The only stability issues that AMD chips have are either a) apps that are coded explicitly to run on an Intel chip, or b)you have a weenie trying to OC the chip and hasn't a clue. Both the K6 and slot A-first run XP K7's had chipset issues, but they were due to the fact that 3rd party companies were just getting into the mix (VIA cut their teeth on the K6; Nvidia smelled the coffee on the K7). Of course there are errata in the chips; but then Intel has them as well (cough divide by zero error cough)....

The temperature myth is just that; the K7's did run hot, but if you pried the heat spreader off of a P3 it would vaporize just as fast as an XP could. The P4's are currently the king of the thermal nightmare; the heat they generate is so intense it led to the creation of the BTX case and form factor....just to get a 120mm fan and a through case mounting point for the heatsink needed. There are a couple of potential tech advantages, but the heat issue is the real reason for the new form (and you'll notice that the 3rd party vendors are not rushing to jump on that bandwagon).

Intel does spend gobs on R&D. But strangely, it is AMD that has been landing all of the talent that DEC once had. Many of the Alpha chip designers are the brains behind the Athlon and Athlon 64Opteron. It was AMD that kept socket 7 alive for more than 2 years and created the Super 7 mobo. Look ho long they supported the socket 462 with the XP; how many times has Intel changed socket during this same time frame? It is AMD chips, clocking nearly a ghz -slower- than an equivalently rated Intel chip, that is taking the cake in all but custom benchmark apps designed to show the Pentium series in best light. And marketing money does not make up for technical BS. The Athlon 64 is a true 64 bit processor that also runs in 32 bit native mode. The '64 bit' Prescott P4 is actually a 40 bit chip with a bus multiplexer; so in addition to the heat, you take a performance hit due to the multiplexing.

As for my history.... ;)

1st PC: Intel 386 SX-40
2nd: AMD 486-120 clone
3rd: AMD K6-2 350
4th: AMD K7 slot A
5th: AMD XP-1700
6th: AMD Athlon 64-3000 socket 754
7th: AMD Athlon 64-3200+(venice) socket 939, and just waiting for the X2's to come down in price.

Message edited on: 07/12/2005 20:21