Should I go for Intel or AMD?

[lung]

Over the last couple weeks I have been planning to seriously upgrade my system. At first I was thinking of going AMD all the way due to the cheap cost. Then yesterday I was looking over how overclockable the P4 1.6A is. Looks like it could easily reach upwards of 2.4 with only an aftermarket heast sink and fan. The reason this become a viable option is that the costs for an AMD system based on a 1900+ and a system based on the P4 1.6A are about the same.

Suggestions on which way to go? I thought I had it all figured out with the AMD system, and then this monkeywrench gets thrown into the works..

 

[Shimmishim]

yeah tell me about it!!!

i was planning on doing an xp system... but now i think i'm goign to do a p4 system...

i say... go p4!

 

[adlep]

go VIA

 

[oldfart]

<< Looks like it could easily reach upwards of 2.4 with only an aftermarket heast sink and fan >>


You can do it with the retail HS/Fan. My EPOX 4BDA2+/1.6A @ 2.4/Samsung PC2700 rig runs really nice. Hard to beat this setup for the $$

 

[Torghn]

Even though a 1.6P4 is about the same price as a 1900+, a 1900+ is MUCH MUCH faster. Now I haven't done much P4 overclocking, but I think it would take a bit more than an after market Heatsink to reach 2.4. If you where able to unlock the 1900+, It would would still be faster with both chips overclocked.

 

[oldfart]

<< Even though a 1.6P4 is about the same price as a 1900+, a 1900+ is MUCH MUCH faster. >>


Not faster than a P4 @ 2.2 -2.4


<< Now I haven't done much P4 overclocking >>


I have


<< but I think it would take a bit more than an after market Heatsink to reach 2.4 >>


Nope. Stock is all you need. That is what I and many others run for this setup (see my rig below). The retail HS/Fan is very good. It's variable speed, thermal controlled.


<< If you where able to unlock the 1900+, It would would still be faster with both chips overclocked. >>


No unlocking needed with the P4. Just FSB overclock. EPOX board locks PCI/AGP @ 33/66. Everything stays is spec.

 

[DukeChestnut]

but XP chips run so DAMN HOT!!! i know i have one. and if ur gonna OC it then forget it... jet engine HSF... ARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

my next system is gonna be a p4

 

[lung]

Awesome. Thanks for the replies guys. Also for the info on the stock fan for the P4. I definitely will go for a P4 setup. Now the ufn part of figuring out what mobo to go for...

 

[SKiTZoCraZy]

Hello

I DEFINATLY reccomend AMD.I see eveyone complaining about hot temps.
I just upgraded from a single XP 1700+ with a Millenium Glaciator HSF,idle temp was 30C,full load was 37C.I used Arctic Silver thermal paste on that rig.

Anyway,now I have dual 1900+ and my system is running VERY nicely except for a serious driver error but that has nothing to do with the cpu.My temp with this setup is kinda high but I also went with the Millenium G-Lite's instead of the Glaciators,but I used Arctic Silver 3 this time. 45C idle, 54 full load ( it took me forever to get this on full load with TMPG,which happily supports multiple cpu )
I dont use this for anything but encoding mpeg,so I guess it all depends what your going to use it for.

Put it this way,my old 1700+ on my Iwill KA266-R smoked up the Soyo Fire Dragon with a 2.0 Ghz during an encode of DVD to SVCD.
Took 2 hours less with the 1700+ with the same hardware on both machines (except RAM).

Just my opinion .

 

[link26]

it doesn't get cheaper than a P4 1.6A that is overclockable... if you're lucky...

the 1900+ and the 1.6A are the same price right now.... and if you can get up to 2.3 ghz, you've got lots of bang for the buck...

I'm currently running 2215mhz at default voltage and stock hsf. I have a cpu from the same batch as Thugsrook and Seaning.

 

[oldfart]

<< fun part of figuring out what mobo to go for. >>


Thats easy. EPOX 4BDA or 4BDA2+ if you want RAID. GREAT mobo! i845 chipset, PCI/AGP 33/66 Lock, 4:3 mem ratio @ ANY FSB, 1.4 - 1.85 Vcore. Super fast and stable. Highly recommended.

 

[lung]

Oldfart: I would, but no one locally carries them, and both the online retailers for Canada that I know of (looking at A-Power and NCIX) don't carry either of those. One local place carries the 4BDA, so maybe they can get the 4BDA2+, I have yet to call them. The other boards that I am looking at are the Asus P4S533 and the MSI 845 Ultra-ARU. I know that the Asus board seems a bit flakey, but I will probably be buying a week or two so maybe it might be fixed by then. Any comments on those two boards? Thanks for any info.

