Hello all :)

Helping a friend decide a config (am getting infamous of this - come to computing.net and then take the advice elsewhere :D)

Both these combos cost almost the same, so wondering which would be a wiser choice. The comp will be used for:
1. hardcore gaming with all details maxed.
2. ripping audio and dvds
3. general use like browsing, music and such

Athlon 3000XP 64bit with mobo

OR

P4 3GHz HT with mobo

They cost about the same. Which is better for what? Cost is not a factor here. My friend does not mind spending more cash, so VFM is not a big consideration.
Is buying a 64bit processor in lieu of the P4 HT sensible?

Also for gaming purposes how does the barton 2500 M o/c to 3200 compare to the 3000XP 64bit ?

Thanks, will follow this thread,

Good Luck and Happy Computing,
Kailas Shastry,

Athlon 2000XP +
MSI KT266VM
DDR 256MB

Good Luck and Happy Computing,
Kailas Shastry,

Athlon 2000XP +
MSI KT266VM
DDR 256MB

Since Intel stays at the same spot in terms of performance for the last 15 months, AMD has moved ahead.

Hence, the best system considering value/performance goes to AMD.

A64 socket 939 Dual Channel memory; 90nm Winchester 3000+ or 3200+ will outperform Intel in both overclocking and low thermal output.

Athlon 3000XP 64bit.

-- Always do what you are afraid to do --

AMD 64 on a gigabyte 939 socket MB

http://www.giga-byte.com/MotherBoard/Products/Products_GA-K8NSNXP-939.htm

Couple that with a real good video card and you have a very powerful 'screamer'.

Also get SATA drives and if you can get at least 2 duplicate drives and go RAID 1.

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one less travelled by, And that has made all the difference." Frost

Yup - Always go with AMD for gaming :) (and pretty much every thing else too!) Make sure he gets a good video card as well, as that will have more of an impact than the CPU at the speeds your are talking about.

MSI K7N2-Delta
Athlon XP 2500+ @2Ghz
2x512MB Kingston PC-3200
GeForce4 MX440-8X 64MB
SB Live! 5.1
MSI TV@nywhere Master
WD 160GB 7200rpm HDD
LiteOn 52x CD-RW
LiteOn 16x DVD-ROM

Many thanks to lazyman, sabertooth, Docmemory, William George for the responses.

Can I please ask for another clarification?
How does the barton 3200 compare to the A64 for gaming?

The price diff bet the 2500 and A64 is quite something so am asking this.

Also between the 2500 (o/c to 3200 or more?)and P4HT, which would be a better gaming CPU?
[as of now the choice is bet the A64 and P4HT, am asking this out of personal curiosity]

Good Luck and Happy Computing,
Kailas Shastry,

Athlon 2000XP +
MSI KT266VM
DDR 256MB

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The Barton core AthlonXPs are the top of the line of XPs, but they are not as powerful as the Athlon64s, or quite as fast as the newer breed of P4s. I am currently running a 2500+ oc'd to about 2800+ speeds, and I hope to get it up to 3200+ speeds when I have some time to play with it. They are good CPUs, but as I recall you can get comparably fast A64s now-a-days for not much more, and they will perform better. One of their huge advantages (over both the Barton and the P4) is that they have memory controllers built right into the chip. This allows them much faster access to the system RAM, and in turn increases performance. For games, there is no better processor. And the biggest advantage to getting a low-end A64 right now is that in the future you can upgrade to a faster one, when they come down in price. There is no faster future for Socket A (that the AthlonXPs are based on). If you can, get a socket 939 based Athlon64 - it is a newer socket, and chips for it can run memory in dual-channel mode. This isn't a huge boost for these CPUs, as they already have great memory access, but sometime next year AMD will be introducing dual-core CPUs, and they will most likely come out for socket 939 rather than the older socket 754. That would definately be my recommendation. I almost wish I had waited until this year to build my new computer, rather than this time last year. Oh well - hindsight is 20-20 :) Good luck!

MSI K7N2-Delta
Athlon XP 2500+ @2Ghz
2x512MB Kingston PC-3200
GeForce4 MX440-8X 64MB
SB Live! 5.1
MSI TV@nywhere Master
WD 160GB 7200rpm HDD
LiteOn 52x CD-RW
LiteOn 16x DVD-ROM