Thread: The Intel Path

Just recently I cooked my old Asus AMD motherboard and possibly the cpu (of which I have no way to test) by changing the overclock while the system was underload and absolute do not do as it caused a voltage spike and the end of my motherboard.
Well as Intel had the best benchmarks for the price so I went that path, Asus P5N-T deluxe motherboard and Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 CPU. Yes all fine and dandy but I'm used to the what I thought was already fragile AMD attachment process for chip and cooler. Was I in for a surprise with the intel method.
Well plugging the chip in wasn't to bad though the pins on plates method seemed a little easier to damage than the pins in holes of AMD. The part that put the real feeling of terror in me was when it came to installing the cooler. Just looking at the plastic plugs gave me a lack of confidence and when it came to pushing them into the motherboard it felt like I had to use enough force that the board might crack. Even though the cooler appears solidly locked in place I still have the uncomfortable worry I will hear the fan falling in my case.
As far as performance goes I have absolutely no complaints with intel kicks the ass of my old system and by far out benchmarks AMD's chips at the current price. If though I had a choice between to equivalent benchmark chips at the same price I would hands down go with AMD because of the superior mounting methods.