CPU Clarification, Please

[Carbo]

I guess you can say I'm losing my virginity as I begin building my first system. I'm feeling overwhelmed by the array of choices.
So far, I've settled, (I think), on a Giga Byte motherboard, (GA-8KNXP). My question concerns the differences between the available CPU's I can select.
The P4's offered come with different specs. For example, there is the P4/ 3.2 GHz Extreme Edition 800MHz FSB, 2MB L3 Cache, Hyper Threading Technology.
Then there is the P4 Xeon 3.2 GHz 533MHz FSB, 1MB L3 Cache, Hyper Threading Technology.
Also, the P4 Xeon 3.06GHz 533MHz FSB, 512K Cache, Hyper Threading Technology, and the P4/ 3.2C GHz 800MHz FSB, 512K Cache, Hyper Threading Technology.
Can someone explain what the differences are between these units? What does the difference mean to me in daily use between 2MB cache versus 1MB or 512K? Same question regarding FSB speed.
My use will be for a home office PC. No gaming or overclocking. I realize I'm building more PC than I need. But, screw it. If I don't spend my money, my kids will .

 

[lifeguard1999]

The Xeon's have a different pin layout (604 pins I believe) and will not work in that P4 motherboard (which uses 478 pins). That leaves with:

P4 Extreme Edition - Extremenly fast, but costs roughly $950~$1000.
P4 800MHz FSB, 512K cache series - Best buy for the money. Currently the 2.4 GHz and 2.6 GHz are considered prime for overclockers.
P4 533MHz FSB, 512K cache series - Older tech..
P4 400MHz FSB, 512K cache series - Very old, so do not buy it.

What does the difference mean to me in daily use between 2MB cache versus 1MB or 512K? Same question regarding FSB speed.

Cache is the amount of memory on the processor itself. The CPU goes first to Level-1 cache to see if the data is contained there. Then it goes to Level-2 cache. If there is a Level-3 cache, it then looks there, before going on to the main memory. Finding data in cache is faster than finding data in main memory. A larger cache is better than a smaller cache, since it gives you a better chance of finding the data. However, a larger cache also drives up the cost, and its performance benefits can be negligible for some applications.

The FSB stands for "Front Side Bus" and means how fast the processor communicates with main memory. Faster is better, so 800 MHz is better than 533 MHz is better than 400 MHz.

Personally I think that a 2.4 GHz ~ 3.0 GHz CPU will work fine for you. The 2.8 GHz is going for ~$215 right now and seems to be the best bang for the buck.

 

[smittybg]

 

[smittybg]

You cant use the zeons , beacuse of the pin package, get a hyper threaded 533 or 800 FSB 2.4+ chip, you wont be able to tell a difference anyway if you are just doing office and internet.

 

[Carbo]

Thanks for the info, gents. Shortly after posting I realized that the Xeon was not applicable because of the pin configuration. So, I'll look at one of the other P4's you guys noted.
Lifeguard, if I understand you correctly then, with my usage, (home office), it will make almost no difference if I go with 800 FSB versus 533, or 1MB L3 cache versus 512K cache? My rig will be running with 1024 MB of main memory. Is that about right?
If so, I should really just look for the best bargain for a P4 2.4GHz or above?

 

[WobbleWobble]

It will make a huge difference if you go 800 FSB versus 533. A 2.4GHz 800FSB would be about as fast as a 2.66GHz 533FSB. And don't consider the 2.4GHZ 800FSB anymore, the 2.6GHz 800FSB is almost the same price as the 2.4.

You'll normally see 800FSB CPUs denoted with a "C". So you may see 2.6C GHz or something along those lines.

As for the Extreme Editions (EE), it's definately not worth the money. The EE and regular P4s (800FSB ones) both have 512KB of L2 cache, but the EE has 1MB of L3 cache. It's a huge performance difference of really having 1MB of L2 cache.

 

[Carbo]

Yeah, I did notice the "C" designation in some of the processors and was wondering what that meant. Thanks. Seems like, then, that 800 FSB is the way to go. I see some decent bargains can be had on some of the later models, too. The P4 3.2C GHz 800MHz FSB, 512K Cache, HT can be had for around $400. Not bad.
Do you think the 512K cache versus 1MB or 2MB will be noticeable, and worth the big bump up in price?

 

[Camofrog]

Unless you are going to be using this computer for cpu intensive tasks ( rendering, media encoding, gaming etc. ) you will not notice the difference in cache. that difference only becomes apparent when it is used by people who are "pushing the envelope of they're hardware" by O/Cing

i would also reccomend maybe a ASUS P4C800 mobo or (Intel for stability if you are not O/Cing) or maybe a ABIT IC7 max3

 

[Jeff7181]

Don't even consider a Xeon at all... they're server processors are there's no benefit to running one of those vs. a P4, in fact you'll actually be at a disadvantage cause of the slower FSB.
As far as the differences in cache, the P4EE has 512k L2 cache and 2 MB L3 cache... the regular P4 with 800Mhz FSB doesn't have an L3 cache at all, but it has the same 512k L2 cache.