AMD failure rate

[Guest]

I had a salesman try to convince me today that I should get a P4 1.5G instead of an Athlon 1.4G because the failure rate of the pentium is lower, even though the Athlon benchmarks higher. I couldn't find anything about the longterm reliability of the products, anyone got info on this?

Thanks,
J.W.

 

[kief]

I have, or have built at least 40 Tbird systems plus a number of Duron systems and have not had a bad chip yet. I did have an original Athlon (slot) fail after about 9 months, however when it was brought to me (I didnt set it up) the heatsink and fan were not properly mounted.......

 

[Guest]

The 3rd word "salesman" says it all!

The idiots usually dont know anything much and they have selective hearing especially when they parrot off what they have heard from some other idiot. They are not interested in whats good for you, just interested in their bottom line!

Medication helps
<font color=blue>THG needs 2 change the sig' of the week errrr century!</font color=blue>

 

[lhgpoobaa]

no idea...
but i suspect the number of people on this forum doesn represent a good cross section of amd chip purchaces.

if you believe amdmeltdown *snigger* then all amd chips spontaneously combust upon powering up.
i suspect in reality the VAST MAJORITY of amd chips are never touched or even seen by their owners.
the computer is purchaced from the big retail companies or local store, the generic heatsink is used, and the inside of the computer is forgotten about by the vast majority of people who just dont care about overclocking, cooling, builting or tweaking their own system.

the problem systems you see at toms are the sharp pointy tip of the iceberg only.

another suspicion i have about lack of p4 problems her is that yes, they might be a bit more reliable, but also that there are far fewer around than athlons.

athlons too are the choice beast for overclocking.
thats a specialised market segment too.

in the end i doubt either intel or amd will release failure rate figures.
unless someone knows better than i? anybody?

I'll respect your comments & opinions, even if i disagree with them, Provided you display maturity.

 

[madmike]

If you're buying a pre-built system, check out the warranties. If they're both the same, then why should you worry too much about failure rates of processors? Choosing between the two, I'd go for the AMD - but check the pricing. You should be able to get the TBird box with roughly equal specs for less than the P4. Your salesman might get to put more in his pocket if you buy the P4 - who knows?

You're doing the right thing by asking questions. Keep shopping around. Everybody sells PCs these days. You've got alot of choices.

 

[Kelledin]

I have personally built hundreds of systems of both types. So far, I have only seen one CPU fail--a Slot1 PIII--and it was only written off as a "failure" because the fan bearings were noisy. This was a retail CPU with the HSF attached more-or-less permanently =/

Oh, and a Cyrix CPU a long time ago--it was installed on the mobo and jumpered by the store that sold the bundle. I later discovered the core voltage was jumpered too high. Bastards!

Kelledin

"/join #hackerz. See the Web. DoS interesting people."

 

[Yahiko81]

I'm sure the failure rate on both is somewhat the same. AMD's is probably slightly higher but that is just a guess.

<b>Change the sig of the week!</b>
Don't fake the funk on a nasty dunk!!

 

[SammyBoy]

I swear, somewhere on this board, a link was posted regarding the manufactuing processes of AMD and Intel. I believe that it was also mentioned that AMD chips are produced in a different manner that Intel's, and that manner allows less-than-perfect chips to be marked at a lower speed and FSB, meaning that they are still able to run, but not at the intended speed. This would also help keep costs down, since instead of scraping parts that are still working (just not at the original speed), they can just remark them and ship them out. Remember, if it's a processer in a box, don't worry, cause if it fails, you get a warrenty that will replace it for three years (AMD or Intel). So, point is, regardless of failure rates, they both have very slim chances of failing once they leave the Fab. Both Intel and AMD need to keep scrap (i.e. failures) to a minimum so that they can keep the costs lower and keep that razor-thin profit margin. As to in Fab scrap rates, I'd say that, at least for the high end chips, it's pretty high, while the chips that have been fabbed for a few months are pretty much automatic passes.

 

[Guest]

I work in the middle east where the wether is particularly hot. I spoke to 2 companies that sell computers here, and one of them advised me the same thing, to use Intel because of a lower failure rate. However, the other company has sold an amazing 500 AMDs in the 2 years or so with NO processor failures. Then I discovered why. The second company simply did their homework about installation, shipping, and most importantly, COOLING, while the other company didn't. So I'd say that salesman ought to speak very firmly with their technical dept.

 

[Yahiko81]

That will never work seeing as how sales and tech departments fight worse than amd and intel users.

What is the difference between <font color=red>pink</font color=red>and <font color=purple>purple</font color=purple>? The <b>GRIP</b>!

 

[Guest]

Hmm well seeing as the PIV system probably cost more then the athalon system I think he would say that you see there is one benchmark the salesman is really interested in...COMISSION, the more expensive the PC the higher it is. And as a rule with PC's unless you build it yourself don't trust it, and the same goes for salesmen as well.

Besides if you've done your homework what do you need a salesmen for?

Your nice new PC might be faster then my 286, but my 286 makes a better door stop

 

[Yahiko81]

How do you build a salesman??

What is the difference between <font color=red>pink</font color=red>and <font color=purple>purple</font color=purple>? The <b>GRIP</b>!

 

[Guest]

Teach someone to lie and to believe every lie about a product,brainwash> sell sell sell, apply pressure to him to sell, give him unreal unabtainable goals. Make them wear shiny shoes,silly ties,a ton of Bryl cream in thier hair and buy expensive cars. Must never give up an a sale even if the client says no. Talk the client into something they will never need and pay through the nose for a long time.(we have an EASY payment plan)

Worst of all they learn this one by them selves, they seem to know more about a product in two weeks than a tech guy out the back with 20 years experience.

Medication helps

 

[Guest]

Q./How do you stuff a salesperson up?
A.1/Get them to handle something dirty.
A.2/Get them all excited about you placing the order of the century and back out of the deal at the last possible moment.

Medication helps

 

[Yahiko81]

Hehehe, spooge cream.

What is the difference between <font color=red>pink</font color=red>and <font color=purple>purple</font color=purple>? The <b>GRIP</b>!

 

[Guest]

Actually I was thinking simpiler (less probably spelt wrong but you probably havn't just finished a ten hour shift) then that you see it involves a mummy a daddy a rubber shortage and lots of tears when they realise what their offspring has become.

Your nice new PC might be faster then my 286, but my 286 makes a better door stop

 

[Yahiko81]

Have you ever seen the southpark where chef gets sued and the record label guy keeps putting spooge in his hair. That's just what popped into my head.

What is the difference between <font color=red>pink</font color=red>and <font color=purple>purple</font color=purple>? The <b>GRIP</b>!

 

[kief]

Actually I am not sure AMD does this (although I bet they do) but I know Intel does and has for some time.

 

[Scout]

How the heck can anybody know how long their processor lasts? Nobody on this forum keeps a chip more than 6 months anyway!!!

I don't think I've ever heard of a failed chip that wasn't abused first! Too much heat trying to make it run faster or smash the HSF on and break a corner...

I've only had a few bad peripherals in general over the years. A modem here a video card there. Oh... I have lost three hard drives though... those pesky moving parts!

Scout

 

[Guest]

I had a Voodoo 3 die on me once but thats just because the bloody things just get so damn hot and 3dfx never supplied enough cooling...

Although thanks to some socket 7 fans and cardboard it's nice and chilly even when running at 170mhz (143 as standard)

Your nice new PC might be faster then my 286, but my 286 makes a better door stop