2.4c , xp2500, xp2700 or wait?

[Snufalufagus]

I'm trying to build a new gaming system for HL2 and DOOM 3 and I am not sure which platform to use. I will try to overclock the cpu regardless of which one I choose. HL2 and DOOM are not coming out till the end of September or middle of October. I would like to build a sysytem now, but would it be smarter to wait a little longer (2 months) to see if prices come down more?

 

[Cadaver]

The longer you wait, the lower prices go.
Although, I hear that once Intel releases the 3.2GHz P4, Intel prices will remain stable for a few months. I'd think AMD chips would probably drop a few $ when that happens.

 

[cow123]

athlon for games

 

[RaymondY]

I'm making the jump back to Intel with either a P4 2.4c or 2.6c with an Abit IS7 motherboard. Planning on o/c the processer to at least 3ghz

 

[Corporate Thug]

wait until the 3.2 comes out

 

[Dustswirl]

3.2 is out and not looking that "smart" of a buy though hopefully prices will drop

 

[CastorTr0y]

Originally posted by: Dustswirl
3.2 is out and not looking that "smart" of a buy though hopefully prices will drop

I agree. It's like $700 or something, from what I read on some site. And you could just buy a 2.4c for $160, and OC it past 3.2

 

[amcdonald]

I'd wait until a month before to order so you can get the best price and give yourself time to fully setup and stabilize your system before you can get Doom3... Don't go athlon unless you are looking for a budget solution. The high-end pentium systems are just better... but since they cost way too much money, I'm sticking with athlon.

 

[b4u]

To avoid opening another thread, I'll post a question here:

Intel P4 2.4c is a Northwood .13 nm with 800Mhz FSB (Quad-pumped 200MHz). Right? Now the real question: does this processor also has Hyper Threading (HT)?

So nowadays this should be the best performance-price intel processor around, right?

Thanks

 

[GtPrOjEcTX]

from newegg...

On Sale!
Intel Pentium 4 / 2.4CGHz 512k socket 478 Hyper Threading Technology 800 MHz FSB - RETAIL
Specifications:
CPU: 2.4GHz
Type: Pentium 4 Northwood
Cache: 512K
BUS: 800 Mhz
Socket: 478
Retail box (with Heatsink and Fan)
3-year MFG. Warranty- Model#: BX80532PG2400D Special Free FedEx Saver Shipping

$176.00

 

[Brian23]

so you could pick up a 2.4c at newegg, and possibly oc it to about 1066 fsb, you might have to slow down the memory though, unless you get hot stuff

 

[b4u]

Originally posted by: Brian23
so you could pick up a 2.4c at newegg, and possibly oc it to about 1066 fsb, you might have to slow down the memory though, unless you get hot stuff

Slow down? Why would I want to do that?


So a system composed of:

P4 2.4c
ASUS P4P800 Deluxe
1Gb DDR400 (2x512Mb)

Would be a good system from the point of price/performance?

 

[Brian23]

well, to get 1066 fsb, you would have to have 533mhz DDR memory. If you slow the memory bus to 4/5 of the fsb then you would only need 426mhz memory, which would be much easier to get ahold of.

 

[bgeh]

Originally posted by: Brian23
well, to get 1066 fsb, you would have to have 533mhz DDR memory. If you slow the memory bus to 4/5 of the fsb then you would only need 426mhz memory, which would be much easier to get ahold of.

there is no 533DDR RAM. only GDDR RAM. yeah, 433MHz memory exists. b4u, that's a good choice. but i'll go for higher speed memory if you want to oc

 

[AnImuS]

I would wait another month if you want lower prices. I got the 2.4c setup and its awesome. I use to have a dual xp setup.
check sig

 

[jjyiz28]

cpu prices will not go down from a month from now, but most likely with release of athlon64. if you wanna wait, wait till late sept, if you wanna buy now, buy now.

 

[Corporate Thug]

Originally posted by: CastorTr0y

Originally posted by: Dustswirl
3.2 is out and not looking that "smart" of a buy though hopefully prices will drop

I agree. It's like $700 or something, from what I read on some site. And you could just buy a 2.4c for $160, and OC it past 3.2

i wasnt suggesting that the 3.2 to come out for him to buy it. just to see if it would bump down the prices of 2.4/2.6/2.8c's

 

[Krutoy]

Buy a 2.4c now for around $170, wait for prices of higher models to go down, and sell it off on ebay. The prices will fall down more than the money you'd lose by doing this.

