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RE: A little pleased
By othercents on 4/16/2007 10:52:24 AM , Rating: 2
IT Managers don't follow market trends and won't wait for a processor in hopes that it will be better than the one they get now. Most IT Managers (myself included) strictly buy Intel with disregard to performance numbers. I do this because it is easier to manage. When you buy 25 computers a month it is more important to get reliable computers that can be installed quickly. I might wait up to 2 weeks if I think the price will drop, but thats all.

It is possible that I might look at AMD after the new processors come out, but that is dependent on how quickly DELL starts rolling out computers with the new hardware and what the price is going to be since Intel is dropping theirs. Plus you also have to think twice about switching to AMD in July since Intel is making die changes in December. If Intel becomes better in December then I will have 125 computers that are different than everyone else.

I am also concerned about the AMD availability when the K10 comes out. We might not see computers from our vendor until late Q3 or even Q4.


RE: A little pleased
By GlassHouse69 on 4/16/2007 12:46:21 PM , Rating: 4

everyone likes to seem like a type A aggressive meat market guido who responds to these things.

You buy 25 a month. I do not think you are a high volume purchaser. Also, it seems you really dont need whatever is cutting edge, just what gets the job done. Also, you are not looking forward to new technologies, just whatever dell is offering. Also, you arent buying them, just ordering them for a company. Your company probably has no clue what is better and has no real need for the best versus decent. I would guess that like your company, most companies do not have scientific calculation needs, huge server workload needs, etc etc.

the k10 is driven by gamers and people who run demanding servers. When either of these two REALLY SMALL groups of people say a chip is crap, the stock price plummets and the middle of the road users reject the chip.

RE: A little pleased
By PrezWeezy on 4/16/2007 4:01:37 PM , Rating: 1
I would disagree with you there. People don't listen to the gamers. They might pay some attention to what is being said about servers but the market doesn't rely on gamers to tell them what chip is better. They rely on IT managers. Whatever the IT guy recomends at work, people will buy for home assuming it is within their price point. I can't tell you how many people ask me what to buy.

Actually 25 a month is a substantial number of PC's. And it doesn't matter where the PC's are being acquired, what matters is that they are being installed on a regular basis. And I would agree with OtherCents, switching platforms causes problems. It is much easier if everyone is on the same platform.

RE: A little pleased
By GlassHouse69 on 4/17/2007 2:59:15 AM , Rating: 1
IT managers who do not have computers as a hobby do not rely on their own input in purchasing equipment. They will go to their staff who have an opinion either way. Those people have been building AMD systems for several years now at home. They like AMD and know it will be an impressive decision if they flip their blades/pc's/workstations to an AMD. Well, this was so until the c2d era that began last summer.

Do not underestimate the tech geek in a cubicle when it comes time for opinions. Apple would have been chucked out long ago if it wasnt for the creative/tech geek combo guy in his 30's and 40's.

RE: A little pleased
By PrezWeezy on 4/19/2007 5:57:49 PM , Rating: 2
I think we have a slightly different idea on what an IT Manager is. I'm refering to those who own a business doing IT work. I guess Consultant is more commonly used, but I've heard IT Manager, IS Manager, and the like. So they are the ones who's opinion you would ask.

I still wouldn't build an AMD system at home. I can afford not to, especialy now that the prices are extremely competitive; and they still left a bad taste in my mouth. It is just a personal opinion but I stand by Intel because I know it will work and continue to work. And I am one of those geeks...although I'm not in a cubicle, nor am I in that age demographic.

RE: A little pleased
By bob661 on 4/21/2007 6:55:11 PM , Rating: 2
IT Manager
IT Manager isn't a consultant it's the head IT guy in a corporation. And how the hell did AMD leave bad taste in your mouth? I work for an organization with close to 10,000 users and our entire engineering department runs AMD (about 500 or so). We have AMD powered servers running 24/7 without fault. We also have many Intel desktops and servers running 24/7. We bought AMD because they were faster, cheaper, and cooler running than Intel. Makes good business sense. If it works, it works.

Now there's a price parity and the performance difference is nearly identical so we can CHOOSE based on features.

If you're making business decisions based on fanboy ideals, your IT department is not really looking out for the best interests of your company.

RE: A little pleased
By PrezWeezy on 4/23/2007 1:04:24 PM , Rating: 2
You are correct in that I used the wrong term. I appologize for that, but I corrected myself. And AMD left a bad taste in my mouth when I installed several of them and after a few months the procs started to overheat and freeze or shutdown the computer. I want reliability in the business world. My company has a few of the new generation AMD machines out there. And I would agree that our database server running dual Opterons is an Intel killer. The things is amazing. It runs much faster than any Xeon server we could put together at the time. That doesn't change the fact that unless it is a specialized application, I prefer to go with the more stable Xeon.

RE: A little pleased
By mindless1 on 4/19/2007 5:03:43 AM , Rating: 2
and I can't tell you how many DIDN'T ask you what to buy.

Only stupid people rely on IT managers, the rest make their own informed decisions. That is not to slight the experience of IT managers, only that a certain segment of buyers needs help today when the internet is such a wealth of information.

People do actually listen to gamING, it is in fact what drives a lot of the market, not some arbitrary score running Office 200(n), in addition to benchmarks of other applications they won't ever use.

Yes running a common set of parts helps, but platform? No, that's stupidity. There is just as much difference in maintenance in whether all boxes use the same NIC as whether they all use the same brand of CPU.

RE: A little pleased
By PrezWeezy on 4/19/2007 5:45:12 PM , Rating: 2
You obviously have never in your life managed anything in IT. Lets say I have 200 computers, and a few spares. If all the parts match identicaly and one goes down, I can take my spare box, swap the hard drives (assuming you have the license to do that), and that person is good to go while I get the motherboard replaced or get a new fan for the CPU. For a small company it doesn't make much sense, but the more computers you have out there the more and more it does make sense to have a platform aproach. Use one family of chipsets and maybe use a faster CPU if you need more power.

You may not need help buying a PC, but if I look online I can find just as many Intel backers as I can AMD backers. So now the question is which do I go with? So you ask the people who know, the guys who work on them all day long. And I'd like to point out that the average consumer not only wouldn't know what a benchmark is, but what it means even if they did know to look for them. No the fact of the matter is that people either use their checkbook to determind their PC purchase or they ask some one they know and trust.

You're right, you can't tell me how many didn't, because you have no idea yourself. My point was that the majority of people at least ask my opinion before buying a new PC. And many of them go out of their way to call and ask. And the average user doesn't look online. The percentage of those that do is very small.

RE: A little pleased


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RE: A little pleased



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