----Intro----
No simple way to say this so i'll just say this - this forum veered off topic from a discussion about short and long run impacts of intel's new line of processors to close-minded remarks such as "Oh i was first using dual processors back in the day" or "How do you use your pc with your head up your ass?". But hey - dont let me stop you - talk about that type of crap while you could be exchanging opinions and actually having a debate that would be a beneficial and a learning experience to all of us =)
----Epilogue----
First and foremost, the PC industry is a very unpredictable market. The best us consumer-level people can do is simply read the news from companies and contemplate the odds of when certain events will happen and how they will play out. Intel's Release of their new line of processors formerly known as "Conroe" and recently renamed "Core 2 Duo" upon their official release has caused a division line among opinions of many enthisiasts and professionals. I myself walk the line and simply look at the numbers. Wheather Intel or AMD really does not matter. Its simply a matter of which company is at the upper edge, and how much promise the new technology has, including things as performance increases, and most of all, future upgradeablitily. First, there are three main points that i believe are key to any technology, they are as follows:
1)What performance & reliability gains does it provide?
2)Does the technology in question have a promising future?
3)What future technologies does this development pave way for?
Now, needless to say, competition between companies, most obvious of them being PC industry giants such as Intel vs. Amd, Nvidia vs. Ati, and other issues such as at the same time of having a competition, Intel and Amd are trying to broker partnerships with other "Underlying" companies. What i mean by underlying is that it is clear to nearly everyone that Asus is the leading motherboard manufacturer. Now, Intel & Amd make motherboards - Asus makes processors - get the flow? While competing for the first place in the CPU market, both are also trying to get deals for specific motherboards for their specific CPU lines. Because, even if Intel had the best f***ing processors in the universe that were a million times faster than AMD's, it would do them any good if there were no motherboards that support them. Now, as you all know, the hardest choice in the system, the one that really decides what processor we will get is the motherboard, due to this, companies such as Asus & Gigabyte (and many others, ofcoarse), play a vital role to Intel & Amd. Video card manufacturers also play a fairly large role, but each motherboard is compatible with all videocards of its generation (aka AGP to AGP & PCIe to PCIe). Processor sockets, on the other hand, can only be chosen only for Intel or AMD, and it all boils down to one choice: Will the flagship product of the motherboard manufacturer's company be designed for Intel or AMD? Just to choose an example, I am willing to bet that ever since Asus's P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe hit the market, many AMD loyalists have converted their upgrade candidates to intel, and nearly all AMD
fans gave it a good thought.]
----The Good Part----
Now, that the basics of the PC market have been covered, let me actually cover this thread's topic. Intel or Amd? This question is controlled by three factors. One - who currently has the upper hand. Two - for how long do you estimate that advantage to last. Three - What level of upgradeability does this technology have. Now, in terms of upgradeability, I think that intel has always had the upper hand. But until recently, Amd has held the CPU market in firm control. Until Core 2 Duo arrived, that is. From the information I've been able to gather, the Core 2 Duo is only the first step in a whole new next generation of processors. Now, chunkymonster has made a good addition to this topic - without the dual CPU motherboard's, the Dual Core Processor line would have never emerged for Intel or Amd. But the Core 2 Duo is only the first step. In Step 2, the same technology will power a different, more powerful processor, it consist of four processing cores, i saw it mentioned earlier in the discussion, but im afraid i dont remember the code-name. I belive that
after Intel's most recent launch (Core 2 Duo), AMD will release their line of quad core processors, which will give them the upper edge just as they've had for the last 1-2 years. Then I believe DirectX 10 and DDR3 will come out. And just as always, intel will pioneer the technologies and incorporate them into their quad core processor which i estimate will release about 3-4 months after DX10 & DDR3 have come out. Although, if im wrong, the next most likely possibility is it will come out 4-8 months after the AMD's quad-core CPU's come out.
----The Showdown----
This is my final conclusion on the near-future Intel vs. Amd struggle. Now, Core 2 Duo is dominating. Shortly, AMD will release it's quad-core processor, and as usually will have exellent drivers and support from the beginning. Then DX10 and DDR3 will come out. Then Intel will rush a poorly-supported, but superior line of quad-core CPU's into the market which will struggle for the first 1-3 months after release until issues are resolved and motherboard compatibility arrives. Then Intel will have the upper edge for a year or so. If I had to upgrade, I would wait for Intel's Quad-Core CPU to come out, for these main reasons: that is the most likely "tide" period before the next "storm" of rapid changes in PC industry. Second, currently, the Quad-SLI of nVidia is superior by hardware, but the official drivers are not out, which is good, because from what i can tell, they're waiting to make the drivers DX10 compatible. Then DDR3 will come, and shortly after that, the Intel processor line. When that happens, the QuadSLI will be perfected, motherboards will support DDR3 fully, and my choice of time to upgrade will be when the last "next gen" component comes out - The Intel quad-core CPU. After that i am guessing that there will be a calm of one or two years, a period where the DDR3 clock frequencies will slightly keep rising, same for CPU's, and I am expecting ATI to come out with their own QuadSLI by that time.
So, in short terms - upgrade when the sh!tstorm blew over and all the next-gen stuff is properly working and is fairly aquainted with the market. (Sh!tstorm = next half a year to a year or so)
P.S. I am 14 years old and wrote this "article" to the best of my knowledge. If any of the information is inaccurate or the predictions simply ridiculous, please reply and i will correct it to the best of my ability.
AKA no smartass remarks but constructive critiscism always welcome =)