text: will a program that requires an intel pentium 4 chip run ok with an amd athlion chip?   it all depends on what the program is, and its specific system requirements.  certain programs (like word, powerpoint) could care less about what type of processor it is, as long as the system is running windows.  other software, like protools, has very specific hardware requirements, and deviating from their favorites list will just cause you much drama.  other software can flip-flop either way. ms-excel for example acts the same with both cpu's until you get into some super large numbers (2 to the 50th power or something like that) or extremely complex mathematical formulae (like what brokerage firms or actuaries might use). amd processes mathematical calculations slightly different than intel, and it will show up in complex calculations.  so, the moral of the story is to check the programs' system requirements.