My AMD system does not have problems with dust since I know how to clean a computer. Dust accumulation is a common problem for pretty much all computers regardless of what processor they use, due to fans attracting dust. My computer also does not spontaneously reboot or lock up since I keep my system updated and have a well-ventilated case with dual 120mm case fans + a 90mm side fan that are kept clean.
I have already stated why Netburst chips aren't that great. Even Intel themselves are discontinuing them very soon (look at the recent Intel roadmap below, Conroe will replace them in most segments by Q3 2006). So if you buy a desktop Intel processor now, it will be massively outdated in half a year by greatly superior processors.
A Presler 65nm Pentium D has to be clocked at around 4.0GHz to be able beat a stock FX-60 (2.6GHz) - and
it uses a lot more power doing so, and increases temperatures. Increased temperatures can cause system instability and the stock fans required to cool them will generally be louder unless you buy an aftermarket cooler etc. Intel motherboards tend to be expensive, and the high-end processors cost over $1000. Ultimately, a desktop AMD system is cheaper in the short term (lower prices for mobos and single core CPUs) and in the long term (lower running costs, less power requirements).
The only benchmarks Intel can now win are related to a few specific media encoding apps and some meaningless synthetic benchmarks. AMD chips win the other half of those media encoding tests, all the gaming benchmarks (by a huge margin in most cases), all of the application benchmarks (Mozilla, WinRAR compression), and now multitasking with the new X2 processors.
A Summary for desktop:
- AMD is cheaper
- AMD is faster in most cases (in gaming apps, low-end Athlon64s can beat Intel's high-end processors for a fraction of the price)
- AMD has much lower power consumption
- AMD processors run cooler