Greg Stewart wrote:
>
> Don't know of any links to check, but I do know that Gateway's implemetation
> of the Athlon chip can be flaky--even under Windows98.
>
> --Greg
>
> >>> Forwarded Message <<<
> I'm in the market for a new machine . . . . and I am seriously considering
> the AMD chip . . . .
I have had good success with the Athlon chips (they are
*faaaaaaaaaaaast*) but I have the following caveats:
The Athlon chip is probably the most motherboard sensitive CPU I've ever
worked with (which would make sense given the speeds we're running at
now).
*Generally* speaking, avoid boards that don't have the AMD chipsets (I
suspect the above mentioned Gateway doesn't have one). ALSO - don't buy
an Asus K7M - this board was an unmitigated disaster, owing in large
part to Asus' decision (who was responsible for this?) to *mix* North
and South bridges from AMD and Via. In many configurations this board is
plain unusable - I know enough people who were unable to get even Linux
and FreeBSD to run on it.
I have now set up two machines on the Asus K7V with good success (this
board has an all VIA chipset). The units are speedy and very stable.
This is one of those cases where it pays to heed AMDs recommended
motherboard list.
Having said that, I would definitely choose an Athlon over an Intel. AMD
has really closed the gap. These processors are solid performers.
-Stephen-
