Wow, what a load of bs.
AMD is not "inferior" because Intel is faster. You make it sound like
AMD chips are slow, and quite frankly they're not.
I do not need a computer that is minimally faster, my system serves me well for my purposes.
I don't need a 4ghz cpu, and im not very fond of how Intel has kept AMD down. I do own two systems, one AMD and one Intel, so i don't go with AMD just because i like the color "green". I do prefer AMD, but thats just personal preference. I dont go around bad mouthing Intel, ive even recommended Intel systems.
But when i built this system, i was getting the best bang for my buck. I had no intention of even gaming on it, but i decided to go ahead and get a stronger gpu to game with. Then i did several small upgrades, and i was going to possibly get an Intel mobo and cpu but then i saw the masses going to Intel, and i decided not to follow the crowd. I sat down and thought whether i really needed to gloat about a higher 3dmark06 score..and found my answer.
You of all people should know that benchmarks are simply synthetic, and true game performance is more gpu dependent than it is cpu. Sure i will get some more fps if i switched to a 4ghz E8400 with my 8800GT, but ill get even more if i got a stronger gpu like a GTX 260.
And the reason i wont get an ATI card is because right now, Nvidia is in the lead when it comes to folding and warranty (which are two factors that are very important to me, while they may not be to others). If this changes, then ill have no problem going to an ATI card.
Like i said already, performance is not the number 1 factor i take when i buy something, i look at several factors overall. I feel it would be a waste for me to get an E8400, or even a stronger AMD cpu since my system does everything i need it to do.
And i do music production, gaming, photoshop..etc. I never get any slowdows, and i don't feel like im missing any power. Im not an extreme hardware junkie and i don't get my jollies off from having the highest 3dmark06 score and running a game at 150fps.
I dont tell anyone they are wrong for buying Intel over AMD, i just throw out suggestions on AMD builds when i know they really give the better bang for your buck.
The fact is, when people ask for an htpc build on these forums, we all know the best onboard gpu is AMD based, the hd3300. Theres also the low power 45w dual core which compliments the system well. I can go into a thread and suggest this build, and soon after someone will come in and say "well, Intel is faster so you should go with this build"....so yeah i think i can justify the whole intel craze being a bandwagon.