Athlon XP or 64? What should I buy?

[pauloandre]

I have saved some money for a new pc (my P-II 400 is just... old) and I wanted to buy a high-end pc, since I want to use the Windows .NET terminal services and use share resources with my old pc and also because I use a lot of cpu-intensive apps (and games...), but I don't know if I should wait for the Athlon 64, Barton or buy the Athlon 2800+. I can't wait much longer, since my current cpu is not enough for 1/10 of what I wanted to do, but I can wait until Easter, not more. Also, I'm not interested in the official cpu speeds, since overclocking is an option (a watercooling kit is being thought). Also, I have some old pci cards that I have to use in my new sistem, so new win .net 64-bits compatible drivers will not be easy to find. Finally, money is not a big problem, but is surely not enough for an intel 3GHz cpu when I can get 3.3GHz from the athlon 2800+ for a much lower price. I am only asking about the cpu now, but I want to decide this first.

P.S.: I know that an athlon 1600 or so would probably be enough, but I didn't want to buy anything for the new pc for about 3-4 years, so it must be a ultra-high-end system now.

 

[ad_rach]

the problem is i don't think there will ever be a system that is good for 3-4 years-even if you buy ultra high end.Ideally you should get an athlon 64 because it's such a complete generational change but if you can only wait til easter you will miss it by a good couple of months.nothing available at the moment cpu wise is exceptionally future proof.if i were you i would either wait for the barton which will be within your time frame (though i am not quite sure when it's out-can anyone tell me?) or as you said go for the xp 2800 and oc it(if you feel the need to), purely because it is so much cheaper than the p4 3.06 or even p4. 2.8.
I have to say that your dilemma is certainly one i wish i could afford to have.

no matter how hard you try, you can't polish a turd. :]

 

[ad_rach]

...and if you go for the xp 2800 be sure to get an nforce 2 mobo coz dual channel ddr 400 is the most future-proof you can get as regards memory at the moment.

no matter how hard you try, you can't polish a turd. :]

 

[pauloandre]

I can only afford to have this dilemma because i have saved money and didn't upgrade, until now.

My original thought (before reading about the hammer and barton) was already a nforce 2 and the motherboard was one of the reasons I didn't want a P4, since there is only one with agp 8x support and it isn't as good as nforce 2 anyway. Another thing: when I said I didn't want to buy anything, it didn't mean that I needed a system that could boot win 2008 in 30 seconds ou so, but just a system that could be at least as fast as my old p-ii 400 is now, but with the future software (and that can run future games at 15fps with minimal settings). I don't think this is too much to ask.

 

[chuck232]

Ok, even if you can wait til Easter, I don't think Athlon64 will be retailing in great quantities. The XP2800+ will never reach 3.3GHz. If you mean a PR3300+, maybe.

For the best top end right now(money wise too), get a XP2800+ and a nForce2 mobo. Don't bother with watercooling. Just get a Alpha PAL8045 and a nice fan to perch on top. This sort of system will probably last you 3 years or so I think.

...And all the King's horses and all the King's men couldn't put my computer back together again...