What To GEt?@!?

[soccerdude90]

Well I'm going after a new computer, and I've found a place that ships locally. Now, all i need to do is make a descision: Should I REALLY put in that extra couple hundred bucks (cdn) for that Intel Pentium 4 3.06 wonder, or should i stick with a AMD Athlon 3000+? Or better yet, could i back down to a 2700+ or a 2.66? This is going to be a Gaming (1st/3rd person shooters, some RP/RTS) PC and I dont want to be upset with my decision. Thanks.

Help me out, im a 14 year old boy in a land of... old people!

 

[RRAMJET]

For gaming i'd definatly back down to a 2600+ or a 2.4ghz pentium cause you will save a heap of cash which you can throw at a graphics card. You want notice any real difference in gaming with the top end cpus unless you are a benchmarking freak or you want those extra couple of frames per second.

If he doesn't die, he'll get help!!!

 

[soccerdude90]

Alright, thanks for that info, but of a 2600+/2.4 what would u go after, then intel or the athlon?

Help me out, im a 14 year old boy in a land of... old people!

 

[RRAMJET]

The major difference between the two is the price, but the p4 2.4 800mhz is probably more on par with a 2700 - 2800. For gaming the AMD really does stand out due to its price and the fact the graphics cards these days do most of the work. The p4 2.4 is highly overclockable to the 3 ghz mark with the standard cooling fan so if you want max performance it is hard to go past. I'm not going to tell you which is better as it comes down to what you prfer really, i go AMD because of price, but alot will tell you the pentium is a better deal even though more expensive.

If he doesn't die, he'll get help!!!

 

[soccerdude90]

thank you very much for that. my budget is farily tight, i will go for the 2600-2700+ (barely ne cost diff) but if i can get to a p4 2.4 800, i'll pull the cash outta my ass.. lol. thanks again

Help me out, im a 14 year old boy in a land of... old people!

 

[HardWareBoss]

P4 2.4C $171 IS7 Mobo $109 your choice.

 

[soccerdude90]

my guess, not cdn... lol

Help me out, im a 14 year old boy in a land of... old people!

 

[HardWareBoss]

I don't know Cdn prices.

 

[RRAMJET]

I hear you, i'm in Australia!

If he doesn't die, he'll get help!!!

 

[HardWareBoss]

So you having winter now?

 

[soccerdude90]

in canada its (from fall on) first snow, more snow, thawing snow, road repairs. lol, but cdn, its just (eg. 200) 200 +(dollar dif )% = cdn price. so 170 be...221... pretty good, then shiiping n that though, u kno, that old chestnut...

Help me out, im a 14 year old boy in a land of... old people!

 

[RRAMJET]

Yea it starting to get warmer.

If he doesn't die, he'll get help!!!

 

[HardWareBoss]

We're about 88F

 

[RRAMJET]

I'm not sure what that translates to in celcius but its about 25C on a nice day here at the moment. A p 2.4 is about $320 AUD at the moment compared to a 2600+ whuch is about $170AUD, I think $60 US is about $100 AUD at the moment.

If he doesn't die, he'll get help!!!

 

[ufo_warviper]

Are you going to be overclocking any? Both the 2.4c and Barton 2500+ are EXCEPTIONAL overclockers. Personally, I would go with a Barton 2500+, its only $100. I think the 2600+ is at least $40 more. But we could check up on it. Also its possible to get 3.06 Ghz with a 2.4C on stock cooling, which will give you highend performance for only $180 US!

My OS features preemptive multitasking, a fully interactive command line, & support for 640K of RAM!

 

[RRAMJET]

Yea agreed, that would be my pick at the moment, but also depends if you've got the extra cash for the pentium or not. I look at it like this: P4 2.4 and 9600pro OR AMD 2500+ and 9800pro, but more is good too.

If he doesn't die, he'll get help!!!

 

[soccerdude90]

well i see your point... and yea the 9600 pro was what im going for you psychic... lol. soo, AMD/Intel, doesnt really matter, cept i can save a couple bucks? sounds good.

Help me out, im a 14 year old boy in a land of... old people!

 

[SJJM]

The question I have is, are you going to be overclocking. If so then the 2.4c will be a much better buy then the 2500+. I thought that the 2.4c beat or was on par with the 2800+, but I could be wrong been awhile since I looked at the benchies for them.

<font color=blue>"You know, that my backstab attack does double the damage. I can make an off button for him." </font color=blue>

 

[SJJM]

Here is toms test for the 800mhz fsb. What I see is that the 2.4 is keeping up with the 3200+.
<A HREF="http://www6.tomshardware.com/cpu/20030521/index.html" target="_new">http://www6.tomshardware.com/cpu/20030521/index.html</A>

<font color=blue>"You know, that my backstab attack does double the damage. I can make an off button for him." </font color=blue>

 

[soccerdude90]

Well, i have never attempted or learnt much of overclocker seing as im 14 and my comp is 5 years old... lol, anything i kno, i pick up on my own. but my uncle is pretty good at it... plus i guess a trained monkey can do it or so i heard. so, 2.4?

Help me out, im a 14 year old boy in a land of... old people!

 

[RRAMJET]

Let me asure you that video card will make 10 times more difference to your gaming than the 2.4 will make over the 2500+. Actually make that 100 times more....

If he doesn't die, he'll get help!!!<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by rramjet on 09/07/03 07:52 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[ufo_warviper]

Overclocking will be really easy with the Barton 2500+ or 2.4c. Just don't stretch the limits with stock cooling. With a 2500+, I think you can take it all the way up to 3200+ on stock cooling (I'm not sure though). BTW, "stock cooling" means the Heastsink & Fan the comes with the CPU in the box. On the P4 2.4C, you should be able to take it to atleast 3.06 Ghz. The really nuts people who are able to go 2 or 3 times their CPU rating go to very extreme, & might I add very expensive measures like Liquid Nitrogen Cooling and that sort of stuff. Liquid Nitrogen cooling is not the route for the general overclocker. Getting a 20-30% boost will be very good for you, and save you some bucks if your interested. Overclocking will be just exactly the same thing what you do when you install your CPU @ regular settins. All that you have to do is bump up the jumper on the Front Side Bus (FSB) & bump up the jumper on the Clock Multiplyer to the desired settings and that should take care of it.

My OS features preemptive multitasking, a fully interactive command line, & support for 640K of RAM!

 

[ufo_warviper]

I'd actually have to say that rramjet is absolutely right on this one. The video card indeed will make the biggest differrence.

My OS features preemptive multitasking, a fully interactive command line, & support for 640K of RAM!

 

[soccerdude90]

now all i need is the monkey...

Help me out, im a 14 year old boy in a land of... old people!

 

[SJJM]

It all depends on you. If you really need to save that extra $50 then the 2500+ is still a great chip, but if you can spend that extra money then I believe that the 2.4c would be a better decision then the 2500+. Both are great overclockers, but you will get more from the 2.4c. One thing that no one has said, is that you need some really good ram to overclock. I do not know if you took that into your computer check list at all, but you might want to think about that. That might make or break your decision, the extra money that you would spend on the 2.4c could go towards your memory instead.

<font color=blue>"You know, that my backstab attack does double the damage. I can make an off button for him." </font color=blue>