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death_stalker
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I've been trying to do a little research for a friend on the pros and cons on processors and can't come up with a good answer for him. He had asked me which one would be better because he had a choise of which one he wanted? He will be using the computer for making labels, charts and formula books. (Genesis, Quicken, Word, Excel....) Would it really matter which one? I didn't want to tell him one and have it not work well for his needs... Any advice would be great.  |
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games keeper
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AMD , why 64 bit and cheaper then Intel crap , and yes intel has a 64 bit processor but it looks similar to the one of amd . actually it look so similar that they even have the same options under another name .
says a lot about intel I think .
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Phoenix
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Athlon 64 all the way. Intel CPU's are overpriced and underperform for the clock speeds they run at. To give you a good example of what a low end Athlon 64 can do, I recently built a system with the following specs:
Athlon 64 2800+ 1.8 GHz 64 bit CPU 512K Cache
Asus K8S-MX (onboard video)
Corsair Value Select PC3200 DDR 1 GB
Seagate 80GB SATA 7200RPM HD
This system ran Quake 2 in SOFTWARE mode at 1024x768 and got 100 frames per second. The CPU also runs extremely cool, I have a Thermaltake Silent Boost K8 on it and it never got above 32C, even under load.
This system is a "budget line" computer that cost under $500 to build, including case, power supply, etc, but at the same time I used only high quality parts - Asus motherboard, Corsair memory, etc. The PSU in the case is Enermax's budget line, which I've used before with zero problems. The only thing lacking is the video, S3's onboard is decent for everyday use but you can forget OpenGL or any hardcore 3D gaming, but the enduser wasn't interested in that at the time. They can always add an AGP 8X graphics card later. Here's the component prices at the time I purchased the parts:
CPU: $109.00
Motherboard: $76.00
Case + 350 Watt PSU: $32.49
CPU HSF: $28.00
RAM: $91.00 (Yes, for 1 GB of CORSAIR)
Hard Drive: $70.00
DVD-ROM: $25.50
SATA power adapter: $6.41
Floppy: $0.00 (Had a spare laying around)
Case Fans: $3.87
Shipping: $28.46
Total: $470.73
Funny, isn't that about what you'd pay for a Dell with a Celeron processor? 
Now for high-end, Intel does have a 64 bit CPU now, the 6xx series, and their "flagship" 64 bit CPU - the 3.6 GHz 660 - performs on-par with the Athlon 64 4000+ and costs around $610. The cheapest model - the 630, runs around $225. Compare that to the Athlon 64 4000+ which runs at 2.4GHz and costs $485. Equal performance at a lower clock speed, and $125 cheaper? That's for high-end without even going to the FX line, which pretty much blows everything else out of the water if you have the cash for it. Low end you'll pay right now $112 for an Athlon 64 2800+ 1.8GHz chip, same one I used. That's a bit less than $225...
If cost is a concern, you simply cannot build a 64 bit Intel system as cheap as you can an Athlon 64 and still maintain some semblence of component quality, and if you want high end you're still going to have to pay a few hundred dollars more.
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  I fly into the night, on wings of fire burning bright...
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McDeth
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I checked your entire post for a good video card bird, but could not seem to locate one.
In that case: Radeon 700x pro PCI express 256mg = $200
Almost forgot about a good sound card!
Creative Audigy 2 LZ = $64
I think you will find that your computer will havebetter gaming performance after you add those to your AMD 64 bit machine.
Seriously though, AMD 64 kicks suffient ass and I stand by it as much as much as I stand behind D-Link.
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« Last Edit: 2005-05-12, 08:08 by McDeth »
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Beer? I'm down.
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shambler
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Would it be possible for you to tell me exactly what parts you used? I intend to biuld a new PC this summer, and need advice from someone (I've been wondering about 64) on the best bits. I will probubly use an ATI card, like last time. |
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ConfusedUs
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The only thing P4's do better than an AMD chip is media encoding.
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scalliano
Elite
Posts: 1095
Yup, that's me
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$112 bucks for a 1.8Ghz CPU, what, about ?80? Damn, that's cheap.
