AMD processors

Question

Who else is ticked off that Dell doesn't want to use AMD processors. They said in a recent www.theinquirer.net article (10/20/04) that their costumers weren't interested in AMD processors.

Is that true? Did Dell ever ask us?

I for one am ticked off about this and think that it makes Dell a lot weaker by not offering AMD processors.

When i decided i was going to get a computer this summer, the highlight of my future system was going to be an AMD Athlon 64 FX-53. Unfortunately i wasn't able to get that simply because Dell doesn't offer it.

I would have custom built my computer otherwise, but Dell would have been a much better deal. For that reason i was stuck getting a mediocre Intel Pentium 4.

Omcginty44 · Answer

Hahaha, of course.   Revolt anyone?

volcano11 · Answer

In fact, I participated in a survey that Dell sent me about 2 years ago asking this very question.  Apparently the results of the survey indicated little internest. Steve

rdaxx · Answer

Dell is interested in stable systems for their customers. AMD can be unstable, runs hot, gets overclocked all the time, and in general is not what a first time or corporate buyer wants. Dell is just using good business practice.

ejn63 · Answer

The biggest issue for Dell is no longer stability or reliability - AMD CPUs are just as good as - and in some cases better than - Intel's in that regard.

At the desktop level, the bigger issue is that the profit margins on AMD CPUs is smaller - that would hit Dell, since it would still have to offer support on the systems.

However, margins on servers are much larger - that is where you may eventually see Dell offer AMD - AMD has a lot more 64-bit experience than Intel, and every other major vendor is selling AMD-based servers - Dell may be forced into that to remain competitive.

rdaxx · Answer

Your probably right. But corporate buyers (where Dells biggest profit margin is) want to see an Intel Inside tag and a Windows OS when they buy PC's. Not that it is right or wrong. That's just the way the business sector works these days.

Don't look for Dell to change anytime soon. You won't see Dell PC's except on special business accounts with AMD's or even Firefox for that matter.

fredha · Answer

The biggest downside of AMD processors is the fact that AMD depends on other manufacturers for chipsets. Most often there are inital problems with VIA and Nvidia chipsets. These are usually ironed out in a second revision but some compatibility issues remain. The work arounds are not a big problem for the enthusiast but are a real problem for an inexperienced or casual user. Intel usually produces a chipset that has few compatibility problems and are very reliable. This means less tech support caused by built in compatibility problems.

Omcginty44 · Answer

It's true that i don't know a whole lot about where Dell's major earnings come from, but it is a lie to say that Dell customers are not interested in AMD.   What about those of us that want better performance for a better price?   (Check mate)   (QED)   ::smileyvery-happy: Message Edited by Omcginty44 on 10-28-2004 06:48 PM

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AMD processors

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