P4 or AMD XP

[ku33win]

I'm wanting to build my own system and I'm not sure if it would be better to use the AMD XP 1500 cpu or the P4 1500 cpu. My important goals are future upgradability and trying to somewhat control costs. I had been leaning towards the Pentium using the ASUS P4T-E, i850, 478 pin. Throwing in 512mb of PC800 RDRAM.
Other components are:
Maxtor Diamond Max Plus 40GB 7200 UDMA
Acer 656a 56x cd-rom
PlexWriter 12/10/32A cd burner
Geforce 2 Pro Plus-T64D video card
Undecided on modem, sound card and speakers.
I also have no idea what a good case would be and how much power I will need.

[BigBlue66]

Hi and Welcome,

If you want to save money, you should probably consider the Athlon processor. Keep in mind though, that you will have to have a really good HSF on it. You will also have to purchase at least a 300watt power supply.

If you decide to go with the Pentium 4 system, get a motherboard that will support DDR SDRAM. The i850 chipset can only work with RDRAM, but they have a new chipset out, called the i850D, that works with DDR memory. DDR memory is better than RDRAM. And besides that, RDRAM is very expensive right now. You can usually get by with a 250watt power supply with the P4.

I suggest you do some more research and price a few things before deciding. Make sure you price all components, using both the AMD and Intel processors.

Happy shoppping.

BB 66


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Reach high, for stars lie hidden in your soul. Dream deep, for every dream precedes the goal.
- Pamela Vault Starr

[9woof9]

what else is known about the just released p4/ddr combination? if the chip is i850d, who has motherboards out? are these reliable yet? ive been hangin out waiting for this , before i purchase my first system! (1.5 - 1.8) figure i might as well start on the current cutting edge of memory since im gonna drop a nickel here. the only ad ive seen so far was in this weeks best buy flyer.

[JadedC36]

The Intel chipset for the P4, and DDR memory is the i845D. Asus has already announced a board with this chipset, so I would think others have also. The chipset is the same as the i845, just the memory is DDR instead of SDR. Tom's hardware has a good article on the P4 with DDR, with comparisons to other chipsets. VIA, and SIS both make a chipset for the P4, and DDR.

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MikeThe Article (http://www4.tomshardware.com/mainboard/01q4/011217/index.html)

[This message has been edited by JadedC36 (edited 12-25-2001).]

[BigBlue66]

Hey, my mistake. I was thinking about the i850 for some reason, but knew they had added a 'd' to one of their existing chipsets. The i845D is for DDR RAM, whereas the i850 is for RDRAM.

Check Tom's Hardware. He previews 9 motherboards for the P4.

Cheers,

BB 66


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Reach high, for stars lie hidden in your soul. Dream deep, for every dream precedes the goal.
- Pamela Vault Starr

[9woof9]

thanks for your time guys! i appreciate the correction, blue.

[YODA74]

heres the approved mother boards for AMD Athlon which is by far a better choice.IMHO
http://www.amdmb.com/article-display.php?ArticleID=124&PageID=10

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Treading,Troden,Trails
HERE (http://www.davematthewsband.com)

[BigBlue66]

Hey,

Just had to post an observation. For my main work grunt machine, I have an HP VL800 with a P4 1.7GHz at 400Mhz FSB and 256mb of RDRAM 800Mhz. (The boss wouldn't let me build one. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/frown.gif )

Quite honestly, I can't tell a whole lot of difference in most computer operations between the P4 system and my Athlon 1.2GHZ with 1.0Gb of PC133 RAM at home.

Except for, chores that actually require processing power. Take for example, posting a bunch of ledger transactions. On the P4, it happens in a blink of an eye, or less, whereas the Athlon is a tad bit slower.

As near as I can figure out, the motherboard in the HP is an Asus P4T or something like that, with the i850 chipset. Tom's Hardware had nice things to say about the board.

I know what they say about RDRAM, but I really think that the human eye will not be able to discern that much difference between RD and DDR RAM.

Ok, so where am I going with all this gibberish? Damned if I know. Guess I just wanted to make an observation about the i850 chipset and RDRAM.

Happy shopping.

Big Blue 66


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Reach high, for stars lie hidden in your soul. Dream deep, for every dream precedes the goal.
- Pamela Vault Starr

[YODA74]

Agree a hundred percent BB I'm just partial to Athlon,But you are right you would not really tell the difference,unless you were running AutoCad and doing graphics and then you probobly wouldn't beable to tell much diff.but the people i know that do graphics all use Dell systems the only thing they won't use is Western hard drives don't ask me why they haven't given me a viable answer either. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/wink.gif

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Treading,Troden,Trails
HERE (http://www.davematthewsband.com)

[BigBlue66]

Hey Yoda. When you find out the answer on the hesitancy toward WD harddrives, let us know. I'm curious. I sure don't do any heavy duty CAD stuff or anything, but I have a WD 30GB 7200rpm that I am entirely happy with.

Cheers,

BB 66


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Reach high, for stars lie hidden in your soul. Dream deep, for every dream precedes the goal.
- Pamela Vault Starr

[Jixxer]

AMD all the way! By the way, did you know the P4 has less cache memory than the P3? Also in recent bench tests, the AMD XP 1.53Ghz versus the P4's 2Ghz were neck in neck. Only in physical design, the P4 is better because of durability in the metal sheet that covers the chip and functions as an extra heat sink.

"...so instead of exposing its delicate CPU core (which is what AMD does withe the Athlon XP), Intel offers a platform that's more resistant to the clumsiness of hobbyists..." - Maximum PC Dec01

Hmmm...AMD - just as fast as P4 and $200 cheaper
WINNER!!! - AMD *the fans go wild*