New Computer - AMD VS Intel

[Silver Bullet]

Hey all,

I have decided to take the plunge (soon) and going to get a new computer. Which one would you get ? ... I do lots of multitasking, 3D rendering (Max, maya) and tons of Photoshop work .. also gaming but to a lesser extent.

* minor change, going with the 4200+ instead of 3800+ for oc'ing potential.

AMD - Cost Before Tax: $2686.23

OCZ Power Stream 520W (OCZ520ADJ)
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 4200+ (2.2GHz 512KB cache each)
Thermaltake CL-P0114 Big Typhoon
OCZ DDR Plat 2x512M PC3200 Kit (OCZ4001024ELDCPER2-K)
Asus A8N-SLI Premium Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI
XFX GeForce 7800 GTX (PV-T70F-UNF7) (Retail)
Western Digital Caviar SATA II (WD2500KS) 250GB |
Western Digital Caviar SATA II (WD2500KS) 250GB } RAID 5
Western Digital Caviar SATA II (WD2500KS) 250GB |


INTEL - Cost Before Tax: $2099.00

OCZ Power Stream 520W (OCZ520ADJ)
Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz
Thermaltake CL-P0114 Big Typhoon
OCZ DDR2 Gold PC5400 1GB (2x512) (OCZ26671024ELDCGE-K)
Asus P5LD2 Deluxe Socket 775 Intel 945
XFX GeForce 7800 GTX (PV-T70F-UNF7) (Retail)
Western Digital Caviar SATA II (WD2500KS) 250GB |
Western Digital Caviar SATA II (WD2500KS) 250GB } RAID 5
Western Digital Caviar SATA II (WD2500KS) 250GB |

I would be keeping my current ROM drives and case / fans.

[bluetroll]

e X2 wins hands down...check out any review.

heres a review from techreport with some rendering

http://techreport.com/reviews/2005q3/athlon64-x2-3800/index.x?pg=6

http://techreport.com/reviews/2005q3/athlon64-x2-3800/index.x?pg=7

[pd0x]

out of curiousity...outside of games and rendering is there a dramatic difference between dual core and single core processing? I dont imagine there would be...given my system specs below would I see a dramatic difference in every day computing w/ a dual core processor?

Intel Prescott 2.8 Ghz
1GB DDR2 RAM (400mhz)
i925xe chipset (Abit 3rd Eye)
Maxtor MaxLine II Plus 250GB Enterprise-class Drive (Primary)
WD Caviar 200GB 7200.8 (Secondary, Media Center)
WD Caviar 200GB 7200.8 (Tertiary, Scratch Disk for Swap File etc...)

additionally, how hot do these dual core processors get? is it possible to silently-air-cool them? i.e. below 28db?

[dens]

Out of these two I would take the AMD system.
Athlon 64 X2 CPUs rock! :razz:

[Txiasaeia]

It's a little more, but I too would go with the AMD system. Man, what do you need 750GB of space for?

[Silver Bullet]

It's a little more, but I too would go with the AMD system. Man, what do you need 750GB of space for?

RAID 5 = 500GB (parity is shared over the 3 drives) ... always need more space :)

[NiMSo]

I don't think you'll be making a huge performance jump, considering the amount of money that you must invest.

I say 'wait'... :). Unless, of course, you're loaded... :D

[Silver Bullet]

I don't think you'll be making a huge performance jump, considering the amount of money that you must invest.

I say 'wait'... :). Unless, of course, you're loaded... :D


im really after GFX power and harddrive space ... at this point i have filled about 250+ with stuff .. (tv, dvds, etc). Also after i sell my current components .. the new comp only ends up costing about $1500 ish.

[Silver Bullet]

out of curiousity...outside of games and rendering is there a dramatic difference between dual core and single core processing? I dont imagine there would be...given my system specs below would I see a dramatic difference in every day computing w/ a dual core processor?

Intel Prescott 2.8 Ghz
1GB DDR2 RAM (400mhz)
i925xe chipset (Abit 3rd Eye)
Maxtor MaxLine II Plus 250GB Enterprise-class Drive (Primary)
WD Caviar 200GB 7200.8 (Secondary, Media Center)
WD Caviar 200GB 7200.8 (Tertiary, Scratch Disk for Swap File etc...)

additionally, how hot do these dual core processors get? is it possible to silently-air-cool them? i.e. below 28db?

Actually games right now anyway don't benifit from Dual core at all ... its mostly 3D, Video Editing (rendering, etc) and multi-tasking that benifit most.

Also for cooling check out the Zalman CNPS 9500 as it seems to be the next big HS coming out. Xbitlabs.com has a review. It should be out mid-late septmeber

[coomar]

right now, some games are having problems on dual-core, your having to disable a core to play on them

but amd64's are so good for gaming that one core is more than enough

a 7800gtx starts plateauing (vs cpu speeds) around 2.2ghz

however, supposedly ut2007 has a release date of q1 2006, unreal tournament has always been cpu dependent and it is multi-core friendly

intel is also pushing dual-core in gaming, F.E.A.R is supposed to be multi-threaded

I wasn't aware of any huge difference in overclocking the 3800 vs the 4200

the max speed of the 4200 will be 50-100 mhz higher maximum probably, sort of like the 3000/3200

[Silver Bullet]

right now, some games are having problems on dual-core, your having to disable a core to play on them

but amd64's are so good for gaming that one core is more than enough

a 7800gtx starts plateauing (vs cpu speeds) around 2.2ghz

however, supposedly ut2007 has a release date of q1 2006, unreal tournament has always been cpu dependent and it is multi-core friendly

intel is also pushing dual-core in gaming, F.E.A.R is supposed to be multi-threaded

I wasn't aware of any huge difference in overclocking the 3800 vs the 4200

the max speed of the 4200 will be 50-100 mhz higher maximum probably, sort of like the 3000/3200

From most of the OC'ing i've see the 4200+ can get up to the 4800+ and maybe a bit past it .. depending on cooling .. while the best i've see for the 3800+ is around 4600+ ish. Also need to see how the R520 chip does .. also why i'm waiting just that little big longer.

[Silver Bullet]

Seems people like amd now :)