Okay, I don't want this to turn into an AMD vs Intel spam trap, but I'm wondering which CPU to go for, I want a fast PC, but I also want value for money (note: I'll probably get flamed for this, but I'm not overclocking either)... so here is what I'm down to:- - AMD Athlon XP 3200+ - $784 - AMD Athlon XP 3000+ - $462 - Intel P4 3.2 - $1060 (although I've heard this is dropping to around XP3200 prices end of Oct) - Intel P4 3.0 - $694 or should I just go with an Athlon 64 3200+ @ $729 (although I'm a bit worried about stability of a brand new architecture/motherboards) Note: All prices are in Australian Dollars.
I would never recommend the top spec processors, they simply cost too much, get either a P4 2.8 or a 2800+ better VFM IMHO, you can spend the saving on a better motherboard and more RAM/HDD space
well as a few people have said on this board, get a barton 2500+ and a good cooler and you can oc it to 3200+ speed and with the money you save you can get some pc4000 ram and the abit NF7 m/board.
As others have said. Don't fork out for the top end CPUs. They're only a few MHz faster and a few hundred more. Go for one half the price and spend the extra money on the best ram you can afford and a nice graphics card. Intel P4 2.4CGHzs are good. Maybe 2.8CGHz even. If you do want top end, it may be worth waiting until a few people have the Athlon 64s and you can find out how they perform etc. and what's the best boards to go for etc. Personally however, I wouldn't wait.
if anyone takes notice of 3dMark2001, the athlon 64's are over 1000 points better than the fastest P4C at this present moment (this is extreme overclocking btw )
Thanks for the advice... I was thinking top end as I've just paid off my car, and I've always wanted to build a top end PC. So I'm still not sure what to get.
the only thing with the Athlon 64 is that it's not brilliant at the moment, the FX uses very slow registered RAM, and the a64 doesn't have dual channel support. As soon as the P4EE comes out, I'd prolly recommend that to anyone wanting the top spec pc, but again, it depends if you're gaming or not, once the socket 939 FX's come out, that's the time to buy into the athlon 64 market, but I would be hesitant until then, knowing that your pc will soon be incompatible... Having said that, the prescott is going to do the same to intel owners, all current motherboards will not be compatible with the prescott and vice versa... The CPU market is a funny market at the moment, nothing is long term about it at the moment with so much change going on
I personaly upgraded at the end of this summer, and don't plan on upgrading again until Intel gets their act back together. If you're going to buy right now, I'd suggest the P4C series, but not the top of the line ones (no way!). Like BigZ said, a 2.8 would do you nicely, and provide quite the nice overclock. Also, if you decide to go the Intel route, don't skimp on the RAM. Get some nice stuff that can do insane FSBs, your overclock will benafit from it
