Compare Intel to AMD(speed)

I thought that an amd speed rating would be determined by moving the decimal over one......e.g AMD Athlon 64 4000+ San Diego 1GHz HT 1MB L2 Cache Socket 939 would be 4.0 GHZ ........... is this correct ?....approxamently how much faster then the P4 540 w/ HT, 3.2 GHz, 1MB, LGA775 socket would the above mentioned be ?

 

unlike Intel, AMD does not name their processor using teh GHz speed. the naming scheme for AMD processors is kinda arbitrary.

iirc teh AMD Athlon 64 4000+ San Diego actually runs at 2.4ghz.

in any case, if u matched an intel and amd proc of equal speed in megahertz (e.g. Athlon 64 4000 vs Pentium 4 2.4C), AMD would surely win.

heres teh The Mother of All CPU Charts 2005/2006 from Tom's Hardware. i havent yet gone through all of it, but it should provide some info on the differences among processors as well as benchmarks showing which proc is faster at what task.

 

Thanks WSF......more reading then i care to do ....perhaps you could recommend an AMD processor......from what i have seen the P4(which i really don't want) is the most bang for the buck...............i need something faster then my P4 3.2 GHz which i can get for $240 or so http://www.superwarehouse.com/Intel_Pentium_4_540_3.2_GHz_Processor/BX80547PG3200E/p/407114......i don't want to go too much over $325..

 

Just read again that the 4000 rating would mean the AMD is comparible to the P4 4.0 GHz....thus the 4000 designation...

 

In you're price range, I would go for the AMD 3800x2 $295 at newegg. I am running a 4400x2 and it is fast and stable. They tried to talk me into intel at the local PC shop, I said no way, I am going with AMD, The tech that put it together said wow it loaded windows xp from the cd in 10min flat. Now they recomend AMD to alot of customers. If you game at all it is not a choice.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?N=2000340343 1050717007&Submit=ENE&SubCategory=343

 

I tried out the Intel dual core before going for my AMD 4800x2,the Intel can't hold a candle to the AMD dual core for the very reason that Intel till today depends on the FSB for memory bus,whereas,AMD dual cores have memory controller built into them,even the extreme edition Intel dual core can't match AMD's performace,combine that with Quite N' Cool from AMD,you have a super cool,low consumption CPU and a happy and stable system.

 

i too would go with the AMD X2 3800+. dual-core is teh future and it will make multitasking go a lot smoother.

 

Thanks Arup, divedog and WSF...........................i had been wondering about dual core.....i am thinking that once i read something about dual core causing problems with certain software ............will the coolers for single core work and mount with dual core ?

 

This will be my new processor.
AMD Athlon 4400+ 64Bit X2 Dual-Core Processor +
2 x 1024 MB RAM +
2 x WD Raptor WD740GD HDD 74gb 10000rpm SATA 8mb Cache 4.5ms
Speed and multi-tasking was important for me, I'm getting old and life is short.

 

just get the retail CPU package which comes with a heatsink.

 

Rainwalker,

Dual core is like having dual CPU machine,from the day I started building my own machines,have never build single CPU machine,never had any problems with any software then,with the new dual core,none whatsoever,beauty is that most apps which would load my 2MB cache dual Xeon system hardly makes the AMD dual core go over 30%.You can even use XP64 or 2003 Server64 to get further benefits,specially if you are not into avid gaming.As WS Fuser suggests,get the retail packing,make sure they put the included heat sink pad between heat sink and CPU,even though aftermarket fans do a swell job,the OEM fan is good enough in a well ventilated chassis with AMD Cool N' Quiet running,putting aftermarket fans will void your CPU warranty,only if you are into over clocking,do you need the aftermarket high performance fans and cooling systems.Make sure you get at least a good 480W or above power supply from either Antec or Enermax,PSU is critical in dual CPU/dual core systems,specially SLI motherboards.

