Ok.. building a computer.. Eyes are glazing over... Which processor to buy... AMD or Pentium?

It seems I can buy a faster Processor when I get a Pentium... But should I go that route or an AMD?? Just thought I would ask all the sweet ass pimps out there

As said in a recent post...

If you just want to use the processor and not tweak it go with Pentium, but if you are a tweaker go with AMD...

AMD = Buget
Intel = Enthusiast

If I could go back and re buy my cpu and mobo id probably go AMD for its bag for the buck.

That's to simple of an answer for me.

The truth is, you can buy all the processor power you will need for the next five years or more for less then $200.

Here is what $200 will get you for an AMD and an Intel.

AMD ATHLON XP 2400 /266 FSB PROCESSOR CPU- OEM for $179

Intel Pentium 4 / 2.4BGHz Northwood 512K Socket 478 Processor 533MHz Processor Bus OEM for $190

The Intel will run cooler and can save you some HSF money and noise if you do not wish to overclock it much.

Both can be used with DDR RAM. The Intel can also be used with RDRAM, but that will limit your options if you build other systems or wish to switch back to AMD, etc... Cost more, and not really gain you that much.

These two processors have very similar performance with a slight edge to the Intel chip.

For Overclocking, the Intel may hit close to or beyond 3.0Gig, but that is in the extreme. A more realistic estimate would be somewhere around 2.75 Gig.

The AMD can hit as high as 2.5Gig, but 2.2 would be a good average speed for a safe OC.

At these speeds, the AMD doesn't really gain much on the Intel because of limitations with memory bandwidth, but it doesn't loose any ground either.

If you plane to OC, then both platforms will require similar High End cooling solutions and therefore Intel looses the small price savings for cheaper cooling.

So, between these two similarly priced and performing CPUs, the real differences that should help you make a descision are, backwards compatability with existing hardware, whether you plan to Overclock and how extreme you want to be.

But if you want to buy the fastest currently afailable, or be able to upgrade to a much faster CPU again in the reasonable future, I would say that there are already 3.0+ Intel chips available, and the XP line may soon top out and upgrades beyond 2.6Gig may soon require a different motherboard as well.

I hope some of this helps you decided.

you can buy retail at googlegear.com that has hsf for a p4 2.4 191.00 for 533 fsb or 194.00 for 400 fsb.198.00 for retail xp 2400+ or 177.00 for oem xp 2400+

If you want to save some cash go to newegg and get the amd 1700($50) or 1800($65) t-bred. They oc to around 1.8 and you can put the money you save to more memory or bigger hard drive.