• Welcome to Overclockers Forums! Join us to reply in threads, receive reduced ads, and to customize your site experience!

Intel VS AMD in the workplace

Overclockers is supported by our readers. When you click a link to make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn More.
Very well put @md0Cer. I thought that the heat output was somewhere along those lines. You have to keep the P4's thermal throttling in mind, however. These PC's will very rarely be at max load, so the P4's and AMD's will likely break pretty even, at least for this specific school-type setup. For the record, my 1700+ at stock speeds, watercooled, doesn't go 10C over ambient when at full load. :) That's 31C right now. Doesn't break 44C when at maxload and 2.0v.

Again, I don't think stability/reliability/ease of repair is very relevant when referring to just a CPU.

Even though I'm a pretty strong AMD fan, I have to agree with the deals Intel/Dell give to schools. Intel is much more likely to give you very good deals on bulk processor purchases. Of course, their CPU's are expensive to begin with...but in terms of building an AMD system yourself as opposed to buying a (probably cheaper overall, if purchased in bulk) Dell...for a school I might just go with the Dell/Intel deal.
 
johan851 said:


Even though I'm a pretty strong AMD fan, I have to agree with the deals Intel/Dell give to schools. Intel is much more likely to give you very good deals on bulk processor purchases. Of course, their CPU's are expensive to begin with...but in terms of building an AMD system yourself as opposed to buying a (probably cheaper overall, if purchased in bulk) Dell...for a school I might just go with the Dell/Intel deal.

Yes I agree, but if no matter what you use you are still going to be building the system, AMD would probably be the way to go. But dell does give deals on large orders and for schools and stuff.
 
Hello Barton,
You best bet would be 2.6ghz Celerons(only about 60 dollars). It has stability,performance,and runs pretty cool. It is basically enough for school needs such as compiling,word proccessing,surfing etc. And if you do buy it in bundles, Iam sure Dell/Intel will give you a good offer. Celeron will not give you as good as a performance like a AMD or an Intel will, but it will give you acceptable levels of performance.
It would be a waste to go with a P4(expensive), Athlon XP(runs hot, installing heatsink is dangerous).
Hope my post helped. :)
 
I've read in another thread that Dell's proprietiary hardware will be a pain to fix, but Dells are reliable. But UW doesn't use Dell in any of the labs/offices and noone has a Dell laptop even.

Also bear in mind that AMD's 3 year warranty on retail processor voids when using a heatsink/fan that comes with it.
Sorry for the confusion, I mean if you use any heatsink/fan other than the one that comes with it.

With an Athlon Xp and a stock cooler, a cabinet with no air, just wont do. Sure it will run, but not at its full capabilities.
Without overclocking, my XP2400 on stock heatsink runs at 32C after playing an hour of Ghost Recon. I don't have an Intel to compare after heavy processor usage, but the machine I use at work has 28C while CPU is idle.

The only thing I see that could cause trouble is that AMD dosent have a heatspreader so if you have no clue what you are doing when putting the heatsink-fan on, you may crack/crush/chip the core. But that dosent happen too often.
That might be an issue if the processor had to be replaced. But UW buys the computer preassembled by a local vendor.

The University of Waterloo I am pretty sure has a deal with Intel, as they do with Microsoft.
I would think so, but my supervisor said if I can show that using AMD makes more sense, then go with AMD. I'll have to ask to verify if UW has a deal with Intel.

Don't forget that intel often gives huge discounts to companies buying bulk, both on boards and chips. They also provide tech support. And you know for sure that the company will be there three years down the road.
There is actually a Linux lab in Engineering. The rest of the labs are Windows 2000/XP or Unix terminals.

The computers are for replaceing those in the computer lab that are Pentium II 400s, there are about 30 of those right, so this isn't exactly a huge purchase. And there are Pentium III 733s that I haven't included as requiring an upgrade since those are actually running fast enough for now. But are they fast enough for Windows XP?

Celerons are slow, a Northwood Celeron overclocked to 3 Ghz would have the same speed as a P4 1.8A. But that's still fast enough for the lab. So I'll consider the Celeron.

Thanks everyone for your input.
 
Last edited:
@md0Cer, where did you get the thermal wattage calculator? I'm interesting in getting the Wattage for a Celeron 2.4 and a P4 2.6C.

I think the choices for reasonable price/performance:

P4 2.6C, Celeron 2.4, AthlonXP 2400.

Official prices from Intel and AMD for them are: $178, $79, $79 respectively.

