2000Lariat, I am a computer programmer and as such I have a lot of educated opinions on this question. I'll dish out the pros and cons of each:

Intel Pros (some of which are AMDs cons):
* The Intel chips are usually faster. Not always, but MHz for MHz Intel is better.
* Intel chips are cooler, MHz for MHz.
* The Intel chips are significantly more stable. Intel chips undergo a lot more QA than AMD. That added to the fact that they run cooler results in more stable chips. Also, the Intel chipset motherboards are more stable. The AMD chipset motherboards are unstable when compared to the Intel chipsets. This doesn't mean that all AMD motherboards will crash, and none of the Intel's will, we're talking averages here.
* The Intel chips are more supported through software. Everything from the OS to applications on top of the OS are more likely to take advantage of the additional features of the Intel chips. Since day one all versions of Windows NT are optimized for Intel chips. Plus DirectX is optimized for the P3 which means any application that uses DirectX will run faster on an Intel chip than an AMD.

AMD pros (which happens to be Intels con):
* Cost! AMD is significantly cheaper than Intel, period.

What it boils down to is your own desires. If you want stability and reliability, go Intel. If you're on a budget, go AMD.


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1999 Lariat SuperCab Flareside, Amazon Green with Silver trim, 5.4L, 4x2, 4 wheel disc/ABS, 3.55 limited slip, towing package, fog lamps, sliding rear window, captains chairs, keyless entry with alarm, spray-on bed liner, bug guard, and K&N. http://www.csc.calpoly.edu/~bfriesen/truck.html

 

Preyhunter,

Thanks for the advice. That was a good thought. However, he had a 3-prong CPU cooler plugged into the M/B. We tried both the M/B's CPU fan power headers. I didn't get a good look at the M/B, but I know we had two fans running on the board each time we tried to fire up. We're stumped. Thanks again. fish

 

BTW, here is what I have.

ASUS CUSL2 MB
P3 733EB overclocked to 803
ATI Radeon 64mb ddr ram
Kingston 128mb pc133 ram


I get up to 90FPS in Unreal Tournament wuth the res. set at 1024x768x32.

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1997 XLT Teal 4.6L Flareside 4x4 ORP. Automatic, Reg. cab, 3.55LS, tinted windows, bug deflector, Dual exhaust, K&N Generation 2 air filter, BullDog keyless entry/remote start(installed myself), Modern 16" wheels, bedliner, Covercraft tonneau cover, White faced gauges, electronic shift on the fly, Clarion ADX5655z Double Din Cassette & CD, 2 Pioneer TS-A6865 speakers and superchip. Going to add headers.

 

Have you tried booting it with a PCI video card? Also, two bad power supplies isn't uncommon (sadly).

 

Nomo,

Now that's a thought. No, we only tried the AGP slot when I was there, and I don't know what he's using for the second video card (attempt). We're trying to re-use his ATX case, and the power supply in it was working right up to the time we swapped all the hardware out. I'll suggest the PCI Video card.

Thanks!

 

Hey preyhunter,

Does your system run stable at 950Mhz? I have only been able to get 860Mhz out of mine with any real stablity. How do you have your BIOS set up(i.e. what multipliers are you using?) I would like to squeeze a little more speed out of my cpu, so any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!!

 

gofish:

Just throwing some thoughts around on your problem. Check and make sure that the motherboard is not grounding out somewhere on the chasis. Also, check your electrical connectors ( the ones you plug into hard drives, etc ... ) sometimes, I've seen that the actual pin will come out of the plastic connector and ground out on the chasis causing the power supply to crow-bar(sp). It sounds to be a power related issue.

Have you checked the back of the power supply to make sure the switch is set to 115 Volts.?

Another thought, take all the stuff you purchased back, and have them put it on bench and make sure it posts.

Nitrox

[This message has been edited by Nitrox (edited 03-07-2001).]

 

Nitrox,

Thanks for the suggestions. We've got everything spread out on an anti-static pad, not in the ATX case. We checked; the power supply is set to 115V. I agree, I think the next step is to take it all back to the store
and get them to prove it works. My friend with the problem lives in L.A., he'll be away for the next 5 days, so this'll be on hold til he gets back.

Thanks for your suggestions. fish

 

Dude! I was thinking of doing the static bag spread, right after I posted my last message. You were reading my mind! are you telepathic or something?

They could have given you a bad processor or some of the other components that you purchased are flaky(sp).

Good luck !

Nitrox

 

Nitrox,

Nah. We're just a coupla geeks with nothing better to do than fret over a buncha PC parts, too stubborn to give up and just go get a whole new M/B, RAM and CPU. That's the best way: just shotgun the whole problem. But not being able to figure this out is aggravating.