The bug fixes are not for everyone, and everyone doesn't have to update
every time.
Also, some of the updates are to support new chipsets and processors.
A year ago, I was at the head of the pack of the complainers concerning VIA
chipsets. It was really ugly back then. In fact, the ONLY thing that kept
me using AMD processors was the ABIT KG7 Mainboard (which I still use) that
has the AMD 781 NorthBridge. If it wasn't for this chipset being available,
I would have bailed away from AMD because of VIA in a heartbeat, regardless
of the cost.
But, it's just not as bad these days. Is VIA as stable as Intel ? No, not
quite. But it's by all means something anyone can live with these days.
Don't forget, there are other chipsets available as well. SIS has been
making a name for themselves lately, starting with the SIS 735 which turned
out to be somewhat of a sweetheart chipset. Very fast and very stable. I
don't know much about their newer DDR333 Chipset, though.
And, finally, let us not forget that Intel has also released several chipset
driver updates in the last year.
In short, with Athlon's you can save a TON of money for just a little more
effort. My only gripe against Intel is the cost.
-Larry
I have to disagree with
servers yet either, so I'm
equal, you'd see a huge
> migration away from Intel based servers due to the lower price point.
> --
> Biz
> "Don't touch that please, your primitive intellect wouldn't understand
> alloys and compositions and,......things with molecular structures,....and
> the....." - Ash
> > It's much better than it was 2 years ago. I don't think the Chipset is
an
> > issue any more, personally.
> > -Larry
> > > Athlons are cheaper and faster, if you are willing to live with the
> > motherboard chipset problems
> > > that tend to plague them, its the way to go. Bang for the buck, yes,
> > beyond that, IMO, they're
> > > still behind in reliability/stability to the more expensive P4..
> > > --
> > > Biz
> > > "Don't touch that please, your primitive intellect wouldn't understand
> > > alloys and compositions and,......things with molecular
structures,....and
> > > the....." - Ash
> > > > are they any good? Am looking at having a new computer put together
for
> > me and
> > > > I am being told that the p-3 1.6 is just as fast as most p4 1.4's at
a
> > fraction
> > > > of the price. The guy said that five years ago they werent very
good
> > for
> > > > ***, but are now the processor to have. Is this right?
> > > > Hes taking my old case, putting in a gforce3, 256 megs ram,
> > soundblaster, and
> > > > the 1.6 for $575.00
> > > > GPL, N4 and such...
> > > > your thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks
