| All of a sudden, Intel's lineup has become difficult to | | | | 21st weekend AMD announced major (in the of |
| follow. You failed to mention the Core 2 Duo, the | | | | 50%) cuts to the higher end more expensive 64 bit |
| newest chip. Which CPU chip to buy? | | | | chips. It sure is a great situation for consumers. |
| Why not purchase a bag of potato chips? | | | | So, what should you buy? |
| At the very worst you can enjoy eating the chips. | | | | The price reductions of the 64 bit AMD chips have |
| OK, enough of that. AMD has been making Intel look | | | | been so great. As well the reduction on the older |
| bad for three years. Its 64-bit, dual core chips were | | | | Sempron type CPU has been in the range of only 8 |
| more advanced than anything Intel had. | | | | % that the older processors do not seem a good |
| Meanwhile, Intel hit the wall trying to produce a 4 | | | | buy in any way. |
| gigahertz chip. In October, 2004, Intel said it would | | | | However you will have to purchase a fancy jazzier |
| stop emphasizing raw speed. That had been a | | | | 64 bit motherboard. |
| winning strategy for many years. But AMD's chips ran | | | | Perhaps your motherboard is a favorite and is very |
| at much slower speeds and used much less power. | | | | reliable. |
| With its Core chips, Intel has clearly broken with its | | | | Remember at this point your motherboard is getting |
| speed-demon past. Furthermore, the Core 2 Duo is | | | | older. Although it is often the case that if you get |
| significantly more powerful than AMD's best. | | | | past the first month of use motherboards are reliable |
| The Core Solo and Core Duo were introduced in | | | | that electronic components such as capacitors age |
| January. Both are used primarily in laptops. Apple also | | | | with time and become unreliable. Your motherboard is |
| uses these chips in desktops. These are 32-bit chips. | | | | getting "old in the tooth" |
| That's fine, because 99.9 percent of consumer | | | | As well as it becomes general knowledge of the |
| software is 32-bit. | | | | major price drops the resale value of your |
| The words Solo and Duo refer to the number of | | | | motherboard and CPU will drop like a stone. Perhaps |
| cores on the chip. A core is basically a complete | | | | it is time to unload it now before it is too late. Trade |
| microprocessor. The Solo has one usable core, the | | | | up. |
| Duo two. Assuming the software you are using can | | | | Trade up to what and for what purpose? At this |
| access two cores, two is better than one. For | | | | point, 64-bit capability is unimportant. So do not give |
| instance, you may be using Adobe Photoshop for | | | | that much weight. If you're using Photoshop or other |
| your photo editing. Photoshop is advanced; it should | | | | advanced software, a Duo is worthwhile. If you must |
| take advantage of the two cores. | | | | have speed, the Core 2 Duos will be shortly. |
| The Core Solo is a Core Duo chip with one core | | | | Personally, I'd probably go for a Core 2 Duo. It will be |
| disabled. So it is likely to be less powerful. But both | | | | offered in several iterations, based on clock speed. I'd |
| chips are exceptional. | | | | look for one in the middle of the range. |
| The word "exceptional" does not do justice to the | | | | AMD chips are still plenty fast, too. Some laptops |
| Core 2 Duo chip. (The number 2 connotes a new | | | | have AMD's Turion chip, which is good. |
| generation, according to Intel.) That processor not | | | | One other thing: It's easy to fall into the trap of |
| only has two cores; it also runs 64-bit programs. That | | | | waiting. That's because we know something hotter, |
| isn't important today, but it will be eventually. It also | | | | cooler or faster is coming soon. Unfortunately, that's |
| runs at a higher speed than its Core cousins. | | | | always the case. |
| Tests online indicate this chip is about 20 percent | | | | Do your homework. Remember it is never wise to |
| more powerful than comparable AMD equipment. | | | | look back after making your decision. |
| That is a stunning jump. | | | | Enjoy your new motherboard / CPU combination and |
| Expect AMD to produce muscular new chips. In fact, | | | | as the famed New York Ranger right winger Max |
| this competition will result in constant improvements. | | | | Labovitch ( number 79) said "It is always easy to be |
| And it should hold down prices. Indeed on the July | | | | a Monday morning quarterback.". |