P 4 1.6 vs AMD XP

[shootinyou]

My new boss is thinking of up grading computers, she is looking at Dell's Dimension 4300s
for $699.00, Specs: P 41.6 128 SDRAM 20 gig hd 15" moniter 16 mb ati video 48x cdrom on
board sound XP home, works suite. We don't need moniter, XP or works suite. My question is
what do you people think a comparible AMD XP would cost to put together? Computers are
used in an autobody repair shop. Thanks in advance!

 

[Ameesh]

i wouldnt buy a p4 without rdram

 

[mchammer187]

i really would go with a large oem

tech support and warranty/replacement are very important

 

[Beau]

<< i really would go with a large oem tech support and warranty/replacement are very important >>

And you call yourself and AT'er :disgust:

 

[Adul]

bump up the ram to 256 MB otherwise XP is dog slow with that ammount. 256 should be the minumum amount of ram for XP. Either platform will be more then fast enough for use in an autoshop. And I dont think you can buy the PC without XP.

 

[RSI]

Do you have any idea how slow those comps will be if you buy a P4 with SDRAM, with only 128MB on top of that? You've gotta be crazy to do that. You'd be better off with an XP and a gig of DDR (no, not expensive).

-RSI

 

[fatbaby]

<< bump up the ram to 256 MB otherwise XP is dog slow with that ammount. 256 should be the minumum amount of ram for XP. Either platform will be more then fast enough for use in an autoshop. And I dont think you can buy the PC without XP. >>



You can get it with win2k i think

 

[shootinyou]

We are running Windows NT, don't need an OS. I'm thinking of trying to talk
her into building instead of buying. But didn't know if I could beat price of Dell.

 

[TopGun]

P4 with SDRAM is a very very dissapointing platform. I wouldn't touch a P4 setup with anything less than RDRAM, and preferably DDR. Putting a P4 with SDRAM is foolish, it's simply another way for dell to save money and sell you an under par system. Of course the ultimate choice would be an Athlon XP setup with a min of 256 DDR

 

[shootinyou]

What speed AMD would compare with the P4 1.6?
Do I even need an XP? I'm kinda thinking Athalon 1.33
or XP 1500. Buy the way what is the differance?

 

[Halogen]

the difference is the core basically

Athlon C is older than XP and it's a bit slower

 

[The Dancing Peacock]

what should factor hugely into this decision is Tech Support. Who will support EVERYTHING that goes wrong with this machine if you build it yourself, and you know something always goes wrong. You will. Dell wins in this regard. If you don't need an OS, and you have an Office suite, that are both legally purchased, and you already do support for this company anyway, go with the XP, but get DDR Ram, 256 minimum whichever way you go.

 

[uclaxman]

AMD XP of course
cheaper and just as fast

 

[Linux23]

Dell P4//256+ SDRAM//XP Home

you don't need DDR or RDRAM if your not a freakin gamer.

 

[Red Dawn]

A P4 with SDRAM is a POS. Sure you'll get sauppor (Dude you bought a Dell) but those systems are so basic I doubt if you will need it. Since you'll be loading your own OS on it I don't think they'll support that config (NT4?) Tell your boss to get a P4 with RDRAM loaded with W2K.

BTW, an XP system would leave that Dell (i845 SDRAM)in the dust

 

[Red Dawn]

<< you don't need DDR or RDRAM if your not a freakin gamer. >>

Probably doesn't need anything ove a P3. But since you are going to get a New System you mioght as well get it configured so it's not obsolete withing 6 months

 

[Linux23]

<<

<< you don't need DDR or RDRAM if your not a freakin gamer. >>

Probably doesn't need anything ove a P3. But since you are going to get a New System you mioght as well get it configured so it's not obsolete withing 6 months >>




true, but why pay for features you're not going to use?


if price is no issue, hell, go for the DDR/RDRAM memory, and go at least 512MB. however, if price is a concern, i see no harm in getting a P4/SDRAM combo.

