Pentium 4 550 3.4 or Athelon 64 3700??

[reelo878]

Pentium 4 550 3.4 or Athelon 64 3700??

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I'm in the process of building a new computer (from the ground up) for my very first time. I'm doing my homework and according to what I can afford I've narrowed my decision down to either of these 2 processors.

Mainly I pick these two to choose from because they are at the upper limit of what I can spend, and they both seem to meet the threshold of having a 1MB L2 Cache. My instinct is to go with the Athelon given that the AMD's have gotten better reviews for handling Doom3 (which I'll buy once the computer is built) - but there may not be a noticeable difference between the 2 and maybe there are some other reasons for considering the Pentium - I'm hoping folks here can throw a few pointers my way.

First off while I hear great things about both, and most people say it's like choosing what your favorite COLOR is as to which works better, I will say that the Pentiums are easier for me to understand as a lay-person. First off there's the Gigahertz - that's easy, a bigger number means FASTER. And Faster is good! AMD's have Ghz ratings, but not in their titles. You have to go digging for what they are in the Chip specs. Also there is the Pentium I, II, III, IV etc... that's easy too - bigger Roman Numeral = better! AMD's labeling here too is confusing... MP, XP, 64, FX.... again what the hell does all that mean. Now that really isn't THAT difficult to figure out. All you have to do is look at what they COST and put 2 and 2 together to figure out which version is better.

Here's what I'm looking at when I compare the 2

Ghz Ratings - Someone explained to me the fundamental difference between the Pentiums and the AMD's - it's like they do the same thing, but the way the AMD's are setup they "Split the work" (or something like that) - which is why an AMD with a lower Ghz rating will do the same amount of work generally as a Pentium with a higher Ghz rating.

Cache Size - This seems to be the same between the two. The product description for either a Pentium OR an AMD will tell you its Cache size. Average CPU's have 512, Mid-Range have 1MB, and the high ends nowadays have 2MB

Front Side Bus - Here on the Pentiums it's easy-breezy again. More is better. Right now the ones in my price range have 800Mhz FSB - however I see no FSB specifications on any of the AMD's, I'm assuming they simply don't use FSB. Is this the case?

Pin Size - 775 pin, 939 pin - totally lost here. I see it specified for both Pentium and AMD only occassionally and without any pattern or regularity that I can tell.

Also - The Pentium 4 3.4 550 comes with a "Prescott" version that is roughly the same price as a standard version (on pricewatch last time I checked). If I do go with a P4 what is special about the "Prescott" version?

Thanks for your help everyone!

 

[Macro2]

That A64 will mop up the Prescott and lock the door on the way out.
Not only that but Prescotts run as hot as a toaster. The A64 also gets you 64 bit compatibility down the road.
As a matter of fact you could get a A64 3500 and spend the difference on a better video card and still trounce the Prescott.

RE:"If I do go with a P4 what is special about the "Prescott" version"

Nothing, actually it's a liability.

 

[Mik3y]

Originally posted by: Macro2
That A64 will mop up the Prescott and lock the door on the way out.
Not only that but Prescotts run as hot as a toaster. The A64 also gets you 64 bit compatibility down the road.
As a matter of fact you could get a A64 3500 and spend the difference on a better video card and still trounce the Prescott.

RE:"If I do go with a P4 what is special about the "Prescott" version"

Nothing, actually it's a liability.

^ couldnt have said it better

 

[Schadenfroh]

Originally posted by: Mik3y

Originally posted by: Macro2
That A64 will mop up the Prescott and lock the door on the way out.
Not only that but Prescotts run as hot as a toaster. The A64 also gets you 64 bit compatibility down the road.
As a matter of fact you could get a A64 3500 and spend the difference on a better video card and still trounce the Prescott.

RE:"If I do go with a P4 what is special about the "Prescott" version"

Nothing, actually it's a liability.

^ couldnt have said it better

:thumbsup:

 

[reelo878]

The A64 also gets you 64 bit compatibility down the road.

I take it the P4 doesn't offer 64 bit compatibility at all? And, forgive me for sounding like a useless feeb but, what exactly does "64 bit compatibility" mean?

 

[magomago]

Originally posted by: Macro2
That A64 will mop up the Prescott and lock the door on the way out.
Not only that but Prescotts run as hot as a toaster. The A64 also gets you 64 bit compatibility down the road.
As a matter of fact you could get a A64 3500 and spend the difference on a better video card and still trounce the Prescott.

RE:"If I do go with a P4 what is special about the "Prescott" version"

Nothing, actually it's a liability.

Actually the prescott is faster than the northwood in Doom 3~


As for AMD, the cache doesn't make too much a difference~ Doom3 has shown that the ondie memory controller negates the need for 1 megabyte of L2 Cache

 

[Lyfer]

Originally posted by: Schadenfroh

Originally posted by: Mik3y

Originally posted by: Macro2
That A64 will mop up the Prescott and lock the door on the way out.
Not only that but Prescotts run as hot as a toaster. The A64 also gets you 64 bit compatibility down the road.
As a matter of fact you could get a A64 3500 and spend the difference on a better video card and still trounce the Prescott.

RE:"If I do go with a P4 what is special about the "Prescott" version"

Nothing, actually it's a liability.

^ couldnt have said it better

:thumbsup: