Athlon 64 or Pentium 4?

I am thinking of purchasing a new processor for my computer, i currently have a Athlon XP 2200+ (1.8ghz) I was thinking of either a Athlon 64 3200+ or P4 3.2ghz... I use the pc for gaming, and video encoding from time to time, so what would be the best processor for me? Either way, the motherboard will have to be replaced, so it makes no difference whatever way. I know an Nforce 3 is wise for athlon 64, but if the p4 is better, then what relatively cheap motherboard can u recommend me, with AGP 8, 4 or so usb ports and ethernet onboard if possible :D
Cheers guys ;)

Haven't there been some problems with Athlon 64s? Or is it just me going crazy again?

Also, I don't think AGP 8x makes that much difference.

A64 knocks the P4 for six at just about every point, no problems with the A64, but some of the motherboards haven't locked the pci/agp clocks so things can get a bit screwy when/if you start overclocking (but that's probably something that can be fixed with a bios update anyway).

Oh yes, AGP 8x makes no difference at all, and is soon to be replaced anyway lol

Not sure about recommended A64 boards at the mo, I'll get back to you :)

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Originally Posted by Stoo

Oh yes, AGP 8x makes no difference at all, and is soon to be replaced anyway lol

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By PCI Express?

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Originally Posted by mike_w

By PCI Express?

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Yup. :)

Oops, I thought I'd typed that lol

Athlon64, its cheaper and more powerful!

I've always thought that AMD were the best option for value for money, and in recent reviews, the Athlon 64 seems to outperform the P4. But since the Athlon 64 is fairly new, I would have thought the selection of motherboards won't be great right now.

naa, now is the time that all the boards are starting to appear :D

Athlon 64 and a K8T800 based motherboard would be what you want ! :).

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Originally Posted by Big_Al

Yup. :)

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Nope, by PCI-X

Which is not PCI express afaik.

Isn't the new upgraded Nforce3 (250??) out soon as well, then they'll be more mobo's to chose from. BTW deffinatly go for AMD :p

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Originally Posted by Agent

Nope, by PCI-X

Which is not PCI express afaik.

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Err - PCI-X is simply a 64bit PCI slot? They've had them on server motherboards for donkeys! PCI-Express is right ;)

Ill let David come and correct us as i had this discussion with him not too long after he went to an Intel conference on this very subject :)
Im pretty sure i remember him saying PCI express wasnt going to be used.

PCI-X is what is currently being used on some server boards. However, they will be implementing PCI-Express soon, this is going to be on the PT890 Chipset, KT890 Chipset, and the Grantsdale chipset....

PCI-X is dead... PCI-Express is the future....

Agent - wrong way round m8

Read last months CPC for full info on PCI-Express...

its pci express m8 , atleast thats what the btx specification specifies ;) [edit beaten to it ;)]

on topic id say p4 but only cause i aint read up enough on the a64 and i know for def that a p4 platform is rock solid stable and while it may be beaten in some tests by the a64 id rather stick with what i know to be stable and a good performer

If I were buying a new system? A64 all the way - a nice 3200 on a decent VIA chipset board, coupled with a 9800XT, and 1GB PC4000 ram... without doubt.

Must have got them mixed up :)

I thought i remembered you saying something in a thread ages ago Dave along the lines of PCI express wasn't going to be adopted, but something else was.

guys, if you read custom pc (issue 5-6), you can see that pentium based systems perform better than athlon. and in 'beat the office' race top 4 systems are pentium.

i think if you overclock that p4 3.2 to 3.9, it will eat AMD64.

Well....
EVERY review has the Athlon 64 on top .... especialy ones from Hexus!
GO THE ATHLON 64 !!!

*Starts plotting an evil plan to make his own Athlon 64 from parts he finds in his room.....

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Originally Posted by David

If I were buying a new system? A64 all the way - a nice 3200 on a decent VIA chipset board, coupled with a 9800XT, and 1GB PC4000 ram... without doubt.

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Yeah, PC4000 for the CPU that can't use more than PC3200 :p

Swap his PC4000 recommendation for a TwinX pack of XMS3200LL.

Rys

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Originally Posted by Rys

Yeah, PC4000 for the CPU that can't use more than PC3200 :p

Swap his PC4000 recommendation for a TwinX pack of XMS3200LL.

Rys

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Yeah, TwinX for the CPU that can't use dual channel :p

Yes yes I know its good ram in general

You still gain flexibility in upgrading to future dual channel setups, in my defence. And 1GB sticks of XMS3200 are about as cheap as the Sultan of Brunei's gold plated bogroll.

Rys

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Originally Posted by Thorburn

Yeah, TwinX for the CPU that can't use dual channel :p

Yes yes I know its good ram in general

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Athlon 64 S754 motherboards have at least two DIMM slots. So why not use the TwinX for better compatibility when running two low-latency DRAM sticks in tandem ?.

Better than using two mismatched modules :P

I was being a bastard :P

alternatively you could just buy this one 8D
http://forums.hexus.net/showthread.php?t=12820

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Originally Posted by serlex

guys, if you read custom pc (issue 5-6), you can see that pentium based systems perform better than athlon. and in 'beat the office' race top 4 systems are pentium.

i think if you overclock that p4 3.2 to 3.9, it will eat AMD64.

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That's what you get if you pay attention to CPC ;)