 

[Seeko]

Hey lung, E-Compuvision carries the 4BDA and 4BDA2+. If you live in the GTA they will even deliver to your house the same night for $10. I have had no problems dealing with them. I got the 4BDA from them and it rocks. You gotta love the AGP/PCI lock. I woulda went with the Asus but the AGP/PCI lock sold me on the 4BDA. Not to mention their wide range of voltage adjustments for core, mem and AGP, and the stability of the Intel chipset. Right now I have a 1.6a @ 2.4 (150FSB) w/ 1.7v. My 1 stick of 512mb Samsung PC2700 is running at 400mhz DDR w/2.8v @ Turbo, 2.5, 5, 2, 2 settings.

 

[oldfart]

lungYou wont get me to recommend a board other than the 4BDA(2+) until a better one comes out. FIND ONE!
Seeko Nice system. Turbo, 2.5, 5, 2, 2 settings is pretty darn good for running DDR400! Is that a Samsung brand stick of ram, or Samsung chips? I run the VDIMM @ 2.6 on my setup (see rigs below). Will going to 2.8 give me the ability to get to those timings?

 

[Nate420]

Grab a P4, you won't regret it.

I considered an AMD1800+ when I was upgrading a few months ago, till I saw how sweet the 1.6A's are.

Currently:

Asus P4B266
P4 1.6A @ 2.5Ghz, 1.6V - STOCK HSF W/AS3 - Idle 28C, Load 45C
256MB Crucial PC2100 @ 312Mhz 2-2-2-5
I'm very happy with this board. (and that 4BDA2+ sounds pretty sweet also.)

 

[Seeko]

Oldfart, I'm pretty sure mine is not an original Samsung. It has their chips though. Just try your RAM at a higher voltage with faster settings. It wouldn't hurt. I just wish I had Nate420's CPU. I'm happy with mine though. Others are not so lucky.

 

[BD231]

Well if you have the cash go with the P4, if ya dont, then go with AMD. When you overclock a 1.6a you not only run the risk of not hitting that 133 mark, but heat wise it ends up creating just as much or more heat than an XP system would. So wether you want to risk the overclock or not is really up to you.

 

[oldfart]

Not hitting 133 is pretty rare. The chances are better than any CPU I have ever seen. Its the modern day C300A. And what if you can't? Maybe you only hit 125 FSB if you get a TERRIBLE chip. Then you are stuck @ 2.0 GHz for $130. Not all that bad IMHO. The P4 thermal management is so far ahead of AMD, they are not even in the same league.

 

[SKiTZoCraZy]

Wow

Honestly it's nice to see some Intel fans.Most people like AMD no questions asked.
I personally still like AMD for what I do . 2 Xp 1900+ with 1 yr warantee cost me 280 bucks with 2day fed ex shipping...Cant get any Intel worth getting for that price,they just don't encode worth a crap

 

[Migroo]

I went AMD last time around (Athlon XP) and I would do so again.

 

[Emo]

I went with an Athlon XP for my last upgrade but would go to a P4 if I had to do it now. The only advantage I see with the Athlon is that I could unlock it and run it at high bus speeds. I am not very happy with the noise levels, however.

 

[Morph]

SkitzoCrazy:

I guess you are talking about video encoding. I didn't realize that AMD was much better than Intel for video encoding. I'm into video encoding, and this might make me go with AMD on my next purchase. Can you direct me anywhere where I can read more about this and maybe see some benchmarks demonstrating this. Thanks.

 

[DoubleL]

The P4 1.6a's over clocks like crazy but even at 2.133 a stock XP 1900 will blow it away on bench marks and you can tell the computer is faster just running programs, I just got done with a Asus P4S533 1.6@2.133 now I know all systems are diff but I work on a lot of computers and build a lot and so far the P4s533 puts up big numbers but can't run close to a XP1900 on any bench mark, But then again the P4S533 is a great running little computer,

 

[akahai]

If you are not in a rush, I would suggest you wait a bit till AMD's .13 processor come out, and compare it with the new P4 which runs at 533MHZ FSB.....as to choose between XP and P4...I would suggest you go with P4...but don't get me wrong...I still love AMD......

 

[CheapTOFU]

You may be able to oc to 2.4 with Intel P4....
But you must think about the future of all P4 mobos..
Intel is using the new mobo for 2.53 P4 and the mobo you buy now for 1.6A will be useless..

But if you get AMD mobo, you can use it now with current XP and T'bred in the future..
You must know that AMD will support T'bred for the next few years...
But Intel won't support 1.6A after this month...

Intel may be better for ocing... but you will have to buy both mobo and cpu again in the future to upgrade..