Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor 3.06 GHz - Anyone using this CPU yet? (1 Viewer)

[Michael D. Bunting]

Anyone currently using a P4 3.06 GHz CPU here???

Intel Pentium 4 3.06 GHz CPU

I'm thinking about purchasing another Computer (for me!) so that I can give my current one (Sony w/ Intel P4 1.80 GHz CPU) back to my wife (it was supposed to be hers when we bought it 1 1/2 years ago anyway )

I like the following computer quite a bit - and I have had very good luck with my current Sony - so I'll probably be buying Sony again this time.

Please take a look and tell me what you think. And yes, I know it's somewhat pricey - but I can get a good deal on it from another family member who can get it at a discount - or so she tells me anyway.

Sony RZ Series

Thanks for any feedback!

 

[John_Berger]

Okay, Mike. Let's have some honesty here.

Please select why you want this processor:

1. I run Pro/E or ANSYS CAD/CAM applications.
2. I run finite element analysis formulas.
3. I run 3D Studio Max or Maya.
4. I want bragging rights and/or I enjoy being on the bleeding edge.
5. I want to run a mega-powerful Quake server.
6. All of the above.

 

[Charles J P]

7. Im trying to move into the top 50 in the HTF SETI group within one week of starting to process work units

 

[John_Berger]

I forgot about that.

 

[Michael D. Bunting]

4. I want bragging rights and/or I enjoy being on the bleeding edge.


I think 4 pretty much nailed it That "Bleeeding Edge" is something I'm always after....

No seriously, for the price I can get this system for...it would be like buying a P4 1.8 (which I currently have). I don't know - I don't actually need another computer (I just finished building a medium priced HTPC also) but I just love the damn things...

I'll keep thinking about this some more here over the next couple days...I have resisted pulling the trigger until now, but it has hit me pretty hard today...I keep looking at the specs

 

[Kelley_B]

Romier recently bought one from Dell. You can ask him.

 

[Scott L]

A P4-HT CPU in a pre-made system built by Sony!? C'mon man that just sounds like you're overpaying through the ying yang. From the looks of your last post though you mention you can get a discounted price but still, the newest technology is the hardest to get any type of discount on. You'll still probably get a better price with Dell or even Alienware.

 

[Michael D. Bunting]

Like I said before - I like the Sony

I may not go for the P4 3.06 GHz CPU though...I may just tone it done quite a bit and go with a P4 2.6 GHz instead. It takes quite a bit off the price if I were to do that (I'm not sure exactly how much though - until I have it configured).

I talked to my sister - who is getting me the "discount" and found out that it's actually just a $500.++ credit that is owed to her from Sony from a Laptop and a couple other items she bought just before Christmas. I guess they screwed up the order something awful - and this is what she got in return. Anyways, she says I can have it - as there is nothing there she wants now. Pretty sweet!

So that's why I'll probably order a Sony (vs. Dell or Alienware)...

 

[Tekara]

if your going to get a high end p4 you might as well get the 3.06 the hyperthreading is a sweet feature, ups the performance when your running multiple tasks.

 

[KyleS]

Michael,

I own a 3.06ghz at home with 1GB PC1066 Ram and a 120GB 8mb Western Digital HD (I really didnt need the Monster 200GB drives) and I can honestly say that it puts my 2.53ghz P4 with 1GB DDR3200 Ram to shame.

I am lucky enough to be a system builder so I love to play with the new equipment that is on the market. Who knows it could be blowing my 2.53 away too because my 2.53 is running a GForce3 Ti500 card and the new system is running a Radeon 9700 Pro. If you have the money to spend to stay at the top of the curve then great just remember that it will be outdated easily within 6 months or less when the 3.5, 4ghz etc chips come out.

When I went recently to an Intel meeting they informed us the the Hyper Threading Technology would take them quite a ways into the future with stable speeds being tested above 5ghz. It will be interesting to see what AMD has to counter these new chips starting at the 3.06ghz speed. Whats even more amazing on a technological stand point is that these chips are no longer manufactured with a .13 micron process but that they are starting to work in Nanometers... Simply amazing.

KyleS

 

[Michael D. Bunting]

Kyle

Thanks so much for the info on the HT technology.

5GHz - Wow! Maybe I'll wait a couple months

 

[Carlo_M]

Don't forget if you're thinking of building an Intel system that the new Springdale and Canterwood chipsets are set to debut sometime in Q2 2003. The new chipsets (865 & 875 respectively) not only support HTT, but are also said to be future compatible with their upcoming Prescott processors (P4s w/ the new 90nm fab process - not sure what that means - and 1MB on die cache), 800 MHz FSB to go with dual channel DDR400 support, Serial ATA and 8X AGP. That's why I'm waiting to replace my old Athlon 850 until the summer.

 

[KyleS]

Carlo the Prescott processors are simply the new processors using HT technology except that they are using a 90 Nanometer fabrication process... Meaning the silicon chips are going below the .13 micron size. The dual channel DDR 400 support and 1mb on Die will be cool.

KyleS

 

[Charles J P]

Since this seems to be a pretty technical bunch here, I'd like to pose a question. I read an article recently (cant remember where, but probably found the link on Yahoo news) about how CPU manufacturers might be running up against a brick wall with Moore's law. So, how do you think we will hit 6, 10, 15, 20GHz and beyond, and when?

 

[Tekara]

actually the brick wall will be hit pretty soon, the problem is that there's some problems with the physics involved in making transistors smaller than 90nm I'm sure someone will figure out a way to take it one or two more steps. but it will be tough.

the reason that chips need to be made smaller is that the smaller chips work with less voltage and therefor put out less heat and allows you to put more transitors on a chip per square inch. if a prescott processor were made on the 50nm process which is a very old process, it would put out well over 500w+ of heat be a massive powerhog and be the size of a floppy disc, not to mention the massive price on it as there would only be a few chips on each platter made.

the next step that everyone is looking at is in quantum computing, where atoms are used in place of a transitor. since the valence electrons on an atom can spin on of two directions you can translate that into 1's and 0's. but that still has a decade or so of research left to go befor it will hit the market.

what will most likely happen in my mind is that the cpu market will stagnate when the wall is hit (not be many cpu releases) and there will be a shift to multi-cpu platforms (average jow will start using dual/quad cpu rigs for more power).

well my 2cents on the issue

 

[John_Berger]

the reason that chips need to be made smaller is that the smaller chips work with less voltage and therefor put out less heat and allows you to put more transitors on a chip per square inch.

Unfortunately, this is something that a lot of people just don't understand.

For example, Sun Microsystems gets a lot of flak for only having processors that go up to 1.05 GHz, but Sun's hardware is getting smaller when it comes to the number of processors. Hell, their Sun Fire V120 line only takes up 1U in a standard rack. The reason why they're not pushing the GHz envelope is that those systems would generate so much heat that Sun is very concerned about overheating.

I can only imagine the amount of heat that a fully-populated SunFire 15K generates! (The Sun Fire 15K supports up to 106 1.05GHz processors.) They might as well pipe the residual heat into their heating system!

Unless IBM, Intel, or AMD (or some other company) can discover some kind of quantum leap in processor manufacturing, the real power in processors is going to have to be something other than the raw GHz power. Of course, that's what Apple and Sun have correctly been saying for years.

 

[Sean Eldridge]

A year or two ago, my Physics prof. said that eventually processors were going to start using light transistors. Actually using light to say "on" or "off." I have no idea if he is correct, but it seemed like a really cool idea at the time.

Sean