Not another Intel vs. AMD Debate!? (This Time, It's About Video)
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No, this is not another Intel vs. AMD debate. This is not evangelizing one or the other but is just a comment on the reasons behind Intel's dominance of a particular market sector: Professional Video.
NOTE: We do know that Macs exist and that there are some really cool Mac products like Media 100's 844/X, but this is about Intel and AMD, and the guy who wrote this article works for a PC manufacturer, so he's choosing to ignore Apple.
AMD developed a reputation over the last few years as a company offering good value. The company's processors have often beaten their Intel counterparts in numerous reviews and benchmarks. AMD is also behind a lot of innovative ideas and advances. The company was the first to market with a 64 bit processor for home PCs -- forget Apple's oft mocked claim to have the first 64 bit desktop PC (Oops, did we say "Apple"?), it was AMD. AMD was also the first with today's hot gizmo, the "NX flag" that, together with Microsoft's latest cure for cancer -- Service Pack 2 (SP2) for Windows XP -- provides hardware anti-virus protection. But that's just scratching the surface. AMD has a long list of credits (conveniently arranged in chronologically ordered swank pages on the company's website), and I'm one of their biggest fans.
Yet, there are some buttons they have just not pressed. Looking to buy a PC to do some DV editing? There are a lot of choices in both the AMD and Intel camps. Most regular visitors to this site will have no problem building a PC for this specific task based around either processor. They are aware of the need for speed, the demands that rendering places on the system, the need for fast storage and other requirements, all of which are available in both camps. Average to high-end home PCs (costing up to £3000/$5000) may be based on AMD/Intel and are capable of a fair amount of video editing even without any dedicated rendering card or professional editing software. Move up a notch to PCs with capture cards or editing cards (what's the difference?), or even the more expensive 
hardware rendering/hardware MPEG encoding products like the Matrox RT.X100, Canopus DVStorm2, etc., and standard off-the-shelf AMD PCs can still often cope quite admirably. In fact, some may say that, with their 64 bit processors, AMD actually has an edge.
The programs likely to be used on these home PCs range from Microsoft's own Movie Maker to ULead's Video Studio, Adobe's Premiere, and Pinnacle's Studio/Edition. Move slightly out of this market and talk VT[3], Speed Razor, Avid HD, and AMD is virtually nowhere to be found. That's because all off-the-shelf professional and semi-professional video editing solutions are based around Intel processors! What about building one yourself?
Next: Self Build vs. Pre-fab >>
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