Another AMD fan contemplating the switch to Intel...

[Svenn]

Alright, here's the situation. I'm looking for the best performing computer I can buy. It seems to me that AMD has fallen behind, and perhaps it's time I tried out a P4. Few simple (and perhaps a few not so simple) questions:
1) Which is the top performing P4 after overclocking. I see the 2.8Ghz out now. Is that gonna get me the best speed after overclocking is done? I don't care if a 1.6 gets me 3.5 Ghz, if a 2.8 is gonna give me 3.6 Ghz, that's what I want... Money is of little concern to me right now.
2) Are all P4s multiplier locked? What about PCI/AGP speeds?
3) DDR or RDRAM? Benefits of each?
4) Best P4 board? RAID is a plus, but not a must.
5) Any other suggestions for a long time AMD user? What are some benefits of Intel over AMD and vice versa, not including money reasons.
Oh yeah, I'm also getting a custom phase change setup, so any comments/suggestions on P4 + Phase change are appreciated.
Thanks a bunch.

[Bushboy]

I'm pretty sure if you want the most mhz, and money is of no concern then get the 2.8 C1;)
P4s are locked, though I have seen some people who have said they've unlocked theirs, but it's not common. You have the choice in BIOS (at least i845e,850) to lock the PCI/AGP at 33mhz and a couple other speeds.
I prefer DDR, with RDRAM you can be very limited with FSB, and with DDR now scores are getting much closer to RDRAM scores.
I'd go with ABit boards, the IT7-MAX2 maybe or their new BE7 featuring the new intel chipset.
I'm much happier an Intel user than I was an AMD. I get MUCH better overclocks, never have to worry about cracking a core or frying the CPU or AGP tearing at high FSBs.
I haven't had much experience with phase change, but I found it's much more effective super cooling P4s than AMDs, so you should be happy with it:)

[Svenn]

Sounds good to me. Couple other things...
6) Anyone have a roadmap of Intel CPU/Motherboards? I'd like to examine one to get an idea of when I want to buy.
7) Is locking PCI/AGP a good idea? Better idea to experiment with and without locking them to see which way I can get the best performance out of it?
8) Will RDRAM limit overclocks enough that with DDR plus overclock it would be better?
Thanks again.

[sysfailur]

Originally posted by Svenn
Sounds good to me. Couple other things...
6) Anyone have a roadmap of Intel CPU/Motherboards? I'd like to examine one to get an idea of when I want to buy.
7) Is locking PCI/AGP a good idea? Better idea to experiment with and without locking them to see which way I can get the best performance out of it?
8) Will RDRAM limit overclocks enough that with DDR plus overclock it would be better?
Thanks again.

If you were to go with let's say the IT7, you could lock the pci @ 37, or 42 I believe. So if you're getting too high you can always just lock at that and get nice performance.

[Bushboy]

Locking tha PCI/AGP is the best way to go, Intel boards don't have high dividers at all, I think most P4 users lock the PCI, as running a few mhz out of spec isn't going to get you great improvement.
I don't really understand the wording of the next question, but RDRAM will get you a higher memory bandwidth score, but you can't get very high FSB at all when pushing your RAM, so you kinda have to OC the RAM and CPU seperate in a way because usually the CPU will go further than RDRAM...At least I think so:D

[Svenn]

What I'm asking about the RDRAM is basically, if I have 2 identical systems, one with RD and one with DDR, will the higher speeds that I get out of the DDR make up for the slower mem speeds?

[Bushboy]

simply, no. With 4200RIMMS even with the lower FSB you'll get better bandwidth. With DDR you'll get impressive bandwidth, not quite RDRAM though. When Dual channel is introduced in the granite bay boards you should see DDR right up there though, if you can wait for it.

[Svenn]

what are the 4200 RIMMS? What are the granite bay boards and when are they due out? What type of difference are we looking at though? In terms of say max clock speeds and say 3dmark at those speeds... The RD will beat out DDR even with a DDR getting a higher overclock?

[Bushboy]

4200 RIMMS is the fastest RDRAM, the 1066mhz type. Granite bay boards are the new chipsets that will have dual-channel DDR featured on them, they've already been introdced and I was told we should be seeing them within a month, maybe two.

In 3dmark, if you look at the highest scores, some are RDRAM and some are DDR, becuase with DDR you get much higher FSBs which 3dmark likes. However with RDRAM if you use a CPU with a high multiplier you dont need a high FSB to get insanely high mhz. Either way in 3dmark, DDR or RDRAM, you'll get some nice scores.

[Snowman]

so your going from a 2200 to 2.8? man, you sir are xtreme :toast:

[Svenn]

Well, not quite Snowman, I'm not upgrading for a few months, I'm just trying to get an idea of what's out and what's on the way. I like to do months of research before upgrading... But that's only because after I upgrade, I overclock and stop following all the latest stuff. In fact, right now I should probably be worrying more about school than the latest cpus... but oh well.