One question I have: I was planning on upgrading my CPU later in the year. My current system is running with an 32bit 800Mhz Athlon. Could I get away with installing the above, or am I limited to a 32bit CPU until I get my arse a new PC?
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PSN ID: scalliano
The Arena knows no gender, colour or creed, only skill.
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death_stalker
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Cool, thanks. He's gonna go for the AMD. Total: $470.73
Funny, isn't that about what you'd pay for a Dell with a Celeron processor? Slipgate - Wink.gif OMG :!: I won't even go into what I paid for my Dell! Though it may have been to much, I'm still happy with it. The HP I had before this one... What a piece of crap.(sorry if that offends anyone) But anyhow thanks for the enlightenment. :rules: |
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Angst
Rabid Doomer
Team Member
Elite
 
Posts: 1011
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I checked your entire post for a good video card bird, but could not seem to locate one. He will be using the computer for making labels, charts and formula books. (Genesis, Quicken, Word, Excel....) Almost forgot about a good sound card!
Creative Audigy 2 LZ = $64 "Good" and "only major manufacturer on the market because we killed the competition with bullshit marketing" are not the same thing. I have an audigy 2, and it's a steaming pile of crap. Ironically, this is Audigy2 #2 because the first one was DoA out of a retail box. I'm currently using the nforce2 onboard audio with half the cpu spiking and none of the sound mangling inherent in Creative Lab's cards. And yes, without going in to to many specifics I can say the AMD will outperform the intel in 90% of all applications with almost half the cost. |
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« Last Edit: 2005-05-12, 18:57 by Angst »
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"Who says a chainsaw isn't a ranged weapon?"
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Moshman
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Seriously though, AMD 64 kicks suffient ass and I stand by it as much as much as I stand behind D-Link.
Something I devinly argree upon. |
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McDeth
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I wish I get customers in the store like you guys, you sporking know what your talking about. Half the people come in there looking for the cheapest computer which usually ends up being a Celeron based E-machine and when the said purchase makes them grab their ankles, they yell at me when I specifically tell them, put out the extra dough for an AMD. But nooooooooooooo!
Best Buy is the bottom feeder capital of the world, especially in Tracy.
BTW Angst, the reason your creative card is giving you shit is because your mother board probably sucks balls. No offense.
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Beer? I'm down.
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games keeper
Elite
Posts: 1375
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onyl problem I have with audigy 2 ZX is that in doom3 if I anable surroundsound , the sound sometimes drops out , I even binded a buton now that restarts my sound in doom 3 .
but thats the only problem I ever had with the card .
and the sound is really clear now . I'm even considering 1 of those cards for my laptop .
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ConfusedUs
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Also keep in mind your upgrade path. You want to make sure you get a computer that you'll be able to upgrade piecemeal over the next couple of years instead of having to go all-out every six months. My current machine is pretty much an updgrade dead-end. There's not much else I can do with it, given the current PC market.
Currently the best upgrade path is on the Athlon socket 939 motherboards that support SATA and PCI-Express. The next-gen video cards will probably be PCI-E only on the mid- and upper-end cards, with the lower-end cards supporting AGP, in exactly the same way current-gen cards support AGP on the good stuff and PCI on the bottom.
And harddrives are shifting to SATA from IDE right now too, in much the same fashion.
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ConfusedUs
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Yup, same here.
MSI has a really, really nice PCI-E board for the socket 939 Athlon 64's. If I had my way I'd buy myself one of those, a new CPU, RAM, case/power supply, and video card.
But I don't have the money. =(
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Phoenix
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I'd prefer This Board myself.
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I fly into the night, on wings of fire burning bright...
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shambler
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Right thanks lads. I normally buy from www.cclonline.com. these guys have been good so far, and are just up the road (about 12 miles) price range? about ?750. please feel free to email me to let me know what you think. |
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Angst
Rabid Doomer
Team Member
Elite
Posts: 1011
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BTW Angst, the reason your creative card is giving you shit is because your mother board probably sucks balls. No offense. I'm using an asus a7n8x-e deluxe, I don't think it's the mobo. |
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"Who says a chainsaw isn't a ranged weapon?"
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