Hi all, As you might have noticed, there is a new weekly poll feature on the site. This week's question is about CPU choice. Discuss here what you think about the various chip choices and, if you like, the poll results themselves. Thanks! Justin

I've been using AMD processors in my "main" computers since 1999. Had an Athlon 600 in '99, T-bird 1333 in '01, Barton 2800 in 2003, and a number of different 939 chips on my current motherboard. My rig is currently powered by the S939 Opteron 185, overclocked to 3.2GHz. It's one of the quietest, most stable systems I've ever used. I'm also extremely pleased that this machine's allowed me to skip the C2D/C2Q craze without having to miss out on too many MIPS. Unfortunately, my next workstation will probably be Intel-based. Might even be a Mac. Nah. :) As for Intel: I don't want to like them, but I do. Intel's kinda like a guilty pleasure. Nothing beats overclocking the crap out of an unsuspecting Intel CPU, pairing it with a fast GPU, putting it all in a modded case, and calling it an HTPC. Where's VIA? Pretty sure that there are a few VIA fanboys out there. :) The Quad-Pumped Super P3: Pentium M Dothan @ 2.82GHz (166x17) 3GB PC6400 @ 667MHz 9600GT Blu-Ray Modified PowerMac G4 Quicksilver case Homebuilt 1080p projector Vista SP1

I prefer whatever gives the best bang for your buck! At the moment I like my Intel! Mattwizz3 Gigabyte P35-DS3R E4500 @ 3.2 4GB DDR2 800 9800GT

My Compaq Presario has an AMD K6-2, my Windows XP computer has an AMD Sempron, mom's computer has an Intel Celeron, and dad's computer has an Intel Core 2 Duo. I like them both, but I like Intel better because they are obviously a bigger company, and they generally run cooler and more stable. My Sempron computer is (in my opinion) one of the best computers I have ever used, but it runs so darn hot!! 125*F idle. Although it's not as bad as it used to be. It used to do around 150*F idle. That was before I oiled the fan, which used to spin 3600 RPM. Now it goes 4200 RPM. Just my 2 cents, -Trent "If at first you don't succeed, skydiving may not be for you." -Our tour guide at Fenway Park in Boston, MA.

AMD really blew up for me when they released the AMD64 3000+, it blew the p4's out of the water (I am not talking extreme editions)at a great price. And on top of it, it was 64bit. AMD had the CPU ware won until C2D came out. Intel kinda erked me that they hurried up and glued two C2D's to make the first Quad core CPU, I mean, I give it to them for hopping on the market and making some sales, but their native quad cores were still in process. I respected AMD for not purposely bending over the customer. Now onto Intel. You can't beat their performance. I personally have a Phenom 9850BE, and it is fast. But not as fast as the Intels are running, especially the Extreme editions. I would recommend a Intel or Phenom - Normally the AMD way ends up being cheaper and with not much performance loss, that's why I went with them. But if you have the money to spend, Intel all the way. Thanks for any input.

As an IT professional I've used both Intel and AMD. Although AMD is improving the K6-2 450Mhz I have still runs today (many years old) Although, I do have to say overall Intel has always been better in terms of quality, compatibility, and reliability. Aside from gaming in a corporate atmosphere Intel definately has the edge. I currently own a 3ghz P4 HT and love it. My experience with my Althon XP 2000+ was one of the worst ever and the life of the processor did not impress me. Although AMD offers alot for the money, sometimes you pay for what you get. I'd definately pay more money to buy Intel if the performance is better, and in my own experience, we have had more issues with AMD laptops ranging in brands, AMD's I've seen tend to be more picky with drivers, hardware compatibility, etc. Although Intel's are more expensive, they have been very reliable and companies need reliability. The new AMD's are pretty nice and still improving from what I hear. Intel although expensive is the way to go hands down.

So I suppose Intel is worth the extra money. "If at first you don't succeed, skydiving may not be for you." -Our tour guide at Fenway Park in Boston, MA.