I don't know. I've just been thinking about this whole Barton XP3000+ thing, and it comes to me that we really shouldn't be surprised. I mean honestly, when you think about it...
The last few AMD releases have been paper launches, which some think are ok to do and some don't. But anywho, they've also been launches where the performance leaves it very debatable if the rating system really means that your AMD's PR is going to give you more performance than Intel's clockspeed. The performance gap between the AMD/Intel bleeding-edge was minimal at best, where as AMD's PR rating <i>used</i> to mean that it would outperform a P4 of that speed. So anywho, we've been seeing the PR rating slowly mean less and less as time marches on.
On top of that though, AMD's bleeding-edge prices have been sliding higher and higher. Instead of being great price over Intel, they've been more or less matching Intel. (For the top end, not for the middle-to-low.)
So the trend has been that AMD's PR means slightly less and less, and AMD's prices are going up and up. When you really think about it, we should have seen the XP3000+ coming. The PR was bloated even more for Barton. AMD prices these over-inflated-PR CPUs the same (or more) than Intel counterparts. And so now, the price/performance just really sucks at AMD's top end.
Now here's the part where I just don't know...
A) Did AMD really mean to screw up their PR ratings on purpose with Barton <i>just</i> so that they could charge more for them?
B) Did AMD screw up their PR ratings with Barton <i>just</i> so that they could claim to be as fast as Intel once more?
C) A bit of A and B?
D) Did AMD <i>honestly</i> think that the Barton's extra cache warranted a +300 to the PR?
I suppose this post might kind of belong in the poll section, but I'm not really taking a poll. I'm just wondering what everyone else's thoughts are. Does anyone still try to put AMD up on any pedestal? Or has this been the last straw for you? Does anyone see another side I've missed to this?
PC Repair-Vol 1:Getting To Know Your PC.
PC Repair-Vol 2:Troubleshooting Your PC.
PC Repair-Vol 3:Having Trouble Troubleshooting Your PC?
PC Repair-Vol 4:Having Trouble Shooting Your PC?
The last few AMD releases have been paper launches, which some think are ok to do and some don't. But anywho, they've also been launches where the performance leaves it very debatable if the rating system really means that your AMD's PR is going to give you more performance than Intel's clockspeed. The performance gap between the AMD/Intel bleeding-edge was minimal at best, where as AMD's PR rating <i>used</i> to mean that it would outperform a P4 of that speed. So anywho, we've been seeing the PR rating slowly mean less and less as time marches on.
On top of that though, AMD's bleeding-edge prices have been sliding higher and higher. Instead of being great price over Intel, they've been more or less matching Intel. (For the top end, not for the middle-to-low.)
So the trend has been that AMD's PR means slightly less and less, and AMD's prices are going up and up. When you really think about it, we should have seen the XP3000+ coming. The PR was bloated even more for Barton. AMD prices these over-inflated-PR CPUs the same (or more) than Intel counterparts. And so now, the price/performance just really sucks at AMD's top end.
Now here's the part where I just don't know...
A) Did AMD really mean to screw up their PR ratings on purpose with Barton <i>just</i> so that they could charge more for them?
B) Did AMD screw up their PR ratings with Barton <i>just</i> so that they could claim to be as fast as Intel once more?
C) A bit of A and B?
D) Did AMD <i>honestly</i> think that the Barton's extra cache warranted a +300 to the PR?
I suppose this post might kind of belong in the poll section, but I'm not really taking a poll. I'm just wondering what everyone else's thoughts are. Does anyone still try to put AMD up on any pedestal? Or has this been the last straw for you? Does anyone see another side I've missed to this?
PC Repair-Vol 1:Getting To Know Your PC.
PC Repair-Vol 2:Troubleshooting Your PC.
PC Repair-Vol 3:Having Trouble Troubleshooting Your PC?
PC Repair-Vol 4:Having Trouble Shooting Your PC?