Computer Microprocessors - Intel vs AMD

Intel vs AMD

Anyone who has been remotely associated with a computer has heard of Intel, regardless of whether he knows even the basic facets of a microprocessor.
Now, geeks of course, will cry foul if we leave AMD(Advanced Micro Devices) out, but the fact remains that Intel is still light years ahead of AMD when we talk about publicity – globally that is.

By Jolly, isn’t Intel ahead of AMD?

Talking about computing, is a different story altogether. For a long time, AMD had been nibbling away at Intel’s empire, falling short of the big brother’s powerhouses.
That was until it launched the AMD Athlon64 microprocessors which had almost got Intel by the throat.

Intel had been the industry leader in micro-processors till then with its forte being the performance of its Pentium Series.
During those times, Intel embarked on the Netburst architecture as its future plan for the next ten years (in 2000). And AMD concentrated on building 64-bit architecture and dual core processing as its objective.

Pretty soon, Intel realized that the Netburst line was not going the right way and cut short the plan to three years. But, by then, AMD was already ahead and going on, with its plans for launching the Athlon64. and then the dual-core version (Opteron) of the same in April 2005.

Most industry experts would agree that the AMD Athlon64 was probably the best micro-processor at that time for desktop PCs, outrunning the Intel Pentium D processor across all platforms. And along with it, came the accusations of poor quality of processors from Intel and for building sub-standard stuff.

All that and much more changed with the arrival of the Intel Core 2 Duo. Code-named Conroe, independent analysts agreed that this processor was one of the finest pieces of silicon ever manufactured, going over close to 20% of performance hike over its AMD counterparts. Close on the heels of the dual-core processor, came the Quad-core line from Intel, bolstering its stand.

All said and done, one would say that if you are looking for the best chip for your computer, look no further than Intel (That is for now, of course).

If you think that the battle between Intel and AMD hinges purely on the performance of their micro-processors, then you are wrong. Both parties have a history of litigation against each other, about broken agreements, copyright infringement (by Intel over its MMX series) and AMD complaining of arm-twisting by Intel for stopping its entry into global markets.
However, AMD has already proved itself and made sure that Intel stays on its toes and delivers in the micro-processor market.