Athlon, Celeron, Pentium

gazmond141014

Hey lads,
I was just wondering if someone could tell me which would be a better choice??? Athlon Celeron Pentium

RE*AC*TOR

It depends what you are looking for. Low price or performance? The Pentium 4s give the best performance in general, but cost a lot more (mind you the new AMD 64 is top of performance and price at the mo). The Celerons are a good bit cheaper than the P4s but they're performance isn't great - I wouldn't recommend them for modern gaming. The Athlon's start of as cheap as the Celerons but offer a close to P4 performance. A 2500+ for example is meant to have a performance equal or better than a P4 2.5ghz - in reality its probably a little behind.

If you've money to burn go for the P4s or AMD 64. Otherwise definetly stick to the Athlon XPs - never let me down - and I'm a gaming freak. I'd steer clear of the Celerons - except in one scenario - you want to buy a P4 down the line - but don;t have the money yet - in which case you could swap the celeron for a P4 (same motherboard) down the line.

elexes

athlon or pentium
celeron shouldnt even get mentioned .

if u have loads of cash get the p4 but if u dont get the athlon xp . id go for the athlon tho

superfly

but make sure you buy the right motherboard as Pentium and Athlon use different boards

gobby

should also think about the noise. athlons run hotter requiring more heat dissipation. ie. faster, noiser fans. p4's run cooler and overall are usually quieter systems cos of less cooling requirements.

Jam

athlons run hotter requiring more heat dissipation

I think now it's the p4s that output more heat. Will check.

Edit: Haha, I was right. 3.2ghz p4 outputs 82watts (max), the Athlon 3200 outputs 76watts(max). Same for for the 2ghz p4 at 75watts and the Athlon 2000+ at 60watts.

Check the AMD techdoc here and the Intel techdoc here if you don't believe me. About 2mb each.

Edit: Edit: I can't tag.

jonhate

Either way with P4 or Athlon.....get a really good motherboard..

Dont get a **** one whatever you do, pay a little extra and get a stable board...AND YOU'LL BE LAUGHING!!

Stephen

The Abit NF7-S 2.0 is a good choice of motherboard if you're going down the Athlon route. I built a system around one last month

gazmond141014

Thanks alot lads, that info was great I think i will go for the p4 cause in the long run they run better. Sorry bout mentioning celeron i was stupid. I kinda thought I would get comments like that. Would it be worth getting a 512 ram while i am getting a new one or will i wait and update it later?? Thanks again lads for the info.

Creamy Goodness

if your getting P4 go for the Abit IC7-G it's a great board and who makes it.... you guessed it Abit

imo they the best boards atm

so if P4 route get ........IC7-G
if AMD route get...........NF7-S 2.0

Dempsey

Dont wait, because the first P5's are using the old 478 socket(I heard) so the 7xx( cant think of the exact number right now) will be out for the summer(in my estimation) plus the P4's price have been dropped (by 33%). Its not a bad time to buy.

Get a P4 2.8c and either the Asus P4C800-E Deluxe or the Abit IC7-Max 3 "Canterwood". These are the top two boards. I have the Abit IC7-G. No problems. 512 RAM is ideal unless you are a heavy photoshop user, then you want to think about getting 1Gb

Abit supply rounded cables and SATA cables etc.. Asus dont i think.

j0e9o

tbh the best amd mobo has to be the asus a7n8x deluxe it powns

jonhate

tbh the best amd mobo has to be the asus a7n8x deluxe it powns

It is a quality board........It just is so stable!!

RicardoSmith

Originally posted by Jam
I think now it's the p4s that output more heat. Will check.

Edit: Haha, I was right. 3.2ghz p4 outputs 82watts (max), the Athlon 3200 outputs 76watts(max). Same for for the 2ghz p4 at 75watts and the Athlon 2000+ at 60watts.

Check the AMD techdoc here and the Intel techdoc here if you don't believe me. About 2mb each.

Edit: Edit: I can't tag.

The P4s can be cooled easier and quieter though regardless of the output of the chips. Mainly due to the heatspreader on the top of them. The P4 mounting mechanism for heatsinks and fans is a lot easier too.

Col_Loki

so if P4 route get ........IC7-G
if AMD route get...........NF7-S 2.0

Couldnt have said it better myself . Abit are definetly the best boards out there at the min IMO. Ive used MSI , ASUS and Abit and theres no compition.

A7N8X is a good board but the NF7-S is better (i have both) .

Athlons run hotter but P4's produce more heat !!
The P4 chips have better cooling thus run cooler on average than the Socket A athlons.......

[edit] Oops a few mins late