Pentium 4 vs athlon xp

[LowLevelFunctionary 0]

Ok, first of all I searched for a topic on this, found one but thought it was too general for what I need to know.

Ok this is my problem. Im all ready to buy a new PC, but once again I am hearing many different things about Pentium 4 and the Athlon XP from many different people. People have told me that P4s are crap and dont run on their indicated MHZ mark, and that Athlon XP is the choice... while others tell me P4s are far superior and run games twice as fast.

So i decided to collect all my research and comments I have collected and throw it in the bin and ask everyone on the forum which is better for gaming and why...

Remeber the only things i will need to do with it are play Games, use the internet, and the occasional bit of HWK or research So its not going to be anything too serious however it is serious that i do get the best processer for gaming

The two choices are the latest P4 3.06 GHZ processer or the Athlon XP 2700+

thanks guys

[SpeedyDonkey 0]

P4 3.06 or a XP 2700+ ... Well if i got to get one of those it would be P4 3,06, not becouse im some pentium fan, (actually i own a Amd) but i certenly would go for the P4

[kegetys 2]

You buy the Athlon so I can get my P4 cheaper in the future ;P

[Itchy 0]

Either processor is more than enough to run anything on the market at the moment. Go for whatever the slowest Athlon XP at 333MHz FSB is (2600+?) and spend the difference on the graphics card and better RAM.

[llauma 0]

The P4 cost twice as much as the XP2700 does so I don't think it's a fair comparison.

[LowLevelFunctionary 0]

hmmm... price isnt really an issue... although if it could save me more than 500$...

Then again...

[LowLevelFunctionary 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Llauma @ Jan. 09 2003,22:59)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">The P4 cost twice as much as the XP2700 does so I don't think it's a fair comparison.<span id='postcolor'>

As said before its performance i really care about although i understand what you mean

[Frisbee 0]

Depends,I don't know if there are mobo's out which use HyperThreading (which is on the P4 3.06)

I would get the 3.06 if I had money to spare,lets face it,it's barely out so it's more expensive than it should be.

If you do have no problems about money you might want to go for a prometheia or some high end watercooling,you can use it in your next configuration and it allows you to oc a lot.

If you're on a more normal budget I'd go for the xp,also overclock it of course,and spend the extra money on a radeon 9700(pro if needed) and memory,or a better case,whatever you prefer.

[llauma 0]

You would save almost $500 by picking the xp2700.

But if you want the best then I guess p4 3,06GHz is the best you can buy.

I would go for a XP2700.

[LowLevelFunctionary 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Llauma @ Jan. 09 2003,23:17)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">But if you want the best then I guess p4 3,06GHz is the best you can buy.<span id='postcolor'>

so it isnt over-hyped? Does it deliver the speed it should? what i mean is that does it actually perform as a 3 GHZ system should and not a 1.8 GHZ processer(something i heard )

[Guest BratZ]

Power user? You said you want performance...if you had said the best performance for the $$ then it would be the AMD.

I would go with the Intel,I know you are looking at a 3 gig but the cpus below that arent that much of a price diff between AMD anymore.Intel has dropped most prices.

But to be honest ,you said you want performance and If your like me,you will be buying something again in a few months or sooner

[llauma 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (LowLevelFunctionary @ Jan. 09 2003,23:22)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">so it isnt over-hyped?  Does it deliver the speed it should?  what i mean is that does it actually perform as a 3 GHZ system should and not a 1.8 GHZ processer(something i heard )<span id='postcolor'>

The XP2700 runs at 2,17GHz but it's still almost as good as the P4 3,06GHz. The reason why AMD calls it xp2700 is 'cause it should be compared to the P4 2700MHz.

[bn880 5]

Then what's the point of this thread. Get some dhrystone whetstone etc tests, if you can afford the fortune you can get the P4 if you can't or don't want to you get the XP.... what's the point? Are you asking about peoples financial situation? Because anyone who needs to save money will end up getting an AMD, that is if some special people don't scare them too much. Companies usually go with P4's and especially for servers. They can afford it too.

[Mister Frag 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (LowLevelFunctionary @ Jan. 09 2003,14:22)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Llauma @ Jan. 09 2003,23:17)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">But if you want the best then I guess p4 3,06GHz is the best you can buy.<span id='postcolor'>

so it isnt over-hyped?  Does it deliver the speed it should?  what i mean is that does it actually perform as a 3 GHZ system should and not a 1.8 GHZ processer(something i heard )<span id='postcolor'>

Whoever told you that got it backwards.

AMD is the company that uses a "performance equivalent" rating. The number following the Athlon XP processor name is the Intel P4 CPU clockspeed in MHz that they feel their own processor is equivalent to. However, the clock speed of the Athlon processor is always a couple of hundred MHz less than the number.

[Frisbee 0]

Intel just went for high Mhz,but the Mhz don't compare performance to performance with AMD,so that's why there's that XP +Ghz thing,gives a much better comparison.

I'd only get the 3.06 if you have too much money,it costs way too much since it's brand spanking new.

[dayglow 2]

If money is no object then I'd go for the P4. Basically with the Intel cpu you will have better scalability for the future. The amd core really is going to switch over to the Hammer in the next 6 months. They are reaching the peak of performance with the xp core, while the P4 core can be o/c to over 4ghz and stay stable (look at Toms Harware). Also hyperthreading is going to be mainstream so it will be an added benifit.

