Hardware 2.0

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

Share your opinions for a chance to win some cool AMD hardware

By Adrian Kingsley-Hughes | January 30, 2012, 12:00pm PST

Summary: Great AMD hardware to give away!

Note: This contest is now CLOSED!

The good folks at AMD have given me some neat hardware to give away, but I’m going to make you work for the chance of winning some loot! You’re going to have to answer a question or two.

I’ve got two categories of prizes to give away. I’ve got four AMD Phenom II X4 955 3.2GHz processors (no heatsinks) and a couple of boxed graphics cards (a Radeon HD 6790 and a Radeon HD 5670) to give away. So, I’ve got two questions, one for those who want a chance to win a CPU (there will be four winners) and another for those who want a chance to win the graphics cards (first prize will be the Radeon HD 6790, second prize the Radeon HD 5670).

Here are the questions:

For a chance to win an AMD CPU, tell me what applications consume the most processor power on your PC, and how a faster processor would make a difference to you.
For a chance to win an AMD graphics card, tell me what is your favorite gaming platform, and why.

Here are the basic rules. Read them carefully to avoid having your entry disqualified (and to make my life easier!).

Register as a ZDNET user. If you’re already registered, you can skip this step. If you’re not a ZDNet member, click the Join link at the top of this page and follow the instructions.
Log in and leave a comment below. In 150 words or less, answer one or both of the above questions. (And don’t go over that 150-word limit or your entry will be disqualified!)
Leave only one comment per question. You may enter this specific giveaway only twice (once for a chance to win one of the CPUs, and once for a chance to win a graphics card). If you enter more than one comment per question, you will be automatically disqualified.
The winners will be selected by a panel of judges.

For a full set of rules, check out this page. Oh, and finally, some more legalese for you to read:

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. MUST BE LEGAL RESIDENT OF ONE OF THE 50 UNITED STATES OR D.C., 18 YEARS OLD OR AGE OF MAJORITY IN YOUR STATE OF RESIDENCE OR OLDER AT DATE OF ENTRY INTO CONTEST. VOID IN PUERTO RICO, ALL U.S. TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS AND WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.SWEEPSTAKES ENDS AT 12:00 PM PT ON 2/5/12. SEE OFFICIAL RULES FOR DETAILS

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Competition, Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes is an internationally published technology author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology.

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Favorite Gaming Platform

dband@... 6th Feb

The PC-- it isn't "locked in" to one specific chipset or manufacturer, and can be endlessly (and joyfully) updated with the latest and greatest hardware! Buying into a platform brings planned obsolescence-- you're forced to buy the newest console to play the newest games, and manufacturers crank out a shiny new box every year or two. PC gamers can update a bit or two on their rigs to play the up-to-the-minute latest games that in many cases look much better than the console counterparts. Want it to run faster? Spend a bit more! Consoles? Stuck at the speed it's sold at-- no options. PC gamers like me also benefit from the hardware updates, as processor and graphics-intensive applications like Photoshop and Premiere perform better as well. Work faster, play harder!

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RE: Share your opinions for a chance to win some cool AMD hardware

prismperfect 30th Jan

I'd love to win a AMD graphics card. My PC is definitely my fav gaming platform. I love the customization and the ability to upgrade, just can't get that with a console!

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Favorite Gaming Platform.

Bates_ 30th Jan

PC. Graphic capabilities are endless when compared to locked down consoles. Customizing games with skins and mods is a dominant PC luxury. Controllers are an optional peripheral, and are usually pushed aside for a more precise and powerful Mouse/KB combo, with buttons and DPI settings that can be easily customized to fit the user's needs, which is ideal for honing your FPS skills. Multiple monitor support is a godsend for MMO players. Using a controller on a console to manage your units in a RTS game is beyond frustrating. As a gamer, I don't like being locked down. Freedom is the PC gamer's greatest power.

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Here it is

kakarrato 30th Jan

1. Fast Video Cards, which contain graphics processing units and the Power Suppy on your computer.

2. Xbox 360 is my favorite Gaming platform, because im a loyal Microsoft Customer, I support American Companies and Microsoft is one of them, it was founded in my home town of Albuquerque NM.

M

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RE: Share your opinions for a chance to win some cool AMD hardware

TheCyberKnight 30th Jan

AMD CPU
I know if may sound clich?? but, by far, my most CPU demanding application is video editing/rendering. Sorting raw vacation footage, assembling it in a pleasant to the eye show and finally rendering it into a finished format is my real CPU burner.

