RE: Guidance on AMD or INTEL CPU please.

[Gandalf501]

Hi, im looking to upgrade my old Athlon XP 2600+. Currently it is used for MSN, Ebay, P2P, and Games (HL2, PGA Golf).

I am planning to replace the parts bit by bit, starting with CPU + (Motherboard). Eventually once all is replaced I hope to end up with 2 computers.

Currently my computer does all that I need, so im not looking for spending hundreds on components. Bascially my choice comes down to one of two.

And I was wondering if I could seek the advice of anyone who knows, or has experience of both or either product so I can make an informed decision.

The choice of products are

1) Intel P4 805 Dual Core LGA775 Smithfield, 2.6Ghz 533FSB

I believe these are only limited to Intel Based 955x MB chipsets.
Currently having an AMD I am using nVidia Nforce3 Chipset, and dont really know much about Intel Chipsets, is the 955x any good? What chipset would you compare it to in the AMD range?

2) AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice core 64 Bit Sckt 939 1.8Ghz.

I am limited by the price of these two items. IE under £100.

I have previously bought AMD in my last three home built PC's. On paper it seems the Intel P4 is the better buy. It has dual core, runs faster and is only £8 more expensive than the AMD. I am sorely tempted to go with the Intel...

But having never owned one, was wondering if anyone can help.

Thanks.

 

[flashdjdan]

The intel chip does not actually run faster than the AMD one in this case - You are comparing the GHZ clock speed of the two, which are NOT directly comparable for AMD and Intel.

Unless you are planning to overclock the Pentium D 805 by a significant amount, I would probably reccomend getting the Venice chip. I have built several machines using this processor and the customer has always been satisfied with it.

As for chipsets, Intel chipsets are very stable, but so are the Nforce 4 ones, which is an excellent platform.

 

[flashdjdan]

Also, make sure you budget for a new graphics card, as both the platforms you have mentioned will be PCI-Express.

Your old platform will very likely be AGP graphics.

 

[Raikiri]

The 805 will work in more than just the 955x! works with the 945,955x,975x and some via chips.

I have a 3200+ @ 2.5ghz which is faster in games and an 805 @ 3.2ghz (getting a better motherboard to clock some more) but it isnt exactly a slouch and runs suprisingly cool.

805 if you are willing to buy a decent motherboard and overclock a lot, 3000+ otherwise

 

[Gandalf501]

Which would be better for everyday tasks? I was thinking the Intel is dual core, and so would be better at multi-tasking. However on looking on the OC compenents, it seems the Intel isnt true dual core. The next one up at £149 is!!

Hmmm. Im confused.

 

[Raikiri]

How can it not be "true" dual core? it has two cores

 

[Tooks]

Just to add a bit of information regarding the 805 chip and overclocking, I've experienced the following.

I used the Custom PC magazine suite of benchmarks, which I think are fairly representative of real world use (not necessarily gaming).

805 overclocked to 3.0Ghz (up from 2.66Ghz), I got the following scores:-

Photo Imaging - 0.89

Video Encoding - 0.93

Multitasking - 0.93

Overall - 0.91

I then tried to overclock it some more, but due to the motherboard being a bit of a poor overclocker, ended up corrupting my Windows installation.

So, after reinstalling everything, I tried again but this time left everything stock (2.66Ghz), as I was reluctant to overclock after the performance of reinstalling everything!

Photo Imaging - 0.87

Video Encoding - 0.88

Multitasking - 0.88

Overall - 0.88

My old cpu was a 3.2 Ghz P4 Prescott, which scored 0.70 overall in the same benchmarks, but the video encoding score was only 0.45.

So, for me, this is the right chip as I wanted it primarily for encoding work.

One thing that is immediately noticeable though, and after I'd been warned I might find the 805 slower after my old P4, is that windows doesn't really slow down when I'm doing various things at the same time. It also means I can leave the video encoding on in the background and do my usual pc work which was impossible with the old P4.

I have seen friends Opterons score higher overall in those benchmarks than my little 805, but for the price of the chip, I think it's a bargain!

 

[chex]

given the list of things you use it for I would go for the AMD

 

[Tooks]

I look at the P4 Dual Core like I look at 4 wheel drive road cars.

You don't always need the extra driven wheels (extra core), but when you do, they sure do come in useful!!

Given that both chips would do what you want, I would go for the one that gives you something extra for the future?

 

[marcus_667]

well i think the p4 dual core is the winner for the money and u can get a mobo that does pci e and agp so u got the upgrade possobilities there if u got agp come on face it 132 for a mobo and cpu

 

[Gandalf501]

Thanks to everyone who contributed. A lot of people seem to point towards the AMD as its faster. I consider my current machine fast enough. Any speed increase will be appreciated.

I have been with AMD for some time, but i have never considered Intel as the enemy. I merely bought AMD based on the price.

I like the fact the Intel is dual core (Its also 64 Bit as well, is it not? So this would bode well for Vista when it turns up....)

I can certainly accept a slightly slower machine than the AMD for the benefit of being better at multi-tasking. My machine is not games machine, and I feel the multi-tasking wins out on this one. So I will be going down the Intel road.

Thanks everyone who contributed. I am pleased at the info regarding the chipset. thought it was restricted to just one class. I shall be certainly looking into the dual AGP PCI-Express option for the Mobo.

Thanks everyone