An AMD guy confused about an Intel CPU purchase O_O

[SokaMoka]

OK I have been building systems based on AMD's since ever, lately I had to sell my well taken care of AMD 64 939 gaming rig a because I wasn't gaming as much as I used to , as a matter of fact I stopped gaming completely, I didn't have much patience left in me for the video card market games and what not.

Anyway, I have since got a nice deal on ebay on a nice little IBM S50 barebone sff desktop, being the IBM fanboy that I am I went for it, and placed my leftover parts of my gaming rig in it (Memory, SATA Harddrive, DL DVD) inorder to make it my small quiet Fedora Core box.

It's all good, except for the crapleron that is in there, it's an Intel Celeron 2.1 GHz with crappy 128KB cache :shocked: , so you guessed it I want to put a P4 in there (socket 478). I have no personal experience with P4 CPU z.

And looking at Intel's lineup it's just a mess TBH. Here is the link from IBM listing CPU compatability and whatnot

link

I am debating between getting a Northwood 533 FSB and a prescott 800 FSB, the only gaming I do on this machine is some light Wolfenstein ET (the linux version), I also do alot of media editing in Audacity. And I am going to have XGL installed on that box so it will need a little push from the CPU, so it's that $ 90-100 difference that is annoying me, I am not sure if it will be worth it to spend an extra $90-100 for a prescott HT or not

Also another question, the page from IBM says 0.13 microns Prescott, but how come I can't find anyone that has a 0.13 micron precott 800 FSB for sale ? All I see are 90nm prescott 800 FSB.

 

[stevty2889]

All prescotts are 90nm, ther are no .13 micron prescotts, so thats why you can't find any. I recomend getting an 800mhz FSB northwood. Northwoods run cooler and perform better clock for clock. Prescotts tend to run very hot. You want an 800mhz FSB for hyperthreading, it makes a big differance in P4 performance. The only 533mhz FSB P4 with hyperthreading is the 3.06ghz, so that would also be worth it if you can find one.

 

[o1die]

There's a place called stalliontek that has the 2.4c 800 fsb for $104 (pricewatch ad). I'd go for that one. They overclock pretty good. My 2.8c hit 3500 easily. The "c" series run a little cooler than the prescotts and have a shorter pipeline for good performance, even with the smaller 512 cache. Just ask around. Don't know if your board supports it though. This cpu supports hyperthreading, and will work fine with any socket 478 heatsink. I used the Intel copper version and a zalman "fan mate 2" rpm adjuster. Intel fans can be loud, so I turned down the rpms to about 2500 and it still ran less than 50c.

 

[SokaMoka]

OK I think I am almost settled on a CPU choice, I think I'll go with a 2.8C Ghz Northwood 800 FSB 512KB with Hyper Threading, they seem to be 70-80 dollars cheaper then their Prescott coutnerparts, however I will be loosing 512 KB of cache, do you guys think the extra 512KB of cache in the precott + the extra heat are worth it ?

 

[Duvie]

Originally posted by: SokaMoka
OK I think I am almost settled on a CPU choice, I think I'll go with a 2.8C Ghz Northwood 800 FSB 512KB with Hyper Threading, they seem to be 70-80 dollars cheaper then their Prescott coutnerparts, however I will be loosing 512 KB of cache, do you guys think the extra 512KB of cache in the precott + the extra heat are worth it ?

the leap of L2 cache from 512kb to prescotts 1mb was almost non-existent...very few things seem to thrive on l2 cahe...so you said you were done with gaming, so unless you are going to run superpi all day I dont see a need for it....

 

[SokaMoka]

Originally posted by: Duvie

Originally posted by: SokaMoka
OK I think I am almost settled on a CPU choice, I think I'll go with a 2.8C Ghz Northwood 800 FSB 512KB with Hyper Threading, they seem to be 70-80 dollars cheaper then their Prescott coutnerparts, however I will be loosing 512 KB of cache, do you guys think the extra 512KB of cache in the precott + the extra heat are worth it ?

the leap of L2 cache from 512kb to prescotts 1mb was almost non-existent...very few things seem to thrive on l2 cahe...so you said you were done with gaming, so unless you are going to run superpi all day I dont see a need for it....

I do a lot of media editing though.

 

[stevty2889]

Originally posted by: Duvie

Originally posted by: SokaMoka
OK I think I am almost settled on a CPU choice, I think I'll go with a 2.8C Ghz Northwood 800 FSB 512KB with Hyper Threading, they seem to be 70-80 dollars cheaper then their Prescott coutnerparts, however I will be loosing 512 KB of cache, do you guys think the extra 512KB of cache in the precott + the extra heat are worth it ?

the leap of L2 cache from 512kb to prescotts 1mb was almost non-existent...very few things seem to thrive on l2 cahe...so you said you were done with gaming, so unless you are going to run superpi all day I dont see a need for it....

