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AMD and Intel are two manufacturers who make the processors that power our PCs. these are central processing units (CPUs) – they process all of the data in your computer.
Intel started out as a manufacturing company that made semiconductor-based integrated circuits. AMD started out as a department of the chipmaker, Integrated Electronics (which later became part of Fujitsu).
Both companies were founded by two Americans: Jerry Sanders III and Gordon Moore (who is more famously known for his work on Moore’s Law).
AMD vs Intel: which one technology is better?
CPUs may be the most important parts of a computer, as they are essentially the decision-makers for everything it does. Therefore, comparing CPUs is one of the most common types of tech comparisons outside of which operating system/browser is better, and selecting two processors to compare can be very difficult.
This article compares Intel’s Core i7 6700K Skylake processor against AMD’s FX 8370 Vishera eight-core, both released in the last 14 months. Both are set to 4GHz, with all cores enabled and at stock settings (e.g., no overclocking).
The Core i7 6700K has an MSRP of $350 USD, whereas the FX 8370 Vishera has an MSRP of $180 USD.
Intel’s goal is to maximize performance per watt, which will lead to cutting power use in all aspects of the processor design, including internal components and power delivery hardware. AMD’s focus is on maximizing core counts without giving up too much single-threaded performance per dollar.
The Core i7 6700K features 8 physical cores (with 4 logical cores per physical via hyperthreading), which is the most common processor design for enthusiast-class CPUs in 2016.
It also has an unlocked multiplier, allowing for overclocking with a base clock of 4.0GHz – 4.2GHz on average with water cooling.
The thermal design power (TDP) is 91W, or up to 112W in turbo mode via overclocking. It has a T case temperature of 72 degrees Celsius and a DTS temperature of 71 degrees Celsius. Intel’s processor line-up goes from the Core i3 at $120 USD, the Core i5 at $200 USD, and the Core i7 processors at $300+ USD.
The company’s “Extreme” series are overclockable CPUs with high TDPs (120W-160W) for extreme overclocking but are primarily marketed to enthusiasts.
Intel markets this processor primarily for gaming, 4K video editing/streaming, image/video editing, and general-purpose use. It includes 16 lanes of on-processor graphics (Intel HD 530) but can take advantage of up to 40 lanes of additional PCI Express 3.0 bandwidth via the CPU’s DMI interconnects (if both the Core i7 6700K and the chipset are connected to unlocked processors).
The Core i7 6700K has a transistor count of roughly ~3 billion, and a die size of 177mm.
Intel has released the Skylake architecture to the enthusiast market in summer 2015. They typically provide IPC (instructions per clock) increases of 5-10% between generations; however, because only one CPU design (i.e., core) was modified, the IPC increase is closer to 5%. As a result, while the 4GHz-4.2GHz speeds and DDR4 support bring improvements, they aren’t as pronounced as previous generations (e.g., Ivy Bridge’s 12% IPC increase over Sandy Bridge).
Intel also extended their FIVR design (which is now called “Fully Integrated Voltage Regulator”) from mobile CPUs to enthusiast desktops. This lowers power consumption and heat production, though it does limit the amount of voltage the CPU can safely handle and requires an external VRM heatsink for motherboard compatibility.
AMD
AMD’s FX 8370 Vishera eight-core has been put to the test. The results show that AMD’s latest 8-core offering is still competitive, despite falling behind Intel in most benchmarks.
FX 8370 should be used for specific applications only (such as games and creative workloads), as it’s not nearly as efficient for single-threaded or lightly multithreaded tasks, such as streaming and video playback.
Here is the first benchmark:
The FX 8370 falls behind Intel in practically every test other than PovRay, which is a ray-tracing rendering engine (the author speculates this is because PovRay scales well with the number of threads).
The next benchmark tested was “Valley.” The results are below:
Again, the FX 8370 falls behind Intel in all but one test. The author surmises that this may have to do with AMD’s focus on raw clock speeds over core counts.
Also read: best gaming pc under 700
AMD vs Intel: Which one performs better
It is no secret that AMD and Intel are currently the top players in the world of processors. With PC gaming becoming so popular in recent years, it has become almost essential to purchase a high-end processor to build your perfect gaming rig, but choosing between AMD and Intel is no easy feat. Both companies have their strengths and weaknesses which often leads to heated debates about the topic of AMD vs Intel. To make it a little easier for you readers out there we have created an infographic comparing the specifications of both companies’ current lineup of processors.
After looking at the graphic it is clear to see that both companies are offering very similar products. The key difference between AMD and Intel is the price tag each company places upon its processors. For example, Intel’s flagship processor the i7 3960X is roughly twice as expensive as AMD’s top-of-the-line FX 8150. Despite this huge price difference, it doesn’t necessarily mean the 3960X is better than the 8150. On paper, AMD’s eight-core FX 8150 trumps Intel’s six-core i7 3930K. However, since all processors are different and the only way to truly test their capabilities is by benchmarking them, I will leave it up to you guys to decide which company do you prefer
AMD vs Intel: price
It is a common myth that AMD processors are cheaper than Intel processor
AMD vs Intel: which one provide the best technical and customer support
AMD and Intel are the two biggest brands in the market for microprocessors, or CPUs. According to a 2015 report by Jon Peddie Research, these two companies own 99% of the market for CPUs.
Both AMD and Intel provide technical support services for their products, though they use different methods to deliver this service. One such approach is employing software to directly interface with users and provide assistance; we will discuss this later.
The technical support service of AMD, however, is different from that of Intel in terms of how it handles complaints or problems reported by consumers. According to their website’s support page, the CPU maker has a call center for its customers where they can get in touch with an expert to report problems.
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