I've done 3 desktop builds with AMD cpu's, the first was a dual core and the last two are quad core; and I never gave it a second thought using AMD over Intel. The Intel's usually have better spec's, but the AMD's are less expensive. I use my current quad core desktop as my DAW and do everyday computing stuff on it; nothing that I would consider high power computing. I've not used the AMD "A" chips that have the integrated video graphics onto the chip, so I can't address them specifically. I think looking beyond "specs" to people's real world experiences is a good way to go about it.