So you’re looking to buy a new computer and have decided to go with either AMD or Intel. Intel vs AMD is a never-ending competition. Well, this is basically an article about why you should pick AMD over Intel. Intel has been around longer and does have an inherent technological advantage over AMD in some areas. They also own the “Core” name, which is often used as the generic name of their processors which doesn’t help AMD’s branding at all. But let’s discuss things in detail.
Intel and AMD Detailed History?
AMD has been around since 1970 but didn’t really start making its mark until they released the Athlon in 1999, which was faster than most of the intel processors at the time. AMD also competed with Intel when it came to supercomputers back then too. It wasn’t until 2005 that intel became the world’s most powerful supercomputer manufacturer because they used far superior technology compared to AMD.
Intel on the other hand is pretty much all we have known when it comes to personal computers for decades now. It wasn’t until 1996 when AMD released the K6 that they were on par with Intel in performance. Even so, intel remained on top for quite a while and had a lot of money to work with compared to AMD. This is because their CPUs are twice as expensive to produce as AMD CPU’s and this meant that people would buy them anyway just because they had all heard of intel and very few had even heard of AMD at the time. They were only forced to lower their prices after the Pentium 4 disaster where it was discovered that they lied about its clock speed! Since then, intel has been competing fairly well with AMD and both of them get better every year (although intel still wins out over AMD).
Also read: How To Build A Gaming PC
AMD vs Intel – A Bit About Each Company
First off, we’ll talk about who these companies are and what they do. Although people new to computers might not know this, there is actually little difference between what AMD and Intel produce and sell on the market today. Both of these companies manufacture CPUs (Central Processing Units). If you’ve never heard of this before, it’s the part of your computer that does all the computations and calculations.
Each CPU has different capabilities and can vary in speed and power. These differences are what make each company better than the other in their function and cause them to be able to charge a bit more for their products.
Also read: How To Build A Laptop.
Intel
Intel is arguably one of the most well-known chip makers around. They have been producing CPUs for over 30 years now and started as an offshoot of another company called Zilog (creator of the Z80 Chip).
Intel also owns its own brand name which it coined back when it first released its Pentium line of chips. This means that if you do a search for “core i7” on Amazon, most likely the top results will be Intel CPUs.
Intel has a huge market share and is one of the biggest companies in the world. They hold over $55 billion in cash and have almost 100 thousand employees!
Also read: How To Instal Windows On Mac.
AMD
AMD is an acronym that stands for Advanced Micro Devices Inc. AMD was founded back in 1969 to create semiconductor chips but did not start producing its own line of CPUs until about 10 years later. To this day they still produce nearly all of their chips at their factory located in Texas along with other smaller facilities around the world.
To get technical, AMD has actually been using the x86 instruction set for decades while Intel just recently started using it (and rebranded theirs as “Intel 64”). AMD is still the only company that makes CPUs using this particular instruction set.
AMD is currently in a few financial straits so their market share isn’t quite as large but they do have some great deals on CPUs at certain times of the year.
As you can see, both AMD and Intel are huge companies that hold significant influence throughout the computing world. They both manufacture CPUs that provide or enhance computational power for computers, laptops, tablets, smartphones, etc. As far as similarities go, they also sell similar products to consumers at approximately the same price range. However, there are differences between AMD vs Intel CPU which will be discussed further in another article… stay tuned!
To put it simply – There is not really much difference between the chips themselves. Intel CPUs are better than AMD but cost more money. That’s basically what you need to know when deciding between buying an AMD or Intel CPU for yourself or someone else.
Intel CPUs usually run at higher clock speeds than AMD CPUs and produce less heat due to their newer technology (this is not always the case). The Intel line of “Core” branded processors is considered by most to be superior to anything that AMD has on the market. If you’re looking for speed, then choose an Intel core i7 processor over any other brand.
Also read: How Does RAM Affect Gaming.
What kind of computer do you have?
If you have a computer from the last three years, it’s most likely an Intel CPU. Only gamers and PC enthusiasts actually own AMD rigs, because they are great for gaming and overclocking in comparison to intel processors.
What about Intel vs AMD laptops then?
Well, that depends on how much money you have available to spend. For example, if you’re looking for a laptop under $500 dollars then the only good option is going to be an AMD processor because Intel does not make any cheap laptop CPUs at all! In fact, AMD is pretty much the only company that makes cheaper laptop CPUs in general due to their extremely poor manufacturing process technology, which means you won’t find any other options unless they use an Intel CPU, which is far more expensive than any AMD alternatives.
When it comes to processors for more expensive laptops, you can pretty much choose either one and get a great laptop. The only difference you’ll see is the fact that AMD has slower graphics processors and lower battery performance in comparison to an intel CPU’s integrated HD 3000 graphics card.
Also read: How To Check If The Laptop Fan Is Working.
How about gaming AMD vs Intel?
This basically depends on how much money you have available for your gaming rig and what games will be played on it. For example, if we’re talking about older games then there really isn’t a big difference between AMD and Intel because they all run relatively well (if not maxed out) on most hardware setups with decent frame rates.
