the age old question amd v. intel - help me plz

[admav]

Ok here is my situation. I have a celeron 533 not o/c'd at all. It's running with 64meg of 133mhz ram fsb at 66mhz I have a tnt 2 m64 and 17 gig hard disk and a bran spankin new monitor. I'm looking to upgrade like this, 256 meg of ram added to the 64 there, another 20 gig disk, sb live 5.1, cambridge soundworks speakers and g4ce and of course a new cpu and motherboard. The question i put forward to you guys is what chip suits me best. I'm looking to spend no more than 400 dollars...that's Australian so anything less than a 1 ghz thunderbird is within my price range. From what i can tell getting a p3 is the best option (the 866) because it comes with the stock standard 133mhz fsb. Athlons can go higher than that but my knowledge about athlons is somewhat lacking (hence my post) so i would appreciate any help you guys and gals could give me regarding this. I'm not newbies when it comps to upgrading my comp but it's been a while since i upgraded my comp...lol so u can spare me all the details, just a quick run down on why you think your solution is best for me. thanx in advance for all your help

 

[Tsaico]

I myself have always been an Intel guy, but my flatmates both got 1ghz thunderbirds that really seem to fly. They spent much less then I did on my 700.

 

[ToBeMe]

Which? Hard to say.......each has it's own qualities........I have both, and like both......it's more of a decsion each person should make on their own type thing! For a while I hated Intel because of their tactics.......but to be honest, as AMD grows.......they are becoming more and more like the giant they seek to overthrow because that's how big business goes.......if you want to be a "player" there are certain things you must cater to......IMHO!

 

[MCS]

Both are good. AMD is cheaper though, and has more high-speed CPU options (overclocking or not). P3 is maxed out at around 1Ghz, unless you go P4, which is obscenely expensive.

I like the tweakability of AMD/VIA boards too, especially with KT133A, you now have FSB from 100-150+ as well as the mutliplier if you unlock the CPU.

 

[gittyup]

AMD is cheaper and a good performer. I used to be an Intel guy, but I am now a die hard AMD guy...

 

[Whitedog]

The age old answer...

What difference does it make really?

It's like, Ford/Chevy?

I think people put way too much stress into trying to decide what "brand" to buy...

If someone asked me... "What should I buy, a Ford or Chevy?" I would probably tell them "Honda!", just to be a smart@ss. "Make your own mind up!" I would say to myself... It's not that big of a decision really.

Im my opinion, Both are good systems and you can't go wrong with either... Sure, with one you might get a couple more MHz/$, but they are both going to be fine systems...

 

[Vrangel]

My advice: keep the money (if your c533 is FC-PGA).
I type this on a system with c533@906 , 1.85V, stock HSF.
See how high your chip can go before spending hard cash.