I have used Intel chips for all of the computers that I have made in the past. Do AMD chips offer significant advatages?
IMHO, yes. In general they provide more horsepower for the same money. Do a google search for “bang per buck” amd intel and that seems to be the concensus view.
For the vast majority of tasks, it doesn’t really matter. AMD’s biggest advantage for most users is simply their lower prices. AMD-based systems are usually cheaper than their Intel counterparts and perform just as well if not better.
I’d say to just go for the best deal you can find or judge the systems based on your other criteria – looks, included features, support, whatever. It doesn’t matter which brand you go with.
It depends on what you want to do with your computer. If you’re looking at midrange surf the web, play the occaisonal 3d game, and wordprocessing, then whatever you can get for a good deal online will do just fine.
If you specifically are intersted in the latest, greatest games, then AMD will get you more gaming horsepower for your money.
If you want to do a lot of multitasking and video editing, then Intel is the way to go.
As Kinoons said, for a given price point, an AMD machine will have better gaming performance, and the Intel box better video encoding. For just about everything else, either one will be fast enough.
However, note that Pentium 4 processors right now use signficantly more power than AMD chips - at full load, a Pentium 4 system might consume 50-70 more watts of electricity than a comparable AMD system.
TR Power Consumption Test If you run something like SETI or Folding, the power cost add up and make the AMD chip a cheaper overall.
Pentium 4 systems also throw off a lot more heat as well.
Just for the record, I have an Athlon 64 2800+ in my box, and it has worked wonderfully so far. And I run it 24/7 with Folding@Home going all the time.