Intel or AMD? Which industrial computer CPU is right for you?

CPU decides the performance of a system, being a critical consideration when selecting a motherboard. We will talk further about Intel and AMD, which dominate the current CPU market.

CPUs decide the performance of a system. Therefore, the choice of CPU is a critical consideration when selecting a suitable motherboard. Industrial computer companies, including DFI, base their motherboard designs on different CPU types. Intel and AMD dominate the current CPU market. Intel has always had an excellent reputation. The company is deeply rooted in the non-consumer product sector and has developed partnerships with industrial computer companies. Therefore, their market share of the industrial computer sector is larger than that of AMD. In recent years, AMD has been trying to catch up with Intel by introducing multiple high-performance CPUs and entering various vertical application markets. The company has gradually increased its market share and DFI has adopted many AMD CPU designs in our products.

Although both companies produce CPUs, they have different strengths in the industrial computer sector. Intel provides higher performance while AMD offers better prices. In recent years, the certification has become the trend. CPU performance and price have also been directly reflected in other aspects. Using the combinations with graphics cards as an example, retailers often have to establish digital content playback systems to attract consumers with high-resolution videos. These systems provide an excellent challenge for CPU performance. Regarding the CPU function structure, if the equipment space and budget are limited and high resolution or multiple displays are required, AMD CPUs are the better choice for their built-in graphics capabilities. However, if an external graphics card is used, Intel CPUs with better data compression rates and response speeds are the better choice.

As for edge computing, which has become the focus for many vertical sectors, Intel CPUs with higher performance is the better choice if the edge functions are limited to data processing,. However, to improve the accuracy of AI systems, current edge computing equipment is being equipped with training and inference functions. The computing requirements for this architecture are greatly increased. Both Intel and AMD CPUs are unable to meet these requirements. Accelerators must be added to the system to satisfy computing requirements. AMD CPUs can only be paired with their own graphics cards, while Intel CPUs are not restricted in the same way. Therefore, Intel products provide more diverse options for accelerators.

In addition to the combination of peripheral graphics cards and accelerators, the system chipset is also a factor in the choice of CPU. In the past, the chipsets were divided into north and south bridges according to their relative position to the CPU. The northbridge was responsible for communicating with the CPU and the southbridge was responsible for transmitting the CPU commands to the peripherals. However, the north and south bridges have now been integrated into a single chipset. The new, single chipsets have integrated independent components, such as audio, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and even encrypted firmware, into one. The choice of chipset can be based on overclocking support, bus series speed, and channel count. Currently, Intel and AMD have both released multiple chipsets.

Choosing CPUs for industrial computers is the same as choosing the motherboard. The specifications must depend on the application setting. For example, if high-speed processing of video data is required for digital signage, the AMD EPYC CPU, which was the first to introduce PCI Gen4, can be adopted. Intel® Core™ X series high-end CPUs can also be used for maximum memory support. The choice will also differ for manufacturing because of differences in production stages. The control systems have higher requirements for stability than for performance. Typically, older CPUs that are more technologically mature are chosen, even though they provide poorer performance.

Regarding this, AMD and Intel have provided products with long-term guarantees. Furthermore, high-end CPUs are required because AOI visual detection requires high-resolution images to identify product defects. Therefore, the overall choice of CPU requires considering the application, budget, and other aspects to establish the most suitable industrial computer. If you are interested in learning more about DFI, please visit the official DFI website or contact us directly.