Processors: The Decision is YOURS?

[Insane]

Right,

i suppose the topic gave it away somehow.

system specs are:
Athlon XP 1600+
MSi K7t266 Master Pro 2 RU (raid + USB2 on-board)
512mb crucial ram (2x 256mb 2100 DDR)
Radeon 8500
2x Maxtor DiamondMax Plus D740x drives (20gig master, 40gig slave)
Sound Blaster Live 1024
all stored in a lovely chieftec Dragon case

Its coming to that time of year (read: January sales, christmas bonus, money from extortion and blackmail of family members) and its looking more and more likely that the processors showing signs of age already

so, currently im looking into three things....

1. Upgrade the AthlonXP1600+ to an AthlonXP2100+ (highest the current board can go to) and not bother upgrading anything for another 6 months
2. Buy the latest AthlonXP chip, with an KT400 board, and DDR memory
3. purchase a Pentium 4 processor with motherboard and memory.

so, i want some feedback from the regular readers to hear what they say. should I step off the AMD Bandwagon and return to Intel? should I grab hold of the bleeding edge processor and enjoy the speed for 4 months? or should I sod off and not bother (any lip from you TdC and i'll skelp you with a Quantum Bigfoot!)

answers on a postcard*, by phone*, or post here

* note: any applicants submitted in these ways will be ignored and will be beaten hard with a large stick until they comply with the rules of the draw

 

[darthshearer]

No no dont stop your self going to Intel

You will cry

 

[Scooba Da Bass]

I'd have to disagree with the above, Intels are increasingly becoming a more attractive option, especially taking into account the speed difference.

The (general) lack of difficulty with Intel chipsets is another massive bonus. I think my next upgrade is going to be a new mobo and a sexy P4, make of that what you will

 

[xane]

I'm currently on the AMD bandwagon as we speak, however I am no real fanboi as I have both Intel and AMD CPUs amongst my six working PCs here at Geekz-R-Us.

Not sure if the P4 chipsets that support PC3200 RAM are out yet, if so, I'd go for one of those, I honestly think Intel have the better performance, but at a price. If you can afford it I'd go Intel evey time.

 

[kameleon]

Originally posted by Scooba Da Bass
I'd have to disagree with the above, Intels are increasingly becoming a more attractive option, especially taking into account the speed difference.

The (general) lack of difficulty with Intel chipsets is another massive bonus. I think my next upgrade is going to be a new mobo and a sexy P4, make of that what you will

can i have your old system for free then please , Rich Boy?

if not for free, then ill swap it for a lifetimes collection of Arabian Boys Magazine (this months edition has a picture of Osama in tights as a centrefold)


edit: stupid speeel chocker

 

[TedTheDog]

I've been using AMD for yonks but my most recent creation has a P4 and, I have to admit, I've had far less stress and problems as a result.
They might cost more, but they're worth it. I wont be doing AMD again in the near future.

Oh, and I use XP Pro SP1 and its fine for games. Lots FPS's, driving games, neverwinter nights, dungeon siege....

 

[Testin da Cable]

hmmm I could say the same about AMD. [though tbh, I've heard that I must be the only person in the world who's never had problems with AMD]

I may build an intel based system out of curiosity next year though.

 

[Will]

I never had a problem either. I'm kind of lucky though it seems. Never had a problem with AMD. Never had a problem with Via. Never had a problem with Ati. Never had a problem with Creative. I could make a comment about workmen and tools, but I know I am just lucky about things like this.

 

[xane]

I don't consider having any problems with AMD as such, in fact most of my problems can be narrowed down to VIA chipsets, both for Intel and AMD CPUs.

The safest mobo I've had in years was my Epox 8K7A, an AMD/VIA chipset hybrid, I had it replaced with a KT266A when I got my PSU problems, but the newer VIA chipset has been problem free so far, so much so I wouldn't reject getting a KT400 for the next upgrade.

Intel CPU with Intel mobo is easily the best option, for both reliability and speed, however, Intel have never recovered from their screw-up with the i810/820 chipsets and as a result are reluctant to make "cutting edge" products, they've only really just got into PC2700 RAM.

