To P4 or not to P4, that is my question

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Hard2Hear

Hard2Hear

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I have sat down and compiled my list for my next PC and now I'm wondering if I should go ahead and start building it, or if I should wait for a while. Do any of you guys have personal experience with using the P4 yet? Either you users who may have bought a system, or you support guys who may have had questions or problems with them.

My proposed system is as follows:
AsusP4T, P4 1.5Ghz, 1G RDRAM, 60G Maxtor UDMA100 7200 RPM HD's (2), Plextor 12/10/32 CDRW, Nvidia GeForce3, using a Delta card. (Maybe the 1010, maybe 2 44's)

Approx cost is $2550 not including the soundcard

My Current System is this:
Intel815 chipset, P3 733mhz, 512MB PC133 RAM, WD 20G 7200 RPM and 40G 7200RPM HDs, HP9100 CDRW, NVidia Geforce2mx, Delta44

So...is it worth it to do it now? Or should I wait for the next version ('Northwood' and 'Brookdale')in 9-12 months? What do YOU guys think?

H2H
 
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P-4 is horrible for audio, I would recomend staying with the highest PIII you can get. Or depending on what audio hardware you are using Athlon, they have a lot of troubles with many sound cards so make sure there are no conflicts but thats the way to go if you can.. The float point on the P4 is just nasty.
 
Nash-
Who used it and what software/hardware did they use? Was it you, or If it was a friend can you get the details from them? I have heard the 'net bunk, but I find 'net info is iffy.
 
The P4 isn't all that bad, but it is different. You'd be cooking just fine with it however....we're not talking about a *bad* FPU, it's just not what people expected. I suggest waiting for a while....it'll take time before software is P4 optimized. The higher PIII's are fine performers and cheaper.

Regardless, what's the point here? Your current system already rocks...in fact it looks to me like the only room for improvement would be a faster processor and perhaps a RAID controller....both of which you can get for a hell of a lot less than what you're going to spend here. If you purchase a $2000 machine right now, when you already have a very usable machine, then you're tossing your money away. Don't upgrade until you need to upgrade, and only upgrade components that require it. You never know what's around the corner...something great might pop up tomorrow, but you've already plunked out $2000 for a system upgrade that with the exception of a few components, you didn't need.

I agree that AMD is showing the most potential. You might consider waiting for a time and watching it...if the KT133A chipset is really as good as it's supposed to be, then an Athlon solution is definately worth looking into. But with audio hardware it's always hard to say...I'd let somebody else be the crash test dummy.

Slackmaster 2000
 
I'm quite sure the delta series work fine with via chipsets and athlon (still email Maudio to be sure). In that case why not go with the 1.33 GHz Athlon? I agree with Slackmaster that your system's good already and changing a few components should be enough to have a dream machine, but if you go the Athlon way with a good mobo at least you won't be stuck with a dead-end pc with no upgrade path in a year from now (ie P4 w/ rambus memory)
 
Slack-

You made some good points there! :) thanks!

I think I may drop in a P3 1Ghz to my system...looks like they're about $235 on pricewatch now. My biggest problem is that I'm out of room and power in this box. I have really put alot into it, though. It looks like it has no room to breathe, which I feel is my biggest problem right now.

I forgot to add that I am planning putting my next PC in a rack-mountable box with a quiet and effecient 400W power supply and cooling system. If I can figure out to move everything to a new box, I may just try doing that. I limited myself by using a Compaq box and power supply to start out on. But this thing is stable as all get out! Not 1 crash in over 9 months now!

H2H
 
oh...and I'm one of those guys who loves Intel and hates AMD chips! I always get into it with the guys I play Counterstrike and TFC with! ha ha!
 
Moving shit from one case to another is typically very simple. You really should give it a whirl.

I too am a diehard Intel fan...but AMD's latest processors are simply, beyond any doubt, faster. Considerably faster at a fraction of the cost. I just hated them so badly for the K6 through K6-3 processors.

To say that the Delta series works on all VIA chipsets isn't really correct. I have heard good reports and bad reports. One thing to notice is that *most* of the people with problems of the click & pop variety are on VIA chipsets. Which chipsets? Which motherboards? Ah research, who has the time? :)

Slackmaster 2000
 
speaking of rack mountable cases......

Do any of you know a good place to buy one online?????
 
Depending on where you are located I wouldn't worry about buying on line. In the Detroit area for example there are plenty of retailers (small shops not the big chains) that cater to the PC build-it-yourself crowd, and their prices on things like cases and cpus are almost as good as online. I expect it is the same in most urban-suburban areas.

I am in agreement with Slack, your current system is fine, maybe more/faster storage. You could get a full tower case w/ 300 watt PS for about $65-90 and be set for awhile. Not only is the P4 just coming on the market but there are new RAM types coming out now, with your system I would be inclined to beef it up and wait for the PC Tech Wars to settle down a bit.

As for VIA, I would not worry about any of the current chipsets out there.
 
I recently bought a decent enough ATX case off ebay for $40 shipped. 300W AMD/P4 approved power supply. Ebay is kind of slow though and you're taking your chances. Tiger Direct is kind of slimey but they sell cases at about the same price. Of course the more you spend, the nicer the case.

A local place would be great, but lots of areas just have the "standard" computer shops. Don't EVER pay $90-100 for a regular old ATX case...and that's what they'll ask at a lot of joints.

I would clarify RWhite's point about current VIA chipsets by saying that if you're going to buy a board with a VIA chipset, look for the KT133A chipset. I have yet to read a single complaint about this chipset at any of the reliable online reviewers. I got my Asus KV7133 board today and it appears to be of exceptional quality...which is typical of Asus....a tad pricey perhaps. I might try some recording with this board (even though it's for my girlfriend's machine), and if it works then I'll probably make the switch myself shortly.

Slackmaster 2000
 
Hard2Hear said:
oh...and I'm one of those guys who loves Intel and hates AMD chips! I always get into it with the guys I play Counterstrike and TFC with! ha ha!
Click to expand...


Yeah, Counter-Strike.
 
Hey Slack, what processor will you be using with that? Be sure to let us know how it goes. I'm looking to upgrade and have been tempted by AMD's reviews and prices, but at the same time I'm reluctant because of all the trouble people have had in the past with AMD chips and audio applications/hardware.

Hard2Hear: You have a 733MHz processor and you want to upgrade?!@!? I'm using a P-II 350MHz!! *I* need an upgrade!!
 
Sorry guys.....
Being around servers all day that run off of 4 P3 Xeon chips and with 2 GIG of ram and 200 G of disk space just gets to me sometimes...kind of an inferiority complex with my PC, I guess :)

I AM dropping in a 1Ghz though! But it will have to wait cause I had to buy a new lawnmower today...DANG, when did mowers get so expensive?!?

H2H
 
lawn mowers

yikes. just was there myself. I had to buy a tractor....talk about another "you get what you pay for" scenario. I took the cheap route (murray from home depot) in the end...it was actually a "sold as new" return. I figured a cut blade of grass looks the same regardless of who built the blade.

I now need to shop for a pc but am lacking the time and energy to research it. Does anyone have any criticism regarding Drastik Solutions? I have only seen "good" things said in here but for all I know its the owner seeking free PR.
 
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