processor advise needed (1 Viewer)

[Kevin T]

i'm thinking of building a computer in the not too distant future. i intend to use a micro-atx case and mobo. i haven't fully decided on which mobo yet. as a reference, i intend to start with at least 512 mb of ram and a 40 gb 7200 rpm hd. i'm only adding 1 drive which is an nec nd-2500a 8x dual format dvd burner. i was looking at processors (amd vs. intel) and noticed that for the same price i can purchase an amd athlon xp 2800+ or an intel celeron 2.8 ghz. the celeron has 128k cache while the 2800+ has 512k cache. the amd is rated at 2.08 ghz though. so in this instance, which is better? 4x the cache or 700 more mhz? thanks in advance.

kevin t

 

[Bob_Bo]

I'd give the AMD a performance edge out of those 2 choices. I don't think it would be much though.

One other thing to consider is that AMD processors tend to run hotter than their Intel counterparts, which may be a concern when building a micro unit.

 

[Daryl Furkalo]

The AMD rating of 2800+ is marketing speak for same as P4 2.8GHz. I believe technically the new P4's require slightly more heat dissipation than the AMD chips now, around 80W+. The extreme editions are over 100W.

 

[SethH]

I would definitely pick the amd. It's not as much the MHz as the architecture. The amd is meant to be processor to compete with the P4 which is a performance chip. The Celeron is a budget chip with a greatly inferior architecture when compared to either the P4 or amd. If those are the two options definitely get the amd.