NotebookForums.com › Forums › Off Topic › Desktop and Hardware Discussion › AMD or Intel? 64bit vs pci-e?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

AMD or Intel? 64bit vs pci-e?

post #1 of 20
7/21/04 at 1:07pm
Thread Starter 
Hi, I am currently looking to purchase a new desktop in the next 3 months or so. and am debating on a socket 939 AMD or Intel P4. Looking to spend $2000 US (not including monitor ,keyboard ,speakers or mouse).

I would like to get AMD's 64 bit architecture (I understand that Windows 64bit will be released this fall?) Would also like to get this with pci-e. The idea is to buy a midrange desktop cpu that offers future upgradability for the next 2-3 years, and purchase a high end LCD display and sound system (that'll last considerably longer).

Any input, clarifiication, insight - would be appreciated..

Thanks.

CuJo

note: previously spent a fortune on a laptop that lasted only 1.5-2 years for gaming and then could only be used for word processing and surfing web..
Reply
Reply
post #2 of 20
7/21/04 at 4:34pm
While you can never expect your computer to last forever, the 64-bit idea should hold for sometime (remember how long this darn 32-bit lasted?)...For myself, I would look at something cheaper, such as just a regular Athlon 64 (maybe 3000) and an semi-inexpensive Graphics Card (like a 9800)...I've priced that system and with a 19" CRT its about 1050 assuming two 80gig SATA and a MSI M/B...but I'm a cheap performance freak (thats why I went with emachines)...
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 20
7/21/04 at 4:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by CuJo11
Hi, I am currently looking to purchase a new desktop in the next 3 months or so. and am debating on a socket 939 AMD or Intel P4. Looking to spend $2000 US (not including monitor ,keyboard ,speakers or mouse).

I would like to get AMD's 64 bit architecture (I understand that Windows 64bit will be released this fall?)
I agree with kooloser...the 64 bit platform will not be available to the public for a long time. Microsoft announced they have stopped working on it until they finish XP Service Pack 2...then they will continue working on it...at this rate..we may get lucky if we see it next summer...

technically the 64 bit platform already exists...but you need to buy a duel Itanium processor system...its also available to original equipment manufacturers ... this comes straight from the man... BRAIN MARR
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 20
7/21/04 at 4:52pm
64-bit would be a good investment...but to get an AMD processor just for that might be too much. Whats nice is the Athlon 64 offers great if not superior performance (especialy for the price) in the 32-bit platform while you wait for microsoft to get on with it... (You can download the Windows XP 64 beta, but it lasts 90 days)
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 20
7/22/04 at 1:27am
AMD 64's are up for Chipset revision's soon. I heard somewhere that nForce 4 is probably a month from pre-production at the moment. That means DDR2, PCI-e, and Soundstorm 2. On another note, does anyone know if it would require a revision of the processor or chipset to bring A64's inline with DDR2? nVidia has said that their new chipset will support it, but I thought that the native memory controller on the CPU itself would be the limiting factor.
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 20
7/22/04 at 1:55am
Maybe Nvidia means that the chipset will coincide with the new processor to work with DDR2, because yes, the AMD 64 does have an onchip memory controller...
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 20
7/27/04 at 5:51am
Which can be disabled and run secondary to a NorthBridge chip, if need be.
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 20
7/27/04 at 2:04pm
Check out the system in my sig. With a 21" Monitor, mouse & keyboard it priced out to just at $2000. Drop the monitor ($500) and you could add a nice Lian-Li case, DVD Burner, a second hard drive for RAID-0/1 and opt for the Audigy 2 ZS that I'll be adding later.
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 20
7/27/04 at 7:09pm
I am going to have to support the A64 case here... 64bit is how everything is going and using some programs you can already see a huge leap in performance... Why but yesterdays technology when you can have a piece of tomorrow?
Reply
Reply
post #10 of 20
7/27/04 at 9:32pm
i have an amd 64 as u see in my sig. will i have to dish out a couple hundred bucks for the new 64 edition of windows? i hope not.
Reply
Reply
post #11 of 20
7/28/04 at 12:40am
i don't know the price but obviously you will have to pay something
Reply
Reply
post #12 of 20
7/29/04 at 10:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mister694
I am going to have to support the A64 case here... 64bit is how everything is going and using some programs you can already see a huge leap in performance... Why but yesterdays technology when you can have a piece of tomorrow?
I can see if the OS was right around the corner...but we are talking about a year before it is even released...by the CPU speeds will be in the 4-5Ghz range...why would you want to pay 3K for a 3Ghz 64-bit machine when you cant even use it? Either wait until the 64-bit OS is released...or buy the 32-bit for now. Is it really that necessary? ANSWER: no.

