Intel or AMD?

[localhost]

Hi all,

I need some suggestion on what kind of processor should I use. I'm a home user and my computer is mainly used for school-releated work, graphics, animation, webdesign etc. I do play computer games like flight simulator etc. Hence, I like to know if Pentium 4 is more suitable for my case or Athlon XP? Also, I have heard people mentioning that Athlon XP heats up faster as compared to Pentium 4. Also, it is not very stable and require many cooling fans to cool the chipset.

My main piority is stable system, yet efficient for my work and entertainment. Also, I have tight budget plan. I might need a new mainboard (which I need suggestion too), a new processor, casing and ram. Also, I would like to know the difference between 2x and 4x AGP cards. How do I differenciate it? Lastly, is there much difference between Pentium 4 1.6A , 1.8A (256/512)? Is it recommended to get 256 or 512K (which I have no idea what's that)

Thanks and sorry for such long questions

 

[jbond04]

Even though I am a massive Intel fan, I am going to have to recommend AMD at this point. Here are my reasons:

1. Athlon XP's are cheap. Basically their price/performance ratio is awesome.

2. Athlon XP's have a powerful FPU. Even though higher end P4's beat the Athlon XP at graphics work, you would be paying a hefty premium.

If you're on a budget and need power, get the Athlon. I've never owned one, but I think most chipset stability issues have been ironed out, and if you get a nice heatsink for your Athlon, heat/noise shouldn't be a problem.

On the other hand, if you do decide to look at the P4, make sure you get the 512k cache! This greatly increases performance, and also gets you the .13um manufacturing process, which allows for cooler temperatures and massive overclocking headroom. If you could overclock a 1.8A to 2.4GHz, you would definitely be able to appreciate the rendering speed in an animation environment. I own a 2.53GHz P4 with 1GB of PC1066 RDRAM, and when I do my renderings, I overclock it to 2.85GHz w/ the RAM running at PC900 speeds. This easily defeats any Athlon setup currently available, all without raising the temperature of my system to sky high levels (it can hit 2.85 at default voltage).

So...

If you don't have a lot of cash, do your wallet a favor and buy the Athlon XP. You will get plenty of power and plenty of value. However, if you are willing to pay a little more, and buy a 1.8A and overclock it, you will definitely notice the increased performance. And as for inexpensive motherboards; that's pretty much outta my league. Other guys/gals around here will be able to answer that question far better than I. Hope this all helps you.

 

[Pink0]

Alright, it seems you really need a lot of help. First, let me address some of your misconceptions:
" Also, I have heard people mentioning that Athlon XP heats up faster as compared to Pentium 4."
False. They are both very hot chips.
"Also, it is not very stable"
Very false. There have been some bad via chipsets in the past but there have been for every platform. Get yourself a nice Nforce chipset and you'll be fine
"and require many cooling fans to cool the chipset."
False. no chipset for the athlon requires fans. some board makers include fans on the northbridges as a feature for overclocking but there are always boards which don't use fans on their chipsets.
"recommended to get 256 or 512K "
The 512K version is what's known as a Northwood core. It is much much faster and cooler running. You want the 512K one.

The Athlon offers the best value for your dollar in the lower end of the price scale. The best bang for your buck CPU is the Athlon XP 2000+. YOu can pair this with a nice ASUS board and you will likely not encounter stability issues.

If you simply must go the intel route, you will pay more for the processors in a budget system like this one. You don't sound like you're going to be overclocking so AMD offers the best bang for your buck. There will be no difference in stability if you get a good board.

 

[CrazySaint]

Originally posted by: localhost
Hi all,

I need some suggestion on what kind of processor should I use. I'm a home user and my computer is mainly used for school-releated work, graphics, animation, webdesign etc. I do play computer games like flight simulator etc. Hence, I like to know if Pentium 4 is more suitable for my case or Athlon XP? Also, I have heard people mentioning that Athlon XP heats up faster as compared to Pentium 4. Also, it is not very stable and require many cooling fans to cool the chipset.

Yes, Athlons run hotter than P4 Northwood systems. But by and large you won't need any more fans with an Athlon system then you would with a P4 system. As for them being less stable than P4s, a properly setup Athlon system will be just as stable as a properly setup P4 system. A chipset fan isn't required unless you plan on overclocking.

My main piority is stable system, yet efficient for my work and entertainment. Also, I have tight budget plan. I might need a new mainboard (which I need suggestion too), a new processor, casing and ram. Also, I would like to know the difference between 2x and 4x AGP cards. How do I differenciate it? Lastly, is there much difference between Pentium 4 1.6A , 1.8A (256/512)? Is it recommended to get 256 or 512K (which I have no idea what's that)

Thanks and sorry for such long questions

How tight is your budget? If its extremely tight, then an Athlon XP is the 'automatic' choice. All modern AGP cards are either 4X or 8X AGP (though 8X AGP is mostly a marketing gimic) so unless you buy a TNT or ATI Rage Pro or something like that, you don't have to worry about whether its 2X or 4X. P4s with 512k are MUCH better than P4s with 256k.

 

[Duvie]

First off, both system are more thencapable of delivering here...the fact is...HOw much do you want to spend and when....Do you oc???


Great budget system would be athlon xp 2000 or 2100+ with about 512mb of ram....

If you can wait 2-3 weeks I would recommend

p4 2.53ghz w/ Granite Bay dual ddr mobo and 2 sticks of 512mb pc2700ddr...for a system that will kick...oc it a bit to safe vcore default levles and you could get 2.8ghz and dual 300mhz ddr for speed that is faster then any rdram system.

if you can't wait for GB mobo

then get a newer sis648mobo and 512mb stick of pc3200 ddr and you will have near rdram speed with some savings...I am sorry but I can't recommend rdram as a personal reason....

