AMD vs Intel in....stability

[Aosh]

Hey, I recently ordered the parts for a new system including an AMD XP 1800+ and EPoX 8KHA+ mobo. But I've read at various places that generally speaking, AMD is not as stable as Intel. Stability being one of the most important things to me, this has me worried.

Just what does stability mean? Will my PC crash more often than an Intel solution? Right now I'm running a PIII under win2k and it seems solid like a rock (OS uptime of over a month and counting). Will this kind of stability be sacrificed?

More importantly, I'm looking for you guys who run a machine w/ an AMD XP and EPoX 8KHA+ motherboard now to share your experiences.

 

[Sp3nce]

Not an issue.

 

[Poontos]

<< Hey, I recently ordered the parts for a new system including an AMD XP 1800+ and EPoX 8KHA+ mobo. But I've read at various places that generally speaking, AMD is not as stable as Intel. Stability being one of the most important things to me, this has me worried.

Just what does stability mean? Will my PC crash more often than an Intel solution? Right now I'm running a PIII under win2k and it seems solid like a rock (OS uptime of over a month and counting). Will this kind of stability be sacrificed?

More importantly, I'm looking for you guys who run a machine w/ an AMD XP and EPoX 8KHA+ motherboard now to share your experiences. >>


Set 'er up right and follow the instructions and you will be fine.

Oh and don`t forget to get:

1.) AMD Approved power supply, or at least a 350W plus.

2.) A nice case, don`t cut short. I would highly recommend Antec.

3.) Make sure you are grounded well while working with all the components.

Good luck!

 

[Aosh]

I'm getting the Antec Full Tower SX1240 and it comes bundled with a 400W PSU, but I'm not so sure what it means to be AMD Approved. I'm ordering it from EMSComputing and their description doesn't explicitly say if it's approved or not:

ANTEC CHAS ATX FULL TOWER 400W P/S BGE 6 5.25 8 3.
Manufacturer: ANTEC
Manufacturer Part Number: SX1240

Any ideas?

 

[WilsonTung]

If you are asking about chips... I honestly don't think there is a significant difference in stability.

Chipsets - a different story. Since you already purchased an AMD chip, the real question should be:

SiS vs VIA in... stability

VIA traditionally sucks. It always takes them 3 revisions to get it right.

 

[Poontos]

<< I'm getting the Antec Full Tower SX1240 and it comes bundled with a 400W PSU, but I'm not so sure what it means to be AMD Approved. I'm ordering it from EMSComputing and their description doesn't explicitly say if it's approved or not:

ANTEC CHAS ATX FULL TOWER 400W P/S BGE 6 5.25 8 3.
Manufacturer: ANTEC
Manufacturer Part Number: SX1240

Any ideas? >>


Will work just fine.

 

[Bovinicus]

Both CPU's have the ability to be very stable. It really depends on what other components you mix with your system. The KT266A and nForce chipsets seem to be really good right now. The AMD760 chipset is also a tried and true solution. Intel is not more stable. Intel is just marketing king, and they are good at creating devoted minions who can't accept a company that even competes with them in terms of quality.

 

[AGodspeed]

The most important thing to factor in is your operating system. You can't compare the stability of hardware if they're running very different software. Therefore, if you were to compare a 2GHz Pentium 4 + ASUS P4T-E board running Win2k and a 1.6GHz Athlon XP + Tyan Tiger board running WinME, of course the Intel system is going to be more reliable and in general more stable, it's running an NT kernel based OS, whereas the AMD setup is running a DOS based OS, certainly not known for reliability or stability.

If your main concern is stability/reliability, here's what I suggest as a setup:

INTEL:

CPU: 2GHz Pentium 4 Processor
Motherboard: ASUS P4T-E
- This ASUS board is known (no personal experience on my part with this board) to be rock solid.

AMD:

CPU: 1.6GHz Athlon XP Processor
Motherboard: Tyan Tiger MP
- Even though this board is much more money than most other Socket A boards in the market, it is by far the most stable/reliable, so I only suggest this board based on your need for stability/reliability.

Here's how much money you'll spend with each setup:

INTEL Setup: $442 CPU + $158 Motherboard = $600 shipped*

AMD Setup: $250 CPU + $209 Motherboard = $459*

I think you can make a pretty good decision based on these facts.

Good luck!

* All prices based off of pricewatch.com. Prices vary daily.

 

[jacklutz]

Intel and AMD are both stable... all you have to do is treat 'em right.

 

[RedShirt]

AMD has the "unstable" rep because of all the crappy chipsets VIA used to put out.

AMD chips are fine. Intel chips are fine. Until recently, Intel has been unrivaled in it's ability to make good chipsets.

The AMD 761, SIS 735, and.... well... Some think the VIA KT266a are very well made chipsets.

As far as the actual processors, as long as they run in spec, they are equally stable.

 

[imgod2u]

Stability-wise, it's not a question of AMD vs Intel, but rather, all the third-party chipsets vs Intel chipsets. Although Via has made significant progresses in improving their chipset both compatibility-wise and stability-wise, they're still not up to Intel standards. Although issues are usually minor and most of the time, it won't be a problem, I have hardly heard of any compatibility or stability issues with Intel chipsets. AMD has even admitted that their chipset capabilities are nowhere near Intel's. I bet if Intel decided to allow AMD to use their socket technology, AMD would come out with an Athlon that'd be able to use an Intel chipset really fast.

