Intel Pentium M vs. AMD A64 Venice

[andlcs]

Hi,

Which would you buy? I don't play games (i'm old), just want a fast CPU, good on benchmarks (like Super Pi) and a silent PC.

ASUS P4P800-SE
ASUS CT-479 (converter 478 to 479pin)
PENTIUM M 1.6GHz/133MHz BUS

or

DFI LANPARTY UT NF4 Ultra-D
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ or 3200+ BOX "Venice" (E3) core

THANKS

 

[andlcs]

The system memory I already have: 2x 256MB TwinMOS Speed Premium w/ Winbond ICs.

Will an Enermax 350W PSU w/ 24pin ATX cable handle the power consumption of the DFI Lanparty + A64 processor?

 

[ender11122]

unlikely

I would go with another PSU and the venice, its designed to be a desktop core.

The Pentium M gives great performance for silent/HTPC, but if you have a good case and cooler, the venice will have much better performance overall.

 

[mwmorph]

yes. on th power supply question. the amd64 venice uses 89w peak only i believe.
really it depends on +12v amps but it should be able to as long as you dont drop something like a 7800gtx or 6800ultra in there.(it should be fine up to a 9800pro)

go amd64. it offers better performance for the similar cost. if im not mistaken, pentium m costs a lot of $.

 

[Duvie]

Well if all you want is benchmarks (superpi) then by all means get the p-M!!!!


You obviously plan on ocing this??? Cause if you dont the P-M's are a heck of a lot more money per the performance...AMD64's are better all-around chips as the P-M is really weak in certain areas...Its fortay is gaming and ofcourse shines when you can OC it closer to AMD speeds...

What venice were you looking at ????

 

[d2arcturus]

Originally posted by: Duvie
What venice were you looking at ????

Originally posted by: andlcs
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ or 3200+ BOX "Venice" (E3) core

...

 

[andlcs]

Yes, I'm planing to overclock both systems.

If I get the Dothan I'll run it @ 200MHz BUS+ (2400MHz+)

 

[stevty2889]

I would go with the A64. While my Pentium-M runs very cool and and is practicly silent in my antec aria, it's basicly good as a portable gaming system, but it lags behind in pretty much everything else. I have a 1.6 400mhz FSB running at 2.4ghz on stock voltage, using the heatsink that comes with the CT-479. It is cool, it is very quiet, but it's pretty much behind in everything but gaming.

 

[imported_Kensai]

Venice for speed, Pentium M if you care only for silence and a usable PC.

 

[Zebo]

If you want unstable and lack of features get Pentium M. I won't touch it until it hits some real desktop boards with modern features. meaning it's actually supported by intel for desktop use. This is definity not for the novice either.. but you may like a challege who knows.

But between a p4 and a Pentium M i'd pick the P4 let alone A64 which has similar power curves and performance curves but with all the modern features and full support.

Pentium M if you care only for silence

Venice uses about the same power as Pentium M in other words you can set both up for silence. I ran a winchester (bascially same as venice) w/o a fan which you can't do with pentium M due to HS size restrictions, infact you're limited to asus cooler. So who really more quiet? Fan or no fan?

 

[Concillian]

As others have noted, Petium M is the best processor for Super Pi, but is not the better overall processor. If you want your benchmarks to look good go for the Pentium M. If you are primarily using applications that the Pentium M excels at, then get the Pentium M.

Overclocked, the A64 is comparable, and significantly cheaper, which is why most people choose A64.

There are pretty extensive benchmarks here:
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2382&p=10

Keep in mind that most San Diego cores are able to reach about 2.6+ GHz, so comparable to FX55 or maybe higher.

I think either is close in terms of performance, I don't think you can really go wrong with either choice, the right choice depends most on your budget and what applications you are running.

 

[Vishruth]

andlcs, the ASUS motherboard/socket-479-adapter you mention does not support EIST (Enhanced Intel SpeedStep). That's one of the things that made me turn away from that setup when I was considering a Pentium-M desktop rig. Perhaps you should take a look at the more expensive AOpen 915GM board?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813137061

Then again, I don't know if the AOpen board supports EIST or not. I am only supposing that it does.

If I wanted to build a quiet system with the hardware you've listed, I would go with the AMD setup (but I do play games).