 

[(Shovel)]

I read that the KT400 isn't a good option yet due to instability with PC3200 DDR.
Aparently it is something to do with the standards for PC3200 not having been finalised yet!? That sounds bizarre, but it might be worth clarifying. It might also explain why you can't buy it from Crucial...

 

[xane]

Yeah, Shovel, good point. I forgot you _always_ wait for the "A" version of VIA chipsets . Therefore, until the emergence of KT400A, you should stick with PC2700 RAM and consequently the Intel CPU with i845G is a good bet.

Knowing the better RAM is on the horizon might mean waiting a few more months.

Edit: I also believe you can put PC1600/PC2100 in the i845G so you can stagger your upgrades too, maybe wait a while before getting the PC2700 RAM.

Edit 2: forgot about the i845PE and i845GE chipsets too.

 

[old.GateKeeper]

I have a T'Bird 1.2 and a 1.6 P4, they perform about the same.

The P4 just works but cost a bit more, but the athlon is a self build and it gives me much more pleasure even while sometimes random reboots - PSU issue i think.

I was bitten by the creative thing - and i have vowed never to buy another creative soundcard again because of it - my sonic fury just works.

As to the above arguement i would go with option 1 and a new 9700 pro simply because Hammer (first half of 2003) *IS* going to shake up the situation quite a bit. So waiting for the dust to settle could be a good plan.

I agree with xane about the 'A' revision of the VIA chipsets - my ASUS KT133A is infinately better than my m8s ABIT KT133

my €0.02

GAteKeeper

 

[bodhi]

P4 + i845 + DDR pour femmes.

P4 + i850E + PC1066 RDRAM pour hommes.

 

[Embattle]

I've never had trouble with either to be honest.

AMD win on price and in the performance section it matchs the P4, hold on no it doesn't. While AMD 2800+ XP processor may be as fast as the Intel P4 2.8 you can't actually get hold of a 2800+ XP so Intel is the winner by default in the performance stakes.

Either way if you look at the bottom of this list:

http://www.dabs.com/products/prod-search.asp?action=search&tid=752&mid=520&ob=price

Intel will extend its lend.

 

[Testin da Cable]

hmmm. I can see myself getting a pee4 somewhere in the future unless AMD get's off it's arse availability-wise. I nearly had to bribe someone to get an XP2200 and that was only a month or two ago!

my current system is plenty fast for me atm, though I want to get faster drives like these perhaps. I'm drawn to that yummy 8 meg cache

 

[Will]

I have a WD 8MB cache drive. It is very nice indeed.

 

[Testin da Cable]

*not speak to Itcheh*

 

[Testin da Cable]

how does it perform btw?

 

[Will]

Heh, silence broken already?

Well, I haven't benchmarks it, not really my thing, but I've never noticed any waiting for anything to be accessed. It does make the delay for CD access even more obvious though.

 

[Testin da Cable]

*sold*


hm, that sounds nice payday in 15 days

 

[Will]

Rather strangely, my benchmark for a PC is "racing to be first to get on a new map in an online game"

You'd think it would be a combination of memory, hdd and processor, but for some reason, even on my old Duron 800, I was always first. I think the massively tweaked bios and the 512mb of cas 2-2-2 ram might have helped though.

 

[Testin da Cable]

indeed I was reading about uber-fast ram tod heh. I should stop reading articles...they make me want to get certain things hehe. bad tdc...next upgrade is scheduled for january 2003

 

[Will]

How can you wait? You'll be obselete by then.

 

[Testin da Cable]

I know :/

amd xp2200
epox 8kha+
512 megs ddr
gf ti4600
60gigs of hdd space
random bits of extra kit like a tapeunit

all worthless inside a year. *cries*

 

[xane]

Originally posted by Itcheh
Rather strangely, my benchmark for a PC is "racing to be first to get on a new map in an online game"

You'd think it would be a combination of memory, hdd and processor, but for some reason, even on my old Duron 800, I was always first. I think the massively tweaked bios and the 512mb of cas 2-2-2 ram might have helped though.

I had to take out one of the 256MB sticks temporarily on the PC I play BF1942 on, the map loading was about twice as long.