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AMD or Intel: The Age Old Question

E

EnderW

[H]F Junkie
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If so, did you notice a difference in multitasking ability due to the lack of hyperthreading? I'm thinking of upgrading my 2.8C to a 3200+, but the not having hyperthreading makes me second guess it.

I've seen a couple of comments by Kyle that suggest an A64 system wouldn't be as smooth as a P4 for multitasking.

http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NzAxLDc=
I have no trouble whatsoever recommending the ASUS P5AD2-E Premium for your own system. I am currently thinking about using it in my own box as it I am once again itching for the smoothness that an Intel HyperThreading system will afford me.
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And this article at AnandTech seems to support this somewhat, as it shows the P4 winning in most of the multitasking benchmarks.

However, I think smoothness is a difficult thing to benchmark. I don't do heavy multitasking, but I do like to have several things running, especially since I have dual displays.

For example, I usually have half a dozen browser windows open, music playing, and I may be ripping/burning a movie in the background. And of course my AV program running in the background as well. If I'm doing something like gaming, it's usually the only thing running, cause you can't really switch back and forth.

So if you've recently changed systems from a P4 with HT to a A64, what changes did you notice, what do you use the computer for, what type of multitasking do you do, and how big of a speed jump did you make (i.e. 2.8c to 3200+)?
 
Yeah, I went from 3.0C/P4C800-E to A64 3800+/A8V Deluxe about a month ago and noticed a definite difference in response time under medium/heavy load. While system is under high load (>70%), the P4 setup felt definitely snappier, for example opening browser/e-mail client or a folder on disk was faster. On medium/low load I haven't noticed any perceptible difference.

Personally, I do not regret upgrading to A64, because I game a lot and the A64 setup performs way better in games for me. For work only I would pick the P4 setup.
 
From owning a P4 2.8@ 3.2 Northwood w/ HT.... and building Multiple Machines both P4 NW, Pressy, and A64 Systems, The P4 is deffinatly my choice of machine. Just for the responsiveness and smoothness. Im not saying the Athlon dosent bring that too, but at a certain level, the P4 wins in that department hands down... thats why I am reluctant to ever go AMD again.... I am jjust bummed that the dual core cpus wont have HT enabled as well :(
 
USMC2Hard4U said:
I am jjust bummed that the dual core cpus wont have HT enabled as well :(
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WTF would you need HT on a DUAL core chip?
 
I have both a P4 3.0 and an AMD 64 3200+ The only time I have been able to really tell the difference is when I am loading software. The AMD is much faster than the P4, although I do all of my gaming on my A64.

Novensu
 
This is something I have been contemplating for a long time as well.

I too own a 2.8C and have been thinking about making the jump to AMD, but with the amount of programs I like to run sometimes, I get worried I might regret it.

So I will be tagging along this thread as well.
 
UltimaParadox said:
This is something I have been contemplating for a long time as well.

I too own a 2.8C and have been thinking about making the jump to AMD, but with the amount of programs I like to run sometimes, I get worried I might regret it.

So I will be tagging along this thread as well.
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have you been able to OC your 2.8C?
 
just tried running my 2.8C at 3.5GHz and 5:4 divider

had to crank up the voltage, but so far so good

cool35.JPG


temp is around 50C while running Prime95

edit: I stopped Prime95 after a few minutes so I could do some other stuff. I started it back up and my CPU temp went upto 70C!!! So of course I turned it off. I've got my voltage set at about 1.675, is this too much?

edit2: well MBM5 keeps giving me errors when I try to run it
I'll try a fresh install tomorrow from my ghost backup
 
First of all, you won't be disappointed with EITHER CPU's. With P4, you can extract/transfer a huge 300 MB file and still have music playing smoothly along with opening a program and/or your internet browser. With an A64, as you extract/transfer a huge 300 MB file, you will have hiccuping music with extremely slow loading of programs and the internet browser. Until the extraction is completed, the A64 will proceed to that next request of opening a program and/or web browser. Basically I dedicate one PC to what it's supposed to do. I have one for gaming, media and all heavy duty tasks and one for everything else (light duty). The Athlon 64's will run games much faster because it dedicates all of its CPU cycles to the games but a Pentium 4 will still run it fine, if not slower (you just won't notice it anyway)! If you're going to do everything on one PC, go for a P4. You will have an enjoyable experience with a P4. But since I'm quite used to an Athlon 64, I have no gripes with any 'hiccuping' because I know it loads everything alone quicker than a P4 would (yes, you read that right-- when loading ONE program, the A64 will be much faster-- but a P4 will load several programs faster).

-J.
 
Well I just extracted a 700MB file, while listening to a song, and browsing the web and my system didn't slow down at all.

I went from a 2.8 P4 to an AMD 64 3200+ and so far for me the 3200+ is much much better. On the P4 system I only have 512 MB of PC2700 while on the AMD system I have 1GB of PC3200 though so my results are skewed in favor of the AMD. I wil say that with the system in my sig I have yet to experience any slowdown and I've had multiple browser windows, winamp, mirc, and file extractions all going at the same time with no slowdown whatsoever.
 
