Question On AMD 64

[willbemcse]

Hi
I decided to look at a AMD 64 also besides intel. I have few questions if anyone has the same setup .
a) From the reviews I read AMD doesn't have FSB like P4 which means it will be harder to OC right .
b) How AMD system is faster than P4 even though it doesnt have a FSB as it only has HyperTransport which I dont know how thats different than HT.
c)The only advantage AMD offers right know is 64 bit will I see a that big of a performance difference as most of the games , apps are 32 bit .

As for the boards I was looking at nVidia nForce2 Ultra 400Gb AND nForce3-250Gb (not
sure when this is out). Which nvidia chipset is best for AMD 64.
Specs:-
a) AMD 64 3200+
B)1gb ddr 400

 

[DaNorthface]

they don't have a northbridge because it's built into the processor - which is much faster than having an external chip..

 

[o1die]

I'd go with the gigabyte nforce3 250 board at newegg for $135, if you must buy now. Other venders should have more nforce boards soon, if you can wait. The athlon 64 only beats an overclocked p4 in gaming applications, but many people want the maximum performance for gaming anyway. Be sure to get a decent power supply with at least 400 watts from sparkle, antec, fortron, enermax, or thermaltake. Don't get anything else. The generic ones are lightweight with shorter leads. I'd also go with 512 megs of memory, and get a premium video card, such as the 9800 pro. If I had to choose, I'd probably go with a p4 3.0c (not prescott) and overclock it. There are a few people running the beta version of 64 bit windows xp, and you can get a cd for $11 from microsoft, last time I checked. For gaming, it's actually slower. Microsoft is waiting on other software makers to provide more 64 bit drivers before releasing the final version of 64 xp.

 

[mechBgon]

The nForce2 chipsets are for SocketA processors and won't support any AMD64 processors, so look for nForce3 150/250/250Gb or others such as VIA 800/880/890 and SiS 755. The Athlon 64 is pretty powerful in 32-bit mode.

 

[Algere]

A) Not harder IMO, By raising the internal CPU clock frequency from default (200MHz).

B) Intel's HT aka Hyper-Threading is entirely different from AMD's HyperTransport.
1.Hyper-Threading is like having 2 virtual CPU's which improves efficiency/performance in multi-tasking scenarios and applications that can take advantage of it.
2.HyperTransport is the link that connects the CPU to the chipset i.e. K8T800(Northbridge).

C) 64-bit is what the A64 has over the current Pentium 4, but at this time it's a moot feature unless you have a 64 bit capable O/S to take advantage of it. You won't see a increase of performance over a P4 due to it's 64 bit capabilities but from it's performance in 32 bit mode in specific scenarios. Finally it's supposedly assumed that by running WinXP 64 bit you should expect up to 30% or perhaps higher increase over WinXP 32 bit(results vary by task). Unfortunately WinXP 64 bit edition isn't officially ready for home/personal use yet.

Motherboards based on the nVidia nForce2 Ultra 400 are designed for the socket A(462) CPU. i.e. Athlon XP.

At present availability, the nForce3 250 chipset is the best nVidia chipset for the A64 platform. The nForce 3 250Gb for the socket 754 A64 should be available soon for which alot of ppl are waiting for over the nForce3 250.

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P.S. In addition:

A) PCI/AGP lock makes it much easier in OC'ing the A64 hence the rave for the nForce 3 250/Gb chipset.

B)The memory controller is integrated into the CPU(unlike the P4) which would be the reason why the A64 doesn't have a FSB and the CPU & memory controller operates @ the same frequency.

 

[Algere]

Originally posted by: DaNorthface
they don't have a northbridge because it's built into the processor - which is much faster than having an external chip..

There's still a Northbridge chipset it's just that the memory controller doesn't reside in the Northbridge anymore.