone with a new AMD Ryzen 3800x. It was $329 for 8 cores/16 threads. He has a solid balance between gaming and productivity. We were wiing to give up a few ticks in gaming to grab big jumps in productivity gains. The $170 I saved on the CPU over the core i9-9900k paid for 32GB of DDR4-3600 ram.

Will let you know what I think once we get it put together at christmas, but I expect an extremely solid setup with tons of power and performance.

pparks1 said:

Will let you know what I think once we get it put together at Christmas, but I expect an extremely solid setup with tons of power and performance.

I hope you son enjoys the new PC!

It seems AMD has made great strides in their CPU products recently, which is great.

One thing I've noticed in all the discussions though is that few people think about PCIe lanes. Some one made a grand generalization that no one on the planet needs or uses more than 16 lanes. If that were true HEDT CPUs would not exist.

For me this is going to come down to cost. The cost to change from Intel to AMD is going to be more than double the cost of staying with Intel. Then there is the additional power consumption, and heat that AMD generates.

I've yet to find someone that can produce some rock solid formulas on how to calculate heat and power consumption on an AMD 3960X or 3970X vs 10980XE. HEDT is the only consideration.

On the surface it looks like 2 CPUs clocked to the same speed, running identical workloads for exactly the same duration the AMD will consume more power and generate heat. To which people respond "garbage", but cannot back that up.

So please, if you know of any accurate method of calculating power consumption and heat across those three CPUs please do share. (Additional heat will require more cooling, which in turn would consume more power--it's a vicious circle). I'd love to be wrong because I really want to dump Intel.

For those who don't need more than 16 PCIe lanes, I think the verdict is in. AMD seems to be the better choice at the moment.

Of the 10 PCs there is only one that can survive with 16 PCIe lanes - and it sits in a Corner doing nothing other than being a Kodi database server.

Wobitancrawfodi said:

One thing I've noticed in all the discussions though is that few people think about PCIe lanes. Some one made a grand generalization that no one on the planet needs or uses more than 16 lanes. If that were true HEDT CPUs would not exist.

Correct, the vast majority of people don't think about PCI-Express lanes because it won't be an issue for them. As you stated at the start, you add RAID cards, and 10Gb NICx, and M2 expansion cards, etc....so you have a bit more of a special case and obviously need more lanes.

People like me, are going to use the onboard NIC, the onboard M.2 slots, and a single video card. Between the lanes on the CPU and the additionals from the chipset....it's going to be alright.

pparks1 said:

The vast majority of people don't think about PCI-Express lanes because it won't be an issue for them.

True. I'd venture a guess that some people have no clue what PCIe lanes are. In my 35 years in IT I've seen so many people add in extra cards (SATA and USB typically), and wonder why their graphics card is not running at x16

It is disappointing though when so called reputable tech sites review something like a 3950x against a 10980XE. The CPUs are not even in the same class. It's apples and oranges. One's a mainstream CPU the other is a HEDT CPU.

Well, the new PC is built and we honestly couldn't be happier with the Ryzen 7 3800x. We got the chip for $329 and it included Borderlands3 and Outer World. The chip is running great, temps are solid, and fan noise is a non-issue...even with the stock AMD wraith prism cooler.

Well, my son just bought an EVGA 2080 Super FTW3 Ultra...so he seems to want to stick with Nvidia as far as video goes.

AMD has always been a option for budget builds but as of late they have better performance all the way around

Intel is still quality for what it is ,Overclockers love seeing high numbers but that doesn't translate to better

I have a AMD 6 core and it has served my kid well and still flowing i can simply upgrade the Bios and get the latest gen without even getting a new MOBO that is one aspect about AMD you don't have to get a new board every time a new lineup shows up

I have not purchased any CPU'S since the first Ryzen line up and i have to research what is the highest gen chip i can use in a 4 year old $89.00 B -Board lol

Anyway they're a good bang for your buck and realistically you can use a top tier 8 core that will get it done too HEDT is sorta dead with all these chips out here between $300-500 respectively that can beat up Intels HEDT 6 series and 7 it's like who needs to blow $1000 on a chip unless you are doing something serious that is why i stop doing it so much

I am not doing that much that i need all that so for me it got a little simpler in the choice department good luck on what ever you choose though

Wobitancrawfodi said:

I hope you son enjoys the new PC!

It seems AMD has made great strides in their CPU products recently, which is great.

One thing I've noticed in all the discussions though is that few people think about PCIe lanes. Some one made a grand generalization that no one on the planet needs or uses more than 16 lanes. If that were true HEDT CPUs would not exist.

For me this is going to come down to cost. The cost to change from Intel to AMD is going to be more than double the cost of staying with Intel. Then there is the additional power consumption, and heat that AMD generates.

I've yet to find someone that can produce some rock solid formulas on how to calculate heat and power consumption on an AMD 3960X or 3970X vs 10980XE. HEDT is the only consideration.

On the surface it looks like 2 CPUs clocked to the same speed, running identical workloads for exactly the same duration the AMD will consume more power and generate heat. To which people respond "garbage", but cannot back that up.

So please, if you know of any accurate method of calculating power consumption and heat across those three CPUs please do share. (Additional heat will require more cooling, which in turn would consume more power--it's a vicious circle). I'd love to be wrong because I really want to dump Intel.

For those who don't need more than 16 PCIe lanes, I think the verdict is in. AMD seems to be the better choice at the moment.

Of the 10 PCs there is only one that can survive with 16 PCIe lanes - and it sits in a Corner doing nothing other than being a Kodi database server.

I think what you're missing about the Lanes part is you can get by without needing 40 or more
Nobody runs more than one GPU anymore and when you buy M.2 drive you can get huge one's now for cheap and get Hybrid drives to finish it off like i did

Lanes are important but not everyone is using all the features like optane etc .... so i can see where lanes are less important to the average joe

To us other people who use up lanes to faster connect well those are the one's who will spend on that or look for a better option

Marketing Marketing Marketing that is all it is ,Who looks more attractive ?