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RE: Share your opinions for a chance to win some cool AMD hardware

TheCyberKnight 30th Jan

AMD GPU
I've given up on PC gaming years ago because of the eternal compatibility issues that we were facing at the time. Also, I was sick and tired of the never ending race to more potent hardware every single time a new game was released.
My solution became the game consoles that give (early in their life) very decent graphics and and almost perfect stability for an incredible bang for the buck ratio. I ride the Microsoft platform (XBOX) since it is available. My first love was with Sega.

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PC Gaming

webslingr Updated - 30th Jan

For the AMD CPU:

Most power hungry applications in order of power consumption:

1. 3D games (Orcs Must Die!, Left 4 Dead 2, Assassin's Creed: Revelations)
2. Flash video (My current video card, a Radeon 4850 spins up when playing Youtube and Hulu).
3. Running big apps like Visual Studio and Netbeans.

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RE: Share your opinions for a chance to win some cool AMD hardware

NetAdmin1178 30th Jan

For the CPU:
On the home PC (where this piece of kit would be going), sadly, the web browser is the biggest culprit. I usually open several instances of the app, so hopefully a few extra cores would help lift the load compared to the current Athlon x2. (Best of all, it ought to be compatible with the current MB - YAY for backwards compatible platforms!)

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PC Gaming Platform

webslingr 30th Jan

For the AMD GPU:

Steam IS THE BEST GAMING PLATFORM. Its better than the rest because there's no physical media and will be around as long as PC's and Macs are around. As video game consoles get old and become obsolete the physical media is useless, then the games reappear in new platforms such as Steam or Wii Ware. If there had to be only one gaming platform I would say Steam.

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running the android envrionment from eclipse

sparkle farkle 30th Jan

that and 3d rendering. Having a server and development environment runnning keeps it busy, but 3d rendering really heats things up. Anytime I use microsoft windows, and it decides to update, that really maxes the whole thing out as well.

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RE: Share your opinions for a chance to win some cool AMD hardware

NetAdmin1178 30th Jan

For the graphics card (and just because):
My favorite gaming platform - honestly - is the old Super Nintendo. Why?... it wasn't all about graphics or online gaming or giving up half your life to keep up with the games, it was just simple and fun - you picked up the controller, played for a while, then you went on to something else... and it's got that certain nostalgia about it. Every time I pull out the old SNES, it's like going back to my early teens.

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Favorite gaming platform?

Aerowind Updated - 30th Jan

You're not a gamer if you don't say all of them (or none of them!). It's all about which game is on which platform. For example, I'm utterly entrenched in Star Wars: The Old Republic right now, so the PC is currently my favorite platform. The week before it came out? The Wii, because of Skyward Sword. Before that, it was Xbox 360 all the way for some nice and friendly Gears of War. Dark Soul's for PS3 is hiding somewhere in all of this mess as well. Gaming has always been about the library, not the chrome. Why do you think the 3DS is doing so lousy? It has nothing to do with its hardware.

But I have to admit, that card would look mighty nice in my big shiny new PC. =p

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AMD CPU

Backinmyday 30th Jan

1. Minecraft Client and Server(Java)
Currently running on an older CPU and running both the Server and Client on the same system has both cores running at 100%. The extra cores would help alleviate alot of the strain on the CPU.

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AMD GPU

Backinmyday 30th Jan

Favorite Gaming platform will always be PC.

I have tried most consoles and none will ever come close to being able to do the things you can do with a keyboard and mouse for games. I prefer the more unique games like Minecraft that allow you to customize and create things the way you want.

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RE: Share your opinions for a chance to win some cool AMD hardware

TelcoChuck 30th Jan

I only game on a PC, I like the MMO Lord of the Rings Online. It really uses my video card (probably due to my monitor size).

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AMD CPU

dick.swift00@... 30th Jan

My most CPU intensive application is Mencoder (PS3 Media Server) muxing 1080p videos for display on my DLNA capable Bravia. My current AMD Athlon 64 x2 4800 OC to 2847 has improved performance, but for sure the AMD Phenom II X4 955 3.2GHz would allow for seamless playback of even files of the highest bitrate where my current Athlon falters. Thanks in advance for your consideration!

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For the AMD CPU

Scubajrr 30th Jan

The most CPU intensive application running on our computer at home is AUTOCAD. With our home PC running an 2.2gig I7 processor, 8 gig of ram, Win7 Pro, a pair of 500 Gig drives configured as raid 1 and a 30??? monitor. (The kids loved it when that monitor showed up.) The system works great but Autocad is a beast and (to paraphrase Tim Allen) can always use ???MORE POWER!???

