i hate amd vs. i hate Intel

[Bilbo_B]

A post to promote understanding and respect for both Intel and AMD users gets turned into a discussion on the merits of both companies' products.
Get a grip, people. Intel and AMD are companies, not religions. They sell products. That's all.
Do you like AMD chips better? More power to you. I don't see why you take offense at my prefering Intel. The reverse is also true.
I don't really expect anyone to change because of this post, I just felt it needed to be said.
And, oh, yeah, I'm a newbie. So, I'm a lurker, not a poster. I don't see how that shoud influence the way my opinions are considered. Discuss the ideas, not the person.

If it ain't broken, break it. Then fix it.

 

[Guest]

Right on dude, I tried to make a post that was just pointing out my point of view. Both Intel and AMD are good companies, depending on what you want. For home use, my preference is AMD. But you've got to admit, sometimes it's funny reading what some "flamers" have to say about things.
I'm also a "newbie", I think, but I have been at Tom's for a while, just never posted. A lot of people who are "higher up" (for lack of better words), mostly post things like: "you're a sh*thead, go home and suck on ..." okay, so you get my point. "Discuss the ideas, not the person." right on man.


<Common Sense is a gift that some of us have returned.>

 

[Fltsimbuff]

Well then... You just stick to your Intel chips, and I'll just be happy with my lil' Duron system that does everything I need it to for a lot less $$ than anything Intel has. I suppose since there are so many ppl out there that have "sold their souls" to Intel, and are unwilling to try a cheaper/faster alternative to their products, I have to stop and salute you for being that way.... After all, the ppl that are too afraid to buy AMD are the ones keeping AMD from taking over and driving their prices up. Thanks a lot!

--Fltsimbuff

BTW.... No insults meant by this... just trying to get it across that I'll continue buying AMD as long as they are cheaper, faster, and until I actually see one of those fabled problems with the AMD CPU....

 

[Fltsimbuff]

"Doctor! It hurts when I do this!"......
"Ok, Then Don't Do That!

Similar situation... Don't put incompatible hardware in your system... ANY system. There are alternatives, driver/BIOS updates, etc.
*Any* system will become unstable if you put incompatible hardware together. Remember, there is hardware that is incompatible with AMD solutions (VIA chipset), and there is hardware that is incompatible with Intel Solutions. So stop whining, and don't put incompatible hardware together in your system (like Compaq Does...heh...). That is a problem located between the Keyboard and the chair.

--Fltsimbuff

 

[Fltsimbuff]

"Windows is made for 'plug-and-play' (kind of =)."

heh... 'Plug-and-Pray' is more like it

 

[Fltsimbuff]

"Im glad to hear that. I really am. But its too bad every other VIA/AMD owner cant say that."

You can say the exact same thing about Intel...
I know plenty of unstable Intel-based systems, and I also know a lot of ppl that are very happy with their AMD-based systems.

--Fltsimbuff

 

[Fltsimbuff]

" But it took a day of research to get my USB working properly."

You too? I have a friend that built a system using the KT7A-RAID, and he never did get his to work..... ended up buying one of those PCI USB cards. Any chance I can benefit from the fruit of your labor?
It would be greatly appreciated.
--Fltsimbuff

 

[HolyGrenade]

I have an Asus K7V and no problems with it. All four USB ports work without problems. Most of the people here complain about AMD/Via having problems without even owning a recent system from those manufacturers.

True, my old FIC K6-III motherboard with a VIA Chipset had several problems with the AGP port. But Otherwise, even that worked pertty ok.


<font color=red>"My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and dispair!"</font color=red>

 

[jlbigguy]

<font color=blue>"You too? I have a friend that built a system using the KT7A-RAID, and he never did get his to work..... ended up buying one of those PCI USB cards. Any chance I can benefit from the fruit of your labor?"</font color=blue>

I can't guarantee that following my lead will get his USB working, as our systems are not identical.

First, I have a conservative philosophy: "If it's not broke, don't fix it". With that in mind, my Abit KT7-RAID is at bios level UL. I will eventually upgrade the bios, but not until I install a "BIOS Savior". I am using version 4.26 of the VIA 4 in 1 drivers. With this configuration, my system has been ROCK SOLID STABLE. So, if your friend is at a different bios level, or is using different 4 in 1 drivers, what I did may not help him. I am only listing the settings that I think have helped.