Wonderful. I'll go with that. I honestly tested my "multi-tasking" by turning the HT on and off, so this is how I got my "skewed" guess. Either way, I believe the A64 is a strong candidate.

-J.
 
UltimaParadox said:
This is something I have been contemplating for a long time as well.

I too own a 2.8C and have been thinking about making the jump to AMD, but with the amount of programs I like to run sometimes, I get worried I might regret it.

So I will be tagging along this thread as well.
Click to expand...


Ditto for me. I've used several Pentium 4s in different sockets; from a 1.8 to a 3.0. However I do believe my next rig could end up with an AMD chip unless Intel and Nvidia can pull a rabbit out of no where with this Nforce 5 chip in the making.
 
I had an A64 3000+ CH/6800NU Rig a few months ago, i sold it to a friend and built me a 2.8E@3.5LGA775/PCI-E X800 PRO Rig, now i'm back to a A64 3000+/6800Ultra and i wonder why i ever bought a P4.
 
I use a P4 3.2 at work and have a 3200+ at home...I notice no difference unless I am uncompressing, and gaming(not like I game at work). But I feel my A64 is faster...but then again it could be because I have it clocked to 2.5ghz...
 
EnderW said:
WTF would you need HT on a DUAL core chip?
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well what does HT do?.... It keeps the long pipeline filled with more than 1 thhread of data....

so saying that...

I would like to see HT enabled on dual core processors... so that we have 2 hard pipes of data, and HT can come into place to keep both cores filled with info.
 
HT will NOT be implemented into dual core processors, as per intel roadmaps.
 
Dillusion said:
HT will NOT be implemented into dual core processors, as per intel roadmaps.
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I know, it is dissapointing... any idea why they wont impliment it?
 
While system is under high load (>70%), the P4 setup felt definitely snappier, for example opening browser/e-mail client or a folder on disk was faster. On medium/low load I haven't noticed any perceptible difference.
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That's my impression too. My FX-53 is the first non-Intel chip I've used in 10 years. Regrets? I just fire up a game....... :)
 
I went P4 3.2 to A64 3500 and the 3500 spankes the P4 except in on area. I noticed it took me alot longer to transfer all of my pictures from DVD back on to my hardrive. I can live with that.

I opend photo shop with some trepidation but was surprised as I selected 12 pics and opened all at once and it loaded faster than my P4 used to. Go figure. I suspect once the drivers and bios of the A8Nsli mature, this thing will be even faster
 
This is really a continuation of my Anyone Gone From a P4 to a A64? thread, but with a few more specifics.

OK, here are my 3 options in order of how I'm currently leaning.

1) DFI 875P-T board, current BH-5 ram, 3.4 or 3.6 (I have both) and try for 4GHz OC with XP-120 and eventually H20

2) DFI LANParty UT nF4 Ultra-D, current BH-5 ram, 3500+ and go for 4000+ OC with XP-120, maybe H20, but I don't know if A64s will scale as well as the P4

3) Keep my IC7-G and sell my 2.8C that doesn't OC well and my BH-5 which requires more voltage then the crappy 2.7v this board puts out, and get a 3.2C or E and some TCCD


Some of the Pros/Cons I'm considering:

1) Pros: Can keep current video card (not a big deal since the PCI-E version of my card is cheaper), has HT, coolness of 4GHz, already have the CPUs and mounting bracket for my XP-120
1) Cons: Will have to upgrade the board when dual core chips come out, must buy new PSU

2) Pros: Will be ready when dual core chips come out, ready for PCI-E cards (X800XL), has 8 SATA slots, can even use SLI if desired
2) Cons: BIG ONE - NO HT, and for what I use the computer for, not having it would suck until the new chips came out, must buy new PSU

3) Pros: Can keep current PSU and video card, cheapest overall
3) Cons: has no upgrade path at all, least fun, will have to sell off LGA chips I already have and hope to find a Socket 478 chip (which are hotter) that OCs well

Ideas, suggestions? I'm really leaning towards the P4, because I think it would be the most fun trying to OC and I think a 4GHz machine running at 1000FSB with 1GB of BH-5 at 2-2-2-5 would be as smooth as butter.
 
I would definetly go with one or two.

What are you going to be doing with the system? If you enjoy overclocking you could push that AMD chip as far as it can go, especially with the DFI board. Of course, finding a PCIe card for cheap may be a challenge, especially an X800XL as they are price gouging like there is no tomorrow right now. You could go with a 6600GT or something for the time being.

Truthfully, it looks as though both systems would be awesome to have.
 
EnderW said:
This is really a continuation of my Anyone Gone From a P4 to a A64? thread, but with a few more specifics.
Click to expand...
...as such, I merged your two threads. One thread per subject, in the most appropriate forum is the rule....:cool:

Keep in mind a new post will "bump" a still topical thread to the top of the pile.

Thanks - B.B.S.
 
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