Now Hammer is going to be a whole new ballgame, but that's a whole different standard. I'm excited for the future of AMD, but right now they are in a transistion phase and are sliding behind the performance curve being set by Intel.

COLINMAN

[Guest]

If I was you I would either get a P4 2.4 at 533FSB or WAIT! Intel have release the 3.06GHz chip with HyperThreading, and that's great, but that is the FIRST chip in that line. Intel are likely to make various improvements in the near future, and probably (knowing them) change the chipset. It is usually wise not to buy the first in a line of chips, but to wait until that line has "settled" a bit, and sorted itself out. Companies rarely release their best work as the first in the line. Usually it is somewhere in the middle of the line...the end of a CPU line usually is pushed to the edge of performance (anyone remember P3 1.13GHz?).

The current line of Athlons are coming to a close soon, whilst the HyperThreaded P4s are just starting. IMO not a good time to buy (unless you find a very good deal). Wait 6 months, and then decide. In the long run it will be worth it, unless money truely is no object, the just get a P4 3.06GHz, and one of those nice GeForceFX (NV30) as soon as they come out!

That's my $0.02

[Tex -USMC- 0]

GEEK FIGHT!!!

[LowLevelFunctionary 0]

So are you guys saying that if i wait for the next p4 chip to come out it will then be safe to get the 3.06 GHZ one as it will be the final product?

[Mister Frag 0]

This isn't exactly news to anyone following the microprocessor industry, but still...

From http://news.com.com/2100-1001-980206.html

Pentium 4: More speed in the pipeline

By Michael Kanellos

Staff Writer, CNET News.com

January 10, 2003, 1:24 PM PT

Intel will increase the speed of the chipset on the Pentium 4 in the coming months, a change that will likely boost the performance of top-end PCs.

The Santa Clara, Calif.-based chipmaker is coming out with a new chipset, code-named Springdale, for Pentium 4 PCs. The chipset runs at 800MHz, substantially faster than the 400MHz and 533MHz chipsets currently available for Pentium 4 computers, according to sources close to the company.

The new chipset will be released with a 3.2GHz version of the Pentium 4, the sources said. Intel could not be reached for comment.

Among other tasks, the chipset creates a data path, or system bus, between the processor and a computer's memory. Speeding it up increases both the rate the processor can obtain data and the amount that can be transferred.

The imbalance between processor speeds, which top out at 3GHz, and memory and system buses, which are far slower, has made the system bus look more like a street than a freeway because of the imbalance. Often, processors hum along in idle mode because of a lack of data. Likewise, latency, the time gap between when a chip has requested data and when it arrives, has grown.

"Anything you can do to speed that up will help," said Nathan Brookwood, an analyst at consulting firm Insight 64.

Overall, the increase in bus speed could boost performance by 3 percent to 5 percent, he said.

The chip is expected to be discussed at the Intel Developer Forum kicking off in San Jose, Calif., on Feb. 18. Earlier, some analysts speculated that Springdale would come with a 667MHz bus. Desktop chip price cuts, which haven't occurred since November, will also likely occur around the same time to ease the introduction of the 3.2GHz chip.

The Springdale chipsets likely will invigorate the ongoing performance duel between Intel and rival Advanced Micro Devices. Although the top chips from the two companies were fairly evenly matched in 2001, Intel began to pull away on various benchmark tests from AMD in the second half of 2002 by increasing the clock speed, measured in mega- and gigahertz, on the Pentium 4 faster than AMD did with its competing Athlon chip.

Goosing megahertz isn't everything in performance, but it helps, analysts and executives say.

AMD had to delay some chips and has had difficulty producing its fastest ones in appreciable volumes.

Intel then widened the gap further with the release of the 3GHz Pentium 4 in November. The chip was the first desktop part to come with hyperthreading, which allows a chip to perform multiple tasks at a single time. Despite some early skepticism, benchmark testers gave it the thumbs up.

"We have to hand it to Intel; we honestly expected hyperthreading to be a big flop initially on the desktop because of losses in performance," Anand Lai Shimpi, editor of the Anandtech site, wrote at the time. "Hyperthreading in its current form is very much an infant technology; the potential for it is huge, and it can grow into something much larger than what we see here today."

AMD, though, will counter with its Athlon 64, the first desktop chip based around the Hammer architecture, in late March or early April. Hammer chips will come with an integrated memory controller--the part of the chipset that creates the system bus--that will run at the same speed as the chip, making it faster than Intel.

Sunnyvale, Calif.-based AMD has also made several tweaks to the core of Hammer, which will improve performance. The Hammer core is partly based on the Athlon architecture.

Both approaches have their advantages, but at this point "there are so many different factors...it is hard to determine" which will prove superior at any given speed, Brookwood said.

[Gourka 0]

For me it's egal AMD or INTEL Processor (+/- same speed). I take care about the chipset like VIA or INTEL. And I prefer INTEL chipset.

[Guest]

Arrrrgggghh! Don't get a VIA chipset with a Pentium! Search around....it's not as good...........arrrrrrrggghhhhh!