Which of the following rigs would perform better?

[CoolBarn]

Hi Guys,

I want to purchase a new computer within the next 2 weeks. It will be used primarily for gaming and internet, but I'll also be doing some video editing as well. I have come up with 2 different rigs (one Intel, one AMD) which will cost me similar amounts. Which of these do you think would be better, and please state why...

Intel System:

1) CPU – P4 1.8 GHz
2) Asus P4T-E motherboard
3) 2x256 PC 800 RDram – 512 MB total
4) Full Tower Case / 400 Watt Power Supply
5) Lite-On 40x12x48 CDRW
6) Hard Drive – 2 x 80GB 7200 RPM
7) Graphics – 128 MB Leadtech Geforce 4 Ti 4400
8) External v.90 Modem
9) Cambridge 2.1 speaker system
10) 19” AOC Monitor
11) Optical Mouse
12) Keyboard
13) 16x Lite-On DVD drive
14) Floppy Drive
15) SoundBlaster Live
16) Canopus ADVC 1394

AMD System:

1) Athlon XP 2000+
2) Motherboard - Asus A7V333+Raid KT333 Socket A motherboard (including onboard sound)
3) RAM – 2x 256 MB Corsair XMS PC 2700 DDR - 512 MB total
4) Case / 400 Watt Power Supply
5) Lite-On 40x12x48 CDRW
6) Hard Drive – 2x80GB 7200 RPM -
7) Graphics Card -128 MB Leadtech Geforce 4 Ti 4400
8) External v.90 Modem
9) Cambridge 2.1 speaker system
10) 19” AOC Monitor
11) Optical Mouse
12) Keyboard
13) 16x Lite-On DVD drive
14) Floppy drive
15) Canopus ADVC 1394

Will I notice better performance in either of those systems, or are they simply too close to tell?

Thank you all very much in advance

 

[nja469]

While I like my AMD's, if they're going to cost you roughly the same amount I would go for the Pentium 4. You have a mcuh greater chance of overclockability. That 1.8 should easily hit 2.4 by upping the FSB to 133 with little to no hesitation, heat or stability issues. You didn't mention a brand of RAM, make sure it's namebrand and you should be pretty slick!

"Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one"

 

[o1die]

If you're going with the p4, wait for the sept 1st price cuts. After getting 2 1.8a duds from Fry's electronics, I can no longer say with confidence that all p4's will overclock well. Around sept 1st, the price of the 2.4 and 2.26 should drop to about $200 or less, making them much more attractive even if you don't overclock. Otherwise, go with amd, either the 2000 or 2100. The 2200 thoroughbred is not getting very good reviews for overclocking or temperature. And yes, I tried the 1.8a's on two different motherboards, one with a via chipset, the other with Intel at 1.75-1.8 volts. I've been able to overclock a 1.6a, 2.0, and 2.26 very easily. I may give it one more shot on an sis 645dx board.
<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by o1die on 08/05/02 07:40 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[nja469]

Did you try both of these chips on the same board - RAM or something? A 1.8a is a higher clocked NW clocked down, it's made for higher clocks speeds and they easily run on the 133FSB with a good board, good RAM and also a decent PSU.

"Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one"

 

[tersagun]

While beeing a "AMD-Partisan" i agree nja469.
because AMD's prices must to be lower. that's why i LOVE amd.

"Don't necessarily listen to tersagun,he's been advocating AMD systems,he thinks Intel sucks ass.."

 

[CoolBarn]

So to sum everything up I get the impression that at stock speeds AMD is more value for money, while you have to overclock Intel boards to get same/better performance. However with no offence to the people who have posted so far, I get the impression that some of these responses contain a certain level of Intel or AMD bias (an observation, not a criticism by any means).

Would anyone then have a technical reason why which rig would be better - ie RDRam vs DDR, faster bus speeds of the Intel system versus the AMD, that sort of thing.

Thanks again in advance for your responses.

 

[lhgpoobaa]

well architectually wise the K7 line of processors was desidgned to run best with DDR, which they do, very efficiently.

P4's were designed for RDRAM, or other memory technologies that support extreemly high memory bandwidth. And as benchmarks show the more bandwidth you can supply the happier the P4 is. (also why SDRAM truly sucks on the p4)

so as a general rule...from lowest to highest for the p4.

PC133 SDRAM -> PC1600 DDR -> PC2100 DDR -> PC2700 DDR -> PC800 RDRAM -> PC3200 DDR -> PC1066 RDRAM

but of course to get the best bandwidth you have to pay more. not a fun thing in a place like where i live.


<b>Before visiting THG i was a clueless noob. Now im still clueless, but look at my nice title!<b>

 

[Dinski]

They will run at similar speeds. In some applications P4 will run over, in other - K7.
Anyway, I would buy the P4 system. Not because of the greater overclocking possibility, but because of its' much sure CPU upgrade. I know that there will be P4 3.2 GHz for the same platform, but I doubt if there will be K7 3200+ - 3400+ for Socket A.


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[pr497]

If you're going with the p4, wait for the sept 1st price cuts. After getting 2 1.8a duds from Fry's electronics, I can no longer say with confidence that all p4's will overclock well.

LOL...theres your problem right there...fry's is notorious for selling crap products...at least in my area...i would only go to fry's if i need to buy a mouse pad or something cheap...

<b>L <font color=red>A</font color=red> e <font color=red>T</font color=red> a <font color=red>I</font color=red> K</b>

 

[chuck232]

Possibly. Barton is supposed to have a PR of 3100+... Supposedly 500 points for an extra 256K of L2 cache, although the rumour of a 166MHz FSB is going around again. That <i>could</i> mean another chipset.

<i>Past mistakes may make you look stupid, but avoiding future ones will make you look smart!</i>