Under Softmenu III, I have the following settings:

Fast CPU Command Decode: FAST
CPU drive strength: 2
Enhance chip performance: enabled
Everthing below this is enabled as well, and DRAM Clock is Host+PCI

Under Advanced BIOS features, all shadowing is off.

Under Advanced Chipset Features,

PCI master pipeline req: enabled
P2C/C2P concurency: enabled
Fast R-W turnaround: enabled

K7 CLK_CTL select: DISABLED
CPU to PCI write buffer enabled
The next 4 references to PCI settings are enabled.

Finally, I enabled the RAID controller. This moved the USB ports from IRQ 5 to IRQ 3.

I also have a SBLive! card. If your friend has on, be sure it is in PCI slot 4.

The problem I had was my USB scanner (an HP 3300) would only scan once. The second attempt to scan would lock up the USB port. The same went for my digital cameras. Could only import from the cameras once, and many times it would fail. HP support told me it was the VIA chipset. Not very good news after you spent good money on a top quality MB.

My USB system is now solid, never burps. Works as it should. But will it still work when I add a TV Tuner to the PCI bus? That is the VIA question.

For more information on USB problems, go to

<A HREF="http://www.viahardware.com" target="_new">http://www.viahardware.com</A> and see the KT7 faq. It is the most comprehensive one I have seen.

Good luck!

<font color=blue>This is a Forum, not a playground. Treat it with Respect.</font color=blue>

 

[Kelledin]

I'd have to say FIC motherboards are crap. Everyone I've heard of buying one has found it to be generally unstable or just had it go tits-up out of the box. Happens with both Intel and VIA chipsets.

This seems to be the case with any chipset; some manufacturers make good motherboards, and some make crap motherboards.

Kelledin

bash-2.04$ kill -9 1
init: Just what do you think you're doing, Dave?

 

[MeldarthX]

That's fine, but what about SBlive and PIII, there are a lot of SBlive's with the old drivers that will not work period with the PIII. Not VIA chipset, not Intel chipset but the PIII cpu itself. I run a small business have built now 1000s of Athlon machines, all stable.

The SBlive problem you are talking about is a driver conflicted which is solded with updated drivers. The same thing with the PIII. I have also had a lot of problems with the P4 and soundcards, video cards, running stable period.

P4 is still in my opinion a poor design; with relieing too much on opimization like the k6/k62/k63 did. Northwood might help, but still its handy-capped by the original design flaw. Also Intel isn't pushing the new instruction code for the P4 like they did with their last two. Why is that? Because all of the hammer lines will have the same instruction sets, being very compatiable with opimization.

Intel could have designed a lot better cpu, but they drove out all of their best engineers to other companies; mostly AMD.

Just before coppermine came out the amount of time a design team was together for Intel was roughly 9 years. Now after coppermine its less than 6 months. After seeing 3 friends internship with Intel in their engineering department and all of them saying it was hell on earth. That it was all cutthroat and managers would take credit for things they didn't do and stab people in the backs.

The engineers used to somewhat run Intel back when it first came into life, but soon after the accounts and managers started running the company. That is why most of Intel cpu technology is based off stolen ideas and stolen technology from other companys.

MeldarthX

 

[Raystonn]

"most of Intel cpu technology is based off stolen ideas and stolen technology from other companys"

That's quite a libelous statement there. It's completely untrue as well. Intel is the leading innovator of new technology.

-Raystonn

= The views stated herein are my personal views, and not necessarily the views of my employer. =

 

[ejsmith2]

'That is why most of Intel cpu technology is based off stolen ideas and stolen technology from other companys.'


Yeah, I listen to NPR too. But you've got to tell the whole story, which requires remembering the majority of details. I agree on the 'micromanagement'. I've heard friggin <font color=red><b>horror</b></font color=red> stories from a few guys at a-online. I shudder to think of msft and ntel......

 

[Guest]

My FIC SD11 has been working just fine since February 2000
with Win95SE win98 Win2K(advanced Server) and Red Hat 6.2
I have SCSI and Soundblaster live (value) and too many other devices to list. I cold swap IDE drives so multi booting is avoided.

I only reboot when changing operating systems and have SETI running in the background 24 x 7. I have NEVER had a blue screen, I do 'C' development. Maybe I am just really lucky right ???

 

[Fltsimbuff]

Thanks a lot for the info. You have my sincerest gratitude .

--Fltsimbuff