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With all the Conroe hype going on I'd thought i share my AMD story with everyone. Maybe others have similar stories.
It all began when 286 computers were the cream of the crop. I purchased my first IBM compatible computer. Of course it was an Intel. Intel was pretty much the only thing to get in those days. Not that i knew better back then.
Well, time passed and the 386 was born. I was eager to upgrade to this rediculously fast machine. My mind was set and money was put aside every chance i got. 386 processors advanced (albeit at a much slower rate than the processors as of today) and the days of the 386SX/12 came and went. the 386DX/25 came and went. And then, one day i had enough money. I went to my local computer store (e-tailer? What's that????) and put my $1800 on the table (and boy, was that a lot of money back then!).
My fellow computer store owner said that it would not be enough for the newest of the newest, the Intel 386DX/50. A little upset and determined to get a rocket as a computer, i asked for options. That was the first time i heard of a company called "AMD". The store owner said he could built a 386DX/40 for only $1600. I was psyched. 2 weeks later i received my system. Upon first bootup, i was confused. I clearly said 386DX/40 but where was the Intel logo (actually since there was no real graphics to speak of, the logo was simply text)??? But hey, it said AMD.....wtf?
I went back to the store and explained my dilemma. I clearly wanted an IBM compatible computer and this was clearly some 3rd party imitation. Well, long story short, the guy explained to me who AMD was and what they did. I learned some things about Cyrix also, but never owned a Cyrix processor.
From there on, it was smooth sailing. AMD 386DX4/100. WOW. I bought a Tseng ET4000 videocard and was king of the hill. Can you believe my videocard had a whopping 512K of memory? Unheard of. It was VGA baby!
What followed was the step back to my first Pentium computer, an Intel P90. AMD had no equivalent and I just couldn't wait any longer. A Matrox Mystique was Video top notch for me. Nothing came close!
Another round for Intel. A PIII600 replaced my P90. Again, AMD had not much to offer. The first Gigahertz AMD was still far off. I had a 3D card. Friends could not believe what they saw. It was bliss for gaming. Best times ever with the internet still young, BBS calls made to people I've never met before, then met and bonded with. Internet back then was not anonymous yet. We actually MET!
Then it happened: I believe it was 1999 that AMD released the K7 1000MHZ computer chip. I had to have it. 1 GHZ. Unbelievable. Intel? What's intel? I rushed to order a IWill KK266 board, a whopping 512MB of memory (for around $800 i believe) and the AMD K7 1000. I was the first guy in my town to have such a beast. Sickening fast, ripping through games that put everything else to shame. I missed work 4 times the week i got the processor. It was not only sickening fast, it made me sick not to use it at home, so i did the only sane thing: I called in sick and played and played.
1200MHZ was next. Same board, same memory, just a small upgrade. K7 all the way.
The P4 came out. First test showed disappointing results compared to my then AMD K7 1400. I overclocked it to 1475MHZ and the P4 with 1.6GHZ was not faster at all. No upgrade to Intel once again.
My next one was Intel. 2.4B (was it "B"??). It overclocked WAY too easy for me to pass it up. Geforce2 GTS 64MB baby! Hercules Brand. Cool unheard of Blue PCB. I fainted....and bought it.
Not much after that i fear....oh yeah. Got my first AMD64 about 1.5 years ago. It was a 3200+ (Newcastle). I skipped the 754 platform entirely. From there on, it passed stuff to my now in the right age son. He got the 3200+, i got a 3500+ Venice. He received the 3500+, i got a Opty 146 (o/c to 2.8) that I am typing on now.
Why am i telling this story? Because a new Cycle has come. The Opty goes to my son, together with DFI Ultra-D and 2 GB of mem. A new Cycle because after all these years of predominantely using AMD chips, I went and purchased a Core 2 Duo yesterday, due to arrive Thursday.
It was a great time with AMD and only because i go for now, doesn't mean i won't come back. See you soon and thanks for the fish!