Quote:
Originally Posted by mellamojimmy
i have an amd 64 as u see in my sig. will i have to dish out a couple hundred bucks for the new 64 edition of windows? i hope not.
Remember how much XP PRO was when it first was released? Probably the same if not more because its the "NEW 64-bit OS!!!!" We're talkin' $300-$500.
Reply
Reply
post #13 of 20
8/4/04 at 4:56am
If you can, I would wait. This fall some new motherboards should be coming out with pci-e for the 939s.
Reply
Reply
post #14 of 20
8/4/04 at 1:32pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks Iome. That's what I've heard as well.. So I'll wait some more....
Reply
Reply
post #15 of 20
8/4/04 at 4:04pm
Lol, Don't worry cujo i am in the same boat as you, like they say "good things come to those who wait."
Reply
Reply
post #16 of 20
8/5/04 at 8:28pm
Isn't the Intel PCI-Express more future oriented because with PCI-E you will be able to upgrade your video card without worries about them stopping production of AGP cards?

I want to buy a computer that will last a long time and will have alot of upgradeablity. What should I do, wait and see for 64 w/ pci-e? Or go sooner with intel pci-e?

What other options do I have?
Reply
Reply
post #17 of 20
8/6/04 at 1:22am
I would wait for the amd for one big reason, if you want long term upgradability amd is the only one that offers 64 bit computing when it comes.
Reply
Reply
post #18 of 20
8/6/04 at 2:33am
I am getting an AMD64, mainly because i am a huge fan of AMD anyway, never had much of a liking for Intel, my advice is, its true, 64 bit windows wont be out for a while, so if your an Intel fanboy and you use windows, there is really no reason to switchto AMD just because of the 64 bit at this point, I can actually take advantage of 64 bit tho, because i use Gentoo linux totally compiled from scratch and i get good performance increases in some things, but its still ot the point, im a programmer, AMD has always had faster compile times, but even when AMD was getting seriosuly ditched in the benchmarks, did i sto liking AMD? NO, i am a loyal AMD fan and whatever happens if intel releases a cpu tomorrow that has a 50 percent perofrmance increase in everything over the FX-53, i will still be an AMD fan and think nothing of it
Reply
Reply
post #19 of 20
8/6/04 at 3:58am
Its not a question of 64-bit vs PCIe, or even AMD vs PCIe, there are boards on the drawing boards right now that are PCIe that are for AMD processors. These include the 939 sockets for the Athlons as well a 940 sockets for the Opterons and will be coming out by year's end, some in the next couple of months.

But yes, both 64-bit and PCIe are the future. There's no question about that, none at all. The only question is when. I am figuring at least another couple of months, end of September at best, but before the end of the year. Certainly 1st quarter 2005.

I don't intend to jump until there's something in an SFF with 64-bit, socket 939 and PCIe. The best bet right now is the nForce 4 chipset which will have 32 PCIe lanes. That will give you a base graphics on 16 lanes, with the option of a second graphics card on 8 lanes and then a 4x slot for something moderately serious, perhaps audio, and 4 - 1x slots for whatevers left. Shouldn't need any drive controllers or other I/O, the nForce chipset will have plenty.
Reply
Reply
post #20 of 20
8/6/04 at 3:36pm
What anout ISA-E? J/K nVidia says Q4 for nForce 4
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Desktop and Hardware Discussion
NotebookForums.com › Forums › Off Topic › Desktop and Hardware Discussion › AMD or Intel? 64bit vs pci-e?