well, i have been looking at many many different amd and intel chipsets for the last few weeks and im still trying to decide between the 2 and heres the facts so far
P4
clock speed-> 2.4 ghz
bus speed-> 800mhz
ram->dual channel DDR
support->100% supported by microsoft
ups:
clock and bus speed
support by microsoft
downs:
instructions per clock
ATHLON XP
clock speed-> 2.17 GHz
bus speed-> 400MHz
ram-> single channel DDR
support-> 90% supported by Microsoft
ups:
instructions per clock is higher than the P4
more "friendly" with linux
there is a download to support 64 bit processing for linux
downs:
clock speed
bus speed
no support from MS
i have yet to find a mobo that has 4 dimms and support for pc2700 ram
i just found out about the 64-bit os from linux from another tech at a different campus, so thats pretty exciting, but that only pertains to the athlon 64
and fyi, these are the chipsets i have been looking at, the AMD is a little more expensive, but if the ipc ratio is that much higher it might be worth it