which processor?

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Dbl_D718

New Member
so i'm building my first computer pretty soon and i have just about everything picked out except that i can't decide which way to go with processors: amd or pentium. i've pretty much narrowed it down to the pentium 4 650 prescott (socket LGA 775) or the athlon 64 3800+ (socket 939). i wanna stay under 300 dollars for the processor. what do you guys think? thanks a lot!
 
Dbl_D718 said:
so i'm building my first computer pretty soon and i have just about everything picked out except that i can't decide which way to go with processors: amd or pentium. i've pretty much narrowed it down to the pentium 4 650 prescott (socket LGA 775) or the athlon 64 3800+ (socket 939). i wanna stay under 300 dollars for the processor. what do you guys think? thanks a lot!
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what are you going to be using it for?
 
Hey

From the two, the Athlon is a single core processor while the Pentium is a dual core processor. From the two, the Athlon is better performer as of now, but in the future, the dual core advantage will become apparent. I would probably go for the Pentium if you are truly not willing to pay more than 300. However, if you really could, an Athlon X2 3800+ would be a better choice :)

Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103562

JAN :D
 
i'll be using this mostly for games and music, but i'm going to engineering school pretty soon and i've heard some of the programs are pretty intense in terms of cpu usage so i also wanted to be sure to have enough for that. and, of course, i just want a fast computer lol.
 
jancz3rt said:
From the two, the Athlon is a single core processor while the Pentium is a dual core processor. From the two, the Athlon is better performer as of now, but in the future, the dual core advantage will become apparent. I would probably go for the Pentium if you are truly not willing to pay more than 300. However, if you really could, an Athlon X2 3800+ would be a better choice :)

Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103562

JAN :D
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the pentium he listed is not a dual core the 800s are dual core and he listed the 650. i think you meant hyperthreading but im not sure.
 
Dbl_D718 said:
i'll be using this mostly for games and music, but i'm going to engineering school pretty soon and i've heard some of the programs are pretty intense in terms of cpu usage so i also wanted to be sure to have enough for that. and, of course, i just want a fast computer lol.
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get the X2 3800+ Jan listed it would b great for what you have to do and you can overclock it some if its not fast enough for you.
 
ok just clear something up...both of the original cpu's i listed are single core. however the dual core x2 3800+ does look nice. can anyone suggest a good microATX mobo? that's the only other thing i'm having a hard time deciding on. i'm pretty set on getting a micro case so i'm gonna need the micro mobo too. thanks for all your help!
 
Dbl_D718 said:
ok just clear something up...both of the original cpu's i listed are single core. however the dual core x2 3800+ does look nice. can anyone suggest a good microATX mobo? that's the only other thing i'm having a hard time deciding on. i'm pretty set on getting a micro case so i'm gonna need the micro mobo too. thanks for all your help!
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heres the best one i could find

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131570
 
Yeha

Why are you going with Micro ATX? Anyway, sorry for the confusion caused by my post. I know that the 650 is single-core but I misread it. Anyway, you will definitely not go wrong with the X2 3800+, yet I would prefer to install it on a better motherboard than the one you selected (standard ATX form factor).

JAN :D
 
the reason i'm hoping for a decent micro board is because one of my friends is going to give me his old micro case so i was kinda hopin to save a little money not having to buy a new case.
can anyone explain how to compare pentium to amd? cuz i know you can't really compare their ghz ratings, because pentium's is much higher, yet AMD is obvsiously the more popular brand for computer builders. and while i don't really know what L1 and L2 cache are, pentium seems to be winning there too. so i was just wondering how i can make good comparisons between brands. thanks.
 
Dbl_D718 said:
the reason i'm hoping for a decent micro board is because one of my friends is going to give me his old micro case so i was kinda hopin to save a little money not having to buy a new case.
can anyone explain how to compare pentium to amd? cuz i know you can't really compare their ghz ratings, because pentium's is much higher, yet AMD is obvsiously the more popular brand for computer builders. and while i don't really know what L1 and L2 cache are, pentium seems to be winning there too. so i was just wondering how i can make good comparisons between brands. thanks.
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Its hard to say, but a rough comparison is to go by AMD's model number. Generally speaking, an Athlon 64 3200+ is equivalant to a Pentium 4 3.0Ghz-3.2Ghz at gaming.

And Intel has more L2 Cache, however AMD has more L1 Cache.
 
An AMD 3800 x2 benchmark's higher than all but the BEST Penitum D's, and I believe it scores higher than just about any Pentium 4 (except the EE). In terms of bang for the buck, the 3800 x2 is just about the BEST you can get.
 
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