What is the best processor, athon xp, p4?

[budgieboo]

I am just curious as to what is the best processor and how they compare. Example: I know celeron isnt as good as a p3, but what is the difference, cache or something? Please clarify me for the p4, athlon xp, p3, celeron, duron, via cyrix.
thanks

 

[Zim Hosein]

budgieboo, to be honest, there is no "best" processor, it all depends on what your needs are. Ex. Do you plan on overclocking? Are you budget conscious? If you clarify your needs, it would be easier for your fellow AT users to helps you. Hope this helps

 

[Mikki]

I agree, and look thru these forums first. There's a multitude of posts asking the same question, lot's of good answers.

 

[JeremiahTheGreat]

basically it seems to be this -->

If u are rich, the fastest P4 (2.5Ghz) is faster than fastest AthlonXP (2200+).. get that.

If u are poor and dun overclock, similarly spec'd CPU's (Mhz vs Athlon Rating), the Athlon is much much cheaper meaning u save money.

if u are poor and do overclock, P4's *may* be better depending on ur luck at if the processer can handle it..

something like that anyway..

 

[o1die]

Wait for the Intel price cuts around sept 1st, and get a 2.0-2.4 p4 cheap.

 

[CrazySaint]

It also depends on what specific kinds of things you are going to do with your system. Athlons and P4s both excel at different tasks. For some programs, like 3D rendering w/o SSE even a slow Athlon will beat the fastest P4, whereas in 3D rendering WITH SSE, a slow P4 will beat the fastest Athlon.

 

[grunjee]

Yeah what these guys have said is right.

I will just say that if you *are* on a budget, go for a 1600+ Athlon XP. You can get one for about $70 shipped or less, and you're pretty much guaranteed a big overclock (350+ MHz) out of the box.

 

[txgixer]

Originally posted by: o1die
Wait for the Intel price cuts around sept 1st, and get a 2.0-2.4 p4 cheap.

As already posted, there is no best processor. Everyone will have their preference.

I have always been on the Intel side myself.

 

[Metalloid]

I agree totally with grunjee. If you get an Athlon XP 1600 or 1700, you will get a processor that performs much better than Intel's 1.4ghz or 1.5ghz, is about $50 cheaper, and will still overclock pretty well.

 

[alexruiz]

I agree totally with the other guys.... you need to know what do you want your computer for.... and what are your resources.... for me, the AXP is the best for what i do and for what i spent.... as somebody said before "the best benchmark: Money left in my wallet!"

Anyway, with any route you take you are guaranteed a bloodily fast machine. In fact, I think hardware is leaving software far behind....

 

[Soulkeeper]

Yeah i got me a 1700+ they're lookin good
i wanna see people start pushin these suckers on these forums
that would be cool
too much P4 1.6 crapp floatin in the toilet hehehe

 

[budgieboo]

sorry to not give you my specific needs, THanks for you imput, The most demanding task i do normally is watch divx movies, but sometimes i may like to rip DVD's. I just want a processor that will open my programs fast and start up quickly, just overall speed increase in the simple things. I am also just curious as to what the main differences are between the processors, like why is a celeron at the same speed rating as a p3 cheaper. I have also heard that a 1ghz via c3=700mhz celeron how come cyrix can claim a higher speed? My main question i guess is will a 1ghz P3 be a good processor for me, or should i go for a p4 or athlon.

 

[Metalloid]

I would not get a P3. They are not much cheaper than Athlon XP's, and they perform much less effeciently.

 

[Sachmho]

budgieboo, to be honest, there is no "best" processor, it all depends on what your needs are. Ex. Do you plan on overclocking? Are you budget conscious? If you clarify your needs, it would be easier for your fellow AT users to helps you. Hope this helps

actually right now there is a best cpu. A 1.6A for around $155 blows everything else out of the water for a cheap price and incredible performance. its not like u need to be afraid just cause u haven't oc'ed before, i never had, its incredibly easy. do a little research, and you've got 2.3ghz for $155.

 

[grunjee]

Originally posted by: Sachmho

budgieboo, to be honest, there is no "best" processor, it all depends on what your needs are. Ex. Do you plan on overclocking? Are you budget conscious? If you clarify your needs, it would be easier for your fellow AT users to helps you. Hope this helps

actually right now there is a best cpu. A 1.6A for around $155 blows everything else out of the water for a cheap price and incredible performance. its not like u need to be afraid just cause u haven't oc'ed before, i never had, its incredibly easy. do a little research, and you've got 2.3ghz for $155.

That is a bit exaggerated and inaccurate.

With a 1600+ (of AROIA or AGOIA stepping) you are 99% guaranteed a 2000+ or 2100+ right out of the box without needing extra voltage. With a little extra voltage (+ .1 or + .2) you have very good chances of hitting 1.8, even 1.9 GHz (2200+ rating and beyond).

At that speed, a 1.6a running at 2.3-2.4, even 2.8 GHz will NOT 'blow it out of the water.' Yes, it will beat it in some areas, but the XP will beat IT in some areas. Regardless of which is the overall better performer, they are both excellent performers.