 

[b4u]

Originally posted by: Brian23
well, to get 1066 fsb, you would have to have 533mhz DDR memory. If you slow the memory bus to 4/5 of the fsb then you would only need 426mhz memory, which would be much easier to get ahold of.

Ah I got it! Thanks for the tip!


Thanks to all for the opinions


Edit:

I made some calculations, and would like your opinion:

[1] Buy an ASUS P4P800, P4 2.4c, DDR400.

[2] Configure a 800FSB (200*4) 2.4c system, with DDR400 1:1 ratio

[3] Later on, if I feel the need, the need for speed, configure a 1000FSB (250*4) 3.0c system, with DDR400 4:5 ratio


My questions:

(A) (typical question) What you think? My calculations correct?

(B) The memory ratio is defined in Bios settings right? Which common values are available?

(C) Droping from 1:1 to a 4:5 memory ratio won't drop my system performance? Up to the point of not being usefull making such an overclock?

(D) Uhm ... 1Gb RAM or just 512Mb for now? (with P5 latter this year or Q1 2004, maybe DDR2 will be available, so the longevity of 1Gb is shadowed by new DDR2 memory)

(E) Sticking a little to the topic, do you think I would be able to give it a go at HL2 and DOOM3? (it depends on the graphic card, which you would recomend for this system? GF FX5900?)


Thanks

 

[Tom]

A- Yes
B- Yes, 1:1,5:4,3:2
C-benefit of overclocking far exceeds almost non-existent penalty of using a ratio.
D-no clear answer, up to you how much to spend. 1gig helps in BF1942 and SimCity4, I'm told, may help in future games too.
E-If you get a good overclock, say 3.3g, you will have a faster system than any non-overclocked system available, depending on graphics card. Radeon 9800 is my choice for graphics card. Should be great for DoomIII and HL2.

You may want to consider getting a 2.6c instead of a 2.4c, if the price difference is only $25. What this does is let you overclock the cpu a little higher, at a lower FSB, which puts a little less stress on the motherboard and memory. (credit for pointing this out to OLDFART)

 

[Shimmishim]

Originally posted by: Dead Parrot Sketch
A- Yes
B- Yes, 1:1,5:4,3:2
C-benefit of overclocking far exceeds almost non-existent penalty of using a ratio.
D-no clear answer, up to you how much to spend. 1gig helps in BF1942 and SimCity4, I'm told, may help in future games too.
E-If you get a good overclock, say 3.3g, you will have a faster system than any non-overclocked system available, depending on graphics card. Radeon 9800 is my choice for graphics card. Should be great for DoomIII and HL2.

You may want to consider getting a 2.6c instead of a 2.4c, if the price difference is only $25. What this does is let you overclock the cpu a little higher, at a lower FSB, which puts a little less stress on the motherboard and memory. (credit for pointing this out to OLDFART)

i agree on that very last sentence...

if i were to build a p4 system, i'd ge tthe 2.6c instead

 

[jhites]

Originally posted by: Shimmishim

Originally posted by: Dead Parrot Sketch
You may want to consider getting a 2.6c instead of a 2.4c, if the price difference is only $25. What this does is let you overclock the cpu a little higher, at a lower FSB, which puts a little less stress on the motherboard and memory. (credit for pointing this out to OLDFART)

i agree on that very last sentence...
if i were to build a p4 system, i'd ge tthe 2.6c instead

Roger that! I am running 3 of these systems at present. Performance pecking order is:
1. 2.6C on P4C800
2. 2.8C on P4P800
3. 2.4C on IS7

 

[onelin]

Go with the P4 2.4C or 2.6C if you want something now at a reasonable price. It costs a bit more, but setting up a P4 2.4C on an Intel 865 board has been the easiest thing I've done in a long time. No hassles, and damned speedy.

 

[b4u]

Originally posted by: Dead Parrot Sketch
You may want to consider getting a 2.6c instead of a 2.4c, if the price difference is only $25. What this does is let you overclock the cpu a little higher, at a lower FSB, which puts a little less stress on the motherboard and memory. (credit for pointing this out to OLDFART)

I was just thinking about it ... but it depends on the price diference thanks



Just one more question (they never end ):

Using a memory ratio, will in some way put some breaks on the flow between CPU & MEM, so as I'm thinking, the CPU would still be fastest, but some speed-break would occur. More technicaly, and just to feed my mind, exactly how would this break occur, and where?


Thanks all for the help