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RE: Share your opinions for a chance to win some cool AMD hardware

vel0city 30th Jan

For the CPU:

I really could use a new processor for the home HyperV server. The current processor, an old Core2 Duo, is just barely cutting it these days, since there are more than 5 VM's running.

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RE: Share your opinions for a chance to win some cool AMD hardware

vel0city 30th Jan

For the GPU:

PC gaming is my first choice. Between playing on my desktop with a keyboard and mouse and sitting back on the media pc with a controller, PC gaming always reigns supreme. Sadly, the graphics card on the media pc is aging quite a bit, and can't seem to handle the newer games.

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RE: Share your opinions for a chance to win some cool AMD hardware

MoeFugger 30th Jan

"what is your favorite gaming platform, and why."
My PC, I can upgrade and update it. I can even customize it.

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RE: Share your opinions for a chance to win some cool AMD hardware

MoeFugger Updated - 30th Jan

"what applications consume the most processor power on your PC, and how a faster processor would make a difference to you"
Converting video to another format. A faster CPU would certainly speed that up.

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RE: Share your opinions for a chance to win some cool AMD hardware

Tylemagne 30th Jan

Currently, the application that consumes the most processing power on my PC is World Community Grid. With it running, I max out at 100% usage.

Having a faster CPU would mean that I could run a game alongside WCG without having to close it.

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RE: Share your opinions for a chance to win some cool AMD hardware

Gigahurt Updated - 30th Jan

CPU question: My home theater PC starts grinding when I watch a movie and suddenly there's a lot of background activity like an antivirus scan. The movie player software needs the CPU power to filter and clean the motion picture but the virus scan and other background tasks take it away, making the movie playback sometimes jerky. I hate it when that happens. Now, if only I have a more powerful CPU to deal with all that background junk while the movie's playing...!

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RE: Share your opinions for a chance to win some cool AMD hardware

Gigahurt Updated - 30th Jan

Graphics card question: My favorite gaming platform is the PC. The software distribution channel on the PC is far more diverse. The PC have multiple digital download distributors like Steam and Amazon.com, and within Steam there is fierce competition between titles for buyers which means the prices drop quickly. Many good games could be had for $10 and sometimes even $5. There are digital downloads for game consoles but they are just flat out more costly on average and the game selection is tiny compared to PC digital download. Also, something like Steam appears to be much more flexible on their game content pricing- There are a lot of sales while seem to go on all the time. PC digital distribution has the advantage on price and selection.

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RE: Share your opinions for a chance to win some cool AMD hardware

Gigahurt Updated - 30th Jan

delete (somehow multipost when the button was hit)

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RE: Share your opinions for a chance to win some cool AMD hardware

Gigahurt Updated - 30th Jan

delete

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RE: Share your opinions for a chance to win some cool AMD hardware

Stan57 30th Jan

Ive been a Nvidia user for more then 10 years change my mind and choise. Its just that simple

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RE: Share your opinions for a chance to win some cool AMD hardware

88Fan 30th Jan

CPU - Oracle VirtualBox running virtualized test networks before I deploy stuff to the real world for my customers is the most CPU intensive thing I do.

GPU - Windows PC is my preferred gaming environment, mostly WoW currently.

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RE: Share your opinions for a chance to win some cool AMD hardware

Saint Curmudgeon 30th Jan

My favorite gaming platform has been my current PC. I have a Phenom II X6 2.8GHz on a Gigabyte motherboard. It has an Radeon HD 5750 graphics card. It has been by far my most stable gaming platform ever, running anything I???ve thrown at it, like the newer Crysis or Skyrim. Never a hiccup. It handles smoothly and fast. It definitely beats any of my kid???s consoles. Even older games like XCom setup and run great. So great that my kids have essentially booted me off my computer. So I???m building a new machine. I already have a similar Gigabyte motherboard and AMD Phenom II CPU. One way or another, I???m going to add a similar or better Radeon graphics card. That way my kids will have a good solid platform and I get back my ol??? reliable friend.

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RE: Share your opinions for a chance to win some cool AMD hardware

soulbird995@... 30th Jan

I like the xbox360 mainly because it work with all my stuff home network windows and streaming as well as dvd and usb. Top it off with skim and forza 4 and you have good stuff.