And at the same time, this XP chip will cost a mere 70 bucks, less than half if your quoted figure of $155 is accurate (I don't check prices so I don't know first hand).

I just had to say something after seeing the 'blow it out of the water' comment.

 

[CelticDemolition]

Originally posted by: budgieboo
sorry to not give you my specific needs, THanks for you imput, The most demanding task i do normally is watch divx movies, but sometimes i may like to rip DVD's. I just want a processor that will open my programs fast and start up quickly, just overall speed increase in the simple things. I am also just curious as to what the main differences are between the processors, like why is a celeron at the same speed rating as a p3 cheaper. I have also heard that a 1ghz via c3=700mhz celeron how come cyrix can claim a higher speed? My main question i guess is will a 1ghz P3 be a good processor for me, or should i go for a p4 or athlon.

celerons are "budget" processors, intel makes a celeron for every pentium core, just with less L2 cache, therefore they suck (relatively.. hehe). i'm sure you could find benchmarks on a hardware site somewhere comparing celerons to their equivalent pentiums, or even to athlons (and their duron "budget" brethren). i would say get a low end athlon xp, theyre cheap and kill everything else in their price range.

 

[budgieboo]

Ok iv'e been reading up a little bit on these processors. I believe that the fsb and L2 are the major factors. Also does ram make a differnce do i need ddr or is pc133 still fine, cause i would hate for the ram to hold me back. Also wondering if a cyrix 1ghz would be better than my p3 533 at this moment.
thanks I look forward to your responses
Royce

 

[dannybin1742]

well if you are using athlon, duron, or p4 you NEED DDR, or in the p4s case you can also use Rdram, which right now is not too much more than ddr.

celeron and p3 are only able to utilize the bandwidth that pc133 can provide, notice how there is no tangible performance increase when using rdram with a p3 than just using pc133

i own alot of intel stock and am a fan- they are always on the cutting egde, but for the buck i think the XP 1600+ from new egg (normally is agoia or aroia core) is a great bargain, in terms of the core, but the best bargain is the 1700 for $50.

but if you like to overclock and have about $100 more dollars i'd go with p4 1.6 or 1.8 coupled with some pc1066 rdram.

i dont like rambus but it does make the p4 fast!

 

[The_Lurker]

Originally posted by: budgieboo
Ok iv'e been reading up a little bit on these processors. I believe that the fsb and L2 are the major factors. Also does ram make a differnce do i need ddr or is pc133 still fine, cause i would hate for the ram to hold me back. Also wondering if a cyrix 1ghz would be better than my p3 533 at this moment.
thanks I look forward to your responses
Royce

DOn't bother going w/ the Cyrix 1ghz. You wont feel it is much faster than your P3 533. If you dont want to do a complete overhaul of ur system, a P3 1ghz will be nice for you since you dont play games or anything too hectic, however if your going to spend the money on a P3 1ghz, you might as well get a new mobo and CPU. You can pick up at ECS K7S5A (can use ur existing SDR Ram as well as DDR Later if you want to get more memory performance) for around $50, and something like a Duron 1.2ghz for around the same. That combo would make you a much happier man than a Cyrix 1ghz and even a P3 1ghz. Just a thought

Btw, going DDR gives you a 5-10 percent increase depending on the application. Often not noticeable, but w/ the K7S5A, you can wait till you have more money to get a DDR or when the price drops again, etc.

 

[CelticDemolition]

budgieboo, something you forgot to mention... are you upgrading from a previous system? as in, what hardware do you already have available? i think that would play a factor in your decision, since if you already have the mobo and ram for one cpu then it would be much cheaper to go with that over a different one. on the other hand, if youre building an entirely new system, then its not as big of an issue.

 

[budgieboo]

Well I am interested in buying a a small barebones system made by shuttle from newegg the sv24 with a motherboard that accepts p3 cel or cyrix. They also make one for athon but it is $178 more. I have also found an asus terminator that is a larger box but takes athlon processor's for $150. Like i mentioned before i am pretty much happy with the performance i am getting right now from my p3 533mhz, 256 pc133, 16mb video system. I have had this for over 2 years and i want to upgrade and I am really wondering what processor would be my best bet.

The main question is will the 1ghz p3 be significantly better than my 533mhz or do i need an athlon to get better performance, or should i just get a cyrix to match what i got now.

 

[CelticDemolition]

hmmm....

well, i would say that a 1ghz p3 would indeed be significantly faster than a 0.53 ghz one! hehe. i would also say that an athlon xp would be significantly faster than the 1ghz p3. (you do mean athlon xp when you say athlon, right?) i would also say that i dont know anything about cyrix... sorry.

i do think that if you want a significant upgrade you should spring for the athlon xp. pair it with ddr ram and you will very probably notice a difference.

 

[budgieboo]

thats good advice, seems like going with athlon xp and ddr is a big upgrade whereas just upgradeing a p3 speed is good but not as significant. Ill have to think this one out. Thanks for everyones imput, I feel like i actually know something about processors now

 

[Barrei]

What a stupid question.

 

[grunjee]

Originally posted by: Barrei
What a stupid question.

Better watch it pal or you're gonna get flamed.