Torn... AMD or Intel

[Dyflam]

I've used AMD processors in the past and am upgrading in the near future. I'm unsure of whether to use an Athlon or PIII processor. Looking for a few pro's and cons.

 

[Citadel]

Very good question. Seems like the Athlon MB's are more expensive, but the Athlon CPU is cheaper than Intel. Vice versa for Intel MB/CPU. You will really have to look at features, what you will use it for, and pricing at the moment to make a decision.

 

[Wizkid]

They are both good so get whatever is cheaper for you

 

[jsm]

You might also look at compatibility. This web site says that some vid cards such as the Radeon have problems with very specific Via chipsets. That is a very important thing to consider - the Via factor. They make some great chipsets, but since they are not de facto standard, they are not always the most compatible. Not like the 820 is any better, but with i815 out, Intel has a more viable product for SDRAM faithfuls.

For the long run, I would go for the AMD in a slot A package since Intel is moving away from it's current architecture with the move to Willamette. If you run a Slot A Thunderbird, then you will most likely be able to upgrade just the processor for a while longer.

If running dual CPUs is something you are considering, then Intel is going to be the one for you.

 

[Ben_Tech]

If you have a BX motherboard, it's an easy choice

If not, the celeron 566 with a MSI bx master and slocket II is a mighty tempting and well proven upgrade. More often than not they make it to 876 easy. If you do not like overclocking, look into a Duron 700 with an appropreate socket A board. The FIC seems to be the most widely available at this time. (big supprise)

 

[Kjazlaw]

i think jsm means socket a motherboard.

 

[Insane3D]

One vote for a "classic" Athlon and a KX133 chipset...

 

[Dyflam]

Thanks for the feedback everybody. I think I'll stick with AMD... I just have to decide on a slot A motherboard.

 

[Insane3D]

Dyflam- I would highly suggest a KA7-100. It is slightly more than the KA7, but you get two extra IDE headers that support ATA/100, for a total of four IDE headers. Also, this board supports RAID with the ATA/100 controller from Highpoint. It is very stable and has more tweaks than you can believe. I bought my 850 OEM and a KA7-100, cranked my FSB up to 118mhz, and now I am running 1ghz with no GFD. It is the best Slot A Athlon mobo out there IMHO...Good luck..

 

[SuperSix]

The "Via" factor has made me go BACK to Intel. Driver hell. Monthly chipset driver updates scare me, why can't they just get it right? I want my machine to scream nearly out of the box, and don't have time to patch nearly all board features repeatedly so I can get alomost-BX performance.

 

[Vegito]

VIA was also my factor in to never getting an AMD or a Intel/VIA combo.

It's bad enough that you're trying to oc and trying to locate the problem of why the cpu/mb kept crashing to some registry string or something.

New problem with i815e is that I been hearing people with loading driver issues... but not as bad as VIA

 

[Dyflam]

3d, have you had the VIA driver problems described? I've heard other people complain as well. I can't help but think they will eventually iron these out.

 

[DDad]

Personally, I'd go with the K7pro- even though it's a 750 chipset, with the super bypass it benches close to the KX133, allows o/cing and is a real easy board to setup and use

 

[Quickfingerz]

For general use Athlon's are actually faster than P3's. The difference is nominal. AMD's are really the way to go. the 4/3 memory to CPU bus ratio is an excelent feature that would alone get me to go for an AMD system. Since you probably are going to buy more CPU's than motherboards get the one with the cheaper CPU's because when you feel like getting a slight upgrade. the new AMD will be cheaper.

 

[mpitts]

I made this decision about a month ago. I decided on AMD, and am now running my KA7/850 at 1000Mhz. I am definitely happy with my decision, but YMMV.

 

[Insane3D]

I agree VIA has had it's problems, but I do not agree that VIA boards are bad now. I bought my KA7-100 and a 850 OEM, bumped the voltage .1v, and cranked the FSB up to 118, and just like that, I have a 1ghz rig. I did not need a GFD, and it is rock stable. I have been running the Prime 95 "torture" test for over a week now and playing games like UT and Q3 on my overclocked Geforce with sideband, 4X and fast writes enabled and had NO problems. This has just been my experience, but I have not seen too many people unhappy with the KA7. Also, if we did not have VIA, we would not even have PC-133 memory, they developed that standard on their own 'cause Intel was so committed to RAMBUS... And the argument can rage on about how usefull features like AGP 4x, ATA/100, and fast writes are, but I personally like to be able to use all the latest technologies... Just my two cents...

 

[Insane3D]

Supersix and forcesho- What boards did you have trouble with? I think the KX133 chipset is the most stable Athlon platform right now, but that is my opinion. I am curious what boards gave you trouble, and could you trace your problems directly to the mobo? Just curious...

 

[Dyflam]

Thanks again everyone. My mind is made up.

 

[Insane3D]

Dyflam: What's it going to be?

 

[redpriest_]

I would buy AMD.

Superior processors, plus a secure upgrade path.

 

[Dyflam]

I'm gonna get the Athlon 700 and the KA7-100 motherboard. For the time being I'll have to stay with my PC100 ram but might upgrade my hard drive (Maxtor or IBM). Hoping I can bump up yhe Athlon to maybe 850 or so... I'll let you know.

 

[Insane3D]

Hey Dyflam, good choice. The 700 Athlon is the last one with 1/2 cache. The 750-850 run at 2/5 cache, and the 900-1ghz run at 1/3. Also, you most likely have the better 2.9ns cache chips. The 750 and 800 have slightly slower cache chips than the 700 does. Don't sweat the memory, I am running 1ghz with generic Pc-100....