Another AMD Vs. Intel

[Okin]

I'm only a noob here so please be patient with me.

I'm trying to build a new system with my very low budget so I will be doing it one piece at a time. I will be using some parts from my old Celeron 533 mhz to complete my new system (like upgrading the celeron).

I have my eye on a:
Intel P4 S478 CPU
ASUS P4B533 MOBO
256 MB DDR PC/2100 MEM

Are these parts compatible with each other?
If an AMD can equal or outperform this set up and cheaper, could someone please give me specs of the parts that I need to buy?

Overclocking for me is still way over my head so I'd prefer to run a stock system. Perhaps I could tinker with it in the future when I learn more about overclocking.

Thank you very much

 

[Henry Rollins II]

If you´re on a low budget maybe you should get an AMD.

Yes the parts are compatible with each other. However you might wanna get PC2700 memory for better performace. You didnt say wich P4 cpu you are looking at.

 

[ninthebin]

you dont have a location in your profile so im pricing this in £s
(im just pricing from a site so you get a rough estimate of price)

(B = 533 bus)

P4 2.40B £180
P4 2.53B £230
P4 2.66B £295
P4 2.80B £370

256 DDR PC2100 CL2 £65
256 DDR PC2700 CL2 £70

Couldnt find the motherboard on the site I got them prices from but I should imagine around £90

I would dislike to go AMD now and get anything less than a 2600 with 333 support...266 dont seem appealing :'(

but for price AMD is generally what you want to go for...if you have mega bucks get a nice new 3.06

*EDIT*
whats that powerful at high speed crap that replaced the smilie?

 

[Captain Slug]

I can help you shop for parts on AIM (I'm CaptainSlg) if you simply give me a location.

You can configure a lovely AMD machine for under $500 if you're on a tight budget.

 

[Mr.DLucey]

ASUS P4B533 MOBO

Review here http://www.motherboards.org/articlesd/motherboard-reviews/1188_1.html

$99.00 here http://www.essencompu.com/nupplysingar.asp?ID=2778 use as a reference only. Check around for priceing your self. Like Henry Rollins II said pc2700 would be a better choice. And the P4 chip is?

 

[ed8150]

WELCOME TO THE FORUMS!

that said dont worry, we were all "noobs" once. i think youll find this forum is quite noob friendly. first off i would go to www.newegg.com and shop around. shop by catagory and you can find quite a wide variety of stuff, to at least let you know whats out there. look for the athlon xp 1600+ cpu as that is on sale for $50 and is 1.4 ghz, easily overclockable to 1.8 ghz or so ON AIR. if you have any questions or anything my aim sn is ed8150, or shoot me a pm, or just post a topic in the appropriate forum. iam sure youll find the people here most helpful!

o yeh newegg only ships to the USA

 

[Okin]

Thank you very much for your help. I really appreciate it.

I guess I will be sticking with Intel. And I will be getting PC2700 instead of PC2100 mem.

About the P4 chip, I really have no idea what kind of chip it is. Perhaps you could suggest some to me.

Location: Sydney, Australia

 

[Okin]

That's right I forgot to mention that the P4 CPU is running @ 1.7 ghz.

Someone recommended me this set up and I just want your opinion if this are right.

AMD XP 2000+ CPU Boxed (equivalent to p4 2ghz but much cheaper)
MSI KT3 Ultra2 Mainboard (probably one of the most stable VIA AMD boards around)
pc2700 DDR RAM - generic brand (Corsair recommended for some headroom if I decide to overclock my pc in the future)
GeForce4 Ti4200 64mb - cheap brands (128mb version if I want some longetivity)

Once again I appreciate all the help you can give me.
THANK YOU.

 

[BaldHeadedDork]

A belated welcome to the neighborhood.

When I give advise on building a first system, I am much more concerned with stability and reliability than performance-or even price within reason. As you get more experience you can make informed decisions on the kind of systems you want to build, but if this first one gives you grief its going to make the learning process a lot more difficult than it needs to be.

The difference in reliability and stability between AMD and Intel isn't in their processors. The Athlon XP and P4 both have rock solid performance. What seperates the two are the motherboards. Read through the motherboard pages for the Intel and AMD boards here, and you'll get an idea of what I'm talking about. AMD motherboards have more reliability problems than P4 boards made with Intel chipsets. There are some AMD boards with very good reputations for reliability, but none that match an Asus, Abit or Gigabyte Intel board.

That's why I recommend Intel systems for first time builders. The parts you picked for an Intel system are great. The Asus P4B533 motherboard is almost universally considered the best you can buy for a P4, but I would recommend buying Corsair XMS2700 or XMS3200 memory instead of the 2100 you have listed. For a processor, I'd recommend the P4 2.26. This chip only costs a few dollars more than the 1.7, comes out of the box with a 500MHz higher speed, and the 2.26 is one of the best P4's for overclocking.

Regarding your AMD choices: I don't know who told you the MSI KT3 Ultra2 was "one of the most stable VIA AMD boards around", but I could not disagree more. MSI has a mediocre reputation for stability and reliablity at best, and the KT3 is not their best.

