Athalon XP vs. Pentium 4 11

[BoulderBum]

Can anyone direct me to some benchmarks comparing both chips? I am going to get a new computer soon, and want to be informed before choosing a processor.

 

[Rocket69]

Hi dude,
here is a site that might help you choose what processor to go for,(

http://computational-tery.org/Maskinvare/Athlon-vs-P4.html)

At the minute I myself am using an AMD processor Athlon xp 1800, and I have no trouble with it at all, it is very good for running numerous applications programs at the same time, whereas intel is alot slower.

 

[BoulderBum]

"I can't say much for price"

Yeah, I can't either, but if that's what it takes to keep my money in America, I'm willing to make the sacrifice. Offshoring has made it very difficult for me to find a job despite my skills, and I don't want to make it harder for my fellow IT workers to be employed just to save a little money.

Anyway, thanks again, everyone. You've all been very helpful!

 

[Grenage]

"Yeah, I can't either, but if that's what it takes to keep my money in America, I'm willing to make the sacrifice"

Aren't 99% of computer components manufactured in Japan regardless?

 

[BoulderBum]

A lot of the components are made in Malaysia, China, or heaven knows where. There's not much I can do about that, though.

 

[CitrixEngineer]

If you are planning on running multiple OSes, including servers, consider a Dual processor setup and a product called VMWare. This allows you to run all the OSes simultaneously - but at a price in RAM! Dual processors won't speed your games up necessarily, but a good OS, such as Linux, and reasonable OSes, such as Windows 2003 Server will utilise both processors, as will many development environments - especially when compiling code.

That Alienware rig looks pretty good spec-wise, tho' I'm not sure about that case ;-)

I'd stay away from the Seagate Barrys, though - unless they've improved recently (paparazi?). WD are generally good, if not the fastest (discounting those 10k Raptors!)and a pair will set you up nicely. I'd also go with 2x512Mb sticks of RAM (Corsair, preferably) and the FX 5700 gfx card (for better gaming). The Audigy 2 will do a lot of the audio processing - and 24-bit as well, so a reasonable card.

That said, the budget takes a hammering, as the total came to $2119 when I added that lot up.

It's a bit annoying that you can't deselect the Operating System if you've got MSDN...

Hope this is helpful

 

[BoulderBum]

"If you are planning on running multiple OSes, including servers, consider a Dual processor setup and a product called VMWare"

Unfortunately, I do have to budget for things like food and shelter so I'll pass on the dual processors. I plan to test some apps against older OSes, but that will probably be done through networking old computers/ burned CDs.

Out of curiosity, what should I worry about regarding the Seagate drives?

 

[paparazi]

Seagate Barracuda FOR: Most reliable 7,200 drive (in my own retail opinion) and probably the quietest going, low heat (SATA version is the only true SATA drive out there, others use parrallel to SATA bridge circuitry)
AGAINST: One of the slowest 7,200 drives if only by a few percent.
I swear by them but have to confess I just purchaced one of the new Hitachi (IBM) SATA 7K250 160gig 8meg cache drives, "the new KING of the hill" fastest 7,200 drive, if you don't count the small (36gig) 10,000rpm Raptor and faster than the 8meg Westerndigital SE, available in sizes upto 250gig ATA or SATA.
Martin

Replying helps further our knowledge, without comment leaves us wondering.

 

[CitrixEngineer]

I was interested to see what paparazi has to say on the Seagates, as I know he deals with more than just one or two .

The issue I have had is that they just seem to stop working. One minute they're fine, the next, dead; This seems to happen fairly quickly - within a month or so. Maybe I was just unlucky and got a bad batch - I'm only talking about 6 units purchased at the same time around September last year. Only two of the original drives are still working, although the replacements are OK - even so, I'm switching to Hitachis. The Barrys are nice drives otherwise; the quietest I've used.

Just because one person has had a bad experience with them doesn't mean they're all bad, of course. Just make sure you keep the receipt and warranty safe (as with all expensive electronics!).

Good Luck!

 

[djones20]

You might want to check out Falcon Northwest

http://www.falcon-nw.com.

They also build their computers in the U.S. and basically invented the category Alienware is in. I have bought two systems from them and am quite satisfied with them.

Also, in the past Alienware's habit of overclocking their systems has caused stability issues although none of the recent magazine reviews mention this problem. Falcon Northwest does not overclock.

 

[cdogg]

Falcon is definitely a reputable dealer. However, I do know that Alienware guarantees every system for stability, whether overclocked or not. Also, unless you're going for the newest/best configuration out there, Alienware won't bother overclocking your system.


~cdogg
[tab]"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources"
[tab][tab]- A. Einstein

 

[BoulderBum]

Awesome! Thanks for the tip, djones. Falcon really plays up the fact that they are made in America. I wondered why AlienWare didn't, I'm sure it's a great selling point to all of the IT folk upset with offshoring.

 

[euston]

Citrix Engineer - you make me proud to be British.

Good point about the paging file being on a second HDD. I would also add that taking full advantage of the best BIOS settings is very fruitful (see

http://www.rojakpot.com

for BIOS information - this work by Adrian Wong is the dog's bollocks).

 

[ANFPS26]

Another one to consider;

http://www.ocsystem.com/index.html

Jim