 

[AGodspeed]

Forget it, I'm tired.

 

[Aosh]

<< Forget it, I'm tired. >>



Haha ok...

But, if you have anything to add, I'm always interested

 

[AGodspeed]

But, if you have anything to add, I'm always interested

Yes I do actually. It looks like you just joined Anandtech (here's a welcome to ya by the way ), so I suggest that you activate your PM (Personal Messages). You can do this by clicking on the "profile" button, which is located at the top right part of this page, just under the "General Hardware Forum" link.

This will enable other people to send private messages to you. It's easier to make friends this way.

 

[FiveDoubleO]

i think a few have hit the nail pretty good here.

it is not Intel vs AMD, its more like Intel vs AMD's 3rd party chip companies.

if you are worried I would just stick with intel and not worry.

take for example the i845-D intel is takings its good time to release it
which is just fine by me.

 

[Mats]

Lockity lock lock.

 

[Mats]

"...if you are worried I would just stick with intel and not worry."


Not Worry? Don't make me laugh, those are famous last words. *shakes head at ignorance of some people*

 

[Maniac9127]

Your choice of mice would probably have a bigger impact on stability than your choice of CPU.

 

[Pabster]

The typical FUD. Did your college professor tell you that?

AMD processors are every bit as stable and reliable as Intel processors. But they run faster and cost less. Make sense?

Most people who encounter issues with an AMD-based machine are using a VIA-chipset based mainboard. VIA is suck, and I'd avoid any mainboard (including 8KHA+) which uses them. No matter what a few people say about KT266A, VIA's track record has been terrible and I'm not about to believe they've turned it around 100% with KT266A. Your best bet is to either go the MP route, or check in to a SiS 735 solution.

 

[teddymines]

Most instability comes from either the chipsets or the fact that most AMD people here overclock. Overclocking inherently introduces opportunities for instability, and things like power supply, heat and PCI component robustness become major factors.

So you could look at messages regarding instability, note that mostly AMD folks post these, and wrongly conclude the AMD=instability.

 

[Mem]

<< Most people who encounter issues with an AMD-based machine are using a VIA-chipset based mainboard. VIA is suck, >>



I see you`re still saying the same thing Pabster , anyway Aosh I`ve the Epox 8KHA+ and XP1700+ with SB audigy(using XP OS) which I use for gaming and it`s rock stable no crashes yet or reboots if you`re going to use XP OS you don`t need to install the Via 4 in 1 drivers since the XP default ones work great.
It`s pretty easy to get very good stability just follow the guidelines like a good AMD approved PSU and good ram like Crucial help.

Btw I`ve the Chieftec version of your(Antec SX1240) case but black with door ,so you have a great case with a very good 400w PSU which will be fine for your 1800+ cpu also you`ve plenty of space for fans,hardware etc in that case .

 

[Whitedog]

Intel """systems"""" have always been "overall" more stable.

I am an AMD user at home, have been for over a year now. I'm not complaining, but having to keep upgrading my bios (8 revisions so far) to fix issues that keep arrising tell me something that I've been hearing all along (that AMD systems are less stable).

The whole issue isn't AMD vs. Intel, it's the platforms they run on. VIA has always been second rate to Intel in both performance And stability. They are maturing now, and the KT266A may be the knight in shinning white armor that brings VIA out of this dark cloud.

Let's hope so.

 

[Texmaster]

<< The typical FUD. Did your college professor tell you that? >>



I'm sorry but in that first post, where did he say the word Processor?

Do you REALLY think he cared if the chip all by itself without a system is stable?

*NEWSFLASH* A processor can't work with out a motherboard and a few other things! LOL



<< AMD processors are every bit as stable and reliable as Intel processors. >>



Again its not a processor war. Its a chipset war. Instead of being helpful you decided to be an ass. What a shocker.



<< Most people who encounter issues with an AMD-based machine are using a VIA-chipset based mainboard. VIA is suck, and I'd avoid any mainboard (including 8KHA+) which uses them. No matter what a few people say about KT266A, VIA's track record has been terrible and I'm not about to believe they've turned it around 100% with KT266A. Your best bet is to either go the MP route, or check in to a SiS 735 solution. >>



Now this is actual good advice. Too bad you had to throw all that crap in front of it.

 

[NesuD]

Looks like TexmASter has arrived with a full gas can.
"I'm sorry but in that first post, where did he say the word Processor?
Do you REALLY think he cared if the chip all by itself without a system is stable?
*NEWSFLASH* A processor can't work with out a motherboard and a few other things! LOL"




<< Hey, I recently ordered the parts for a new system including an AMD XP 1800+ and EPoX 8KHA+ mobo. But I've read at various places that generally speaking, AMD is not as stable as Intel. >>


If you read the post he specifically referenced an amd XP 1800+ processor in his first sentence. In his second sentence he simply wrote AMD. Taken in the proper context with the reference in the first sentence Simply saying "AMD" in the second sentence has the same meaning as saying the AMD XP 1800+ in the first sentence. This is simple reading comprehension. No sentence in a paragraph can truly stand alone. The meaning of the words used are determined by the context. You can't simply pull a sentence out a paragraph and pick the meanings of the way the words are used out without the rest of the sentences that were included in the original writing as those all have an influence on the meaning and intent of the author. Learn to read!

By the way the Intel vs Amd stability myth is exactly that a myth.