"you're better off waiting until the fall release of the Northwood and Brookdale"
I agree for those of us who plan on upgrading our cpu within about 1-1.5 years of purchase. For those who plan on keeping their CPU for 2-3 years though, keeping the motherboard becomes highly unlikely anyway.
Actually, if you read the whole post, and in context, you will see that I am not arguing about the upgradability, but I'm arguing against the whole idea of purchasing a P4 in its current incarnation. I see spending $300+ on a chip that isn't the real thing that is not living up to its advertised GHz (okay, I know the formula for the GHz rating, but I'm saying that chips of lower speed and earlier technology are still comperable to it, despite the increased GHz) as a waste of hard earned money. If you truly want a P4 system, and you want it the way it should be, there is no way to do it but to get the Northwood or Brookdale version, as they won't be a castrated version, like the one selling today is.
Intel made a big mistake in wanting to get the P4 out ASAP. By doing that, they have garnered much negative press concerning the price and performance of it. What Intel forgot is that people now are informed, no longer confined to tangible sources of news. They have the internet, and on the 'net, the P4 was flamed by many, mostly for it's outragous initial price. People research with the 'net now, and for many, instead of getting their first computer, are onto number two or three, and know people who also have computers; ergo, they know what they are looking for; they are "experienced". The P4 as it is leaves a bad taste in the mouths of many, and by releasing a poorly planned "dumbed-down" version of the P4, Intel has soiled the name, and too many people out there know about it. People will tell you, and I'm sure Intel would too, after the Northwood and Brookdale are out and selling, that they [Intel] blundered when releasing the P4 when they did.
Now, the tech savvy people we are know better and know that the current P4 is just not what it should be. I see the real P4 as kicking the T-Bird's ass, just because of the high clock speed, not to mention the SSE2, if it is ever used by developers and brought into the mainstream. Face it, the P4 the we know today really sucks compared to what it should be, and what it was touted to be (that Net Burst BS really makes me laugh). The P4 that is relased later on should be a mad, code crunching machine that will probably run circles around the T-bird.
But, if you're like me, and <i> need </i> a new system soon, you're kinda screwed. The P3 is at the end; the 1.13GHz, if it is stable, will be the last P3, and Intel will slowly pull the plug on it. The T-bird will be phased out this summer in favor of the Palomino, and there is the hope that the Palomino will run just as well on the current T-bird motherboards, but only time will tell. So, you have a choice to make. You can either go all out and buy a bleeding edge P3 or T-bird system, or keep waiting until the Palomino and <b> <i> true </i> </b> P4 are out and see how the two compare. But I implore all who wish to upgrade soon <b> avoid the current, castrated, fake, and "dumbed-down" version of the P4 </b>. It is a failed processor, dead on arrival, and all it will do is offer you pain and hardship as you realize that cheaper, "slower" AMDs are killing you, and the new 1.13GHz P3 (if it scales as well as the rest) beats you as well. So don't do it. Don't buy the P4, unless it's the Northwood or Brookdale version. Just don't get it. It's not worth the money, the time, or the effort. Wait for the real P4 and you will be very happy, and it will last you a long time, as we all know that a 2GHz CPU is at least 1.2GHz more than you need right now, and will easily last you for at least 2 years.
-SammyBoy
Without Evil, there can be no Good. Therefore, without an Intel, there can be no AMD.
It might be that much faster alone but the increase in total system performance won't be 20% maybe if lucky 5%-10%.
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