Decisions, Decisions

Ok, I'm looking to build a new rig, either an Athlon XP with a thermaltake volcano 7, or a p4 1.8A. Both will be running on a motherboard with DDR 333, and i plan to only raise the FSB, i do not want to unlock the XP. I'd raise the FSB as far as I could on the Athlon, and I'd rasie the FSB on the P4 to 133. I have been going back and forth in my head on which to buy and I can't decide, so please tell me which you think I should go with. I'm mostly interested in higher speed for games.

Which speed XP? 1800+?

The P4's are grossly easy to overclock, so if you're just looking for plain high MHz, get the P4.

But since you aren't a newb, the PR rating of xp's actually means something to you, and 1800 XP should hit 2200+ with little effort.

However, you said you don't want to unlock, and since the 1800 defaults to 11.5x133, at 11.5x166 you'll be pushing your luck a bit. As you can see in the database, average is around 1750, so 1900 is unlikely.

I'd recommend getting a 1600+ (10.5x133) and setting it to 10.5x166, which would get you 1743 (which lots of them achieve). If you get a good stepping, you'll have a lot of room to work with to push the FSB even higher.

I wouldn't get a P4 just because you'll oc it, and it'll perform just like the XP once you oc them both. Not worth the money, that and the motherboards are a little more $$ too.

Good luck!

I have had a P4 1.8A @ 2.4Ghz. I now have an unlocked AXP 1700+ that is capable of 2000+ at default voltages.

3DMark scores are not everything, but here you go...

10757 with the P4:

http://service.madonion.com/compare?2k1=3628840

9885 with the AXP:

http://service.madonion.com/compare?2k1=3885989

As funny as it sounds I prefer my AXP setup I have now. Game compatibility is much better because I think the KT266A chipset is more recognized than the new P4 chipsets. My favourite game is NHL2002 and game play with a P4 is horrible.

For pure speed, only the TBred 2200+ could match a P4 @ 2.4Ghz. However, speed isn't everything as I have found out.

Mark, that's not a very fair comparison if you're trying to show that a P4 is 'faster' in 3dmark than an XP. You've got a 2.4ghz up against a 2000+. Gimme your video card and I'll beat your p4

Also not using the same driver version in the tests. And you oc'd the P4 bus but not the amd. 4x133 > 2x133.

I would love to get my hands on a GF4 Ti4xxx and see how it'd perform on my system.

exx said:

Mark, that's not a very fair comparison if you're trying to show that a P4 is 'faster' in 3dmark than an XP. You've got a 2.4ghz up against a 2000+. Gimme your video card and I'll beat your p4

Also not using the same driver version in the tests. And you oc'd the P4 bus but not the amd. 4x133 > 2x133.

I would love to get my hands on a GF4 Ti4xxx and see how it'd perform on my system.

Click to expand...

It's not trying to be a fair comparison. It is trying to demonstrate how fast an AXP has to be to match a P4 @ 2.4Ghz. Like I said though, I much prefer my AXP system at this point.