Going to do an upgrade soon, and am unsure if one is any better over the other. From what I've gathered, AMD is typically better for gaming and P4 for hard number crunching. But, is there really much difference? I was thinking about the AMD64 in the 3000+ range or the P4 in a 3.2GHz range. One thing about the AMD64 is it is ready to go for Windows 64, but is that of any real value? Comments are appreciated. BTW, I will be doing the upgrade myself.
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AMD64 or P4
- Thread starter ChiknNutz
- Start date
quicksignguy
New Member
I just recently upgraded my system to a Dell Precision 370 Workstation with dual monitor setup. 3.2 Ghz P4 with 1 GB ram. I'm running Win XP pro, which is very stable. Really probably the fastest computer I've ever used! Great machine. Personally I'd go with the pentium. We used to have a Compaq with a Celeron processor (what a joke), but that didn't go over too well with me. Upgrading is always good, but reloading software etc is kind of a pain. The good thing is you get to start over again, and work barebones without alot of junk slowing down your system. just my 2 cents.
Dave
Dave
OldPaint
New Member
its like anythng else in the computer area, wait a week and there is something better/faster/cheaper! i got 2 AMD machines i built here in the house. wifes was a xmas present 2 yrs ago its a 900 mghz AMD. never have problems with it. i over clocked it to 1.1 mhgz. runs fine no real heat problem. just make sure you got a big enough heat sink and ball bearing cooling fan.
my work computer is a AMD XP2100 tranlates to a 1.8 mhgz. i run XP & 98SE on both machines. i do this with removable hard drives. put one in and fire it up and it works. you want other hard drive pull ot one insert the other.
now to the question....yes i would and will upgrade to the AMD 64 2800-3000. the mother boards are SATA/RAID equiped. can do a lot of ram and have the newer AGP-4 i think its called. these are the 128/256 meg video cards. untill you see one, it wont matter. but once you see it on a nice 17-19" LCD...you will want it.
at present not much is written for 64 bit computers. couple games out there are....and are awesome to play. but on the work side, if you gona upgrade now......do the AMD 64, this will put one upgrade ahead any pentium. when i replace this XP2200 i will probably go to 2800-3000 AMD64...and why not?
my work computer is a AMD XP2100 tranlates to a 1.8 mhgz. i run XP & 98SE on both machines. i do this with removable hard drives. put one in and fire it up and it works. you want other hard drive pull ot one insert the other.
now to the question....yes i would and will upgrade to the AMD 64 2800-3000. the mother boards are SATA/RAID equiped. can do a lot of ram and have the newer AGP-4 i think its called. these are the 128/256 meg video cards. untill you see one, it wont matter. but once you see it on a nice 17-19" LCD...you will want it.
at present not much is written for 64 bit computers. couple games out there are....and are awesome to play. but on the work side, if you gona upgrade now......do the AMD 64, this will put one upgrade ahead any pentium. when i replace this XP2200 i will probably go to 2800-3000 AMD64...and why not?
Scott Reynolds
New Member
The bus speed rocks on the AMD, but barry is right, they run warm. AMD or P4, your not going to get a "bad" CPU. I going with the 64
Techman
New Member
IF yer goona do a lot of number crunching , using cad, cam or cas software,, you will be much happier using P4..
if you are runnign games and lots of other general softs. then either one will work,, But is is said AMD has the edge on gamming..
A majority of the big time cad, cam and cas softs are optimized using the intel platform. Now, how do I know this,,, Well, this is not just an opinion based upon feelings speculation and rumor. It is a fact that some CADs will run its best on P4's
Our computer local computer shop (for whom i used to be a silent partner and tech) builds numerous machines for our local the NASA test sites, Lockheed Martin that builds the shuttle fuel tanks, and textron that builds the LCAC navy crafts. They specify P4 machiines for a good reason. Experience shows that P4's run faster and crash rarely running CAD, and CAM softs
While AMD crashes more. This is not an issue when running word or DOOM III.
But it is when rendering graphics that take minutes to redraw. A crashing machine takes out huge bites of research time. We all know how long it takes to boot XP and then load software. Then unpack and load up a 80 meg tiff or DWG file. Three crashes a day is just too much. So, with P4's they have very few crashes.. 3 seconds slower on a redraw is not much when you redraw just one every 10 minutes. But when you redraw hundreds of times a day, ,You will soon see the diffrence.
For general computing there is not much difference. AMD platform's claim to fame is the ability to overclock. This is a plus to money strapped hobbyists because with a little weak and they are running faster with older hardware.. P4's are locked and cannot be tweaked as much. That is why so tweakers / hobbiests advise you to get a AMD.. They can get more use for the same buck. But, when it comes to production then who cares about squeezing out a few more months of usage.
Engineering houses want speed NOW!. They also do not care bout making a machine last. They upgrade as fast as their budget allows..
Personally, I use P4's at the office and AMDs for the kids gaming machines.
Have fun.
if you are runnign games and lots of other general softs. then either one will work,, But is is said AMD has the edge on gamming..