 

Thanks all....
@ Erik.......nice !
@ WSF.....good info !
@ Arup Very helpful.....now i am wondering if my Antec Smartpower 2.0 500 watts will be good enough to run dual core and my 7800 GT (Evga)....

 

Rainwalker,

Try get the TP-II 550 if you can,500 would be fine,550 would give you the added flexibility for future peripheral additions.

 

I am runing a Antec 2.0 480 watt and have had no problems at all running.

AMD 4400x2
raptor hard drives
7800gt x1

 

it should be sufficient

 

Isn't the SmartPower a modular power supply? I have never liked the idea of a modular power supply myself. I'd be concerned about connectors wearing out over time or not making a good connection to the PSU. Going with a traditional PSU I think is the best way to feel confident that your PC is getting clean power.
I'd recommend the TP-II 550 over the SmartPower or if money is not an object, go with PC Power and Cooling.

Edit: After re-reading, it sounds like you already own the SmartPower. I guess if your experience has been good, stick with it. 500 watts should power you setup fine.
Have fun with it, I think you'll be impressed with whichever 939 you decide on.

 

Thanks all..............glad to know i should be ok with the PU.
Haven't gamed for 3 weeks..........i need a fix

 

The Antec TP-II series has passed many tests and some of the real hard,all the reviews done on it rate it as the best. I am using the TP-II 480 on my dual core system,the reason I recommended 550 version is because Rainwalker is using a higher end card whereas I only have a basic GeForce 6600 Turbo Cache which has modest power requirments. Good PSU is the only way to go for building a high end dual core system,its the building block,make it weak,and the building collapses.

 

hi, i think the best way to find out how good a processor is is by benchmarking rather then the clock rate. megahertzs will only tell you the rate it carries out instructions but not how powerful each instruction is, which is important.

memory cache is also very important so the processor can refer to it's cache instead of having to go through the same instructions again.

the bus clock speeds are also important too so the data can be carried from the CPU fast enough.

if you are building it yourself make sure the fans work together (blowing from one side to the other, instead of blowing in different directions) and move any wires out of the airwares path. you can also put (women's ) stocking over the air vents to help stop dust getting in.

here's some links i had bookmarked, you probably don't need them but there's no harm giving them, i hope
http://www.sandpile.org/
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/
http://hardwarehell.com/cpu.shtml
http://www.techspot.com/vb/menu9.html
http://www.pcguide.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=8


with dual-core (hyperthreaded??) processors you can decide, from within the task manager, which processes use which 'core' - something i think gamers like to use.
here are some links i just found about dual core...
http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/article/1797/
http://www.lostcircuits.com/cpu/amd_x2/

 

Thanks iceni60..........somehow i knew this was going to get dark lots to look at....i have another question......i was told that if i change the mobo, then i would have to re-install Windows is it true ....and if so why ?

and thanks for the socking tip.......jezzzzzzzz now i have buy a pair

 

yes it is true. it's because you have one licenced copy of windows allowed to be used on 'one computer'. there are lots of different hardware components which make up a computer, including RAM, CPU, power supply, different PCI cards etc.

if you change enough hardware you'll end up with an almost a new (different) computer. when windows boots up, during POST (power on self test), it checks to see what is attached and makes a note of each component. when something is changed/added/taken away that is noted too. each piece is given a value by windows and if that value gets to a certain number it thinks of it as a new PC

if you add a new MoBo i think that counts as a new PC. you might be able to keep the RAM it came with along with the power supply, DVD drive, Floppy drive, HDD and a few other things and just about get away with it, but i don't really know. i'll have a look for a link which explains it all

 

Yes iceni60, i thought more about it after posting and i am rather certain that $indows would see a new system..grrrr and that would mean buying another copy of their product...i will have to call them and ask....somehow there has got to be a money free solution......i can't imagine all these people that are running $indows and doing their own new mobo replacements, running out and buying a new copy ....

 

http://www.pcmech.com/show/os/917/ i promise Ubuntu is ten times better then windows.

 

@ WSF..........

@ iceni60................hmmm, i'll take a hard look at that......thank you..