P4 versus AMD....Can You help me decide?

Alright, I've recieved my tax return and I'm going to build myself a new rig. Now, I've always been AMD and you can see in my sig what I currently have.

Now I'm considering a P4 2.6C, however, I'm really not to familiar with Intel having never built an Intel system. I really like the 800mhz FSB and here are a few questions:

1) Can my current DDR be used in an Intel system?

2) What are the pro's and con's of AMD and Intel?

3) What mobo would you recommend for a P4 2.6C?

4) What does the C mean in 2.6C?

5) How does installing a P4 CPU differ from an Athlon XP? Do I still use my AS5?

If I think of more questions I'll add a response.

But ultimately....I'm choosing a P4 2.6C or an AMD Athlon XP 2800+

1) Yep.

2) Intel is generally a lot more expensive. If you are heavy-handed (Like me) you are less likely to crush the core of a P4 thanks to it's IHS, and if you like encoding DVD's and movies P4's are fast thanks to it's high Jiggahurtz.

AMD's are superior chips on a Hz - for Hz basis though.

3) Dunno but Gigabyte motherboards I have a soft spot for.

4) 200 Mhz FSB (800 Mhz QDR.). "A" = 100, B = 133. No letter indicates a 100 Mhz FSB Willamette.

5) You use a different socket Still the same method of installing it apart from AMD heatsinks attach differently. You still need heat gunk.

Why not hold on to the system you have for a while (looks to be a good one to me), and upgrade to an A64 system later?

A64 systems are costly at the moment and I don't see the prices drop anytime soon. And I plan on video editing with premiere and the P4 is pretty good for video editing from the looks of benchmarks.

XunknownX said:

And I plan on video editing with premiere and the P4 is pretty good for video editing from the looks of benchmarks.

Click to expand...

In that case if that's your primary need in a system you wouldn't be going too far badly getting a P4 as video editing doesn't need a "strong" processor, just a fast one.

Bear in mind even with the lower Ghz of an AMD it's still got a better $/Ghz ratio, so a low-end SMP system (say a dual MP-modded 2100+ XP system) might be quicker, but it might be a pain to get Premiere to use two instances (though it's possible as some XviD encoders can do it).

P4 system might be the safer option but bear in mind by no means is a high-end AMD system slow.. just slower.