A majority of the big time cad, cam and cas softs are optimized using the intel platform. Now, how do I know this,,, Well, this is not just an opinion based upon feelings speculation and rumor. It is a fact that some CADs will run its best on P4's
Our computer local computer shop (for whom i used to be a silent partner and tech) builds numerous machines for our local the NASA test sites, Lockheed Martin that builds the shuttle fuel tanks, and textron that builds the LCAC navy crafts. They specify P4 machiines for a good reason. Experience shows that P4's run faster and crash rarely running CAD, and CAM softs
While AMD crashes more. This is not an issue when running word or DOOM III.
But it is when rendering graphics that take minutes to redraw. A crashing machine takes out huge bites of research time. We all know how long it takes to boot XP and then load software. Then unpack and load up a 80 meg tiff or DWG file. Three crashes a day is just too much. So, with P4's they have very few crashes.. 3 seconds slower on a redraw is not much when you redraw just one every 10 minutes. But when you redraw hundreds of times a day, ,You will soon see the diffrence.
For general computing there is not much difference. AMD platform's claim to fame is the ability to overclock. This is a plus to money strapped hobbyists because with a little weak and they are running faster with older hardware.. P4's are locked and cannot be tweaked as much. That is why so tweakers / hobbiests advise you to get a AMD.. They can get more use for the same buck. But, when it comes to production then who cares about squeezing out a few more months of usage.
Engineering houses want speed NOW!. They also do not care bout making a machine last. They upgrade as fast as their budget allows..
Personally, I use P4's at the office and AMDs for the kids gaming machines.
Have fun.
TerryStolmeier
New Member
Chris -
I just went through all of this. I went from AMD to P4 and have noticed a huge diference. A couple things....
1. Where do you get your hardware? (are you near a Fry's?) Do you have an idea what you want to upgrade too?
2. What are you currently using? If you plan on using the same hard drive, you will run into extra steps if you go from AMD to P4 or vice-versa. I would recommend getting a new hard drive if you can afford it. They are pretty inexpensive now and value of starting fresh is invaluable.
3. I noticed a huge difference in the visual reaction time when I upgraded my video card last year. This may be something to think about as well.
I just went through all of this. I went from AMD to P4 and have noticed a huge diference. A couple things....
1. Where do you get your hardware? (are you near a Fry's?) Do you have an idea what you want to upgrade too?
2. What are you currently using? If you plan on using the same hard drive, you will run into extra steps if you go from AMD to P4 or vice-versa. I would recommend getting a new hard drive if you can afford it. They are pretty inexpensive now and value of starting fresh is invaluable.
3. I noticed a huge difference in the visual reaction time when I upgraded my video card last year. This may be something to think about as well.
On the machine I am wanting to upgrade, here are the specs:
AMD Duron 1.3 GHz with 684MB SDRAM, a GeForce Ti 64MB video card, pretty fresh 160GB Maxtor HD, Antec Sonata case and WinXP Home.
I've use both over time, but use a smokin' P4 at my day job for hi-end 3D CAD work.
I want this one for sign work and simply want better performance as it seems I spend a lot of time waiting on the computer to catch up with me while in Corel. I am sorta close to a Fry's, but they also have their online version (Outpost.com) that I frequently peruse. I also get stuff from Newegg.com.
I don't want to spend a bunch right now, just need to freshen this thing up a bit.
AMD Duron 1.3 GHz with 684MB SDRAM, a GeForce Ti 64MB video card, pretty fresh 160GB Maxtor HD, Antec Sonata case and WinXP Home.
I've use both over time, but use a smokin' P4 at my day job for hi-end 3D CAD work.
I want this one for sign work and simply want better performance as it seems I spend a lot of time waiting on the computer to catch up with me while in Corel. I am sorta close to a Fry's, but they also have their online version (Outpost.com) that I frequently peruse. I also get stuff from Newegg.com.
I don't want to spend a bunch right now, just need to freshen this thing up a bit.
Scott Reynolds
New Member
www.zipzoomfly.com
free 2 day air and great prices! I'll ordered from them 8-10 times, great every time.
free 2 day air and great prices! I'll ordered from them 8-10 times, great every time.
TerryStolmeier
New Member
I personally like Fry's over everyone else, even outpost.com since it is cheaper from the stores. They also have specials every weekend. I picked up a 2.5 P4 w/fan, motherboard, new power supply (a must) and a new stick of RAM for $210 about a month ago. 200GB HD for $75 after rebate.
If you want, I can pick stuff up and send it to you. The closest Fry's is in Oregon (no tax!) and I can always use a reason to go down there.
In regards to changing from one brand to the other, you'll need to boot from the windows install disc and run the repair option. If not, when it tries to boot up, all your hardware will say "INTEL", but all the drivers say "No.... AMD." Then they both agree to just reboot and try again. This will continue until you run the repair program. This took me (and some very knowledgable people) over a week to figure out.
If you want, I can pick stuff up and send it to you. The closest Fry's is in Oregon (no tax!) and I can always use a reason to go down there.