It all began when 286 computers were the cream of the crop. I purchased my first IBM compatible computer. Of course it was an Intel. Intel was pretty much the only thing to get in those days. Not that i knew better back then.
Well, time passed and the 386 was born. I was eager to upgrade to this rediculously fast machine. My mind was set and money was put aside every chance i got. 386 processors advanced (albeit at a much slower rate than the processors as of today) and the days of the 386SX/12 came and went. the 386DX/25 came and went. And then, one day i had enough money. I went to my local computer store (e-tailer? What's that????) and put my $1800 on the table (and boy, was that a lot of money back then!).
My fellow computer store owner said that it would not be enough for the newest of the newest, the Intel 386DX/50. A little upset and determined to get a rocket as a computer, i asked for options. That was the first time i heard of a company called "AMD". The store owner said he could built a 386DX/40 for only $1600. I was psyched. 2 weeks later i received my system. Upon first bootup, i was confused. I clearly said 386DX/40 but where was the Intel logo (actually since there was no real graphics to speak of, the logo was simply text)??? But hey, it said AMD.....wtf?
I went back to the store and explained my dilemma. I clearly wanted an IBM compatible computer and this was clearly some 3rd party imitation. Well, long story short, the guy explained to me who AMD was and what they did. I learned some things about Cyrix also, but never owned a Cyrix processor.
From there on, it was smooth sailing. AMD 386DX4/100. WOW. I bought a Tseng ET4000 videocard and was king of the hill. Can you believe my videocard had a whopping 512K of memory? Unheard of. It was VGA baby!
What followed was the step back to my first Pentium computer, an Intel P90. AMD had no equivalent and I just couldn't wait any longer. A Matrox Mystique was Video top notch for me. Nothing came close!
Another round for Intel. A PIII600 replaced my P90. Again, AMD had not much to offer. The first Gigahertz AMD was still far off. I had a 3D card. Friends could not believe what they saw. It was bliss for gaming. Best times ever with the internet still young, BBS calls made to people I've never met before, then met and bonded with. Internet back then was not anonymous yet. We actually MET!
Then it happened: I believe it was 1999 that AMD released the K7 1000MHZ computer chip. I had to have it. 1 GHZ. Unbelievable. Intel? What's intel? I rushed to order a IWill KK266 board, a whopping 512MB of memory (for around $800 i believe) and the AMD K7 1000. I was the first guy in my town to have such a beast. Sickening fast, ripping through games that put everything else to shame. I missed work 4 times the week i got the processor. It was not only sickening fast, it made me sick not to use it at home, so i did the only sane thing: I called in sick and played and played.
1200MHZ was next. Same board, same memory, just a small upgrade. K7 all the way.
The P4 came out. First test showed disappointing results compared to my then AMD K7 1400. I overclocked it to 1475MHZ and the P4 with 1.6GHZ was not faster at all. No upgrade to Intel once again.
My next one was Intel. 2.4B (was it "B"??). It overclocked WAY too easy for me to pass it up. Geforce2 GTS 64MB baby! Hercules Brand. Cool unheard of Blue PCB. I fainted....and bought it.
Not much after that i fear....oh yeah. Got my first AMD64 about 1.5 years ago. It was a 3200+ (Newcastle). I skipped the 754 platform entirely. From there on, it passed stuff to my now in the right age son. He got the 3200+, i got a 3500+ Venice. He received the 3500+, i got a Opty 146 (o/c to 2.8) that I am typing on now.
Why am i telling this story? Because a new Cycle has come. The Opty goes to my son, together with DFI Ultra-D and 2 GB of mem. A new Cycle because after all these years of predominantely using AMD chips, I went and purchased a Core 2 Duo yesterday, due to arrive Thursday.
It was a great time with AMD and only because i go for now, doesn't mean i won't come back. See you soon and thanks for the fish!
