New rig

TKK

In the next couple of weeks or so I will be buying components for a brand new system....

I would like some opinions on what processor to go for....I have in my head the AMD Athlon 64 3200+/AMD Athlon XP 3200/P4 3.2.....

I hear/read that by year end the socket A and 478 processors will most likely start to disappear with AMD using the socket 754 and I'm not sure what Intel are going to go with....I know that AMD will not be releasing any more XP processors anyway....I'm toying with the Athlon 64 as it seems the most future-proof with regard to the motherboard but yet there is no software which will truly harness it....

I'm looking at using the rig mainly for some programming work(mainly .NET), some gaming though I wouldn't classify myself as much of a gamer(who knows once I get a machine!!!), as an mp3 server and possibly some Linux....


Also does anyone know where to get decent cases without necessitating a trip to the local bank with a ski-mask and shotgun....

joePC

Go with the P4 3.2 im using AMD for a long time now and im not inpressed when it comes to encoding/ decoding DVD burning DVD's any type of heavy calculation. The P4 would be the best choice as for the Athlon 64 3200+ its not much better than the XP 3200+ you will only see its real potentional when 64 bit apps start making there way onto the market. The P4 is a solid choice that can overclock very well, future proof for a year or two.

Thanks joePC

TKK

Hmmm....are Intel planning any more P4's for the socket 478/800MHZ interface?

MrPinK

Originally posted by joePC
the Athlon 64 3200+ its not much better than the XP 3200+

What?!? It's a huge improvement. The XP3200+ doesn't compare to well to a P4 2.8Ghz. The A64 3200 will out perform a P4 3.2Ghz in a lot of apps.

TKK

Ok having looked at pricing vs budget I've come down a step....it's now either the P4 3.0 or the Athlon 64 3000+....both are within a few Euro of each other pricewise....

Any thoughts???

Sir Random

The A64 has a slight edge in games, but the P4 will probably o/c to 3.6.
As for future-proof, it's unlikely you'll upgrade cpus with either mobo but you'll have enough power for a year or two. BTX boards with PCX are coming out this year, so upgrading in 2 years will mean a new mobo anyway.

Woden

perhaps you could wait til may? for the new socket 939 platform what will unify the 64 bit chips whatever they call them and the higher end FX chips, see how it goes then, i don't think now is a good time to update to amd tbh

and at the moment you want a northwood pentium 4 not a prescott.

data

Creamy Goodness

Originally posted by TKK
Hmmm....are Intel planning any more P4's for the socket 478/800MHZ interface?

the very early presscotts (which are out now) are socket 478 but i heard they chuck out 1/5 more heat and aren't as good as northwood conterparts