Unless this is the first page you’ve found (in which case, welcome and thanks for stopping by!), you’ve no doubt picked up on the fact that I’m building a PC with an Intel CPU and ATi graphics.
This is rather controversial, in some circles. There’s no doubt that the majority of ‘extreme gamers’ that you run into online are medium-to-extreme fanbois of AMD and Nvidia. The zeal that many feel about these two company’s products is backed up by some very real facts and statistics, too.
I don’t know that it’s worth arguing about, however. My choice is also based on very real facts and statistics too…though I came to the opposite conclusion.
AMD (and to a lesser extent, Nvidia) tends to be less expensive and also tends to perform better in many tests. I’m not denying any of this.
On the other hand, my AMD CPUs and Nvidia GPUs also tend to fail much more often. I am not exaggerating when I tell you that i will go through three Nvidia cards for every one ATi card, and two AMD CPUs for every one Intel CPU. That’s a pretty major difference.
A big part of it is the heat. Modern chips run hotter than ever, and I live in a part of the world where it stays over 100°F for three to five months straight. AMD/ Nvidia chips run hotter than Intel/ ATi chips.
That’s one of the reasons why such a huge cooling industry has sprung up over the last decade or so (the other reason is overclocking, of course, which can make even a relatively cool PC turn into Mount Doom). So in my mind, the extra cost to achieve comparable operating temperatures pretty much negates any savings.
I don’t want to start trouble, but thinking about lower prices and hotter chips (plus my decade or so of experience replacing components) has encourgaged me to at least consider the possibility that AMD and Nvidia may simply be making generally cheaper, lower-quality products. Just like no amount of neon tubing will turn your Kia into a muscle car, no amount of cooling will raise inherent chip quality, and there are many ways a chip can fail that have nothing to do with heat.
I don’t know that’s all true. I have plenty of people who tell me it’s not true. But in the end, I’m building a PC for myself. And I’ll feel happier (and slightly poorer) if I go with the brands that have given me more reliable performance in the past.