Pentium 4 (I just don't understand)

[JT]

Ok I have read all the reports and stuff on how bad the p4 is and how Intel has screwed up. I guess I just don't understand why all of you are dissing the p4 so much. Is it just because of the price if that is it then I can understand why but if it's not the price then what? So the p4 might not be as good as when p3 first came out but it's still the fastest cpu available right now and it's got the fastest bus speed too. I would say that the main problem is the software doesn't take advantage of the p4 right now. When it does amd is going to have to do something to keep. I have seen p4's up over the 2 g mark but yet to see a amd over 1.5 g. Plus a 1.3 g p4 is selling for the same price the 1.2 athlon are going for.

[jeff_harrison_344]

First of all, I would like to clear up that the P4 1.3GHz, is not the same price as the AMD T-Bird 1.2GHz.

And second of all, yes, the reason everyone is bashing the P4s are because of the prices. Everyone knows they are fast as hell proc., but for that price we could get a better all around deal. The P4 would KILL on the market if it were 1, or maybe 200 dollars more then a PIII, but thats not the case here sunny jim :D

[JT]

You are right a p4 1.3 isn't the exact same price as a 1.2 athlon but the difference is only about $100 and it is going keep dropping too. Go look on ebay what the two are going for.

[batboy]

I'll admit, that 1.3 gig P-4 has a lot of overclocking potential, but dude, it's way overpriced. You'll need the newest PC-800 RAM in pairs too. This current version of the P-4 is actually just a stop-gap product that Intel hurriedly threw on the market to compete with AMD. The real P-4 that will live up to it's full potential will be released by the end of the year and it will need a totally different motherboard. Suddenly, that expensive P-4 and motherboard you bought are completely obsolete with no upgrade path. However, if you have money to burn, go for it. It would be cool to be running a 1.3 chip at 1.7+ GHz.

[@crilicM@n]

Shurely Intel just threw it on the market just to stay "ahead amd" in the MHz run... And your absolutely ight: There will be newer mobos for the p4... Maybe in some months it will become more interesting... For now, just Buy a Powerfull t-bird or pIII instead, with the newer ddram if possible and save money to by other good parts...

[Phil]

If intel hadn't rushed it out so soon and cut so many features it may have been an alright chip

[batboy]

Actually, the next version P-4 will be the one to get. That's what I'm going to hold out for. There will be big advantages to overclocking that P-4 quad pumped bus. This newest P-4, the Northwood, or whatever it's called, should be out by the end of this year and will be our ticket to 2 gig. Until then, I'll just have to make due tweaking cheap coppermines until Intel gets their guano together and produces a decent, full fledged P-4 and also when the new RAM memory comes down in price a little.

[OpenFriday]

JT (Feb 23, 2001 07:10 p.m.):
You are right a p4 1.3 isn't the exact same price as a 1.2 athlon but the difference is only about $100 and it is going keep dropping too. Go look on ebay what the two are going for.

if theres only a 100$ price difference go for amd. Maximum pc did a test 1.5ghz vs. amd 1.2. the amd did surprisingly well considering the 300mhz difference. the amd even beat the 1.5 in some test. not the resaults id expected with a 300mhz difference.

GO AMD!!

[Tim-]

One of the biggest problems of the P4 and a reason that they don't benchmark better is the poor FPU they designed in. Because of limited space on the die, Intel decided to limit the FPU or floating point unit (the part that does the intensive math). Their explanation was that they had added extra instructions to the command set that would make up for it- as soon as the software writers started using them. Therefore on math intensive applications, the Tbirds ( and fast PIII's) simply kick it's ass on a clock per clock basis. Unfortunately MANY applications are math intensive- especially games and other graphics oriented applications.

Another problem with their shortsighted viewpoint is that the software that everyone has and uses everyday will suffer from this problem. Not everyone can afford to upgrade to later versions on software they have collected over time- that can be quite an expensive endeavor.