 

[Red Dawn]

<< however, if price is a concern, i see no harm in getting a P4/SDRAM combo >>

Yeah and the path to Hell is pathed by those who saved a little only to have it end up costing them a lot more in the future. In business you have to look at the Big Picture and equipment obsolesnce is part of that big picture

 

[TopGun]

Really the difference in price between DDR and SDRAM is so small it would be crazy not to get DDR. P4+SDRAM is garbage, it's so much slower than DDR or I can feel the difference just in running windows, opening menus and loading programs. If you must have good tech support and a warranty go with dell. BUT, do not get the absolute bottom of the line computer. If you're buying from dell get a P4 system with 256MB of DDR. Just remember do you personally want to be responsible for doing tech support on these computers if you build them yourself? If that's not an issue, build a nice athlon XP system with 256MB DDR.


Now to get back to the original question A comparable athlon system would look something like this...


$165 - Asus A7V 266-E
$115 - Athlon XP 1600+
$60 - 256MB PC2100 DDR
$25 - ATI Xpert 2000 32mb
$70 - 20gb seagate 7200rpm ata100
$25 - Sony 48x CD-ROM
$65 - Antec KS388 ATX case

$525 total.

That even gives you enough extra to cover shipping

 

[vegetation]

Take the Dell. Don't build the system yourself for them -- if something goes wrong you'll be in for a nightmare. At least you'll be able to point the finger at someone else should problems come up.

 

[TranceNation]

AMD Athlons generate lots of heat and could potentially cause a fire. stay with Intel

 

[Nemesis77]

<< if price is no issue, hell, go for the DDR/RDRAM memory, and go at least 512MB. however, if price is a concern, i see no harm in getting a P4/SDRAM combo. >>



If price is a concern, why get a P4? Why not Celeron or Duron? Hell, why not get used Athlon Classic or something, it's plenty fast for just about everything (except latest games). Or even Via C3, it runs everything (except games) well enough.

Back to the original question. Steer clear of the P4-solution. It costs more but it's performance with SDRAM WILL suck! With RDRAM you would get better performance, but the price is even higher, so it's a no-no.

 

[Nemesis77]

<< AMD Athlons generate lots of heat and could potentially cause a fire. stay with Intel >>



HAHAHAHAHAA! You're a funny guy !

 

[DDad]

I'm not going to pick sides here (well, yes I am)- Heres some thoughts

P-4 1.6 with SDram- No- don't go that route- If you can find with RDram (Rambus) performance is much better IMO. Performance is LOWER than the Tbird- much less the XP. I've built 20 1.4 P4s, and 5 1.5's w/RDram- performance is closer to a 1ghz Tbird IMO(except in memory performance). However, it does run cooler and their is less likely hood of problems with drivers, etc.
AMD XP- I run one now, and have no doubt it's the "best bang for the buck" as far as processors go. Via motherboards (the vast majority) have had some problems relating to the 4-1 drivers- nothing that can't be worked out, but it can get aggrevating. The one concern I would have is being that it's for a auto body shop. I know dust tends to accumulate around these- have to wonder how it's going to affect cooling- which is the Athlon weak spot, IMO

 

[LiQiCE]

If you're going to load Windows NT4 I would make sure that whatever hardware you're buying is compatible with NT4. NT4 is a pretty old OS and some of the newer hardware coming out is only coming out with XP/2000 drivers and not NT4 drivers. Personally if I were you, I would go with a new OS like Windows 2000 at least. Supporting Windows 2000 is much easier than supporting NT4 in my opinion.

In the end though, support is a big issue. I know from personal experience that building your own computers for someone else sucks, because when anything goes wrong, they expect you to fix it. And with the person being your boss, you dont want to feel the heat from her when the computer breaks and she blames you ... Better off going with an OEM like Dell. If you want to go the Athlon XP route, choose something like an HP (although HP isn't as good in terms of support as Dell is, but they're probably the best OEM that builds Athlon XPs). If you have a trustworthy local dealer you might want to look into getting them to build your computer to whatever specification you want, and then getting them to support it for 3 years or whatever too.