The source of problems for AMD motherboards has been the VIA chipsets. I won't recommend any of them, I've seen too many bad VIA motherboards from all of the major manufacturers. But I'm giving a cautious endorsement of the new nVidia nForce2 motherboards for the Athlon XP. nVidia came close to Intel levels of quality with their first AMD motherboard, and early reports on the new boards indicate that has not changed. The Asus A7N8X is my current favorite nForce2 board, but more will be coming on the market in the next couple of weeks if you can wait.

There are some new features being used on the nForce2 (like Serial ATA and Dual-DDR memory) that you'll want to ask about before you buy. Track down some reviews (I saw one at Tom's Hardware Guide) and don't hesitate bring your questions back here.


Good Luck-

BHD

 

[David]

Intel
Pros
- Motherboards more stable
- Faster FSB
- Currently have the fastest CPU
- Will throttle down if they overheat
- Crazy overclocks on stock cooling
- Better RAM bandwidth
- Newer P4s (3.06Gig up) have Hyperthreading

Cons
- More expensive overall
- Less speed per £/$/€1

AMD
Pros
- A lot cheaper overall (some AMD boards are only approx £50 to £60. Intel boards are more expensive)
- More performance per £/$/€
- Newer thoroughbred 'b' chips overclock well.
- Dual AMD rigs are a lot more affordable
- AMD CPUs outperform Intel chips at folding (depends on core used. Until Gromacs comes back again, AMD owns).

Cons
- Heat. They churn out a heck of a lot of heat.
- No overheating protection (if they burn, they burn. No throttling down)
- Use higher voltage than P4s, so drain more power (and create more heat).

 

[Okin]

I've narrowed my selection down (to what I can afford so far) and here are the parts that I will be chosing from.

This will be used mainly on games such as Counter Strike and other similar games.

AMD system:
ASUS A7N266 - VM DDR
ATHLON 2000 + BOX (Whats that +BOX mean?)
CORSAIR 256MB PC2700
(I could get CORSAIR XMS 3200 for AUS$36 more if its worth it)

INTEL system:

ASUS P4S533 VM
P4 1.7GHZ 256K
CORSAIR 256MB PC2700
(I could get CORSAIR XMS 3200 for AUS$36 more if its worth it)

I'm still looking at the reviews of the other motherboards but if you can suggest one, that would be great.


Which system should I buy? I can only save AUS$108 if I buy AMD, what I'm really after is speed. If my AMD set up is faster than the the P4 that would be great, I could use the 100 bucks for graphic card or something. But then again I might be spending more than 100 bucks for fan and heatsink for the AMD.

I will be using some parts from my celeron to complete my system and I'm just wondering if the PSU of the Hewlett Packard Pavilion is enough to power up the AMD OR P4 set up?

I cant thank you enough, especially BALDHEADEDDORK, for all the help you are giving me. I learned a lot from your advise and explanations regarding this matter.

 

[Henry Rollins II]

Well, P4 1.7 is no match for the XP2000. But the motherboard you have looked at is a micro-atx with integrated graphics that also support pc2100 as max. I recommend that you get a board with sis745 or KT333 chipset instead, as it will support pc2700.

I´d say get the MSI KT3 mobo somebody recommended, the Corsair XMS memory and a XP1600 or XP1800 with Thoroughbred core. They might not be available yet at your location, but sure could be worth waiting a couple of weeks for.

Box means that it has three year warranty and includes a fan/heatsink. This fanHS is no good for O/C. Buy an OEM cpu and a good fanHS.

 

[David]

ATHLON 2000 + BOX (Whats that +BOX mean?)

AthlonXP 2000+ Boxed, means it comes in a box with stock cooler.

P4 1.7GHZ 256K

Noooo!

The 256K Pentium 4s are the older, slower, less overclockable Willamette Pentium 4s.

You will be far better off with a 512K P4 1.6A or 1.8A. (northwood).

David

 

[aftermath]

i dont have a p4 but i just want to ask some thing. Do new p4 boards need that p4 power conecter like the old ones did??
If they do that old power suply may be incompatable right??

 

[Okin]

Hey fellas I finally got the parts for my gaming rig.

GA-8ST667 MOBO
P4 1.8A 512K
LEGEND 512MB PC2700 (I hope this is just as good as corsair)

Anyway, I was reading my manual on my way home from the shops when I came accross this ATX +12V Power supply for the cpu vcore. I knew I never came across that kind of connector with my old systems and I just confirmed that when I looked at the old parts that I was going to use. CRAP my disappointment, I thought I can try out my new system tonight. Now I have to wait till I have time to go to the shops again, probably a week.

Anyway, thanks again for you help on this. I let you know how I go with overclocking this.

OKIN

 

[David]

Hey fellas I finally got the parts for my gaming rig.

GA-8ST667 MOBO
P4 1.8A 512K
LEGEND 512MB PC2700 (I hope this is just as good as corsair)

Anyway, I was reading my manual on my way home from the shops when I came accross this ATX +12V Power supply for the cpu vcore. I knew I never came across that kind of connector with my old systems and I just confirmed that when I looked at the old parts that I was going to use. CRAP my disappointment, I thought I can try out my new system tonight. Now I have to wait till I have time to go to the shops again, probably a week.

Anyway, thanks again for you help on this. I let you know how I go with overclocking this.

OKIN

I think you can get a molex to +12V adapter someplaces....

David