break out the shovels

Story: AMD prices are droppingTotal Replies: 13
Author Content
grouch

Jul 25, 2006
1:11 PM EDT
"[S]erious price droppings"? Just in time; my garden needs that!

wjl:

No offense intended. Thanks for the info! I know someone who has been waiting for such a headline to hit the RSS feed.
techiem2

Jul 25, 2006
1:15 PM EDT
Too bad I'm broke..... :)
Bob_Robertson

Jul 25, 2006
6:23 PM EDT
I've liked AMD since they were new. Something about Intel always felt slimy, no matter how good their products are.

When I head that Intel had changed their cleaning process from chloroflorocarbons to distilled water, again I cheered but something still just felt slimy.

Then I had my second AMD machine, and it would overheat. A new heat sink on the K6 CPU did the job, but the "heat" reputation of AMD took on a whole new meaning.

Next time, I again bought an AMD. Something about Intel still feels slimy.

Now I've got this neato gnarly Sony Vaio, with an Intel P4 that is bar none the hottest CPU I've ever had to deal with. Nasty, hot, power sucking block of neutronium that brings back fond memories of the original Compaq "luggable" computers. Except of course for being several thousands of times faster and with a huge screen. No wonder the battery lasts about 15 minutes. "Laptop". Har har har. More like the modern version of my TRS-80 Model 3.

But what do I long for really? At least a dual AMD 64bit x2 NUMA machine. Oh yeah, 4 cores, Linux SMP, Windows can go suck donkey butt. I'll keep the Vaio as a glorified Xterminal.

What a nice thing for AMD to drop their prices by 1/2 from one day to the next. Thank you, Intel, for putting the competitive pressure on, you've once again reinforced my faith in capitalism constantly driving the price/performance ratio into the microscopic realms.

...But it still won't make me _want_ an Intel processor again. Not yet, anyway, listening to the CPU fan on this Vaio spin with a 3% load running Xorg... I've had to fashion a deflector to redirect the hot exhaust gases away from the books I keep on the desk behind the machine. They were browning.
jimf

Jul 25, 2006
6:43 PM EDT
> about Intel always felt slimy

You're putting too much compound on the CPU ;-)
grouch

Jul 25, 2006
7:46 PM EDT
Let me quote from a recent LWN article:

'Speaker David Airlie started with a review of the current state of free graphics drivers. Intel chipsets are relatively well supported, thanks to an enlightened position being taken by that company. ATI is a "former leading light" in the free software world, but is no longer cooperating."

[...]

"David noted, with amusement, that both ATI and Nvidia withdrew support at about the same time that they got Xbox contracts. Let's hope, he says, that Intel never works an Xbox deal."

http://lwn.net/Articles/191900/

That doesn't have a direct bearing on CPUs, but I think it's sufficient to remove some "slimy" feeling.

BTW, both AMD (who is looking for Linux hackers) and Intel work with kernel developers. It gives me a tiny bit of hope for ATI, now.
wjl

Jul 25, 2006
8:36 PM EDT
Bob_R> "But it still won't make me _want_ an Intel processor again."

Right, Bob - I feel like you. My Boss *loves* Intel. But he also *loves* Microsoft, and defends everything they do.

For me, while I know that Intel *does* lay many of their things open, so other companies or free organizations can look at them and make drivers and stuff, I still like AMD. Why? I don't know. Maybe it's the David against Goliath kind of thing - Intel is just *everywhere* from your mobile to your kitchen sink, so I feel that they really could let those few desktop or server processors being sold by a competitor.

A somewhat less emotional point would be that AMD's design of the Athlon64, and especially the X2, is just plain sexy. And integrating the memory controller was the work of geniuses.

For me; I'll happily stick with these X2's, as soon as I can afford one ;-)

Oh, and yes - of course I would happily accept a job offer in Dresden, if there was any for me. Sadly, I'm no kernel developer, and my knowledge of Xen is only that of a happy user...

cheers, wjl
devnet

Jul 26, 2006
5:54 AM EDT
Quoting:Windows can go suck donkey butt.
That mad coffee fly out my nose...thanks for the laugh.
dinotrac

Jul 26, 2006
7:42 AM EDT
>Windows can go suck donkey butt.

Can they, Bob? Can they really?

Why, then, is MS fighting the Open Donkey Format so vigorously?
grouch

Jul 26, 2006
7:52 AM EDT
>"Why, then, is MS fighting the Open Donkey Format so vigorously?"

They're behind. That's why they're sucking that donkey butt. They think if they suck enough, they'll pull it in, blow it out the back, and suddenly be in the lead.
devnet

Jul 26, 2006
8:04 AM EDT
Quoting:They're behind. That's why they're sucking that donkey butt. They think if they suck enough, they'll pull it in, blow it out the back, and suddenly be in the lead.


Holy Crap! I need to quit drinking my coffee when reading this thread. Two times in the same thread. lol
dinotrac

Jul 26, 2006
8:08 AM EDT
devnet -

Go ahead, drink your coffee, but rename yourself to FountainHead.
cheshire137

Jul 26, 2006
9:25 AM EDT
And those price drops have allowed me to purchase a pretty 64-bit CPU for my new box!
grouch

Jul 26, 2006
9:42 AM EDT
Yeah, but I know you paid too much. Prices dropped even more at another vendor since yesterday.
Bob_Robertson

Jul 26, 2006
9:59 AM EDT
That's "Ayn Rand's The FountainHead"

Grouch, I was able to convince a bank to give me a loan for my TRS-80 mod-3 back in 1982. I hadn't learned that when RS puts a unit on sale, it's because they are about to announce it's obsolete. The Mod-4 came out the next month, and the $balance on the loan was never lower than what I could have bought a new one for.

Capitalism. Creating obsolescence every day since the Clovis Point.

Posting in this forum is limited to members of the group: [ForumMods, SITEADMINS, MEMBERS.]

Becoming a member of LXer is easy and free. Join Us!