More on the speed tests and Computer Dogma…
I was looking around for some 1.8 GHz G5 benchmarks and stumbled on an AMD-related website that took some of my comments about the relative strength of the AMD 2000+ and the G5 out of context to make a case for putting down the Mac. I didn’t see one bit of objectivity in those remarks or any real data put forward, only the author’s opinion that his product is better. The author also showed he had not read any of the commentary at my site. I got what I was looking for out those tests. Other people are seeing what they want in them.
This particular website stated that the comparison of an AMD 2000+ to Apple’s “latest and greatest” was not reason enough to say Apple had caught up. Obviously, I don’t agree. As an everyday user, I’m looking at relative performance from a big picture standpoint. Frankly, having built PC’s for two decades and performed scores of upgrades, I’m a lot more thoughtful when comparing how much pain and cost an upgrade is going to put me through versus how much gain I’m going to get out of it. I haven’t seen enough of a gain to upgrade the PC from an AMD 2000+ to a 2400+ even though I could do that with just a CPU swap. The same holds true for a system purchase. I’ve already stated on this site why I switched to Macs this year. Speed just wasn’t enough to keep me on an Intel or AMD platform.
The speed tests are interesting from a technical standpoint and from a marketing standpoint. Apple put itself on the hook with the claim that they had made the world’s fastest personal computer. Now, they have to prove it. But in the end, no matter which platform one uses or what operating system one runs, there will always be one faster. That is the nature of competition and technological advance.
Frankly, we all have things in computing that we like and we don’t. I consider the kind of computer dogma I often see on the Net immature, especially when it turns into personal attacks, direct or disguised. I learned a long time ago that if I wanted people to listen to me I needed to approach them with as much openness and honesty as possible. There are things a lot more important in life than how fast a CPU is or what software someone is running. We’re fortunate to have stable and materially plentiful lives that we can discuss those issues. Turning it into a fistfight just means we’ve got some growing up to do and have lost perspective on how important the real things in life are.
This particular website stated that the comparison of an AMD 2000+ to Apple’s “latest and greatest” was not reason enough to say Apple had caught up. Obviously, I don’t agree. As an everyday user, I’m looking at relative performance from a big picture standpoint. Frankly, having built PC’s for two decades and performed scores of upgrades, I’m a lot more thoughtful when comparing how much pain and cost an upgrade is going to put me through versus how much gain I’m going to get out of it. I haven’t seen enough of a gain to upgrade the PC from an AMD 2000+ to a 2400+ even though I could do that with just a CPU swap. The same holds true for a system purchase. I’ve already stated on this site why I switched to Macs this year. Speed just wasn’t enough to keep me on an Intel or AMD platform.
The speed tests are interesting from a technical standpoint and from a marketing standpoint. Apple put itself on the hook with the claim that they had made the world’s fastest personal computer. Now, they have to prove it. But in the end, no matter which platform one uses or what operating system one runs, there will always be one faster. That is the nature of competition and technological advance.
Frankly, we all have things in computing that we like and we don’t. I consider the kind of computer dogma I often see on the Net immature, especially when it turns into personal attacks, direct or disguised. I learned a long time ago that if I wanted people to listen to me I needed to approach them with as much openness and honesty as possible. There are things a lot more important in life than how fast a CPU is or what software someone is running. We’re fortunate to have stable and materially plentiful lives that we can discuss those issues. Turning it into a fistfight just means we’ve got some growing up to do and have lost perspective on how important the real things in life are.
posted by Andy Foster at
3:20 AM
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