 

[jpeyton]

I'm going to get a Pentium M for desktop use, but not with the currently available solutions. Aopen is supposed to be releasing a desktop Pentium M board with the 915 chipset, and a Mac Mini clone as well. The current socket-adapter method is a bit too slapshod for me, as are the 855 chipset boards that cost $200+.

 

[stevty2889]

Originally posted by: Zebo
If you want unstable and lack of features get Pentium M.

I would hardly call this.. unstable, but I do agree that the A64 is the best over all. My system is increadibly quiet, the heatsink and fan that come with the CT-479 may be small, but they are plenty for the pentium-m and the loudest thing in my system is the DVD drive spinning up.

 

[Zebo]

Originally posted by: stevty2889

Originally posted by: Zebo
If you want unstable and lack of features get Pentium M.

I would hardly call this.. unstable, but I do agree that the A64 is the best over all. My system is increadibly quiet, the heatsink and fan that come with the CT-479 may be small, but they are plenty for the pentium-m and the loudest thing in my system is the DVD drive spinning up.

So you finally got it working huh?

 

[stevty2889]

Yeah..it had a screw loose lol, I didn't have the screw turned all the way that holds the cpu in the socket..

 

[Zebo]

LOl....Anyway I've been reading an abnormal # of problems here
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=59

I mean the stuff is a half-assed socket adaptor solution on a three yr old mobo which is too be expected but not this many.

I'm waiting till a real solution comes..though I admire your courage.

 

[BitByBit]

I don't imagine the Pentium M to be a very good multitasker either, considering its slow memory interface, and lack of HT.

 

[stevty2889]

Yeah, not the best multitasker, definatly would miss HT if it was my only PC.

 

[fatty4ksu]

Keep in mind, the pentium is th DADDY when it comes to gaming.

:thumbsup:

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Originally posted by: fatty4ksu
Keep in mind, the pentium is th DADDY when it comes to gaming.

:thumbsup:

I'm assuming you mean Pentium M, of which I scoff at.

Yes, its a good gaming processor, but look at the platform. DADDY of gaming? How can it be the daddy, king, whatever, if you can't even have SLI? PCI-e SLI/Crossfire = king of gaming...you can't have that with the Pentium M last I checked.

2 x 7800GTX + Pentium M would be nice...

But, oh wait, you can't have that, and then there's the new nVidia driver that bennefits from dualcore...which Pentium M is not.

 

[Dadofamunky]

Originally posted by: fatty4ksu
Keep in mind, the pentium is th DADDY when it comes to gaming.

:thumbsup:

In a parallel universe.... Where Bush is a President with sound judgement and knowledge of the outside world....

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Originally posted by: Dadofamunky

Originally posted by: fatty4ksu
Keep in mind, the pentium is th DADDY when it comes to gaming.

:thumbsup:

In a parallel universe.... Where Bush is a President with sound judgement and knowledge of the outside world....

Keep that politcal garbage in the proper forum please.

 

[evilbix]

This forum seems to be pretty full of AMD fanboys. No one gives Intel ANY credit. I'm not a fan of either. I'd personally go with dual-core. I'd wait a month or two until it's cheaper, and hopefully see how intel performs on multi-threaded games. Then I'd make my choice.

If you're not gaming at all then I'd go Pentiuim-M for a nice quiet and low power consumption PC. A64 if you plan on ever upgrading to the next release of windows. You can use cheaper memory on an AMD as well and take a very small performance hit. It helps keep the price down. To me it'd just be a coinflip and I'd decide. Both are great solutions.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

There's a reason this forum is full of pro AMD users, its because the Intel prescott P4/PD is rubbish. If it wasn't the PD would be priced well over $500.

The PM is good, yes, but intel STILL hasn't made an attempt to officially bring it to the desktop because they're too stubborn to admit they made a mistake with the netburst architecture. Doyou praise a company for holding back technological advancement? "Oh they've got this really awesome product and if they did put full support behind it, it would blow everything out of the water! Well AMD isn't giving us "ifs", they are supplying the excellent products we can use with highly functional and diverse platforms.

While intel seems to be going backwards, AMD has only been going forwards. Dual core Pentium M technology for the desktop or anything better than the current PD would be a NICE change from intel, but until then you aren't going to find many intel fans here, I don't think we like coddling companies for not living up to expectations here at AT.