Even if you don't oc the only thing to compete with this system are athlons that don't even exist in the marketplace yet and may not still by the time the GB's come out.

The system I listed likely will cost a few hundred more to the 2000-2100 board but likely would not be that much more then a comparable athlon 2400-2600+ xp if you decided to wait for them...they would be very comparable....how they oc is really a guess still since they seem to be very slow hitting markt eventhough they were officially launched 9-10 weeks ago!!! But that is another story!!!

 

[localhost]

no chipset for the athlon requires fans

So, it means that I don't need to fork out additional money to get a cooler? I've friends whom are using Athlon XP with some cooler to reduce the heat produced from the chipset. So, you are suggesting it'll run just perfectly fine with default configurations? Btw, does Athlon XP has 256/512K such stuff? So, which model of asus mobo would you recommend? I intend to use make use of the system for few years though... So, will it be able to last till so long?

 

[localhost]

Ahh, sorry for multiple replies Didn't know my reply will be right at the bottom instead of branching out from where I've chose to reply.

Well, frankly speaking, I don't intend to overclock and I've never tried overclocking. I don't dare to take risk Next, I heard that mobo with (SIS) chipsets are not stable. Is that true?

In reply to CrazySaint: Real tight budget. About SIN $ 500 or less. My main piorities is to get a new mobo, new processor, casing and ram. I currently have a old Voodoo 3 card. So, is it still possible for me to use it for a few more months before changing a new one?

Currently, I have a old Pentium 2 400Mhz PC with 64MB ram (which is like tortise) So, i like to know if it's worth selling? Maybe for some cash to help increase my budget? My existing parts like sound card, harddisk, cd-rom drives can still be used.

Anyway, what's the difference between RDRam and DDR-RAM? Which is recommended?

 

[bgeh]

is it singaporean 500?
if its it,then i think you should go with a geforce 4 mx/radeon 9000+a kt333 mobo+ddr 333+athlon xp1700 boxed(with fan)
i live in malaysia
so the prices are about the same
this wont break rm1000/sing500
check sim lim square
u can get lots of bargains there
or go to www.hardwarezone.com
they have price lists from shops in singapore

 

[JWade]

if you are in the US, then go to the hot deals forum and check out the current Dell deal. I myself am an AMD person, but for the price and all the stuff, I opted for the sweet deal on a Dell 2.4ghz system with a 15" LCD monitor. why get a 1.6a and overclock to 2.4ghz when you can just get a 2.4ghz?

 

[Pink0]

to answer one of your questions:
once upon a time SIS made bad chipsets but they are all very stable now. Both the 735 and the 645DX I have had experience with and they were both stable.

 

[Cerb]

Go with an Athlon XP. Either 1600+ (cheap) or 2000+ (price point). For the mobo, either ECS K7S5A or most any good (Asus, Abit, Epox, MSI, Shuttle, etc.) KT333 board (the 333 boards have several nifty onboard goodies that the SiS 735 doesn't), and get 512MB PC2100. You don't need 512MB now, but if you're going to keep his thing as long as that PII 400, you will need it in a year or maybe even less.

For a budget system, I'd say get either an enermax or enlight case & PSU.

Your voodoo3 will work, though you won't be dissappointed with any new graphics card when compared to it (such as a GF3 or GF4MX).

If you get a better board than the ECS K7S5A (esp. one with the C-Media chip on it), you won't need your soundcard.

on DDR and RDRAM...in a nutshell, RDRAM offers better bandwidth but at a latency cost, is more expensive, and is for the P4 using an i850 board (well, mostly anyway). So if you go Athlon, PC2100 (AKA DDR266).

 

[Yeti101]

then go to the hot deals forum and check out the current Dell deal

First your talking about deals (saving cash/Getting the best price)

why get a 1.6a and overclock to 2.4ghz when you can just get a 2.4ghz?

Then you say that...... Well, 1.6's are disscontinued, but they'd probly be around $130, right now the the 2.4 (a) is at $190 (googlegear), You could save $60, thats why.

 

[localhost]

In response to bgeh: Yes. It's Singapore dollars. $1 (SIN) abt RM2.07. Well, i've checked out hardwarezone and the prices there stated bundle... so, it'll be kinda tough to get best bargain right at this moment. I suppose the prices of mobo and chipset will drop at of this year

Cerb: Is it true that the PSU that comes with the casing when purchased is not of good quality? Someone has recommended me to invest on another PSU rather than the one that comes together with the casing.

JWade: Yeah, there was this great offer from DELL here too It was $1999 (after mail in rebate) and free upgrade to 15' LCD screen. But still, it's a little expensive after rounding up all the charges as compared to DIY. However, after so many suggestion, I suppose AMD is the best choice which can help to keep my budget low

 

[Necrolezbeast]

I would go with a ($139 SIN)1600+ or ($205 SIN)2000+ with an ($349 SIN)ASUS Nforce board(no need for the voodoo3), 2-256mb(2x115=$230 SIN) of kingston pc2100, it has good onboard sound. If you are not overclocking you shouldn't see any problem with a PSU that comes bundled with a case. That is $718(with the 1600+) SIN....a little high, but it is a very nice system.

 

[localhost]

Well, i was aiming at the 2000+ (1.67Mhz bundle) and the asus 333 mobo. Pretty good deal. Well, as suggested by Necrolezbeast, his configuration will be a wonderful system.. just that, it overshot by budget RAM price seems to rise recently... just hoping it'll drop soon