In another installment of “Mossberg’s Mailbox” the tech pundit answers a few questions sent in by readers hoping to glean some knowledge. Not everyone is as savvy as us and knows the difference between AMD and Intel, so Walt does his best to dumb it down. Did he do a good job? How would you explain it?
Q: If I buy a PC with an AMD processor instead of an Intel one, will I run into any compatibility issues with common software like Vista or Office 2007?
A: No, as long as the AMD processor, and/or its accompanying graphics and other chips, called a “chip set,” are rated as being able to handle the graphics in the version of Vista you are buying. Each chip company makes some low-end models that handle certain tasks more slowly than their mainstream or top-of-line models. And gamers are often particular about which chip sets they buy. But, in my experience, roughly comparable AMD and Intel processors and chip sets are equally compatible with common software like Office and Windows.
Better answers:
1. How do you decide between a Toyota or a Honda (or any other brands for that matter)? While both manufacturers make an excellent job at making machines that will drive you from point A to point B, it will be a combination of your experience, personal opinions, a bit of research about the specific models you want to compare and budget what will make you opt for one or the other. Both chips will do fine.
For Gaming, keep an eye on the game box… where it says system requirements.
2. At installation time, Firefox will ask you if you would like to do so, so your bookmarks are there for you.
3. There are several products that will help you with this, [insert brand name here] and [another brand name here] are noted for their ease of use with Windows. Keep in mind that it’s your documents (and not your entire harddrive) what’s most important to you (should you decide jump ships and abandon your current Operative System). I’ve heard about the Drobo and it looks amazing, give that a look also.
The thing with explaining to those who are non-techs is to try and not dumb down but explain in terms they are familiar with (you know, like when they explain to us things we don’t know in terms we can understand).