OC question: P3700E or C566@850?

[mobofreak]

Hey guys,

Just wondering which setup would be ideal for the system that I have right now. I have a BH6 with the NV bios, so I know that both of those procs would be fine for my mobo. I also have a 128 megs of CAS2 PC100 memory.

I know that going the P3 route would be a little more expensive but would the performance increase be worth it over the performance I would get from the celeron? I mostly use my computer to play games and surf the web, so good game performance is a must. I know that without even overclocking the P3700 I would have the performance that could rival that of the oced celeron is that correct? So if I was to oc the 700, which I plan on doing, that performance would be much greater.
Right now I'm leaning toward the P3700, and another question, what would be a better choice, the Slot 1 Version or the FCPGA? And what about cooling? I'm not going to be doing massive ocing as I only have the PC100 ram, would a slot 1 orb be enough for say 868 (7*124)? Oh yeah, almost forgot, would it be worth it to shell out extra for cBo stepping if I don't plan on a massive overclock?

TIA for any info.

 

[snow patrol]

The Celeron 2, in all honesty, has been hugely crippled by Intel - and so I'd suggest that if you have the cash, definitely go for the P3. Even at 700mhz, the P3 will out perform a Celeron2 at much higher clock speeds. Take a look at Anand's recent C2 700 review for proof..:
http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.html?i=1264.

You'd be advised to go for the new stepping as they have higher potential speeds, and the Slot 1 and Orb should do nicely. If you can, perhaps try and look for a place that sells chips guaranteed to reach certain overclocked speeds...just a suggestion.

 

[rigor]

You'll more than likely need pc-133 ram and a GOOD video card that lets the agp run near 89 mghz to overclock the p3-700, you'll need none of the said about to overclock a celeron to say 850.

$135 for a celeron running at 850,slotket,fan is nominal.

the p3-700 will probably cost you double that amount.

how much more performance will you get?

If you can clock your ram and video/pci up with p3-700 , a bit more. Otherwise the celeron 2 solution would give you more bang for the buck it seems.

 

[snow patrol]

Bang for buck is all very well, but sometimes people actually want something that is going to give excellent performance. The 700e at 900+Mhz will far surpass the performance of a C2 at 850mhz, and will last you longer. I'd say it's worth paying extra for..

BTW mobofreak - you can get pre-tested P3 700e's guaranteed to 933+Mhz at http://cheapchips.virtualave.net/index.htm. Good luck.

 

[mobofreak]

Thanks for the input guys but one final question. Judging from the benchmarks, even without ocing, the 700 would still be faster than the overclocked 566@850 right? The benchmarks seem to put it a little above P3 600/100 performance.

Thanks again.

 

[HellRaven]

Just wanted to toss in a little to this discussion. It depends on how much you want to spend for how much performance. Yes, the PIII OC'd to 933 will run a good bit faster than a 850 celeronII. Not only because of the higher clock, but because of the advantages a true PIII has over a somewhat "Crippled" CII. However, the celerons go for $100 OEM, plus $30 for a slocket + cooler(golden orb is best). As for a PIII, you are talking $250 or more, plus $30 for slocket/orb (though orb not truly needed, some are doing 933 on stock heatsink/fan). Personally, as someone running on an AMD K6-2 400 and looking for a good bang for the buck, I am waiting for AMD Duron processors and the Socket A Motherboards to hit the market in quantity. Why?

1. Durons have excellent Overclocking possibilities on the upcoming ASUS Mobo. 950 mhz out of a $180 sounds sweet to me (though we wont know for sure until ASUS mobo hits the street).

2. Socket A is the platform that AMD will be using for the forseeable future which opens up the upgrade path. Also comparable if you get a flip chip, just that you may need a new mobo later on for it. So get new mobo now versus a new one later. Your choice.

3. I can wait another 1-3 months. I am an avid gamer so performance means alot to me, but I am also patient. I also happen like AMD =)

Anyway, just thought you might like to hear my reasoning. Sounds like you want a good solution now. So to sum up my opinion - If you must have a new Processor with really good performace go for the PIII OC to 933. If you must have a new processor but your not too worried about a bit less performance and you want to save some cash (who doesnt hehe) for the celly 566 to 850+

 

[snow patrol]

<< Judging from the benchmarks, even without ocing, the 700 would still be faster than the overclocked 566@850 right? The benchmarks seem to put it a little above P3 600/100 performance. >>



This is correct...the Celeron 2...um...isn't really that good!