shouldiuse.io

VERDICT

Should I use AMD?

AMD delivers leadership high-performance and adaptive computing solutions to advance data center AI, AI PCs, intelligent edge devices, gaming, & beyond. - amd.com

Depends. AMD's Ryzen and EPYC chips are well-reviewed and a safe buy for PC builds, laptops, and servers — purchased via retail or OEMs. Skip if you need strong vendor support (1.6/5 Trustpilot) or Nvidia's CUDA ecosystem for AI work.

Confidence

Medium. Based on 40+ public sources. amd.com is a chipmaker's corporate site, not software — this report judges buying AMD hardware; many review snippets were truncated.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of useHardware, not software; no usable evidence
  • Feature depth
  • Support quality
  • Security posture

Pricing

Processors (Ryzen / EPYC)

One-time purchase; varies by model

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed

Best for

  • Self-building PC enthusiasts
  • Game hosting and server operators (EPYC)
  • OEM laptop buyers (ThinkPad-class)
  • Edge/embedded device makers

Not for

  • Anyone needing vendor hand-holding — support reviews are 1.6/5
  • AI teams needing CUDA — go Nvidia
  • Buyers wanting a SaaS product; this is silicon, not software
  • Fleet operators who can't patch firmware promptly

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

Zen 5 RDSEED fix ships only via AGESA firmware update — verify your board gets it

medium

Buy via retail or OEM; direct-store support draws brutal reviews

medium

Ryzen Master driver and uProf have had CVEs; keep AMD utilities patched

medium

GPU/AI buyers face ROCm ecosystem gaps versus CUDA, per developer forums

Pros and cons

Pros

  • PC builders consistently call Ryzen the go-to chip
  • EPYC proven in real game-hosting and EDA case studies
  • Publishes security bulletins with CVEs and mitigations
  • Portfolio spans laptop chips to data-center AI accelerators
  • AMD ThinkPads review well; Notebookcheck scored E16 Gen 2 84%

Cons

  • Customer support rated 1.6/5 on Trustpilot (280 reviews)
  • Zen 5 chip flaw can produce predictable cryptographic keys
  • No viable CUDA rival; AI tooling favors Nvidia
  • 2024 breach investigation after hacker offered employee data for sale
  • Utility software CVEs: Ryzen Master DLL hijacking, uProf DoS

Sources & method

Analyzed 9/21/2026 - 13 sources - Active advisory program; several 2024–26 CPU and tooling vulnerabilities, most with published fixes or mitigations.

official x3review x5security x2news x3
  • Zen 5 RDSEED predictable-key vulnerability, Confirmed by AMD; fix rolls out via AGESA firmware update for desktop chips.
  • Ryzen Master Driver DLL hijacking (AMD-SB-9020), Disclosed via AMD's own product security bulletin.
  • Client processor vulnerabilities (AMD-SB-4008, Feb 2025), AMD bulletin covering potential client CPU vulnerabilities.
  • 2024 breach claims investigated, AMD investigated after a hacker offered to sell allegedly stolen data.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 4/5

    Rating

  • One-time purchase; varies by model

    Starting price

  • 13

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 4/5. Community favorite for price/performance
  • Ease of use. Hardware, not software; no usable evidence
  • Feature depth: 4/5. Lineup spans laptops to data-center AI
  • Support quality: 2/5. Trustpilot 1.6/5; complaints dominate
  • Security posture: 3/5. Active advisories; recurring CPU and tooling CVEs
  • 1.6/5 Trustpilot (amd.com support) 280 reviews
  • 4.1/5 Glassdoor employee rating 4,985 reviews
  • 1969 Founded Silicon Valley original
  • $559.82 Share price Morningstar, Sep 18

Pricing

Processors (Ryzen / EPYC)

One-time purchase; varies by model

  • Sold via AMD shop and retailers
  • No subscriptions or tiers — hardware, not SaaS

Security

Active advisory program; several 2024–26 CPU and tooling vulnerabilities, most with published fixes or mitigations.

  • Zen 5 RDSEED predictable-key vulnerabilityConfirmed by AMD; fix rolls out via AGESA firmware update for desktop chips.⁶
  • Ryzen Master Driver DLL hijacking (AMD-SB-9020)Disclosed via AMD's own product security bulletin.⁷
  • Client processor vulnerabilities (AMD-SB-4008, Feb 2025)AMD bulletin covering potential client CPU vulnerabilities.
  • 2024 breach claims investigatedAMD investigated after a hacker offered to sell allegedly stolen data.⁸

What users say

PC-building communities rate AMD chips highly, but direct customer-support reviews on Trustpilot are scathing.

“Absolute trash”
Trustpilot reviewer of amd.com

Alternatives

Compare AMD with each alternative.

  • Intel

    Only direct x86 CPU rival; race rated close for 2026

    AMD vs Intel

  • Nvidia

    Default for AI GPUs; CUDA ecosystem is the moat

    AMD vs Nvidia

  • Guess: Apple Silicon

    If you'd leave x86 for efficient laptops

Companies that use it

  • Solectrix
  • Blue Connections IT
  • ⁵
Full analysis

Based on 40+ public sources. amd.com is a chipmaker's corporate site, not software — this report judges buying AMD hardware; many review snippets were truncated.

Great chips, brutal support reviews: buy AMD hardware via retail/OEM, not amd.com. Skip for CUDA AI workloads.

Methodology

Based on 40+ public sources. amd.com is a chipmaker's corporate site, not software — this report judges buying AMD hardware; many review snippets were truncated.

Sources

  1. Trustpilot reviews of amd.comtrustpilot.com
    review
  2. AMD Reviews — Glassdoorglassdoor.com
    review
  3. Is AMD the go-to chip now? — Reddit r/buildapcreddit.com
    review
  4. Lenovo ThinkPad E16 Gen 2 AMD review — Notebookchecknotebookcheck.net
    review
  5. i3D.NET game hosting with AMD EPYC — Supermicro case studysupermicro.com
    official
  6. AMD Zen 5 RDSEED vulnerability — Tom's Hardwaretomshardware.com
    security
  7. AMD Ryzen Master vulnerability bulletin AMD-SB-9020amd.com
    security
  8. AMD breach claims — SecurityWeeksecurityweek.com
    news
  9. Ask HN: Why hasn't AMD made a viable CUDA alternative?news.ycombinator.com
    review
  10. Intel vs AMD: Which CPUs Are Better in 2026? — Tom's Hardwaretomshardware.com
    news
  11. AMD shop — Processorsshop-us-en.amd.com
    official
  12. AMD stock quote — Morningstarmorningstar.com
    news
  13. About AMDamd.com
    official

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