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RE: Share your opinions for a chance to win some cool AMD hardware

philwood 30th Jan

AMD CPU:
By far, when I use RESCheck or iLEVEL software for my work I see how nice and efficient these are compared to MS Office, Adobe Photoshop or a web browser that has several windows open. RESCheck is a program from the Department of Energy and iLEVEL is from a structural lumber manufacturer. Its pretty sad when MS needs so much horsepower to do so little...... and I'd bet Adobe could clean up their code to make it more efficient. I'll be replacing an old Athlon 64 3400 XP machine. Tell me I shouldn't win!

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A plea for some AMD goodness:

Mac Hosehead Updated - 30th Jan

For the ATI CPU:
I have a nice 3D floating donut screensaver on my current AMD system. It sometimes freezes or stutters. It's only an X2. I would love to throw two more cores at it. mmmm.

For the Radeon HD 5670:
This would make a great hackintosh video card. The Radeon HD 6790, not so much. I like gaming on the Mac. It just works if you hold it right.

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AMD CPU FTW!

Champ_Kind Updated - 30th Jan

For a chance to win an AMD CPU, tell me what applications consume the most processor power on your PC, and how a faster processor would make a difference to you.

It's a draw between Handbrake and Adobe Premiere/After Effects. For Handbrake, a faster 4, 6, or 8 core processor would greatly improve the transcoding speed for videos to MP4 and MKV container formats (with H.264 1080p video and AC3 audio). For Premiere and After Effects, a faster multi-core processor would greatly reduce rendering times and help speed editing.

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AMD GPU FTW!

Champ_Kind Updated - 30th Jan

For a chance to win an AMD graphics card, tell me what is your favorite gaming platform, and why.

I'm platform-agnostic, but my hard core games are on the PC. Mouse and keyboard are the only way to properly play FPS games, and there are some genres I'll play on occasion (flight sims and old-school text games) that just don't work on consoles.

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RE: Share your opinions for a chance to win some cool AMD hardware

RelaxWalk 30th Jan

1. Virtualbox 4.18 x64 bits running on Windows 7 64 bits or LinuxMint 11 64 bits. Fast CPU combined with full VT featured will improve scalability and also reduce overall power consumption.

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I consume the most processor power on my PC

klumper 31st Jan

No application can keep up. And if you read some of my talkbacks, you know it.

However, a faster processor would allow me to solve many of the problems facing this country. Indeed, with a Phenom II processor in my mitts, I would have enough processing power to supersede the need and reach of the FEDERAL GOV, which would bring peace and good cheer to the heart of man.

Hint to judges' panel: That's very noble.

Of course some will doubt I could actually do it. Alas, I'll save you the trouble of pondering the possibilities, and encourage you to choose another worthy soul equally in need.

Hint to judges' panel: That's very noble.

I do implore you, however, to award it to someone at least willing to take on their STATE GOV, to nix that much if nothing else. wink

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RE: Share your opinions for a chance to win some cool AMD hardware

rrrgroup@... 31st Jan

Playing games on my Tandy 1000 is soooo difficult that any AMD additions would surely help. What? I'd need a 2012 computer? Okay. If I "win" the stuff, I'll buy a new computer and tout ZDNet all over the place, yep.

Rich Reynolds
Fort Wayne MediaWatch

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RE: Share your opinions for a chance to win some cool AMD hardware

javier.andres.lopez 31st Jan

My most powerful application is Hasselblad Phocus, which I use to edit pictures on a very large resolution, and because I have two large screens, I see sometimes how my PC takes forever to show them while editing. So a faster processor would give me the possibility to work faster and better (because I won't be losing my patience and pulling out my hair in sheer desperation in front of the computer) happy

I play on a Wii, a PS2 and on my PC, and definitely I prefer my Wii right now, but I would like to play on my computer if it were faster.

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RE: Share your opinions for a chance to win some cool AMD hardware

jcpt928 31st Jan

Hmmm...let's see here...

CPU Perspective: I am an extreme multi-tasker; which is easily where most of my CPU power gets put to use. I regularly run between 20 and 50 applications at once, from gaming, to productivity, to social interaction. The faster the CPU, the better for me. I'm currently running on an i3 with 8GB of Corsair DDR3.

Graphics/Game Systems: I actually own several consoles, including an original PlayStation, a PS2 (Slim), and a Wii and I have a gaming PC I built myself a few years back. Overclocked P4 EE, 3GB Dual-Channel DDR, and a RAID 10 array on an ASUS P4P800-E Deluxe with a Gigabyte Radeon 4650. It was top-of-the-line then...but, it's getting a "little long in the tooth". I would have to say that PC gaming (mostly on Steam and some older games like Freelancer and the Jedi Knight series) would be my choice.