However, if we’re looking at modern games such as Battlefield 3, Crysis 3, and even Minecraft (with a good graphics card), then intel is going to be the best choice because AMD CPUs have a lot of trouble keeping up in terms of processing power when it comes to things like lighting and rendering in general. The only exception here would be an extremely high-end AMD setup with a top-notch graphics card, which can compete closely against its Intel counterpart.
Also read: Best Gaming Laptop And Best Gaming PC.
What computers use AMD?
Pretty much all personal computers out there are going to use either an AMD CPU or GPU, but the main issue is that intel CPUs are twice as expensive to produce compared to AMDs. So if you were building a computer from the ground up, then an intel CPU would fit your budget better if not save money in comparison to buying an AMD CPU.
Why do people buy AMD?
Well since they are about half the price of Intel processors, they are actually very cheap when it comes to gaming builds or even general home computing. This is because you will find them in pre-built computers sold at most retail stores for around $500 dollars. Chances are if someone didn’t have enough money for an intel setup with equal hardware specs, they would most likely be going for a mid-range AMD processor.
Also read Best Budget Gaming Laptop And Best Gaming PC Under 800.
Does AMD make good CPUs?
Yes, they do! AMD makes some of the best CPUs on the market hands down and it is often compared to Intel processors as well as being known as one of the main competitors. Although their manufacturing process technology isn’t as advanced as intel, you can still expect an extremely high-end computer build with a cheap AMD processor. In fact, there are many people who use them in their gaming computers or even to play modern games such as Battlefield 3 because their CPUs have better multi-core performance than intel CPUs at equal core speeds.
Also read: Best Gaming PC Under 700 And Best Gaming PC Under 500.
What do I recommend?
I personally don’t have a preference because they’re both good for their own purposes. I just hope one day that AMD can manage to put an end to intel’s higher prices so that everyone can afford a great computer without spending too much money. They also need to work hard on their manufacturing process technology so they can compete with intel at full capacity in terms of performance per watt.
AMD Prices
AMD prices are one of the major reasons why people choose to go with AMD in comparison to intel because they offer much better computer power per dollar spent. For example, if you take a look at Newegg [one of America’s largest online retailers] and compare an Intel i5 3470 @ 3.2 GHz CPU at a price of $185 dollars to an AMD FX 6300 @ 3.5 GHz CPU for only $100 then there is absolutely no contest that AMD offers far more value for money here!
The only time where intel does offer a significant advantage over AMD is when it comes to overclocking, which can be done on any type of processor these days. However, this doesn’t really make a difference in real-world usage and it’s only going to benefit a very small portion of the population who actually know how to overclock their CPU.
Intel Prices
Intel prices are very misleading in terms of its performance vs price ratio compared to AMD. For example, if you take a look at the Intel i5 3470 processor mentioned above then there isn’t really much difference between it and an AMD FX 6300 besides hyperthreading which is completely useless for gaming purposes!
Why Should You Get Intel?
The only logical reason to get an Intel processor is if you’re looking for a computer specifically for business purposes or if you work in the media industry. Gaming-wise, AMD will be your best choice by far because even though intel processors are faster than their AMD counterparts, they also cost significantly more which means you’ll have to pay over $100 dollars extra just so that you can play modern games at medium settings without having to sacrifice other important things such as an HDD/SSD, better graphics card and even Windows 7/8.
Why Should You Get AMD?
AMD processors are very cheap and can work alongside a decent graphics card to provide great levels of performance, so if you’re looking for something budget-oriented then they are definitely the best option out there. Furthermore, AMD actually make their own integrated graphics card called the Radeon series which makes them an all-around better choice as opposed to intel CPUs because you’ll be able to save money by not having to buy a separate GPU as well!
As stated above, both Intel and AMD make amazing processors but it really depends on what the user is looking for in order to determine which one will end up being a better choice. For example, someone who’s going for a low-end rig with a tight budget should definitely go with an AMD processor because they are extremely cheap and they provide enough power to run most modern games at medium/high settings. On the other hand, if you’re looking for something high-end with loads of money to spare then intel is definitely the way to go because their processors are faster than AMD CPUs in terms of single-core processing speeds but not when it comes to multi-threading which makes a huge difference in modern-day titles.
Conclusion
Overall, AMD and Intel both make great processors however there are circumstances where one is better than the other (although this does vary from person to person). If you’re looking for a decent-priced CPU for all-around daily tasks such as Internet surfing, watching multimedia content, and even playing older games then an intel CPU will do just fine because they offer great power efficiency and performance at a relatively low price point.
However, if you’re looking to play more demanding games and use your computer for productive activities such as video encoding or rendering then we recommend that you go with AMD because they offer far better value for money in this area. Besides, there are lots of online resources that can demonstrate the difference between AMD and Intel processors in various computational tasks so it’d be wise to check those out if you’re still not sure which one will work best for your situation.
