Poll: Which new computer?

[Jumpem]

My choice is between the CPU/Mobo/RAM combination. Either:

P4 1.7GHz, Asus P4T, 256MB RDRAM = ~$725

1.4GHZ Palomino, Asus A7M266, 256MB Crucial PC2100 = ~$550(~$475 if I use a regular 1.4GHz Thunderbird)

Or to wait and see for the "nForce" AMD motherboards and/or the .13 P4?


The other components as of now would be:
Asus V8200 Deluxe(Geforce 3)
Hercules Game Theater
Pioneer 16x DVD
Plextor 16/10/40 CDR/W
60GB IBM 60GXP
3Com 3CR990TX97 Network Card
HP Deskjet 935C
APC BackUPS Pro 500
Fong-Kai 320 Case/Enermax 350 Watt
Sony G520 21"


Right now I'm running my two-plus year old P2-450 with a TNT-1 card. I definitely need something better so I don't really want to wait for the nForce or Northwood. But I also don't want to be kicking myself later. I'm leaning towards the current P4 right now simply because of the compatibility/chipset issues many people have with socket A motherboards. I would rather pay a little more, and maybe give up just a little bit of speed in a few things for compatibility and stability. Anyways let me know what you think.

 

[Reverence]

I'd wait for the nForce...nVidia claims a 20% performance gain from their crossbar memory thingy...

Read about it here.

 

[Shooters]

What are you going to be doing with it? If you're really into multimedia like digital video stuff etc. then get the P4 setup. Personally I would go with the AMD. I'm running one right now and for what it's worth I've never had any stability problems.

 

[Jumpem]

Reverence, I've read a bunch of nForce articles and that's why I'm thinking about waitining, but until October or so would suck!

Shooters, gaming is what I primarily need the power for. As for digital video, I'm going to experiment with recording video from digital cable, but that's not a necessity. I'll also use it for word processing, programming/compiling, and everyday stuff such as browsing and winamp.

 

[Jumpem]

^ Anyone else have an opinion?

 

[JoeDaddy]

Well being a former owner of a p4 1.4@1.68 and a amd 1.3@1.6 I would have to say do not get the P4. Yes they have dropped alot in price, but the 1.7ghz might be last cpu in socket 423. My question is why a 1.4? Right now on pricewatch, there is a $40 difference just between a 1.4ghz and a 1.333ghz. Then again, I've seen people hitting over 1.6 w/ air cooling and their 1.4's. I would agree w/ your option of DDR. Its cheap and its dropping everyweek thanks to Crucial.

HTH

JD