AthlonXP 2400+ (266) or P4 2.8 (533)?

GonzoDaGr8

Platinum Member
Apr 29, 2001
2,183
1
0
I built a comp for my sis-in-law this weekend using a Gigabyte 8I848P-L mobo with a P4 2.8 (533 FSB), 512 Generic ram, Geforce 4mx 440 vid, And stuffed it into an Enlight Mid tower with Enlight 300w PSU. First POST went great, fired up as i would expect. After that first great post, It would fire up with the "power problem" beep code and not post again. I did however get it to start one more time by clearing CMOS and promptly installing WindowsXP home. Had no problems with all the re-starts Windows goes through as those are warm-boots. After shutting it down, It never re-started. Just beeped at me repeatedly(fast beeps). So figuring it was the PSU, I tried it in my case with a Fortron 350w and it works like a charm. Problem solved, Not quite. My sis-in-law is about as tight with money as they come(hence the 533 bus P4 and not the 800 to save a few bucks) and don't think that she would part with another $50 for a good PSU. Surprisingly, The Enlight 300w works great with my ASUS A7V8X and 2400+ combo. I was thinking of giving her that and keeping the P4 for myself and maybe giving her some money back so she doesn't feel like she is getting taken and could put it towards a monitor. Would this be an upgrade for me or a waste of time? Any thoughts would appreciated. Of course I would prefer the 800 bus P4, But this is what I have to work with.
 

allanon1965

Diamond Member
Mar 14, 2004
3,427
1
81
both of those are actually running a 133 fsb the intel is 4 pipelines to transfer data, while the amd is 2, in hteory 4 is better but in reality, not much difference performance wise.....i would give her the one that will be the most stable, if its the amd, so be it, trust me here, been there, done that. if you feel the need to give a few bucks back, so bet it, but not more that 35.00 in my opinion....the amd is better that the intel anyway.....now dont get me wrong, i aint no amd fanboy, i used to run strictly intel for years, until the amd XP came out, i tried one and never went back to intel, see my rig specs and i have a sweet running barton 2500 oc'ed to 3200 speeds(2200 mhz). if she is like most, she want a relatively quick but STABLE setup. that is the keyword, stable. if you give her that she will have nothing but good things to say about you:)
 

sharq

Senior member
Mar 11, 2003
507
0
0
What about getting a $25-30 generic 400watt psu? I know it's not a good idea to put one of the generic ones in a computer, but we all have used them at some time, or know someone who does, and they don't all fry the computer.
Or, why not see if you can sell the enlight psu, and use the money you get toward a brand name (reliable) 350/400 watt psu?
 

GonzoDaGr8

Platinum Member
Apr 29, 2001
2,183
1
0
Thanks Sharq, But I don't have time to wait around to sell the Enlight PSU. But, I did find this Demon 480w for $35. Anyone ever heard of Demon? It looks physically just like the Fortron units without the fan speed adjuster.
 

GonzoDaGr8

Platinum Member
Apr 29, 2001
2,183
1
0
Hrmm..Guess I should have specified that this thing (However I configure it) needs to go out today.. I would deffinately gone Newegg all the way for everything, But am pressed for time. I'll have to get ahold of her and she what she is cool with. Fortunately, Fry's is open today..:)