AMD carries more packets at a time in processing power. Like two trucks- Intel goes 100MPH but carries only 7 boxes at a time, and AMD is only 70MPH, but carries 12-15 boxes at a time. There are times when Intel will outperform, but AMD usually is better with user output (total gotten performance out of CPU/APU, motherboard, graphics, etc.) Not everything is CPU Ghz anymore. Intel just markets benchmarks, which don't mean jack anymore. Therefore, at lower speeds, outperforms intel. Intel always boasts faster CPU speeds (GHz); however, they bottleneck on the motherboard and try to simply get around it by pushing faster speeds via hyperthreading/turboboosting. i.e. i5 is a DUAL core, with hyperthreading to try and act as a quad core. AMD makes all true quads. So, AMD found ways of multitasking better and using less power, but can boost to 3.5-5Ghz via hyper transport also. Better battery life and less overheating (big intel problem) especially in laptops. Of course, AMD can go into Octa Core and Intel only has 6 core... so AMD, who used to be part of Intel company became biggest competitor. Apple was going with them, but Intel's cookie cutter CPU's already had product line ready and AMD customizes all APU's/CPU's individually. High end Macs all use AMD/ATI Radeon. Check it out yourself. AMD is my favorite by far. I use in graphics and multimedia and always feel Intel has bottlenecking issues and feels slow.