Which is better? Barton XP2600+ or P4 2.6G 800FSB

[jhlee_99]

Hi all,

Which is one should I buy?

Combo #1 $169.99
Intel P4 2.6Ghz HT 800FSB OEM
ECS 648FX-A mobo
* single channel DDR400
* SIS 648FX chipset
* overclockable to ~225FSB
* no voltage control on BIOS

Combo #2 $119.99
AMD Barton 2600+ 333FSB
ECS N2U400-A
* dual channel DDR400 support
* very overclockable to 400FSB
* nForce2 Ultra chipset
* no voltage control on BIOS

I know ECS mobos aren't the best, but these two mobos are pretty good for the price. Plus the combo price is great! Couldn't find any other better deal out there. I can't afford a ASUS mobo, so please don't tell me to get something better.

I'm trying to upgrade my current PC which takes 40~50 minutes encoding a DVD. I do play a lot of games (mainly CS), but while gaming I don't feel the need to upgrade, only when I'm encoding/decoding audio and video.

Here is my current rig:
AMD Athlon (Thunderbird <-- really old core) 1.333Ghz 266FSB
MSI MS-6380 (VIA KT266 chipset: 4x AGP, 266FSB & DDR, 2-ch sound, Promise RAID)
512MB DDR266 (2x256) CAS 2.5
Siig 3 port 1394 PCI card
Siig 4+1 port USB 2.0 PCI card
Intel 10/100 PCI NIC
Promise TX2000 PCI RAID card
Bfg Asylum FX5900nu
NEC ND-1100a (DVD burner)
LiteOn 48x24x48 CDRW
LiteOn 16x DVD ROM (my ripper)
2 IBM 60GB in RAID 0 (120GB) - primary boot array
2 WD 80GB in RAID 0 (160GB) - secondary arrary

[Karnivore]

No question, hands down P4C , I however wouldn't touch the ECS MOBO's, and really isn't any reason to when you can get First tier boards for under $100.. do yourself a favor, get a decent board to start out with...

[jhlee_99]

Originally posted by Karnivore
No question, hands down P4C , I however wouldn't touch the ECS MOBO's, and really isn't any reason to when you can get First tier boards for under $100.. do yourself a favor, get a decent board to start out with...

since P4 2.6C runs around $165 by itself, i'm really getting mobo for free. ideally, i would buy the Asus P4C800 or P4P800, but just can't afford it. i'm streching to buy this one.

btw, thx for ur op. so, p4c is that much better?

jhlee

[Karnivore]

@ default speeds everything will probably be pretty close, except the video/audio work, since you specified that as the main concern, choice is clear. Unfortunately those boards aren't going to let you take advantage of the performance potential of either platform.

[mp3blast]

ive had bad luck with ecs motherboards as well
i had a k7sem for a really old 1.33ghz tbird and that board crashed everyday. Always messed soemthign up in my comp

:(

[jhlee_99]

Originally posted by mp3blast
ive had bad luck with ecs motherboards as well
i had a k7sem for a really old 1.33ghz tbird and that board crashed everyday. Always messed soemthign up in my comp

:(

that's too bad. i actually had good luck with ecs mobos. i've built bunch of systems for friends and family (all fry's mobo combos) and all were rock solid. even the performance was ok, although not fast as some of the premier vendors, but costs much less. only real downside is that ecs mobos have very little features (i.e. no voltage control, firewire, raid, etc.). although ecs mainly addresses the low end market, their products are pretty solid.

aside from not liking ecs mobos, which one would you buy and why? since amd is more oc-able, i thought this might be a better buy. any thoughts?

[Karnivore]

Originally posted by jhlee_99
since amd is more oc-able, i thought this might be a better buy. any thoughts?


Eliminating the motherboards from the equation, because they are unknown quanities to me, your statement regarding AMD as more "oc-able" is not true. The latest Northwoods overclock quite well, and from my own personal experience Average OC is higher on the Intels.

[jhlee_99]

Originally posted by Karnivore
Eliminating the motherboards from the equation, because they are unknown quanities to me, your statement regarding AMD as more "oc-able" is not true. The latest Northwoods overclock quite well, and from my own personal experience Average OC is higher on the Intels.

really!? good to know. do you think i'll have problems going upto 240fsb with a ventec or themaltake or zalman? or is that asking too much for cheapo cpu cooler?

jhlee

[Karnivore]

Originally posted by jhlee_99
really!? good to know. do you think i'll have problems going upto 240fsb with a ventec or themaltake or zalman? or is that asking too much for cheapo cpu cooler?

jhlee

of the mentioned HSF's the Zalman 7000 series which Fry's does sell is probably the best choice, never any guarantees, but Average OC seems from 3.3-3.5 on air, ymmv, but chances are pretty good you would fall somewhere in that range, an exceptional processor may get you a few hundred mhz higher then that. But your motherboard and memory need to be up to the task as well.

[faruquehabib]

i'd save the extra $50 and go AMD. my 2 cents :toast:

[Karnivore]

Originally posted by faruquehabib
i'd save the extra $50 and go AMD. my 2 cents :toast:


not for video encoding... big difference

[jhlee_99]

Originally posted by Karnivore
of the mentioned HSF's the Zalman 7000 series which Fry's does sell is probably the best choice, never any guarantees, but Average OC seems from 3.3-3.5 on air, ymmv, but chances are pretty good you would fall somewhere in that range, an exceptional processor may get you a few hundred mhz higher then that. But your motherboard and memory need to be up to the task as well.

this would require uping the voltage, right?

jhlee

[Karnivore]

Originally posted by jhlee_99
this would require uping the voltage, right?

jhlee

Can't say for sure, depends on indivual processor, seems the majority of the NW's OC very close to max on default voltage, some gain from increased Vcore, but many don't

[jhlee_99]

Originally posted by Karnivore
Can't say for sure, depends on indivual processor, seems the majority of the NW's OC very close to max on default voltage, some gain from increased Vcore, but many don't

i downloaded the ecs intel mobo manual and according to it, it does has vcore adjustments. so this mobo is looking better. i know for sure the ecs amd mobo doesn't have this feature.

i think i'll get the ecs 648fx mobo with 1 512MB pc4000 dimm. hopefully, i can get the fsb upto 240+. the problem is cpu cooler? i'm thinking Zalman: CNPS7000-ALCU CPU cooler. is this good enough? my current ambient temp is 40C (too high!!!).

jhlee