I'm getting ready to go in debt on a new comp. All the bells and whistles will be included. My only question is amd or intel. I've done 3 weeks of research and the p4 is slightly ahead but I would like to hear any pros or cons before I dive in. I've run both chips before and I think both are equal except the amd tends to run hotter. I'm comparing the 3200+ to the p4 3 ghz. Any thoughts will be helpful.

It does run hotter but with the right fans and adiquette cooling accessories U should be OK. Cuz P4 is a flawed design. It doesn't run as hot and always under clocks. So its safer but not as fast and powerful.

But I'd save the money cuz they're comming out with 10GHz in 2005 and 20GHz in 2006.

ivnj

I prefer AMD, it gives you more "bang for the buck", it is also a good idea to stock up on RAM - at least 512MB! And if you don't want to wait for a 10Ghz processor, get a DUAL-Processor motherboard. :grins:

Just a caution, do NOT buy a Celeron (they are crippled by their low cache), but AMD Duron is acceptable.

I'd go with AMD for the same reason as JWooden. As far as waiting for something new... there will alwayws be something faster coming out soon so don't bother waiting. Just buy a nearly top of the line chip right after a faster chip hits the market.

Rastus:

I am the third vote for the AMD.. Better performance at a lower cost.

Don't hold your breath for the 10 or 20 gHz processors.. By the time they come out, you will be able to buy 2 or 3 P4 or AMD equivalent systems for the price of the processor alone !!

Murray

"It doesn't run as hot and always under clocks. So its safer but not as fast and powerful."

Once again IVNJ speaks an untruth. NONE of my 4 Pentium units UNDER clocks! Where do you get these ideas?? My 800 runs at 803, my dual 800's run at 816, my 2.2 runs at 2.42. No cooling problems, and, when did safer become a problem?

I recommend the P4 (no surprise, right?). I find them more stable and I can guarantee that you cannot tell the difference in performance except by running bench marking tests. For a quiet, stable system, P4 is my choice.

Everybody I've talked to said P4 was a flawed design and AMD is faster and benches higher. I haven't met anyone one yet who thought otherwize. U're the first.

ivnj

You may be interested in seeing this performance chart:
http://www.pcworld.com/news/graphics/110923-n_052903_p24b.gif

Intel Pentium 4A 2400 Mhtz.....never underclocks and just flies....Never had AMD so can only go on personal experience.

Just to set the record straight, nowhere did I say that the P4 benches higher, in fact I said only that you would not notice the speed difference unless you benched the processors. Based on the PC World bench marks, AMD is faster in some areas, P4 in others, but it is doubtful everyday usage would reveal those differences. I repeat, I choose P4 for it's stability and lack of temperature problems.