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Chance to win a graphics card

Northeast & Atlantic RR 31st Jan

I don't do gaming, but the signmaking software I use, Sign Wizard, is pretty intense and would benefit from the speed of a discrete high-end graphics card. Thanks for the opportunity.

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RE: Share your opinions for a chance to win some cool AMD hardware

sarai1313@... Updated - 31st Jan

3d rendering takes a lot out of my P.C.to the point of having to build a new system soon.and yes for gaming i only game on P.C. .have been thinking about no one other a.m.d. and its newer cpu with built in video,with their new memory line.simply because of cost compared to Intel.

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RE: Share your opinions for a chance to win some cool AMD hardware

johncrea 31st Jan

Most CPU intensive activity is converting/remuxing captured video. A FASTER CPU with more cores would make this go faster

Favorite gaming platform, whatever my current desktop computer is.I don't play much bleeding edge graphical games, but do like the games that I do play to be snappy and great video/raphics without blowing the computer budget on the video side of the equation

John

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CPU and GPU

Pharaohamun 31st Jan

I really only play WoW so PC would have to be my gaming Platform. As WoW is what I use the computer for, going from a 2.0 GHz Dual core Opteron to that baby.....I get goosebumps and start drooling at the prospect. And going with the new processor will let me play with virtualzation that I can't do now cause my current setup is just too damn old. Good luck to everyone.

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RE: Share your opinions for a chance to win some cool AMD hardware

rickman2k 31st Jan

Sims 3 uses my system the most

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For the CPU...

Zorched Updated - 31st Jan

The Four things that consume the most CPU power on my PC are Video Encoding, BOINC computing projects (folding@home, SETI@home), Games like Skyrim which marginally runs on my 5 year old Athlon x2 and-- surprisingly-- streaming Netflix on my PC. Encoding Video, BOINC and Skyrim are guaranteed to max out processing power, and Silverlight on Netflix is fickle and may or may not completely max out my CPU, making it so I can't do anything else without affecting playback quality.
As for how it would help: It would obviously allow me to do more for BOINC, get more stuff done faster, and enjoy life a bit more with a better game and video experience. I'll be honest, it probably won't save the world, but I help where I can and try to enjoy life along the way.

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RE: Share your opinions for a chance to win some cool AMD hardware

ShaneMcCook 31st Jan

My favorite gaming platform was, is, and always shall be the PC. I think it has always offered superior image quality and control options to the console platforms.

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RE: Share your opinions for a chance to win some cool AMD hardware

ShaneMcCook 31st Jan

For a chance to win an AMD CPU, tell me what applications consume the most processor power on your PC, and how a faster processor would make a difference to you.

Bar none, the biggest CPU hog on my PC is Handbrake. Having a faster CPU would reduce my transcode times and return my PC to a machine I could use again instead of a counting percentage ...

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AMD CPU

vrcswope 31st Jan

I really need a newer processor in order to continue to keep up with the demands of helping to write a connectional church magazine and creating video presentations for churches across my district. Right now it???s slow going jumping between the internet, PowerPoint and word. It's especially frustrating when you need to design proposals and presentations. Now that I???m also editing videos, my processor doesn???t enjoy the additional load at all. A faster processor would make my additional responsibilities so much better and I wouldn???t have to depend on others to help make copies of the final product or put the final finesse on my video presentations.

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RE: Share your opinions for a chance to win some cool AMD hardware

ntrain2k@... 31st Jan

1) I would have to say that the video processing that I do is the most CPU intensive. I use Vegas and premier and more power would help quite a bit.

2) For gaming, it's my PC hands down. The graphics and variety of games available on the PC platform is much better compared to any console.

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Biggest hog?

jscott418 31st Jan

My biggest hog is iTunes on a PC, the browser probably a close second. While I think hardware acceleration has helped some in browser speed. I think a lot of computers still have pretty weak graphics in 2D.
I use xBox 360 for my gaming console and its really an older one. Manufactured in 2006 I am surprised its still going. Now I am trying to wait for the next version so I can start out with modern hardware rather then buying a current model. Will have to keep fingers crossed it last until 2013 sometime. I used to game with PC completely but found the constant hardware upgrades to demanding on my wallet.

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Why can this not be extended to North America?

mheartwood 31st Jan

Some of us do not live in the U.S.A. What about Mexico and Canada? Can't ship to these countries? Is there some U.S. law that prevents the contest from being extended to other countries?