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Switch from AMD to Intel, is it worth it?

B

Benny123

Junior Member
I am considering switching from a 1.4ghz Thunderbird with a ECS K7S5A to a 1.6A(Will overclock to around 2.2ghz, sticking to standard HSF) and a corresponding motherboard. Assuming I can sell my old MB and processor for 140, that covers the price of the new processor, leaving the cost as the motherboard. First, is it worth it? Second, is a MSI 645 Ultra ok (71) or a ABIT SD7-533 (79)? I am trying to keep costs down. With standard air cooling, and Crucial 2100 ram, will I be able to reach 2.2 or higher? One final question, is 300W enough? Thanks
 
Gotta ask yourself if it's worth it. Unless you're running apps that require a faster processor, then the 1.4 you have is absolutely fine.

If you're a speed freak and just want the fastest you can have then go for it.
 
everyone's got their own definition and value for "worth". personally... i wouldn't. not becuz i am a hater... becuz i don't overclock. 🙂
 
I had an Ecs K7S5a and a 1.4ghz Athlon,and I consider the switch to my 1.6a $ 2ghz+ a nice speed boost.

BUT unless you really need the power you will not notice a huge difference in day to day browsing & emailing.

But one more thing that i liked was having a cool,quiet & fast system that didnt sound like a jet engine.😉
 
I use my computer mainly for gaming, video editing and conversion, and some programming with VS.net, which tends to be pretty slow. For other people with similar uses that switched, have you found it worth it? Also, is the MSI 645 Ultra good, because I really like the price.
 
Originally posted by: Benny123
I use my computer mainly for gaming, video editing and conversion, and some programming with VS.net, which tends to be pretty slow. For other people with similar uses that switched, have you found it worth it? Also, is the MSI 645 Ultra good, because I really like the price.
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Then yes it is very well worth it,ripping DVDs to SVCD & convering various video formats I found the P4 at over 2.1ghz very fast,much faster than my 1.4ghz Athlon was.

So I guess for you it would be worth it.🙂
 
Never upgrade hardware on the grounds that an overclock will be the only means of providing you with a performance boost. That is, if your 1.6A GHz doesn't overclock at all you'll probably be worse off than you started (performance-wise).
 
Originally posted by: BFG10K
Never upgrade hardware on the grounds that an overclock will be the only means of providing you with a performance boost. That is, if your 1.6A GHz doesn't overclock at all you'll probably be worse off than you started (performance-wise).
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You would have to be the unluckiest man in the world to not get at least 2133mhz out of a 1.6a.
 
You would have to be the unluckiest man in the world to not get at least 2133mhz out of a 1.6a.
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Perhaps but if you do happen to be unlucky then you're screwed as the store certainly won't accept a return on the grounds that it won't overclock.

And what if I told you that I can't get my 2.0A GHz any higher than 2.2A GHz? If I had based my entire upgrade around going higher than 2.2 GHz then I would have also been screwed.
 
BFG has point about the overclock. I doubt there is a 100% overclock succes rate, so take that into mind. hoefully you will have a faster system, but you never know.
 
BFG has a very good point.

I would sit tight for a little longer, maybe until Hammer is released, and when that happens, look at what AMD and Intel have to offer at that time.
No matter which is faster, Hammer or P4, either should be a significant upgrade by then.

Another option would be to upgrade to an AXP 2100+ or something, that should provide a fair boost without having to shell out much money.
 
If you are an overclocker, get your hands on an 1.6A as soon as you can! But if you are not, I recommend that you save your money for when a 50 to 75% upgrade in performance fits your budget. I am sure an unoverclocked P4 1.6A would not be enough of an increase in performance for you.
 
and some programming with VS.net, which tends to be pretty slow.

I use VS.net on an old Pentium III 650, but with a nice amount of RAM. I also use it on an XP 1600 with the same amount of memory.

VS.net needs memory, not processing power. Especially the Intellisense needs lotsa RAM.

 
Originally posted by: Dr Smooth
If you are an overclocker, get your hands on an 1.6A as soon as you can! But if you are not, I recommend that you save your money for when a 50 to 75% upgrade in performance fits your budget. I am sure an unoverclocked P4 1.6A would not be a substancial performance for you.
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An unoverclocked Pentium 1.6A would likely be slower than an Athlon Thunderbird 1.4Ghz.

 
I just made the same switch as you.. 1.4 to 1.6A, and, maybe it's the placebo effect, but things in Windows seem to be a little smoother. I *know* the speed gained in games isn't a placebo.. GTA3 runs as smooth as ever, and I picked up quite a few frames in Morrowind, as well as hitting 11,249 in 3DMark. This is with a P4 1.6A @ 2.4ghz and a Ti4400 o/c'd to 300/635. So, this isn't even the top potential of my system yet! It's neat, figring the best I could do on my old Thunderbird was around 9k. Now.. most 1.6A's can hit this, it's usually a matter of RAM. Of course, there's not a 100% chance of yours hitting this, but there's a slightly higher than average chance at least.

I'm very glad I made the switch. With AMD, I could have never managed to get an 800mhz overclock using a retail heatsink and 2 panaflos. This is the best bang for the buck right now, and unless the T-Bred blows us away, it probably will be until Hammer comes out, and I also believe Socket478 is going to have a brighter, longer future than SocketA will, down the road.
 
Originally posted by: Sunner
BFG has a very good point.

I would sit tight for a little longer, maybe until Hammer is released, and when that happens, look at what AMD and Intel have to offer at that time.
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I dont think that anything will be clarified with the release of Hammer at that time, Intel will still be in an advantage and the new Hammer chip will have to work through a lot of potential problems until it can truly be "available" for every consumer. Although i have an AMD system, i forsee that a Hammer upgrade will be done next summer... if not later.

 
I understand the point about a 1.6A not being a guarantee to make x.x GHz, but the odds are extremely good to get to at least 2.1 - 2.2 GHz. There is plenty of data to back that up. You are taking a chance, but it's as safe a gamble as you will find.
 
If I were you, I wouldn't waste your money and time on switching from a pretty fast system to a faster clocked system. Instead, you should look into either getting a better/faster hdd system (scsi 10k rpm drives if you are using ide), and or a better/faster video card.
 
Not worth it. That Intel chip is slower than the AMD chip, and even given the high overclocking potential of the 1.6A I doubt you'll see much of a change. You'd be better off buying a GeForce 4 or something.
 
get a hammer?
get scsi?
get a gf4?

do you guys even read his post? he's talking about spending ~ $70, not $400.

if you can keep the total cost of the upgrade below $100, i'd say to go for it. you'll definitely notice a difference.

its true that 2200mhz is most likely easily attained. just keep in mind that it's not an absolute guarentee.

300w is just fine, as long as its a quality ps, and has the square 12v connector.

 
Originally posted by: Rainsford
Not worth it. That Intel chip is slower than the AMD chip, and even given the high overclocking potential of the 1.6A I doubt you'll see much of a change. You'd be better off buying a GeForce 4 or something.
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I don't think you've ever used a NW at 2+GHz if you think there won't be a change going from a Tbird 1.4 to a 2.xGHz NW. I personally think for what you are doing it would be a huge speed boost, but it's up to you. Don't let brand loyalty get in the way.

Kramer

 
I actually have a ecs sis 735 mobo I never used, I holding out for a kt333 and a barton, but I was wondering since you have that mobo, how do you think it would work with a duron 1.2 ghz and a raddeon aiw 7500, i would use it as a pvr, and video whatever, not as a gaming system.
 
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