What to choose???

[wiresman]

OK, G/F is looking to buy a new computer; I have gotten very good advice from this forum and thought I would ask for it again.

Which would be better overall? ( Iam having a hard time cause i want it all, but it is for her. I will just mention the differences betweeen the two.

$999 -An HP 750N: Pentium 4, 1.6 GHZ; 400 FSB, 512 MB RAM upgradeable to 2 Gig. PLenty of ports, USB, Firewire, game, etc
AGP port has Nvidia TNT 32 MB vid card, only 1 PCI slot available.

$899 -AN HP 360N: AMD Athlon XP 1900, 1.6GHZ, (supposed to be comparable to 1.9 GHZ P4), 266 FSB, 512 MB upgradeable to 1 Gig. No Firewire port. 2 PCI slots available. The L1 cache is bigger on the Athlon than the P4 also I noticed. S3 Savage4 32MB vid crd.


Now I am no expert for sure, but I figure expandability and upgradeability to be a plus, but then again its not for me. She plays games very rarely.

BTW, the P4 system doesn't have Rambus RAM.

This is probably easy for you all but not for me. I would rather have an alienware for me LOL !

 

[RainMaQer]

Go with the athlon rig... The future upgrades for that system are more likely to happen than with the P4... also the performance is way over that P4 system. The XP is equal in performance to the 1.9 gig P4... that one is only 1.6 and your saving a $100 bucks

 

[Yodums]

Well, Athlon XP definitely. If the P4 doesn't have RAMBUS or DDR and has something like SDRAM, then you buy it, jee, that will be your worst nightmare!

The Athlon XP should be way faster, with DDR PC2100 equipped in it (I hope so! Get this checked out). Plus it's a hundred dollars cheaper. Should last your GF some years.

Yodums

 

[Starfoxer]

go with the XP rig for sire, though it may depend on what your
G/F is gonna be doing with the rig.

 

[funnyperson1]

the Athlon rig..no doubt about it

 

[RnPgrosz]

Definitely the Athlon XP. The P4 system would be incredibly slow it probably has sdram and if its sock 423 you wouldnt be able to upgrade much since its williamette. If you had to get a p4 northwood would be the way to go.

 

[geldib]

I see you have HP beside all these comps... which im guessing stands for Hewlett Packard... If i were you i would go with Dell or Alienware Computers.... Ive heard too much bad stuff written about Hewlett Packard...

 

[Starfoxer]

why dont you save some money and build her one?

pink with a rose pedal window mod and it says I LOVE YOU

you would really score with that

 

[rivercom9]

The Athlon rig no doubt. You save her money for something that performs better. That means more money for her shopping and the happier she will be.

 

[wiresman]

Well, the HP does stand for Hewlett packard; and upon closer inspection i found that the P4 system has DDR SDRAM and the Athlon XP system just says SDRAM, doesnt mention DDR or mention PC 2100. I know that the DDR is twice as fast as the SDRAM, @ 266MHZ. I greaty appreciate all your responses!

 

[RnPgrosz]

I'd still get the xp system. Or get the compaq system with the athlon xp. Those have ddr.

 

[rivercom9]

Even though it has SDRAM, Id still go with the AMD system, just because its a better buy.

 

[wiresman]

Now I'm Mad !

at myself....
While weighing my options; buying online, custom build, or local superstore purchase. I missed the boat on the local option, onlines take too long and are more expensive, I have bad luck with custom build shop near here, crappy components or high charge for quality ones. I was going to buuy the HP Pavillion w/AMD Athlon XP 1900+ for @$800. They are out of stock now and say they can't ship them either; @ Best Buy.
I know you all are thinking, this guy wants quality for nothing!
But now I just see what I could've had for a good price. Seems like a lot of sites just want to configure P4 systems. Whats your advice now forum???

 

[rivercom9]

Maybe you could beuild her one yourself. Nothing better than giving someone something built by your own hands.

 

[RnPgrosz]

Either build one yourself(best option) or go on compaq and get the system that has the athlon xp. I know they have it and I'm almost positive they come with ddr. Don't buy a P4 system, they are slow even if there is ddr.

 

[Yodums]

Best to build her one.. you'll find you can get alot more for that price..

Yodums

 

[BigRed]

*IF* you buy a retail computer you will HAVE to get a better hsf on that thing. espically if you get the athlon, all compaq, dell, hp, etc use is a crappy hsf with that stupid heat transfer padd. really really really bad for an athlon, lol.
btw you should just build one for her

 

[Tismedt]

You should build her a sys. For the $800 you have spent you can get a way better setup. Look at newegg.com and start picking parts. You will not regret it. Also when you get the stuff you have the fine people here at overclockers to help you get it going.
Good Luck

 

[rivercom9]

Very good prices at newegg.com. Your choice. Good luck.

 

[ThePunkGeek]

the athlon rig forsure its cheeper and in my opinion but faster then the 1.6 non northwood pentium4