Performance ?: XP 1800+ vs. P4 1.8a system

[lidar99]

I am designing my next system and need some guidance. Here is the plan:

Athlon 1800+ XP or P4 1.8a
KT333 or i845E or i845G or sis645DX board (depending on processor, of course)
256 DDR333 CL2 memory
ATI Radeon 8500LE 64mb
etc....

My problem lies in which direction to go with the processor. I'd like to know which system would give me the best performance, without overclocking, the Athlon or P4? I can find web sites that review one or the other but it is very difficult to compare the various benchmarks from the various sites. It seems to me that the performance of the two architectures is similar but I'd like some confirmation.

Opinions and links to sites with useful info are appreciated.

Thanks,
Dave

 

[Synergy3618]

Tom's hardware website has very comprehensive comparison of AMD vs. Intel CPUs, check out the following link: Text

Just remember that you'll pay the premium price of P4 for its overclocking potential. If you don't overclock, why pay for the extra cost? Good luck on your choice.

 

[adlep]

I had a XP 1800+ setup before until I converted to a dark side....
Bought PIV 1.8A.......
It seems that the 1.8A is slightly ahead of XP 1800+ in benchmarks....
+ you have to remember that there is a good chance it is going to run without any problems with stock cooling @ 2.4 Ghz, which blows everything AMD can offer at this point...
I ordered mine from Newegg.com three weeks ago, the package date was 06/10/02, and at this point it runs at 18x140 = 2.52 Ghz
The system is still cool, and I think that I do have some O/C headroom left for the future... (It runs 2.52 at default voltage...)
I would recomend a Gigabyte board for P IV, I do have G -8irxp and I love it... it has a regular I845 chipset... there is a new version 8iexp, which (look at the advertisment banner.. ) and it is an excellent board as well... USB 2.0, FireWire, Hardware Creative audio, RAID support, and excellent OC BIOS...
Higly recomended.....

Edit: However, if you dont want to overclock, and you are on a tight budget, go AMD, diffrience in performace between these does not justify the huge diffrience in the price....
Welcome to the forums....

 

[DoubleL]

Their is no way the 1.8 will run with the XP1800 if you are not overclocking and sometimes the XP1800 will still run with the 1.8 overclocked, Their is no heat problems if you use a good heatsink and you don't need a loud fan either, I have a XP1900 as my main computer and a 2.3 P4 as my backup and they run about the same heat, I use a Swiftech with a enermax fan on the 1900 and the stock HF on the P4

 

[Vette73]

Putting in price to power numbers, I would go with AMD. The intel might have a better chance of a good overclock, but it might add 10-30% more to the cost of the computer.

If you go AMD wait another couple weeks and get the KT400 (VIA) or the nForce2

If you go Intel wait a couple weeks and go P4X400 (VIA)

 

[o1die]

If you don't get a premium mobo with alot of extras, the p4 will only cost you $30-40 more. I've tried the 1.6a,1.8a,2.0a, and 2.26. I would go for the 1.6a or 2.0a if you go with the p4, and the sis 645 chipset for value and performance.

 

[lidar99]

Thanks for all of the responses. Since I'm not in a big hurry to build a new system, I think I'll wait a couple weeks for the new chipsets to come out for both platforms. I'll make a decision when the new motherboards start hitting the market.

-Dave

 

[jiffylube1024]

Not overclocked, the XP 1800+ will kill the 1.8A . If you are overclocking however, even a "modest" jump (for a P4) to 2.1 - 2.3 GHz will destroy the 1800+, and you may very well hit 2.4 GHz+.