Not to mention that the Cache on the prescott has much higher latency, part of the reason the Prescott is slower clock for clock than the northwood in a majority of things.

 

[SokaMoka]

Originally posted by: stevty2889

Originally posted by: Duvie

Originally posted by: SokaMoka
OK I think I am almost settled on a CPU choice, I think I'll go with a 2.8C Ghz Northwood 800 FSB 512KB with Hyper Threading, they seem to be 70-80 dollars cheaper then their Prescott coutnerparts, however I will be loosing 512 KB of cache, do you guys think the extra 512KB of cache in the precott + the extra heat are worth it ?

the leap of L2 cache from 512kb to prescotts 1mb was almost non-existent...very few things seem to thrive on l2 cahe...so you said you were done with gaming, so unless you are going to run superpi all day I dont see a need for it....

Not to mention that the Cache on the prescott has much higher latency, part of the reason the Prescott is slower clock for clock than the northwood in a majority of things.

After looking into it, what benefit did the prescott come with if any ?

 

[imported_michaelpatrick33]

Originally posted by: SokaMoka

Originally posted by: stevty2889

Originally posted by: Duvie

Originally posted by: SokaMoka
OK I think I am almost settled on a CPU choice, I think I'll go with a 2.8C Ghz Northwood 800 FSB 512KB with Hyper Threading, they seem to be 70-80 dollars cheaper then their Prescott coutnerparts, however I will be loosing 512 KB of cache, do you guys think the extra 512KB of cache in the precott + the extra heat are worth it ?

the leap of L2 cache from 512kb to prescotts 1mb was almost non-existent...very few things seem to thrive on l2 cahe...so you said you were done with gaming, so unless you are going to run superpi all day I dont see a need for it....

Not to mention that the Cache on the prescott has much higher latency, part of the reason the Prescott is slower clock for clock than the northwood in a majority of things.

After looking into it, what benefit did the prescott come with if any ?

Lots and lots of dollars for Intel and ... uh .... er.... uh ... lots of dollars for Intel! A massive frequency boost to 3.8 and ... uh ... er ... uh ... lots of dollars for Intel!

 

[Hyperlite]

Originally posted by: michaelpatrick33

Originally posted by: SokaMoka

Originally posted by: stevty2889

Originally posted by: Duvie

Originally posted by: SokaMoka
OK I think I am almost settled on a CPU choice, I think I'll go with a 2.8C Ghz Northwood 800 FSB 512KB with Hyper Threading, they seem to be 70-80 dollars cheaper then their Prescott coutnerparts, however I will be loosing 512 KB of cache, do you guys think the extra 512KB of cache in the precott + the extra heat are worth it ?

the leap of L2 cache from 512kb to prescotts 1mb was almost non-existent...very few things seem to thrive on l2 cahe...so you said you were done with gaming, so unless you are going to run superpi all day I dont see a need for it....

Not to mention that the Cache on the prescott has much higher latency, part of the reason the Prescott is slower clock for clock than the northwood in a majority of things.

After looking into it, what benefit did the prescott come with if any ?

Lots and lots of dollars for Intel and ... uh .... er.... uh ... lots of dollars for Intel! A massive frequency boost to 3.8 and ... uh ... er ... uh ... lots of dollars for Intel!

and it keeps the room warm

 

[stevty2889]

Originally posted by: SokaMoka

Originally posted by: stevty2889

Originally posted by: Duvie

Originally posted by: SokaMoka
OK I think I am almost settled on a CPU choice, I think I'll go with a 2.8C Ghz Northwood 800 FSB 512KB with Hyper Threading, they seem to be 70-80 dollars cheaper then their Prescott coutnerparts, however I will be loosing 512 KB of cache, do you guys think the extra 512KB of cache in the precott + the extra heat are worth it ?

the leap of L2 cache from 512kb to prescotts 1mb was almost non-existent...very few things seem to thrive on l2 cahe...so you said you were done with gaming, so unless you are going to run superpi all day I dont see a need for it....

Not to mention that the Cache on the prescott has much higher latency, part of the reason the Prescott is slower clock for clock than the northwood in a majority of things.

After looking into it, what benefit did the prescott come with if any ?

SSE3 and improved hyperthreading. It does slightly better with video encoding, and obviously SSE3 enabled applications.

 

[SokaMoka]

Well I have a small IBM case, and I would like to avoid any excess CPU heat generated as much as possible, so I think I 'll go with a 2.8C Northwood.
I wish I can find me a new in box one though, anyway do you guys think $ 138 for a 2.8C / 512kb / 800 FSB / HT (stepping SL6WJ ) shipped, is too much ? Do you know a good place for getting a similar Northwood like this one ?

 

[imported_SLIM]

http://www.starmicro.net/detail.aspx?ID=119

114 shipped

I haven't used them myself, but pricewatch seems to rank them pretty well. You might check resellerratings first though.

 

[SokaMoka]

Originally posted by: SLIM
http://www.starmicro.net/detail.aspx?ID=119

114 shipped

I haven't used them myself, but pricewatch seems to rank them pretty well. You might check resellerratings first though.

If you are refering to reselletratings.com , I checked there and my search came back with no results.
As much as I like the price that Starmicro has, but I have never heared of them and will need some confirmation from someone inorder to go ahead with the order, at least they accept paypal so it would be a less risk than a CC, but still the search continues.

 

[Zap]

I always thought that credit cards were lesser risk... I've had my credit card number compromised twice in about 5 years and both times, just filled out an affidavit and got a new card, didn't have to pay a cent. Besides, credit cards are on your side if you have a problem with the vendor. Paypal is on Paypal's side.

I wonder if that IBM board will accept a mobile P4... they can be had for pretty cheap on eBay and will run like a 2.4C minus the Hyperthreading for about $35.

 

[SokaMoka]

Originally posted by: Zap
I always thought that credit cards were lesser risk... I've had my credit card number compromised twice in about 5 years and both times, just filled out an affidavit and got a new card, didn't have to pay a cent. Besides, credit cards are on your side if you have a problem with the vendor. Paypal is on Paypal's side.

I wonder if that IBM board will accept a mobile P4... they can be had for pretty cheap on eBay and will run like a 2.4C minus the Hyperthreading for about $35.

I have good experience with how picky IBM motherboard can be about processors, so I rarther not take the risk and order something that might not work and not be able to return it, anyways I am still looking for a good deal on a northwood, let me rephrase that ,I am still looking for a credible place that sells northwoods so anybody that knows just shoot a post

 

[996GT2]

Definitely go Northwood-Less heat and more efficiency than Prescott-core processors. 2.8 or 3.0 GHz Northwood with 800 mhz FSB and HT are good choices for the money.

 

[SokaMoka]

Originally posted by: 996GT2
Definitely go Northwood-Less heat and more efficiency than Prescott-core processors. 2.8 or 3.0 GHz Northwood with 800 mhz FSB and HT are good choices for the money.

Yes I have come to realize that , however good places that sell this type of processor seem to be a bit rare, so if you can help me find a good place I would appreciate that

 

[996GT2]

I say try eBay for the processor too. I did a 2 minute search and found lots of results with good prices

I know about your IBM motherboard issue, but do some research first to see if the mobo will work, and if it will, you can save money on a used Northwood.

Or you could just buy a new motherboard for the P4-they don't cost too much these days anwyay

 

[SokaMoka]

Originally posted by: 996GT2
I say try eBay for the processor too. I did a 2 minute search and found lots of results with good prices

I know about your IBM motherboard issue, but do some research first to see if the mobo will work, and if it will, you can save money on a used Northwood.

Or you could just buy a new motherboard for the P4-they don't cost too much these days anwyay

Man this would be a great deal, the website has a good rating on pricewatch, what do you guys think, should I take my chances ?

EDIT :

I think not

 

[o1die]

E-wiz is good. Great selection and prices.

 

[SokaMoka]

Originally posted by: o1die
E-wiz is good. Great selection and prices.

Well according to BBB they are getting a lot of complaints about them, so I don't know .

 

[secretanchitman]

yes, do go northwood...you'll appriciate how much less of heat you'll put out.

*strokes 2.4C*

 

[stevty2889]

Originally posted by: SokaMoka

Originally posted by: o1die
E-wiz is good. Great selection and prices.

Well according to BBB they are getting a lot of complaints about them, so I don't know .

I ordered from E-wiz once, and didn't have any major problems, other than poor packaging, but everything got to me in one piece.

 

[SokaMoka]

Originally posted by: stevty2889

Originally posted by: SokaMoka

Originally posted by: o1die
E-wiz is good. Great selection and prices.

Well according to BBB they are getting a lot of complaints about them, so I don't know .

I ordered from E-wiz once, and didn't have any major problems, other than poor packaging, but everything got to me in one piece.

What did you order ? And how long ago was that ?