I would like some knowledgeable answers on the differences between Intel P4 and AMD XP

[RadicalTECH]

I've always been an Intel man, but I've been thinking about going to AMD. I am researching now on what CPU/MOTHERBOARD are the best together. I'm going to build an AMD for testing before I start suggesting it to customers. I'm open for comments and suggestions on what chip and board are the best for a medium to high-medium priced machine.

 

[Knightcomm]

Well, I am running 2 A7N8X Deluxe mobos, and I have nothing but good things to say about them. I have recently put together systems with the Chaintech 7NJS-ZENITH Ultra and the Epox 8RDA3+. The epox and the asus seem to have about the same options and performance, with the NForce2 Ultra chipsets of course. One had Corsair and the other had Geil, so not everything was the same. Any of those I like. The best part about the Asus and Epox is they roll in at about 100-120 US Dollars. As far as which is better P4 vs. AMD... P4 for gaming, AMD for the rest.

 

[mechBgon]

AMD = V8
Pentium4-C = turbocharged V6





For an AMD platform, get a motherboard based on the nForce2 Ultra 400 chipset. Popular picks are the EPoX 8RDA+, Asus A7N8X-Deluxe and Abit NF7-S. Use high-quality RAM like Corsair XMS3200LL, and a high-quality power supply such as something 350W+ from Antec or Enermax. Wait another couple weeks if you're leaning towards AMD because the Athlon 64's will be out. They look strong and should result in a price drop of the AthlonXP lineup if you want to economize.

For Intel, get a motherboard based on the i865PE or i875P chipset. One good pick for RAM is Corsair XMS3500C2 or TwinX 3700 on up. Again, use a high-quality PSU. Oh, and naturally, pick an 800MHz-based P4 if you go this way.

Hope that helps you out

 

[Doomer]

I recently came back to AMD. I gave up on them years ago and went with Intel. The reason was the garbage VIA chipsets.

Nforce was the best thing that ever happened to AMD. I say go for it.

btw: My main system ia an ASUS A7N8X Deluxe running an XP 2800 @ 11 x 200 (XP 3200)

I've sold several systems based on the Asus A7N266 VM motherboard and they have been perfect with zero issues.

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: Doomer
I recently came back to AMD. I gave up on them years ago and went with Intel. The reason was the garbage VIA chipsets.

Nforce was the best thing that ever happened to AMD. I say go for it.

btw: My main system ia an ASUS A7N8X Deluxe running an XP 2800 @ 11 x 200 (XP 3200)

I've sold several systems based on the Asus A7N266 VM motherboard and they have been perfect with zero issues.

Another good word for those A7N266-VM's I tend a fleet at work that has two dozen A7N266-VM's (with more in the pipeline). If you want a non-tweakable board and don't need Firewire, USB 2.0 or support for the upper-end AthlonXPs that use a 333MHz or 400MHz front-side bus, this is a nice board for a nice price, and with no tweakability to speak of, your customers will have a difficult time messing them up.

Personally, I have an A7N8X-Deluxe system at work, and I like it a lot: specs, an exterior photo, and Mr. and Mrs. Cheetah in their living room

To expand more on your question about CPUs, the AthlonXPs are good all-around and gaming processors, and get high marks in business-application tests like Business Winstone 2002. The 800MHz-based Pentium4's are good at practially everything and excel in stuff that involves processing a continuous stream of data, such as video encoding. WinXP users can use the hyperthreading to reduce the impact of running a CPU-intensive application in the background while doing something else in the foreground. The Athlon 64 looks to be a real screamer in gaming situations and improved at some of the areas where the AthlonXP falls behind the latest P4's, too.

 

[Johnbear007]

Ok basically its all about cash

If you have money, and want the BEST performance you can get go P4 c

If you want value and still have good performance than go AMD

 

[RadicalTECH]

You guys have done a great job! I feel like I've learned something. Anymore comments are still welcome.
Thanks for the quick responses

 

[beyoku]

forget what everybody is talking about and get a dually - I got 1700's x2 @ 2.2 - running very stable and quiet.

 

[Richdog]

Forget the dual-system, lol, it's uneccesary. Basically a P4 is all about memory bandwidth, so to get the most out of one you need some very high-rated RAM and a top motherboard, expensive items even without the cost of the CPU. Whereas AMD is all about muscle, and added to that i persoanlly feel the fun factor in overclocking an AMD FAR outweighs the fun of overclocking an Intel. Where is the joy in overclocking an Intel chip when it has no multiplier to play around with? AMD systems are far more tweakable and though they have SLIGHTLY less performance than their Intel counterparts, the difference is really only noticeable in encoding etc, whereas in games the AMD's more than hold their own, for a far cheaper price.

P4 if you want straight-laced no-thrills performance, AMD if you're an enthusiast! :beer:

 

[sao123]

Read articles on this page...
http://www.aceshardware.com/list.jsp?id=4


specificially this page...
http://www.aceshardware.com/read.jsp?id=20000190
and this one...
http://www.aceshardware.com/read.jsp?id=25000191


essentially...though.
P4 is brute force...do as much work as possible by using high clock speed.
AMD is finesse... less clock speed, but do more work in each clock pulse.

There are other technological considerations too for current generayion of processors. FSB and Memory bandwidth. Quad pumping vs dual pumping. L1,2,3 cache, hyperthreading. North and SouthBridge i/o chipsets determine performance of external connections (HDD, ATA, SATA, Network, PCI, PCI -X, AGP etc). 64bit computing.

Dual P4's dont make sence because they have hyperthreading, which is almost the equivolent of having 2 cpus on 1 chip.