Note: no overclocking, I don't want to get in trouble for voiding the warranty ;)

Here's my evaluation:

P4 2.6C
- is Intel, which is the usual choice
- has a nice heatspreader
- has hardware thermal protection
- reasonably fast, won't be obsolete
- more expensive

Celeron 2.4
- same as above, except it is a lot slower(like a P4 1.6A) and that it is cheap

AthlonXP 2400
- harder to install heatsink, but that is the vendor's problem, UW isn't assembling computers.
- cheap as Celeron
- slower than P4 2.6C, but it is still fast

I'm going to have to get the usual vendor's pricelist so that I can decide if the price difference between Intel/AMD is worth it. It is possible that the vendor could sell AMDs for higher profit margin than Intels, or it could be reverse. Also, P4 2.6C might be priced higher than P4 2.4C even though Intel sells both for the same price.

Also I'd like to know what motherboard I should use. Generally, UW uses Asus boards with integrated graphics, and the P4 2.4B system in my office is a P4P800-VM(yes, it is silly to use a FSB533 processor on a 800 FSB board). Here's my choices for now:

Intel processor: P4P800-VM
AMD processor: A7N8X-VM
 
Last edited:
Well I got a old Celeron 533@850 running windows on 386 megs of ram. Not totally ideal for speed and such but it works nicely to get the job done. My GF uses it and works fine for her, actually now she's starting to complain that its slow hehehe.

As for temps wise both run equal but then again if the space isn't ACed or so the AMD's can have problems. Don't know if the newer ones are like the old 1.4's and such but heat will make them crash.

30c on stock speed for water cooling isn't the best, then again it depends on what the room tempature is. Please don't compare watercooling to stock cooling. I have a 2.4C @ 3.3 running 1.6v through her to make 41C using aftermarket air cooling. Anything that runs around 40C is great if your looking at temps.

Yet it might cost more for us to get an Intel, schools get discounts and end up cheaper then AMD computers by a long shot. The price difference between the two companies arn't much for equal spec systems. All the schools I've seen and such all use Intel, so unless you want to give AMD stick with the rest and keep the systems uniform.
 
These machines are running in an ACed classroom. Somehow, I doubt the discount, since UW doesn't buy directly from Intel. Keeping the systems uniform isn't important..we have different labs. But the computers in each lab have the same configuration. We make a disk image and copy it to each computer through the network.
 
barton2500 said:
@md0Cer, where did you get the thermal wattage calculator? I'm interesting in getting the Wattage for a Celeron 2.4 and a P4 2.6C.
www.benchtest.com/calc.html

I think the choices for reasonable price/performance:

P4 2.6C, Celeron 2.4, AthlonXP 2400.

Official prices from Intel and AMD for them are: $178, $79, $79 respectively.

Note: no overclocking, I don't want to get in trouble for voiding the warranty ;)

Here's my evaluation:

P4 2.6C
- is Intel, which is the usual choice
- has a nice heatspreader
- has hardware thermal protection
- reasonably fast, won't be obsolete
- more expensive

Celeron 2.4
- same as above, except it is a lot slower(like a P4 1.6A) and that it is cheap

AthlonXP 2400
- harder to install heatsink, but that is the vendor's problem, UW isn't assembling computers.
- cheap as Celeron
- slower than P4 2.6C, but it is still fast

I'm going to have to get the usual vendor's pricelist so that I can decide if the price difference between Intel/AMD is worth it. It is possible that the vendor could sell AMDs for higher profit margin than Intels, or it could be reverse. Also, P4 2.6C might be priced higher than P4 2.4C even though Intel sells both for the same price.
Definatly the 2400+ if it is cheaper. You probably have a little less performance than the 2.6C, but if it is less than half the price definatly go for it. It would probably take a 3.4Ghz celeron to compete with a stock 2400+ becuase of the fact that it has most of its L1 and L2 cache disabled. Also, the celeron only has a 100X4 fsb. The 2400 has a 133X2, and the 2.6C a 200X4. If you can get the 2.6C cheaper than the AMD I would get that, but if the AMD is cheaper definatly go with that.



Also I'd like to know what motherboard I should use. Generally, UW uses Asus boards with integrated graphics, and the P4 2.4B system in my office is a P4P800-VM(yes, it is silly to use a FSB533 processor on a 800 FSB board). Here's my choices for now:

Intel processor: P4P800-VM
AMD processor: A7N8X-VM

I have no idea about the Intel board, but with the AMD board, that is a nice board to use if your not overclocking. Im sure you could find some VIA based board that runs just as stable and with integrated graphics for much cheaper. The nforce2 chipset is awsome for overclocking, but if you arent overclocking, money could be saved by getting a VIA based board. Perhaps one based off of the Kt333 or even the kt400. I have heard from some reviews that the Kt-600 has some troubles booting with more aggressive memory timings. Just as long as it supports the 2400+ and has integrated graphics im sure it will do fine.
 
This is an interesting question.
It IS possible to put an Athlon PC together (or a bunch of them) to exactly the same effect as an Intel system. Most people here seem to be missing a point, though - that in a large environment with a school, one thing overrides all - homogenity. It's important to have one build of PC; one software build; one identical hardware build. This makes it 1000 times easier than patching together an assortment of various PCs and components.

