new rig... need some insight to decide...

[stech4u]

for digital arts/cs1.6/HL2 rig...

currently i have the following items considered...(newegg.com)
RAM:
Buffalo Technology 512MB 6 Layer PC3200 DDR Memory Module CL 2.5 32X8 (Winbond Module), Part# DD4002-512 - OEM
$89.50

VIDEO:
Sapphire Atlantis ATI RADEON 9600 PRO 128MB 8X AGP DVI/TV BULK
$156.00

CASE/PSU:
ANTEC Performance PLUS Model PLUS1080AMG- with Antec Original TRUE 430W P4 Power Supply ATX12V Retail
$105.00


i'm contemplating between the following (P4 or AMD cpu/mobo setup):

P4-cpu/mobo:
Intel Pentium 4 / 2.4CGHz 512k socket 478 Hyper Threading Technology 800 MHz FSB - RETAIL
$171.00
ABIT IS7,Intel 865PE chipset for Socket 478 P4 ATX motherboard RETAIL
$109.00

AMD-cpu/mobo:
AMD ATHLON XP 2500+ "Barton" 333 FSB PROCESSOR CPU- RETAIL
$92.00
Asus Motherboard for AMD Athlon XP/Duron Processors, Model# A7N8X Deluxe Retail
$124.99

going with an AMD-setup: $567.49
going with a P4-setup: $630.50

a difference of: $63.01


i've read that the p4-2.4c can be easilly OC'ed to 3.0ghz ... just wondering if i should just go with the p4-setup, or the AMD-setup and add another 512mb of ram ...in terms of what i'm using it for anyways...

any thoughts? ...i've been out of the loop, spent a couple of hours today doing this...


thanks in advance.

 

[MDE]

Well, the AMD setup can also easily be OCed to 3200+ speeds (2.2 GHz). The P4 will need faster memory unless you run a divider (not sure about the performance hit). If you don't need all of the Asus' features, there are Abit and Epox nForce2 boards that are cheaper.

 

[stech4u]

for some reason... it double-posted...

go here ^^
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=27&threadid=1140946