What Do You Want?

What Do You Want?

For the next couple months, most of what you’ll see will be AMD Hammer news, simply because there isn’t going to be anything else terribly interesting happening.

We’ve been rather skeptical about the first generation of these processors, and some don’t like that.

What those folks may not realize is that much of the skepticism comes from the answers this audience has provided in the past on the subject.

AMD fans figure they’ll eventually buy one, but on the whole, they’re feeling pretty fat and happy.

Let’s see if this is still the case.

There’s a number of questions below based on certain scenarios. They represent best guess figures at the moment. If you don’t terribly agree with them,
that’s why we have additional questions to find out at what performance and price point people would buy.

Please use the email address linked below ONLY. This is an account just set up so I can get answers for this specific question without a bunch of other items.

Thank you, and hopefully, we’ll get the results up Monday.

Scenario #1

AMD comes out with an Athlon FX system. It will run at 2GHz. It will use an Opteron motherboard, and required registered RAM to function.

Assume that it will perform in 32-bit overall at the equivalent of a 3200 MHz Pentium IV, and somewhat better than that for games. Assume that it can be overclocked 10%. Assume there is no 90nm AthlonXP around, and assume that while you can get your hands on Windows x86-64, there is little other x86-64 software for it.

Assume that the initial cost of such a system is:

Question 1: Would you buy this system as is?

a) Yes
b) No

Question 2:

If you answered no to question 1, why?

a) It costs too much.
b) It’s not fast enough for me to change from my current system.
c) Both a and b.
d) The price and speed are fine; I just don’t have the money now.

Question 3:

If you answered no to question 1, what speed would you require (overclocked) before you would buy?

a) Current speed is fast enough.
b) 3700+ equivalent
c) 4000+ equivalent
d) 4300+ equivalent
e) 4600+ equivalent
f) 4900+ equivalent
g) More than that.

Question 4:

Provided a system like that described above was fast enough, what price would you pay for it?

a) Current price ($970) or more
b) $900
c) $800
d) $700
e) $600
f) $500
g) $450
h) It would have to be cheaper than any of the above.

Question 5

If you answered yes to any of the purchase questions, would an x86-64 version of Windows also need to be available before you would buy such a system?

a) Yes
b) No, I already regularly use Linux
c) No, I would switch to Linux for this system.

Scenario #2

AMD comes out with an Athlon 64 system. It will run at 2GHz. It will use a socket 754 motherboard, which can run regular RAM. Assume that it will perform in 32-bit overall at the equivalent of a 3000 MHz Pentium IV, and somewhat better than that for games. Assume that it can be overclocked 10%.

Assume that the initial cost of such a system is:

(RAM is left out on the assumption that many would use their current RAM for the new platform. Assume that PC3200 or better would be optimal for such a system, and factor that in if you would also buy new RAM for such a system)

Question 6: Would you buy this system as is?

a) Yes
b) No

Question 7:

If you answered no to question 6, why?

a) It costs too much.
b) It’s not fast enough for me to change from my current system.
c) Both a and b.
d) The price and speed are fine; I just don’t have the money now.

Question 8:

If you answered no to question 6, what speed would you require (overclocked) before you would buy?

a) Current speed is fast enough.
b) 3500+ equivalent
c) 3800+ equivalent
d) 4100+ equivalent
e) 4400+ equivalent
f) 4700+ equivalent
g) More than that.

Question 9:

Provided a system like that described above was fast enough, what price would you pay for it?

a) Current price ($520) or more
b) $450
c) $400
d) $350
e) $300
f) $250
g) $200
h) It would have to be cheaper than any of the above.

Question 10

If you answered yes to any of the purchase questions, would an x86-64 version of Windows also need to be available before you would buy such a system?

a) Yes
b) No, I already regularly use Linux
c) No, I would switch to Linux for this system.

Question 11

Assume the following:

AMD comes out with 90nm AthlonXPs next spring. Presume they’re compatible with any motherboard that can handle TBredBs. Also presume that a socket A system with such a chip would be 10% slower than the equivalent Hammer system.

Assume that the difference between the XP and the Hammer upgrade is just a new motherboard ($130). Assume little x86-64 software is available.

Which upgrade would you most likely make?

a) Upgrade the socket A.
b) Buy the Hammer system.

Question 12

Assume the same facts as in question 11, except that there are x86-64 versions of the software you want, and the difference in performance is more like 30%. Again, the difference in cost is $130.

Which upgrade would you most likely make?

a) Upgrade the socket A.
b) Buy the Hammer system.

Question 13:

If you answered “buy the Hammer system” to question 12, would you pay a bigger premium than $130 for a 30% improvement?

a) No.
b) Yes, $200.
c) Yes, $300.
d) Yes, $400.
e) Yes, $500.
f) Yes, more than $500.

Question 14

Would you call yourself an Intel fan, AMD fan, or neither?

a) AMD fan
b) Intel fan
c) Neither

Question 15

Would you ever pay more for an AMD Hammer system than for an equivalent Intel PIV system?

a) Yes
b) No

Ed