In regards to changing from one brand to the other, you'll need to boot from the windows install disc and run the repair option. If not, when it tries to boot up, all your hardware will say "INTEL", but all the drivers say "No.... AMD." Then they both agree to just reboot and try again. This will continue until you run the repair program. This took me (and some very knowledgable people) over a week to figure out.
Scott Reynolds
New Member
I go to Fry's here in Vegas, (it's on the strip) but the prices at this one are high! Somethings full retail, others retail + 10%! Maybe because its here and on the strip they have higher prices.. I like the store, huge!
Link to AMD 64 3000+ OEM and Asus A8V- Deluxe Pro motherboard $277.99 shipped!
Link to P4 3.0GHz Prescott $178.90 shipped
I have 3 computer here in my office, 2 AMD, 1 P4. I like them all. My slowest box is a AMD and my fastest box is a AMD. Buy what you want, you will get what you pay for, AMD or P4.
Link to AMD 64 3000+ OEM and Asus A8V- Deluxe Pro motherboard $277.99 shipped!
Link to P4 3.0GHz Prescott $178.90 shipped
I have 3 computer here in my office, 2 AMD, 1 P4. I like them all. My slowest box is a AMD and my fastest box is a AMD. Buy what you want, you will get what you pay for, AMD or P4.
Scott Reynolds
New Member
GraphiXtreme, Your 684Mb SDRAM would make nice key chains. Just drill a 1/8 hole in one corner. Or find an "old box" to donate it to. Upgrade your chip and motherbaord, you'll need DDR ram. Buy "matched" sticks, and stick to name brand ram. (Crucial, Corsair, Kingston Hyper)
FYI, I ended up going with the AMD64 3000+ (socket 939) paired with a Gigabyte GA-K8NS-939 motherboard and 1 pair-512MB (1GB total) of Kingston ValueRam. Ordered the MB and CPU from ZipZoomFly and the RAM from Newegg.
I'll report on how it works after I get it up'n runnin'
I'll report on how it works after I get it up'n runnin'
jayhawksigns
New Member
Just something I wanted to add, I just built a A64 2800+ system for my sister, the thing never got above 40c doing continuous benchmarks, with the AMD cooler. My personnal rig is a 2500+ XP Barton core and the thing runs at 45c idling.
I also picked up and extra 120mm case fan (Vantec Stealth) for my Antec Sonata case (great case BTW) just in case it gets hot. I also ended up getting a Gigabyte 128MB video card (ATI Radeon 9600 Pro core). My current card is fine, but I wasn't sure if it would work with the new MB since it is a couple years old. I'd hate to put the thing together only to find out the Vid Card didn't work.
Got all the stuff. After getting it all installed, never could get Windows to fully boot up (using existing hard drive). Sometimes got Safe Mode, and finally that all crapped out. After much foul language, decided that I needed an additional hard drive so I could salvage all the existing data. After doing so and a clean install of WinXP Home, all is well again (after abandoning my family for a day to do so).
As far as the HEAT goes, so far I've not noticed above 22 deg C (like 72 F). I've not run it hard yet, but don't anticipate any problems. I still need to install the add'l case fan, so should be jsut fine.
Obviously, a marked improvement in speed, but hard to say WHAT is the best improvement since it is ALL new now. Don't really know how much better until I can run some real work thru it.
As far as the HEAT goes, so far I've not noticed above 22 deg C (like 72 F). I've not run it hard yet, but don't anticipate any problems. I still need to install the add'l case fan, so should be jsut fine.
Obviously, a marked improvement in speed, but hard to say WHAT is the best improvement since it is ALL new now. Don't really know how much better until I can run some real work thru it.
WVB
New Member
Generally your CPU upgrade will give you a gain of 10% Ram upgrade will give you another 10% Video card is up to a 10% and a hard drive will give you a gain of 20%.
Of course if you are going from a P3 to a P4 this will be different but on a general note those will be your gains.
Add the case fan, because not just your cpu is going to get hot. Your ram will get hot, along with the spinning of your hard drives. Your new graphics card should have a built in fan, however the more the better. At least one intake fan with one exhaust fan. If you are handy you should put the fan ontop of the case (blow hole) fan for the exhaust as heat rises. You can use a dremel tool for such a task.
Your graphics card should work just fine. Worst case is its a PCI card slot. Which will work with your new board. Second case is its a AGP port which will work with your new board.
-Will
Of course if you are going from a P3 to a P4 this will be different but on a general note those will be your gains.
Add the case fan, because not just your cpu is going to get hot. Your ram will get hot, along with the spinning of your hard drives. Your new graphics card should have a built in fan, however the more the better. At least one intake fan with one exhaust fan. If you are handy you should put the fan ontop of the case (blow hole) fan for the exhaust as heat rises. You can use a dremel tool for such a task.
Your graphics card should work just fine. Worst case is its a PCI card slot. Which will work with your new board. Second case is its a AGP port which will work with your new board.
-Will