Netburst questions

[MonkeyFaces]

1. Any word when they will phase out?
2. What's the difference between c1 and d0 stepping?
3. When is the best time to buy them (when c1, d0 are prevalent among retailers)?
4. Why does AT bash netburst cpu's? They aren't that bad. IMO, a pentium d 915 w/ d0 stepping is a better buy than an x2 3800 if you plan on overclocking.
5. Should further netburst price drops be expected?
6. Exactly how should the latest netburst steppings hold up against their amd counterparts? Eg, d0 915, c1 930,940 vs x2 3800, c1 950 vs 4200, etc.
Edit: Heres the d0 stepping info chart, I am not literate in ion flux hyperdrives. ftp://download.intel.com/design/network/swsup/IXP1200_B0-to-D0-Stepping.pdf

 

[stevty2889]

1. I think they are already slowly being phased out, but they still be around for a while, heck you can still find northwoods and they haven't been produced for years.

2. The d0 steppings are the newly released chips that don't have vitrualization such as the 915 and 945.

3. If you want a d0 stepping, just buy one that ends with a 5, as for the rest. the 960 and 965 EE are guranteed c0 stepping, the rest, there will never be any gurantee unless the site you buy it from lists the stepping.

4. Because they run a lot warmer, consume a lot more power, and perform poorly compared to X2 and Core 2 duo. They are a worse buy if you are going to overclock. THe old 3800+ hit 2.5-2.6ghz fairly easy, the newer steppings hit 2.8ghz commonly. For a pentium-d to match or beat performance of a 2.6ghz X2 it has to hit around 4.2ghz, 4.5-4.6ghz for a 2.8ghz X2, and those are NOT common overclocks for a netburst dual core. I have 2 920's, an 805, and got rid of an 830, tried 6 differant motherboards, and NONE of them could catch my X2 4200+ at 2.618ghz on it's stock heatsink. My 805 runs at 3.6ghz on a scythe ninja, runs hotter than the X2, and is behind in performance. Unless you spend more money on an expensive motherboard, and a beefy power supply, and very good cooling, you are very unlikely to get the same performance from a netburst chip than you can from an X2 on a $100 motherboard and stock cooling.

5. There are supposed to be more pricecuts later, but I would still never buy another one.

6. At stock speeds, you need a 950 to consistantly perform at or slightly better than the 3800+.