CPU purchase advice needed - Duron or T-Bird?

[LanceChristopher]

I have a bugdet of about $300-350 for a mobo and CPU...I've pretty much settled on the Abit KT7 Raid, but am completely undecided on the processor; I've been going back and forth between the Duron 800, T-Bird 800 or 900, and the T-Bird 1ghz (which would run right around $400 with the mobo actually)..I will be running a Win2000/Linux dual boot, and usually run 'fun' stuff at home like CoolEdit, various audio/video editing software, MS Visual Studio, lightweight programming under Linux, UT, Q3, StarCraft, AOE2 and all the usual internet/word proc stuff. Not really a huge gamer, and don't really run anything too intensive. I want this next system to last for a couple of years, but have been reading about the 64 bit OS stuff coming out late next year (well, MS stuff anyway), and was wondering if the AMD stuff will take it. Anybody have thoughts on that?

OEM seems to cheaper, but is it *really* that much better to buy a retail chip? I know you get a longer warranty going retail, but beyond that is it warranted to pay more? What would I necessarily gain with a 800 T-bird over 800 Duron and would the difference be that great with the kind of stuff I do mentioned above? Would a T-Bird 1ghz be a better investment over the long term?

Many thanks for any input on this....I've been running a 300mhz box for 2+ years and am so anxious to upgrade but want to do it right and save some dough. Thanks again all!

Lance

 

[bigshooter]

save your money and get a duron. I have an unlocked 650 in what should be my server (if i ever get a serial number for advanced server eval or find my copy of regular server) running at 1050. It rocks, i installed windows on it earlier, just to play games on it and it was fast as hell. Get the duron and kt7 raid (i have regular kt7 and a promise pci card) and use it until you have enough money for whole new system. By then you'll have AMD k-8 processor pc-5000 ddr ram and nv25 processor and a system that you got your moneys worth out of.

 

[DaddyG]

Stick with the Duron and have fun Ocing. Think seriously about the ABIT Raid. The HPT370 controller is, to be nice *picky*, to be real *crap*. It has serious timing issues with IBM drives and problems with Maxtor as well. Mobos from MSI, Epox, Soltec, and the new Fic and Soyo, all have the OC features and are of higher quality than ABIT. If you get a good ABIT mobo you'll probably like it, but the high DOA/RMA rate of ABIT mobos is not acceptable to me. I can't waste my time finding quality problems with ABIT boards and then have ABIT charge me $25 to RMA their crap.

 

[Ben88]

You should look into the KT7 non-raid with a Tbird 900 for about $320. You can oc the 900 to at least 1050 and you benefit from the added cache that the duron lacks. Or you can get a 750 Tbird and upgrade to a 1.2 ghz tbird when the prices on those fall. I actually have a P2 300mhz just like you, and im about to upgrade to a Tbird 750, KT7, GTS etc.

 

[bigjon]

What kind of % performance increase does a T-Bird have over a Duron at the same freq?

 

[jinsonxu]

About 5 to 10%.

 

[AMB]

I am happy with my setup at the moment: AMD T-Bird 900 and ABit KT7, I think that is what you should go for as well

 

[office boy]

<<About 5 to 10%>>.
In what? Maybe in games, but For average computer use the difference is a lot less then that (I would guess)

 

[jaydee]

Personally, I have an Abit KT7-RAID and T-Bird 900, but if were to build one today, I would buy an overclocked chip thats guaranteed at overclockerz shop, and put it with an MSI K7T pro2 board, and invest in an awesome heatsink. There you can get an overclocked Duron @1050 mhz for $109, which is a great deal. They also have oc'ed T-Birds @1050 for $190. Check the site out, I'm sure you'll find what you want.

 

[jaydee]

Actually, I just found in their Specials Section, a KT7 with an overclocked Duron at 1Ghz, and a OCZ Monster Cooler, which is plenty of power for your needs at a mere $217.

 

[Moving Target]

Duron

 

[Dan]

Go with a Duron for one reason: it['s a bigger bang for your buck. I have a Duron 700 that runs stable at 1083MHz on a KT7 (non-Raid) mobo. That's pretty good performance from a $74 chip.