EPINIONS

APC’s readers share their thoughts

“I have built more than 20 computers for personal use, running the gauntlet of pretty much every AMD chip release”

RED TO THE CORE

As a long time reader I felt prompted to share my PC experiences.

My first AMD chip was the AMD 486 DX/66, because I wanted more than the Intel 386DX/25 could offer, and the last Intel I ever owned was a Pentium 200! Since then I have built more than 20 computers for personal use, running the gauntlet of pretty much every AMD chip release.

My previous favourite was an FX6300 which ran an OC of 4.6GHz for over two years before I retired it for a Ryzen 1800X OC to 4.1GHz,16GB of 3200MHz RAM, 500GB Samsung 960 Evo, 1TB Crucial MX500 SSD, 500GB WD Raptor, Gigabyte GTX1060 6GB G1 Gaming, Corsair 240mm, Pioneer Blu-ray DVD, Win 10 Pro, 27 inch Samsung curved monitor etc etc.

Never once have I ever felt underpowered or that I was missing out because I didn’t have an Intel CPU. (more than happy with the benchmark results!). As well, I have run a small one man show computer business in a country town, and have built more than 300 custom computer systems in the last 15 years or so. These have ranged from Mum and Dad home systems to small business systems, up to custom gaming rigs. Of these around 90% have been AMD chip based, I have had no trouble convincing clients to go ‘Red’ – even the gaming rigs have all been AMD, except for one when the client insisted on an Intel. In all that time I have never had a client say they were unhappy with their system, in fact they usually comment on how quick their computer is.

All it takes is the effort to tailor the system specs to the individual user, “bang for buck” as it were. Anyway, I suppose you now realise that I have red blood running through my veins! Ben Mansill replies: Good on you Steve. While we here at APC would never let ourselves be anything less than perfectly balanced and impartial, it’s cheering to see you sticking with what you know works well. Reading this takes me back to my first PC – the very 386DX/25 you mentioned. I’ve also built Athlon and Duron boxes over the years. Could be time for a Ryzen next!

END OF THE GAMING PC?

I’ve been testing Google’s Project Stream, which is to play Odyssey in the Chrome browser strictly over the Internet. The quality is pretty awesome. I’m sure Google will eventually expand this concept, and I’ve heard that Xbox will have a streaming console as well. Do you think eventually this service will make the PC irrelevant for gaming? Tian APC replies: While streaming services certainly do have their place, there will always be people who want to have total control over their entire gaming experience. We can’t see the likes of Project Stream replacing that anytime soon.