08-08-2005, 09:38 PM
Hi, Pete,
I don't know how helpful my experience with these two items will be, but here's my two bits:
I bought a Mad Dog sound card a year or so ago, and the only documentation that came with it was a .pdf on the driver CD. The problem, the .pdf file, although named appropriately to be a manual, had no manual-type content! I can't remember just what was in the file, but there was nothing about the hardware specs, how to install, how to use, nothing like that. So I went to the company web site, found the (supposedly) appropriate file, downloaded it, and found it had the same contents as what I had on CD. At that point, I took it all back, without even installing the board. Even though it might have worked fine, I wanted more information about the board than what was on the outside of the box. I also figure, if a company can't get it's act together better than that, how good could their hardware be? Probably unfair, but since the card itself was still sealed and unused, I avoided any restock fee. Still, I've heard some/lots of people use these without any problems, and since you already have it, it's probably worth the time to try it out, to see if you have problems.
As far as CPU's go, I've had more non-Intel ones than those from Intel. I've used a Cyrix 486, a NextGen 586, 2 AMD k6-2's, and I've used a 900 MHz Athlon for about 4 years now. I've never noticed any problems obviously tied to any of those CPU's. The only Intel CPU I've had in a personal computer was a 33MHz 486SX (later replaced with the 100 MHz Cyrix 486.
[Hmmm, who made the old 8085/8088 chips? Was that Intel? I just can't remember for sure. If Intel, I guess add those to the list, as my first 'DOS computer was a Zenith Z-100 which had both of those in it.]
It's interesting, how people can have one bad experience with a brand, and it makes them a little leery of that company thereafter. My Voodoo card burned out about a year or so ago, and I found a good deal at a local retailer on an ATI card. I futzed around with that thing for about 4 hours, and couldn't get the drivers to install properly in either XP or W'95. Went back to the store and talked to their technician, who had no suggestions I hadn't already tried, so I got my money back, and settled for a significantly less powerful card. But at least it installed quickly and painlessly in 3 OS's and has worked just fine ever since. Even though I know a lot of people will buy only ATI video cards, I doubt I will ever buy another one.
A couple of days ago, I found comments on a forum from a couple of people who had had all kinds of problems with Creative sound cards. That was a first for me - I've never heard bad things about Creative before.
So, even though I don't have any first-hand [home] experience with newer AMD chips, it's pretty much a non-issue for me. Next time I look for a CPU, I will probably be looking primarily at AMD.
Regards,
Dako-ta
Pete,Aug 8 2005, 08:07 PM Wrote:I have a Mad Dog Predator Blastwave 5.1 sound card that came bundled with a speaker system I once bought. Does anyone know anything (good or bad) about this card?
Second question is more fundamental. I've built a number of systems for myself and for others over the years. Only once did I use an AMD processor, and that system gave me fits from when it first came up till I shut it down for good. So, one might say I'm an 'Intel man'. However, it looks to me that going with AMD would get me a lot more bang for the buck. The specs look good, the reviews are positive, etc., etc. So, is AMD a viable way to go? I'm leaning toward it.
--Pete
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I don't know how helpful my experience with these two items will be, but here's my two bits:
I bought a Mad Dog sound card a year or so ago, and the only documentation that came with it was a .pdf on the driver CD. The problem, the .pdf file, although named appropriately to be a manual, had no manual-type content! I can't remember just what was in the file, but there was nothing about the hardware specs, how to install, how to use, nothing like that. So I went to the company web site, found the (supposedly) appropriate file, downloaded it, and found it had the same contents as what I had on CD. At that point, I took it all back, without even installing the board. Even though it might have worked fine, I wanted more information about the board than what was on the outside of the box. I also figure, if a company can't get it's act together better than that, how good could their hardware be? Probably unfair, but since the card itself was still sealed and unused, I avoided any restock fee. Still, I've heard some/lots of people use these without any problems, and since you already have it, it's probably worth the time to try it out, to see if you have problems.
As far as CPU's go, I've had more non-Intel ones than those from Intel. I've used a Cyrix 486, a NextGen 586, 2 AMD k6-2's, and I've used a 900 MHz Athlon for about 4 years now. I've never noticed any problems obviously tied to any of those CPU's. The only Intel CPU I've had in a personal computer was a 33MHz 486SX (later replaced with the 100 MHz Cyrix 486.
[Hmmm, who made the old 8085/8088 chips? Was that Intel? I just can't remember for sure. If Intel, I guess add those to the list, as my first 'DOS computer was a Zenith Z-100 which had both of those in it.]
It's interesting, how people can have one bad experience with a brand, and it makes them a little leery of that company thereafter. My Voodoo card burned out about a year or so ago, and I found a good deal at a local retailer on an ATI card. I futzed around with that thing for about 4 hours, and couldn't get the drivers to install properly in either XP or W'95. Went back to the store and talked to their technician, who had no suggestions I hadn't already tried, so I got my money back, and settled for a significantly less powerful card. But at least it installed quickly and painlessly in 3 OS's and has worked just fine ever since. Even though I know a lot of people will buy only ATI video cards, I doubt I will ever buy another one.
A couple of days ago, I found comments on a forum from a couple of people who had had all kinds of problems with Creative sound cards. That was a first for me - I've never heard bad things about Creative before.
So, even though I don't have any first-hand [home] experience with newer AMD chips, it's pretty much a non-issue for me. Next time I look for a CPU, I will probably be looking primarily at AMD.
Regards,
Dako-ta