No, you didn't scare me away. I have a life, you know.
And currently Fusion is software based on hardware, not the other way around. You can download Fusion Beta currently, but it only works on AMD/ATI hardware. I'm not a fanboy, I just specific testing, and find AMD processor currently working better for a better price. I don't want to start a flamewar, so please don't try the insults.
My personal experience with Intel processors has... Well, been Las Vegas. Not the casino's, but the heat. I tested with an e8400 and e8500, and on stock-clocks, they were running, on stock cooling units, around 43-68°c on idle/load. With the 8450 I tested, it was at 28-37°. On stock cooler. Im not going to upgrade the cooler, when the stock cooler is efficient enough. and its a lot simpler putting the AMD fan on. :|
The e8400 is a really nice processor, and it doesn't get much hotter than 68° (I have never exceeded it thus far), but it still costs 170 bucks~. I have tested and performed far better on an 8450 (nearly 10%), and it only costs 100 bucks. It's a money saver, for performance that isn't any lower. Again, that's what I tested on virtually the same platforms (X48 and 790FX). The main difference is, the e8400 and the entire Core2 series overclock extremely well, when you don't need to do that. After a certain point, you max out what it can perform on programs, and everything after that is wasted. Video cards are what you want to make more powerful.
And, lastly, for under 700 dollars, you cannot get anything better with Intel. Under 800, maybe, but under 700? I just couldn't do it, and couldn't find anything that would give me the same performance. =\ It's not worth spending 100 more dollars for a Name, when most of my clients will not see a performance difference at all.
Remember, I'm looking at this from a cost-effective point of view, for people who are near computer illiterate. If Intel will make their Core2Quad's (Low-end version) for ~$100 like what they said they can do (but won't, because don't have to), then yeah, Intel would have the better option. But I'm a business man, currently. :laughing:
If you guys can show me a cheaper platform (or the same price? This one was 698 bucks after shipping), then ****, I'll love to pick it. But Core2's are still to expensive. The cheapest I could make, was with an e7200 Core2Duo, and the price was 80 dollars more.
So, please, if you're so sure it's the best, cost-effective way to go; show me something under 700.