In the meantime, AMD processors are better at running PC programs, and future ones will support SSE2 and more at ever-rising speeds. The competition is far from over. Their generally better performance and competitive pricing makes them an excellent basis for a value PC, letting them run almost any software and add-ons available today or tomorrow, while affording a little more luxury in the machines they serve. It doesn't take long for luxuries to become essentials, though. It has been perhaps five years since the floppy disk stopped being useful for any sort of data except bare office files and boot disks.
Many people now use some sort of superfloppy for archiving and carriage.
The CD-ROM drive is almost universal, and can also be booted from. So a CD-RW drive has become an essential in virtually any new machine. Much the same also goes for the modem, with the ubiquitous Internet and email. Cuts in the comms make for more of another medium. In search of value, compromises are inevitably made, and if you're willing to pay more, there may be better machines available than those on these pages.