Building a new computer...

[judgmentday1]

Hi there,

Which is the best chip to build a new computer right now?

Is it true that AMD chips are the best buy right now?

I have heard that the only problem is that they run very hot and because of that you have to install a heavy duty fan that usually makes lots of noise.

What about compatibility issues?

Thank you.

 

[Boonesmi]

its true that they generate alot of heat, but thats true with any of the new high speed cpu's

and yes i like AMD, and i think its the best option right now. in the athlon early days compatibility was an issue, but its not anymore.

there is nothing wrong with intel pent4 its a good cpu
but for the price/performance AMD dominates

if i was going to build a new pc right now i would probably get:
epox 8k7a
amd 1.33ghz(266)
256 or 512mb of pc2100 ddr ram at www.crucial.com
40gig ibm 60gxp

you could buy all that (except the ram) at www.newegg.com for less then $400
and the crucial ram would be $60 for 256mb

 

[robertf97]

AMD is the best bang for the buck. If you want a fast affordable system and you already have the monitor, keyboard, etc. you can build one kick ass Athlon 1-1.2 GHz box for about $550, with shipping (everything from Newegg except memory from Crucial).

Athlons do require a good heatsink and fan but there is no compatability issue.

If you want more details on exactly what to get, let me know.

 

[revvy]

I say AMD if you want the best price to performance ratio as AMD based solutions tend to give you more value for every dollar you spend as opposed to Intel. If your budget isn't an issue, then I say go with a Pentium 4 based system. And yes, it's true that AMD has heat issues, but if you don't intend to overclock, there won't be a need for a big heatsink.

 

[The_Lurker]

AMD's dont really have any heat issue compared to the P4's, i hear they idle around 50 and load around 50-60 degrees. Compared to that, the AMD's, dont really have that big a heat problem. P4's would be faster but you better have a lot of money to spend! If i was buying a new computer, i'd definately go with an AMD setup.

 

[Swanny]

A P4 might not ever be faster. It depends on what you are going to be doing with the system. If it is anything that isn't optimised for SSE2 (not many things are yet) then the Athlon would be faster. The specs Boonesmi suggested are very good, in fact I'm about to order the parts for a system around the same specs.