Although it's possible to make a bunch of AMD-based systems as good as Intel-based ones, it is easier to make a workable bunch of Intel PCs. Chipsets for one - how many of us who have worked with AMD boards have dealt with nVidia and VIA chipset driver issues? Most of us, I'm assuming. I certainly have. Many times, in fact. However, once you dig up that 'right' combination of drivers and hardware, they'll run smooth as silk. For most of the Intel chipsets, issues are much less of a problem; I've heard of a few problems with the Application Accelerators, but I've never had any, nor anyone that I actually know or support large groups of P3/P4 PCs.

So, if you have the time to do it, just be aware that your first duty should be to make a stable, complete build of OS, drivers, and software to operate your chosen hardware correctly, whether it be AMD or Intel.
 
theflyingrat, I have owned 2 Via based boards. One kt333 and one kt400. One by jetway and one by ABIT, I have never ever had a driver issue regarding the motherboard or chipset. I have been quite happy with VIA based boards becuase they offer reliability and they are cheaper. As I said, I have never had one problem with them. I have heard ALOT of good about the nforce 2 boards as well. But they are a bit more expensive.
 
The nforce2 chipset is awsome for overclocking, but if you arent overclocking, money could be saved by getting a VIA based board. Perhaps one based off of the Kt333 or even the kt400.
I'll have to see if a A7V8X-MX is available. Asus doesn't have a KT600 motherboard with integrated graphics though.

It's important to have one build of PC; one software build; one identical hardware build
That is why we have uniform labs. We're not replacing every computer lab right now, we're only replacing the Pentium II 400s.

Chipsets for one - how many of us who have worked with AMD boards have dealt with nVidia and VIA chipset driver issues? Most of us, I'm assuming.
Both of the rigs in my sig have zero driver issues. How could most of us have problems? So far the driver CDs that come with the hardware works for me.

I have the vendor's pricelist now and will calculate how much the systems will cost.
 
Awsome. If its less hassle to get the nforce 2 motherboard it could be worth it and if its only from a manufacturur like ASUS. I wouldnt get the kt600 though, not many people have gotten that and it seemed to have some boot problems in reviews.
 
Well, if you have a good working platform to replace the old PCs with, and have a good idea of what drivers, OS, and other software to use, you've got 90% of your job done already. Now you can just look forward to putting it all together!
 
I'm not assembling the systems..there's over 30 of them. And UW usually buy the systems assembled.

From the vendor we normally buy from:

A7V8X-MX $89
A7N8x-VM $141

ASUS P4BGL-MX $86
ASUS P4P800-VM 151
XP2000 $102
XP2200 $109
XP2400 $122
Celeron 1.7 $89
Celeron 2.4 $113
P4 2.66 $246
P4 2.6C $263
DDR266/333 256 $59
DDR400 256M $60

I have a problem here...the vendor only sells OEM AMD processors, so I need to choose a heatsink and fan.

Now to choose the parts.
 
Last edited:
Well if money really isn't an issue for the depatment, go the intel way. The students will see a nice preformance if they use multiple apps at the same time. If not go AMD.

I took for the setups (just a guess)
AMD
A7N8x-VM $141
XP2400 $122
DDR400 256M $60
Total $323

Intel
ASUS P4P800-VM $151
P4 2.6C $263 (normally can get this for 170 bucks!!)
DDR400 256M $60
Total $474

Dang now thats that I call a price jack on the intel parts. Someones making money off that deal.
 
The prices from this vendor is in Cdn $

I need to choose a heat sink and fan for AMD Athlons, with Intel I can use the stock one.

Cooler Master ACB-V83 Jet 7 $63
Cooler Master ASB-V73 Aero 7 $36
Cooler Master CP5-8J71F Aero 7 Lite $25

That's all they have.

I'm also thinking about using a
AMD Duron 1000MHz $45
 
The Cooler Master ASB-V73 Aero 7 $36 I heard was a good buy and decent preformer. Besides don't have to spend loads of money then hehe. Im sure the Lite version does just as good too. Might want to check the cooling section out for a better answer on that one barton.
 
1.0Ghz duron is 45 dollars? You can get a 1700 for 40 dollars or so. But I guess thats just the vendor that you are buying from. I would go with the XP2400, A7V8X-mx (as i said before, via chipsets are just as good but cheaper if you arent an extreme overclocker), ddr 266 or 333 (really 400 isnt necisary and im assuming that if they are selling that and the 400 for about the same price, that 400 has got to have higher latency or more relaxed timings or something. But it really dosent matter too much. And then, probably the coolermaster aero 7. Unfortunatly they must have discontinued it becuase I cannot find information about the aero7 and the aero7 lite on their homepage. All I see is the 7+ , but i have heard good about the aero 7.
 
Back