Witch is beter Intel P4 661 3.6GHz or AMD 3800+ AM2

[moof]

Im Making a new comp 4 gameing and im having trouble wether i should go with Intel or AMD CPU. I was thinking of going with a P4 661 3.6 or an AMD 3800+ AM2. Ive been doing my reserch and the P4 is more expensive its about $550ca and the AMD is about $400ca. I was reading some things on Toms hardware about intels and that its they need more watts and they overhead fast could that cause ne problems? I have and Intel P4 2.8 right now and its doesnt seem to overheat but i trust wat the people on toms hardware say but i need more input.

 

[RichPLS]

The 661 has reeled in some of the hotness problems...
That being said, if you have existing quality DDR memory, AMD socket 939 with an X2-3800 would be the most economical upgrade... since you can re-use your RAM...

 

[1Tanker]

The 661 has reeled in some of the hotness problems...
That being said, if you have existing quality DDR memory, AMD socket 939 with an X2-3800 would be the most economical upgrade... since you can re-use your RAM...

Agreed. Also, you may as well jump on the dual-core bandwagon now, as more and more programs and games will make use of them. GL

 

[moof]

So the AMD is a better choice as i thought but i have another Question, is it worth it to get AM2 socket or is it to early because i find the AM2 mobo ar a bit expensive.

 

[SidVicious]

Not only are Socket AM2 motherboards more expensive than their S939 counterparts, they also require insanely expensive low latency DDR2 memory in order to compete with S939 platforms performance wise.

It would be nice to have the specs on your current 'rig, you may have some decent hardware that is worth migrating to your next system.

 

[RichPLS]

If you go AM2 with DDR2 memory, Intel becomes the best choice...
Only thing that makes AMD considered is the fact you have DDR memory you can re-use... otherwise, Conroe is the best choice, AM2 is not...

 

[1Tanker]

So the AMD is a better choice as i thought but i have another Question, is it worth it to get AM2 socket or is it to early because i find the AM2 mobo ar a bit expensive.

AM2 will be better down the road, but in order for it to compete with s939, You will need DDR2 800@ 4-4-4-12 or DDR2 667 @ 3-3-3-8/9. That memory isn't cheap. If you are hoping to reuse some current DDR1 that you have, then s939 is the better route.

 

[o1die]

Wait a couple of weeks for the expected price drop on dual core amd. You might save $100 or more.

 

[moof]

is PC 6400 4-5-4-15 compatible

 

[SidVicious]

is PC 6400 4-5-4-15 compatible

It is compatible but the timings are too slow, hard to tell at a glance how low you can drop the timings with an overvolt.

 

[1Tanker]

is PC 6400 4-5-4-15 compatible

Yes, those are the timings of the OCZ PC6400 2x1GB Platinum set.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820227089

 

[moof]

so i should be good with these then?

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1820451&CatId=2367

 

[1Tanker]

so i should be good with these then?

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1820451&CatId=2367

Yeah, they're good, as long as you are content with 1GB.

 

[moof]

well im fine with 1 gb now but im planing on geting another set when the $ comes.

 

[SidVicious]

Any reason why you are deadset on DDR2 despite our warnings about high latency modules versus cheap, low latency DDR1 ?

 

[moof]

well isn it suposed to b better?

because if it is im willing to go through the trouble.

 

[SidVicious]

The keyword here is "supposed".

While DDR2 looks good on paper and synthetic benchmarks, its high latency pretty much cancels out any advantage the extra bandwidth may bring.

As it was mentionned multiple times, DDR2 just is'nt there yet as far as AMD is concerned, the performance benefit AM2 has over S939 is insignificant even with top notch DDR2, it is still worthwile to go for S939 & DDR1, especially if you currently have some PC-3200 in your current 'rig.

 

[moof]

so would it b better 4 me to get and AMD FX 53 rather than an AMD X2 3800+ AM2. Because ive mad two comps on paper that r the same price using one of these CPU's.

 

[SidVicious]

so would it b better 4 me to get and AMD FX 53 rather than an AMD X2 3800+ AM2. Because ive mad two comps on paper that r the same price using one of these CPU's.

The FX53 would be a bad move, that's an older 130nm core, why not go for a S939 X2 3800+ instead of AM2, you would get the best of both world.

I'm curious to see where you got those prices from...

 

[moof]

i got the prices from tigerdirect.ca
they hav realy good delivery too.

and i have a $3000 budget y not mack use of it.

 

[SidVicious]

You need to keep in mind that spending just for the sake of it hardly make sense when a thousand more may only bring marginal performance increase.

 

[moof]

oh dont wory about that i put heavy reserch in my computers and i ask people like u 4 advise just to mack sur i wont buy my comp unless im 150% sure its worth the money and plus im not in a rush.

 

[Grimmy]

One thing I noticed, perhaps others have but I haven't seen any replies of this, the AM2 boards depending on brand, can support from 4GB to 8GB & even 16GB of memory of 6 MB of 31 choices, thus far.

I suppose that is one feature to point out if moving to Vista OS.

All the 939 MB's I've seen only support up to 4GB off NewEgg. Theres only about 3 MB out of 134 giving support of 8GB, that I saw.

Just thought I'd throw that out there.

 

[moof]

i hav another question between radeon and Geforce wich is better to play World of warcraft or F.E.A.R.

 

[SidVicious]

Depends what price range you're looking at, just glance at some benchmarks...