P4 (478) vs P4 (423)

[Guest]

i'm ordering a new PC tommorow at my local computer shop here in Paris, and i am still debating on what setup to get.
It comes down to 2 choices:

- P4 1.6mhz (478socket)
- Asus P4B mobo
- 512 SD RAM

vs

- P4 1.4mhz (423socket)
- MSI 6339 mobo
- 2x64 Rambus memory

bothare roughly the same price, and i can only get the deal if i purchase those specific packages.

i've read toms benchmarks on the P4 478, so i know that SDram doesnt do great with the P4.

But, i am still leaning towards that setup because it is a faster processor (1.6 vs 1.4), does come with much more ram (512 SDram vs 128 RDram), but also because the ASUS mobo seems to be better than a MSI, although i could be wrong.

also, when the new VIA chipset comes out,i can buy that mobo and put DDR ram into the 478 setup.

Am I making a wise decision by getting the P4 478 system ??

 

[Raystonn]

If you purchase a Pentium 4 now there are two things that must make your list as a requirement. One is socket 478. This is the socket of future Pentium 4 chipsets and motherboards. The old socket 423 is obsolete. Buying such a CPU will leave you with no upgrade path in the future. The second requirement is RDRAM. Pairing the low performance SDRAM with a Pentium 4 will cut your performance so drastically that you will attain the performance levels of a Pentium 4 system at half the clock speed.

Now then, analyzing your two choices I can come to only one conclusion. Buy neither. They are both a complete waste of money. If someone is offering a special price on them, there is most definately a good reason. Both are dead-end or worthless systems. They are simply trying to get rid of them before people realize it.

-Raystonn


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

 

[Guest]

well, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe P4 478 mobo's ONLY support SDram at the moment. so what you are telling me is basically: do not purchase a P4.

well, I certainly doubt i should go get a much more "useless" P3, and I am NOT going the AMD route, so once again, what is my best option??

 

[Raystonn]

Get a socket 478 Pentium 4 and grab a motherboard with an i850 chipset (RDRAM) that has a socket 478. They do exist.

-Raystonn


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

 

[Crashman]

Raystons Right. Concerning i850 (RDRAM) motherboards with Socket 478, the Intel D850MD and the Abit TH7II arer a couple of popular choices.


Back to you Tom...

 

[Guest]

my bad about the mobo's. then for sure that is the way to go (478+i850).
now the only porblem is locating one of these boards, that TH7II seems sweet, but unfortunately NONE of the stores i've checked carry it (I live in France btw). I will keep looking though....

looks like i might not order my computer tommorow after all hehe.

 

[Crashman]

I thought the EU was supposed to put an end to distribution problems in Europe? After all, it's got to be available SOMEWHERE in Europe!

Back to you Tom...

 

[Guest]

yea nevermind, i found an ASUS P4T, but now I'm having a hard time finding 128mb Rambus !!

the thing is I go through independant computer shops in the Paris chinatown, where the best prices are, but unfortunately it is also harder to find certain components (especially after the back to school craze). These shops also stock very little Intel products, as AMD seems to be the preffered choice these days.

right now, all they have is 64mb RAMBUS, so i might have to get 4 of those....

 

[Quebecois]

Don't buy 4!

It is faster if you buy 2 bigger ones. This is due to the serial nature of RDRAM.

 

[Guest]

I'm not a RDRAM expert.

However, I've read from Raystonn that the latency of the RDRAM will increase if the number of memory units goes from 1 to 2.

Getting a larger size now, ie. 2 X 128 MB will be better, because if you ever want to expand your memory you will have more flexibilty, ie. one open slot on each channel!

You can always order the RDRAM through mail order (many websites selling RDRAM). Check out Sharkysextreme.com for weekly prices.

 

[Guest]

http://tomshardware.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php?masterid=307804&search=rdram&ut=182ab8522fcece7e

Check out this site.
Control C to copy the text
Control V to copy it to the top of your browser address box.

 

[Guest]

hey scheng, sure you pasted the right link there buddy?!

anyways, thx for the ram info guys, i will start searching for 128mb rdram on monday. I ended up getting the Abit TH7II, P4 1.6 478 w/Intel coolfan, and a 60gig IBM HD!! =)