2500 + vs 2.6C ghz

If you want to play Halo on 60+fps you NEED a 9800pro. I would go for the Athlon cause $250 is a lot of money. The performance difference, IMO, is not worth $250.

<font color=blue>
I will not add another word.
Horace </font color=blue>

the P4 2.4C is probably more of a fair comparison to the 2500+, performance-wise, but with the AXP system you get excellent on-board audio, so you wouldn't need a sound card, whereas for a really good gaming system you'll need to buy a separate sound card if you go intel.

So to sum up, I agree with snorkius, especially about getting a 9800. if that's too expensive, a 9600Pro (or the new 9600XT) would be quite decent.

400Mhz (200Mhz DDR) ram would be overkill unless you plan to overclock - which I suggest you do personally, as the 2500+ changes from good value to unbelievably good value when you oc it to >2Ghz :smile:

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<font color=red>The preceding text is assembled from information stored in an unreliable organic storage medium. As such it may be innacurate, incomplete, or completely wrong</font color=red> :wink:

If money is not an issue go with the 2.6c. In stock speeds it will perform better than the 2500+. Also, these two chips are also great overclockers, so you should expect at least 3.0GHz from the Intel CPU and at least 3200+ speeds from the AMD CPU. Again, the overclocked 2.6c should perform better.

BUT on the other hand if money is an issue go with AMD. Especially if you also need a graphics card (you didn't mention what you currently have), those $250 you will save could even get you a Radeon 9800 Pro if I am not mistaken. Also keep in mind that you will also need to buy a good sound card with the Intel system (which will increase cost), while the onboard sound of the AMD mobo you chose is EXCELLENT quality (don't let the "onboard sound" fool you, Nvidia's APU delivers excellent quality sound).

Now about memory. I personally believe Corsair is the way to go. It's one of the best memory brands out there. The XMS memory will make a bigger difference on the AMD system, but less difference on the Intel system. Again it all comes down to your budget. If you have the money go for it, especially if you are getting the Barton.

And about the HSF. If you are not going to overclock, stock fans will be ok. Otherwise if you will overclock, I believe an excellent choice would be SLK-800 and a 80mm fan (I personally have SmartFan 2 because I can adjust its speed according to the noise/performance ratio I prefer). Be careful though because there is a different version of this cooler for Intel or AMD processors.

I hope this helps.

OMG, this was very exhausting  

I have a GF4 Ti4400. When I saw the benchmarks for the other vid cards the Ti4400 wasn't very hard behind.

Also its $250 canadian furthermore I do plan on overclocking  

IMO I would go AMD and then with the remaining $250 build a water cooling kit for $100-150 and overclock that b*tch and outperform the P4 and still have money left over  

A7N8X-DX 2.0
AMX XP 2500+ 333fsb
Mushkin 2-3-2 PC 3200 2x512mb Sticks
ATI Radeon 9600 Pro 128mb
160gb WD 8mb cache
3dMark2001SE: 12934 YAHOO!

Now wait a second here. So far I agree with everyone <i>except</i> about the sound card being needed for Intel. In case you folks haven't actually looked lately there are some mobos with great onboard sound for Intel too. My Asus P4P800 Deluxe for example has wonderful 5.1 sound. So if you shop right there's no need to buy a sound card for Intel either.

That aside though saving the money with the AMD route and using some of that extra money to get 1GB of RAM would be pretty sweet.

<pre><A HREF="http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=20030905" target="_new"><font color=black>People don't understand how hard being a dark god can be. - Hastur</font color=black></A></pre><p>

That's a cute sentiment, but if you spend <i>that</i> much money to overclock the AMD system then it loses it's value because you might as well just buy the P4 and overclock it on air for even better performance than the watercooled AMD. :\

<pre><A HREF="http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=20030905" target="_new"><font color=black>People don't understand how hard being a dark god can be. - Hastur</font color=black></A></pre><p>

not to mention you would save quite a bit of time taking the p4 route.


If it isn't a P6 then it isn't a procesor
110% BX fanboy

hehe. ya I wouldn't take water cooling as an option anyways  

A GF 4400 is ok, but a 9800pro is better :wink: . Seriously, for gaming if you get a 9600pro on the price difference (you should be able to find one ~$250 canadian), you will have<i> MUCH</i> better performance than if you get a 2.6C and keep your old card. Especially in new and upcoming games. If you have the money, get 9800pro. If you have even <i>more</i> money get a 2.6C + 9800XT

<font color=blue>
I will not add another word.
Horace </font color=blue>

This is how everything costs and what im goign to buy for what

Intel System Upgrade :
ASUS P4P800-DX 865PE DDR $185
Pentium 4 2.6C GHz w/ Hyper-Threading $312
Corsair DDR400 x2 $133

Subtotal = $630
Total = $724.50

AMD System Upgrade :
ASUS A7N8X Deluxe $188.99
Athlon XP 2500+ (Barton) w/ 512K L2 cache $116.99
Corsair XMS3200 256MB DDR 400MHz x2 $243.98

Subtotal = $549.96
Total = $632.45

The Corsair on the Intel is cheaper then the AMD corsair version. I picked this kind because of what pitsi said "XMS memory will make a bigger difference on the AMD system, but less difference on the Intel system"

Remember this is in Canadian $'s but its still a lot to me + HS/Fan for Intel System Please!  

If you have any suggestions that would be great!  

Are you going to OC? Stock Hsf works fine for small OC. My 2.4C OCed to 3.0 with stock Hsf.

Now if you more of OC buy Abit IC7 Max3.

WHile I'm not sure the XMS memory would or would not make a difference, I'm sure it can't be worth the 2x price ratio. I'm assumung the XMS3200 has some slightly lower latency, which would give give you a few percent overall *at most*. That really isnt worth it with a CAN$ 116 cpu ! For the same price you'd get a 3000+ with normal Corsair memory and far better performance.

Substract the extra $110 for the AMD rig, and then decide what you like best. The 2.6 will indeed be slightly faster overall, for a higher price... your choice..

= The views stated herein are my personal views, and not necessarily the views of my wife. =

Take a look at the price and features of your board and the Abit IS7, and decide weather it's worth the extra $80.

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