Possible AMD convert, but I have questions...

[StrangeRanger]

OK, excuse me if I ask some lame questions here, but I don't know didly about AMD. My first question is regarding the DDR SDRAM ya'll use. If you are running your memeory bus at 200 or 266Mhz, what is the rest of your system running at? I mean, if your PCI bus is still running in the 33Mhz neighborhood, and your HD's are still only ATA100 or so, is your system really that much better off for running your mem at 200 or 266? My next concern is heat. I constantly see people posting with heat and power problems. Got any pointers for this area? And any other general pointers or ideas I should be aware of? Thanks,
j

 

[FishTankX]

Allright. The memory really runs at 100/133MHZ, but sends data twice every clock, so it's DDR and thus an "Effective" 200 or 266. So PCI and ATA are running within spec. Running the memory higher allows the processor (Whose bus also runs at DDR, or thus has an effective 200 or 266MHZ FSB) bus and memory to match speeds and providing about 15% higher performance on average. Power problems, well, just get a really good powersupply. For heat, just get a *really* good heatsink, a fan in the back of the case, a fan in front, and the powersupply fan all running and heat isn't an issue from then on. Then get a good motherboard like the Soyo Dragon KT266A motherboard or the Soltek KT266A motherboard. AMD machine's require a little more TLC machines than intel, but leave you more cash in the wallet so you can upgrade more often. (I don't care what anybody tells me, i'm an intel fan at heart, and I believe that intel is the king of idiot proof. And while i'm not an idiot, I don't have to fiddle with my machine at all. And I don't want to. I love intel's way of making everything so painless even an 8 year old could assemble an intel machine... )

 

[Rickr]

FishTankX summed it up pretty nicely.

The big difference comes in games, which really love that extra memory bandwidth.

On the heat issue, the new Athlon XP's use less power/produce less heat, so choose one of those.

Lastly, the power supply is critical for any high speed Athlon or Pentium 4 system. Just make sure you have a high quality power supply, and you should be fine.