P 4 purchase decision

[scavens]

I've decided to get a PIV chip......what is the best (sensibly priced) system board. I've looked at lots of sited with available boards. But can't find one that benchmarks od advises?

[krusty]

You are about to spend a lot of $$ on an overrated under performing piece of marketing hype.

Save yourself about $2000 and get a 1.1G athlon that will perform almost as well(better in some cases) for much less$$$$$

www4.tomshardware.com/cpu/00q4/001206/index.html



[This message has been edited by krusty (edited 02-16-2001).]

[Mykex]

I beleave RobRich has some insite into that direction. Myself I cant afford one of those but power to you if you can.

Im sure you'll get your share of junior AMD zelots pointing out less than favorable reviews on this thread.

My own jury has not even begun to ponder this question.....The P4 may have a few cans of whoopa55 hidden away and once programming catches up with it the performance may be enhanced.

[krusty]

".....The P4 may have a few cans of whoopa55 hidden away and once programming catches up with it the performance may be enhanced."

Therefore it is currently a waste of money.
I rest my case.

[Mykex]

From a very reliable source of information and respected opinions. http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/wink.gif

However, for those whose priority is high-performance, especially for SSE/SSE2, then the Pentium 4's currently high costs can be weighed against the prospects of improved scalability and more efficient productivity. Depending on your individual requirements, the Intel Pentium 4 could be either the best or worst platform. I tend to maintain an optimistic outlook for the Pentium 4 architecture, especially as the costs associated with this high-performance platform continue on a steady decline through the upcoming months.

I have no case,I'll let it rest just the same. http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/biggrin.gif

[gyoung]

I don't want to sound like a raving AMD fan. Just wanted to make the point that the upgrade path for a current P4 isn't very good.

The are going to change the pin layout of the P4 rather quickly (like AMD did in moving from the Slot A to the Socket A). So if you want to go the P4 route, I'd wait until they change the layout. Plus by that time the price should have come down a bit.

This is a bit from Tom's Hardware's article Quo Vadis Intel? - The Latest Roadmap (http://www4.tomshardware.com/cpu/01q1/010208/index.html) :

Northwood

It is pretty well known to most of you, that the current Pentium 4 processor will soon be replaced by a more advanced version. You will also be aware of the fact that this new version won't be compatible with current Pentium 4 platforms, making current Pentium 4 systems anything but future proof.

The upcoming Pentium 4 is found in Intel's roadmaps under the code name 'Northwood' and is supposed to start replacing the 'old' Pentium 4 in Q3/2001. Besides other performance enhancements it will come with 512 kB second-level cache and therefore twice the L2-cache of today's Pentium 4. Northwood will be produced in 0.13 micron process and it will have a new package for a new socket called mPGA478, for it will have 478 pins, quite a few more than the 423 pins found in the Pentium 4 of today.

Please always keep 'Northwood' in mind when considering the purchase of a Pentium 4 system today. This system will be old news without an upgrade path once 'Northwood' starts replacing 'Willamette' in the second half of this year.


[This message has been edited by gyoung (edited 02-16-2001).]

[RobRich]

I'm currently running with n Intel i850 reference board. However, most aftermarket P4 builders agree that the Asus P4T is the best board currently available. It supports all the features of the Intel reference design, but offers voltage and FSB tweaking for moderate overclocking for only a few more dollars. Several have been able to push the 1.4GHz chips to 1.6, and some of the latest 1.5 chips are reach 1.8 with excellent processor and chipset cooling.

I do have a couple of issues at present with the P4. What do you intended to do with this system? The P4 is a powerful platform, assuming you employee the right software (preferably SSE2 optimized). This means the people who may benefit most from the P4 are generally those that are interested in 3D graphics design, non-linear video editing, 3D graphics rendering, or related tasks.
Otherwise, the Athlon Thunderbird at 1200 MHz with PC-2100 memory offers basically the same (sometimes better) performance in many common desktop and game software packages.

Good Luck,
Robert Richmond

[scavens]

Thanks for the info. The primary reason I've gone down the P4 route is that I can get a chip at a really good price (all 'above-board' I should mention at this point). I work in IT and haven't yet had the chance to play with the P4, coupled with the fact that I need to upgrade anyway.

After some investigation, I head that although the Athlon compairs favourably at the moment with the P4, as software coded for the P4 is released, It'll completely change things.

Looks like the ASUS board will be the one for me.

It'll be a couple of weeks before I get things running and I'll post some results up when I get the new hardware.

Thanks for everyones advice (I'll keep checking this board too).

[Brangwen]

Simply fascinating phenomenon: I presently have a 600MHz Intel P3 @ 720MHz on an Abit mobo, 256MB PC133 CS2 SDRAM. When I first started using this system several months ago, I thought: "****, this is a great system!" I was strolling through a computer store the other day and saw an HP with a P4, Rambus memory and a BUNCH of cool bells and whistles. If I hadn't exerted some serious self control, I'd have put the thing on my credit card in a New York minute and walked out smiling like a real happy cheshire cat. Fortunately I did not. Memories of postings regarding the prudence of running out and purchasing a P4 filled my head, and the proprietary nature of an HP (a pre-assembled system? Perish the thought!) also woke me up. I read this thread with interest and felt compelled to share my near-purchase experience. The point is I was a short inch away from shooting $1800 on a system for at least a perception of an enormous amount of computing speed and power. My name is Brangwen, and I am a computer addict.


Brangwen http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/wink.gif

PS: Best of luck, Scavens. I in no way mean to rain on your parade.



[This message has been edited by Brangwen (edited 02-17-2001).]