FEB 2022MAXIMU MPC 95
Audio-visual feast
Jim and Sally build PCs
The Ian Evenden Show
Get networking
head comparison. And, as
usual, it's a comparison
of a cherry to an apple, or
even a watermelon to a
grape. That's what I took
away from the article in the
December issue. It is really
a comparison of who thinks
they can build a better
system for $1000.
Just like all past editors,
you did the "Jim, here's
$1000, go buy the best Intel
system you can" and "Sally,
here's $1000, go buy the
best AMD system you can"
article. Again, there is no
way to do a fair comparison
of the two systems. One
has a six-core, 12 thread
CPU. The other has eight
cores and 16 threads. One
has a Gen 3 PCI interface,
the other 4th gen. Being
the editor of stupidity, you
actually thought this was
an even comparison?
For a true head-to-head,
you can only do it one
way. You have one writer
research the CPUs. Cost
doesn't count. The number
of cores and threads is the
first item, then CPU speed.
If one is at 3.9GHz, a fair
comparison would be the
other at 3.7GHz to 4.1GHz,
a three to five percent
difference, which is close
enough. Also, disable turbo
mode on the motherboard.
Next, the motherboard.
Since most manufacturers
make both AMD and Intel
boards, you use one
manufacturer. Again, cost
is not the issue, we are
looking at the features.
They both should have as
close to the same features
as possible. Both have to be
either Gen 3 or Gen 4 PCIe.
Now, to really make
it a fair comparison, you
get one drive, one set of
memory, one case, one
PSU, one PCU cooler [Snip!
We get the idea—Ed].
–Name withheldMAXIMUM PC EDITOR,
JEREMY LAIRD RESPONDS:
After admiring your
enthusiasm, the first thing
we’d do is suggest you
think about somethingyou just said. “Just like all
past editors,” you point
out. Maybe, just maybe,
it’s always been done
this way for a reason? In
reality, few people specify
a PC regardless of cost.
So, when comparing the
AMD and Intel options, the
question comes down to,
what can you get for your
budget? And to answer
that, well, cost counts. It
really, really does.
Inevitably, it all gets
rather complicated in the
context of a fully built rig
for a certain budget. There
are so many variables
and options, many of
which are as much about
preference as an objective
advantage. But, broadly ,
the comparison holds and
the question remains.
What kind of results do you
get for roughly the same
money from each of the
Intel and AMD platforms.
That’s not to say your
way of doing it doesn’t
have merit. Evening out
the core counts and clocks,
for instance, is absolutely
necessary to get a detailed
grip on how two different
CPU architectures
compare. But, the reality
is that, at any given price
point, AMD and Intel’s CPU
aren’t going to be a perfect
match in those areas. In
fact, they hardly ever will
be, given Intel’s chip tend
to clock higher.
Somewhat ironically,
it’s the insights of your
preferred method that
actually underline the fact
that keeping cores and
clocks closely matched
while ignoring cost
makes no sense. Prior to
Alder Lake, AMD’s latest
cores did more work per
cycle than Intel’s. So, a
clockspeed deficit for
AMD doesn’t translate
into a performance win for
Intel. Ultimately, it doesn’t
matter how AMD and Intel
compare in a normalized
contest. It matters how the
AMD and Intel options you
might actually buy stack
up next to each other. Yourway helps us understand
why the options perform
the way they do, but it
doesn’t help with what to
actually buy.
Ultimately, this isn’t
about right and wrong, it’s
about what you want to
learn. If you want to know
what you’ll get from Intel
or AMD for a given budget,
then you absolutely have
to build to that budget,
or at least very nearly.
On the other hand, if you
want to get a better idea
of how the platforms and
architectures compare
in technical terms,
normalizing a range of
factors as you prescribe
is the way to go. It’s
horses for, you guessed
it, courses. Or to put it
another way, your beef
isn’t with how we did it. It’s
just you want answers to
a different set of questions.The Ian Evenden show
I just wanted to give you
some really positive
feedback on the last few
editions of Maximum PC.
The expansion of coverage
into adjacent areas,
including articles on solar
flares, quantum computing,
and supercomputers, has
been really welcome.
I thoroughly enjoyed all
of them, and look forward
to seeing more of this
sort of thing. I know you
will still stay true to your
core subject matter, but
these extra articles add
a tremendous amount of
value as a reader. Many
thanks, and keep it up!
–Martin EvansI just wanted to echo reader
R.Linder's comments in the
December issue on writer
Ian Evenden's articles.
As soon as I read that
letter, I checked out to see
who wrote the article on
quantum computers, and I
was right—it was Ian. Even
though a lot of the article
was above my head, it was
intensely interesting, and
I too was compelled to
read it through to the end.I look forward to the future
articles you mentioned he
would be writing, as well
as articles on software by
others. Another interest of
mine is computer system
software tweaks. Thanks
for a great magazine.
–David ThielMAXIMUM PC EDITOR,
JEREMY LAIRD RESPONDS:
Well said, Martin and
David. Rest assured as
these very words are
typed on a ludicrously
over specified 10-core
rig, ably accompanied by
a stupendously expensive
GPU and used for little
more than gawping at the
web and banging out text—
as is traditional among
serious PC hardware
geeks —Ian is working on
further flights of tangential
technological fancy. As
they say, watch this space.Getting to work
on networking
I've noticed a couple of
Maximum PC articles
lately that had to do with
networking, more or less,
which has prompted me to
write. I'm still running an
AC router from 2014 that's
overdue for an upgrade,
and I've been tossing
around the idea of a DIY
one running something like
pfSense. I've read a couple
of online tutorials on doing
it, but think it might be
something you could do a
deep dive on. Best box to
build, best software to use
and how to configure it for
different uses, how to add
Wi-Fi to the box if possible.
Just a thought!
–Spencer PearsonMAXIMUM PC EDITOR,
JEREMY LAIRD RESPONDS:
Thanks for your ideas,
Spencer. It’s maybe not
quite what you’re after,
but while we ponder the
pros and cons of covering
pfSense , you might want to
check out Nick Peers’ guide
to networking security
in the January issue of
Maximum PC