New System Questions - Need More Experienced Users Help

[CNAAGreed]

I need some advice, I'm stuck in the middle between the fight for which processor to choose. I've always been an Intel Fan, however with the Athlon XP that came out it was showing a big lead over everything.. so I figured I'd try and do an AMD Machine.... My Problem NORTHWOOD!@#

The newer Northwoods that came out, I see that the 2.0a Northwood is only about $60 or so dollars more then the 2000+ AMD. The Northwood is also very overclockable (saw it on the forum.) However I've never really overclocked a processor like you guys and I'd love to learn how etc. MY Question is what do I do?

I never thought it would be this hard.. If I was going to get a P4 Northwood, which motherboard setup would be best... RDRAM or DDR. I've been trying to find direct reviews on which ram is better.. but havent found one yet. I see mixed feelings depending on the person.. Please Help.. I dont wanna make a bad decision.

The computer I'm making needs to be geared more torwards games (Quake3).


Thanks Alot,

Greed

 

[CNAAGreed]

trying to keep it on top so someone can help me.. sorry

greed

 

[Om]

From everything I've read about Northwood looks like the 2000+ AMD holds it's own if not better. The Northwood isn't all it was hoped to be. Look around the web there's all kinds of reviews for it now. It does overclock nicely, but so does the AMD. I use to own all Intel processors, but I'm a gamer and when you look at price v. perofmance the AMD wins hands down everytime. Less money for more power is what I look for and AMD has had my business for the past two years including my next upgrade.

This might help you decide:

"Without optimized applications, even the Pentium 4/2200 with 512KB of L2 cache and Rambus memory often cannot keep up with AMD's Athlon XP/2000+. "

"Only with very well optimized software (DroneZ, Acrobat reader and Shockwave) can the Pentium 4/2200 with DDR nudge ahead of the Athlon XP/2000+"

"In one area, though, the "Northwood" Pentium 4 does have a clear advantage over the Athlon XP: the 2.2GHz model uses 16W less power than the Athlon XP/2000+. The advantage for PC manufacturers is that the system can be cooled more easily, and is therefore less noisy. For many customers, the noise level of a PC is often more important than pure CPU performance."

http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/hardware/desktops/0,39001729,39013015,00.htm

 

[CNAAGreed]

ahh thats awesome.. thanks alot.. what about ram... I see there are like 4 different speeds of RAM for DDR. There is 2100,2400,2700 and 3000 by OCZ. What would my best bet be?

Also.. motherboards.. whats a good motherboard for the AthlonXP 2000+ I'd love not to have all kinds of integrated things that I wont need. I just need lots of spots for ram. 5-6 PCI slots and just overall quality.. Any ideas??

Greed

 

[Daovonnaex]

<< I need some advice, I'm stuck in the middle between the fight for which processor to choose. I've always been an Intel Fan, however with the Athlon XP that came out it was showing a big lead over everything.. so I figured I'd try and do an AMD Machine.... My Problem NORTHWOOD!@#

The newer Northwoods that came out, I see that the 2.0a Northwood is only about $60 or so dollars more then the 2000+ AMD. The Northwood is also very overclockable (saw it on the forum.) However I've never really overclocked a processor like you guys and I'd love to learn how etc. MY Question is what do I do?

I never thought it would be this hard.. If I was going to get a P4 Northwood, which motherboard setup would be best... RDRAM or DDR. I've been trying to find direct reviews on which ram is better.. but havent found one yet. I see mixed feelings depending on the person.. Please Help.. I dont wanna make a bad decision.

The computer I'm making needs to be geared more torwards games (Quake3).


Thanks Alot,

Greed >>

I will actually recommend RDRAM due to its increased bandwidth--it still keeps the narrow lead over DDR. Should you go RDRAM--your mainboard choice is obvious--the Abit TH7-II RAID.