AMD Vs Intel ?

[mouse5150]

Hello for gaming, which processor would you recommend for the money? A P4 or an athlon?

And why would you say that.

I am just very confused because amd's seem to run at much lower Ghz values than P4's for the money, yet more people use AMD. For example i can get a P4 2.8Ghz running at 800FSB and 512 L2 cache with HT technology for less than a XP3200+ at 400FSB, i beleive this runs at some thing like 2.2Ghz is that right?

Whats going on here?!

Can someone enlighten me on which processor to buy for gaming and why.

 

[tech4hire]

Well, In the last few years it has been seen that just how many megahertz you run does not mean a faster chip. Yes AMD does run at lower speeds. But can process more instructions per cycle which is why they compare them to the gigahertz speed of intel cpu's. Apple has been doing this for years. Now for your question. I am and AMD fan. Bang for the buck, That should be AMDs new marketing slogan. They have good deals on all but the top processor that they release. The price stays high and the lower speed cpu's drop quick. But If all you are doing is gaming and the price is not that much higher, i would have to tell you get a P4 ht cpu. The P4 have a better and more widley optimized instruction set than does amd. Basically most (not all) games get same or better benchmarks with the P4. But for the last part of your question i personally would rather a xp 3200 than a 2.8 P4. but like i said i am a fan. Here are some benchmarks to go through page by page. AMD does well in some things and ok in others (just as intel does). This is due to the optimization of the built in instructions. http://www6.tomshardware.com/cpu/20030513/athlon_xp-12.html

 

[dethangel]

the ipc is the real difference and AMD does more ipc, as it has risc, thats what makes it "faster" than its actual clock speed, but the sheer clock speed and cisc of the P4, is what makes it fast

 

[tech4hire]

FYI, IPC=instructions per cycle.

 

[Vertx]

I would def go for AMD tbh, I have an xp 2000+ running on 1 of my systems and it's good enought for most games as long as you have the other hardware to back it up. i.e. Gfx card, mem, mobo.
An Athlon XP 3200+ would be sweet and for the price of one upto an intel chip, i reckon AMD chips are a bargain.

 

[mouse5150]

thank you very much for help, that has cleared up a few questions!

What would you recommend in the mid range (the range i can afford, u can forget about 3200+'s lol!)?

i.e. 2700/2800 AMD vs 2.4/2.6Ghz P4?

Bear in mind i shal be buying quality mobo (A7V8X or Intel summat or other lol) ram (512 branded DDR 2700 maybe 3200) and g/card (9600PRO or MAYBE (lol) a 9800PRO)

Therefore money spent on the best value (or bang for buck) CPU would go towards my "Buy Karl a Radeon 9800PRO and DDR3200 fund" hehehe! Therefore maybe you would recommend AMD due to its generally cheaper mobo's?

Would gaming benefit from a "better" CPU or a better Graphics Card?

Cheers again fetlers

 

[mouse5150]

Also bear in mind that although gaming is like #1 priority right now, i am going to Uni next year so i shall be doing like fairly intensive graphics editing, debugging, video converting (maybe i dunno, its a BSc Computing degree)

But nowits games games GAMES!

mmm gotta love them games on our (distant and constantly delayed and fading) horizon!!

*drool*