question regarding AMD 64

I am planning my first home-built pc and at the moment doing some research
to decide whether to go for a P4 or an AMD 64. The things that I plan to do
with my PC is basically same video editing and working with (and
compiling/building) enterprise Apps and databases such as WebLogic/oracle
etc. No high-end gaming is on the cards.

I am also on a budget - $100-120 on the mobo and ~$200 on the processor. I
was leaning towards a P4 3.0 but puased a little to check out the AMD 64
3000/3200 since it offers me some sort of 'future proofing' for the 64 bit
software coming down the pipe in the next 3/4 yrs.

On researching the mobos for the AMD 64, I see that most of the 754 pin ones
are priced well (means withing my reach), but the upgrade path is clearly
with the 939 ones which higher than my budget. If I am realistic about
myself - I do not see myself upgrading after every 6months/1yr - I will
probably upgrade after 3/4 yrs and by that time I might as well get a new
mobo since dual core's will most likely be a norm by then.

The only reason then, I would go for a 939 pin socket mobo now, is for dual
channel memory. All the P4 mobos within my budget (e.g. Asus P4P800-E Delux)
has this by default whereas the corresponding AMD ones do not support it -
typically they have 3 dimms. (on a side note - if I get one of this, how do
I use a 2 gig ram? why do these have 3 dimms and not 2?)

The question I have is that is not having DDR on AMD that big a deal? What
are the pros/cons of this compared with that of P4, given what I have for my
planned use of my PC?

Thanks for any inputs on this.

Shantanu Sen

There's a difference between dual channel and DDR (double data rate). The
AMD64 754 does use DDR, but not in dual channel mode (no advantage to 2 X
512MB vs 1 X 1GB of memory).

Do some reading on why the AMD64 754 is effective without the dual channel
memory. The memory controller is onboard the processor, the memory bus is
dedicated, and is 64 bit vs. 32.

As far as upgrades, before the end of the year, the "NForce 4" chipset
should be released, which will support both the 754 and 939 pin processors.
You could start with the 754 and upgrade when able without changing
motherboards. I have no idea what the cost will be, but I doubt the $120 you
budgeted will cover it, at least not when it's first released.

Fitz

Shantanu Sen wrote:

I am planning my first home-built pc and at the moment doing some research
to decide whether to go for a P4 or an AMD 64. The things that I plan to do
with my PC is basically same video editing and working with (and
compiling/building) enterprise Apps and databases such as WebLogic/oracle
etc. No high-end gaming is on the cards.

I am also on a budget - $100-120 on the mobo and ~$200 on the processor. I
was leaning towards a P4 3.0 but puased a little to check out the AMD 64
3000/3200 since it offers me some sort of 'future proofing' for the 64 bit
software coming down the pipe in the next 3/4 yrs.

More like a few months from now. Expect there to be plenty of 64 bit
software a year from now.



On researching the mobos for the AMD 64, I see that most of the 754 pin ones
are priced well (means withing my reach), but the upgrade path is clearly
with the 939 ones which higher than my budget.

There are some socket 939 motherboards for around $120. A socket 939
Athlon 64 3000+ or 3200+ will also cost around $25 more than the socket
754 version, so it will be around $60 more(cpu and motherboard) going
with socket 939 rather than socket 754.

If I am realistic about
myself - I do not see myself upgrading after every 6months/1yr - I will
probably upgrade after 3/4 yrs and by that time I might as well get a new
mobo since dual core's will most likely be a norm by then.

Dual core chips are intended to be direct drop in replacements for single
core chips, although, I don't know if socket 939 will still be used 3 or 4 years

from now.



The only reason then, I would go for a 939 pin socket mobo now, is for dual
channel memory. All the P4 mobos within my budget (e.g. Asus P4P800-E Delux)
has this by default

Not really, as the Pentium 4 doesn't have the memory controllers integrated
on the cpu, which is a very important difference.

whereas the corresponding AMD ones do not support it -
typically they have 3 dimms. (on a side note - if I get one of this, how do
I use a 2 gig ram? why do these have 3 dimms and not 2?)

The question I have is that is not having DDR on AMD that big a deal?

The Athlon 64 uses ddr dram. The newer Winchester core (socket 939)
Athlon 64 chips all have dual channel memory access. They are probably
on average comparable to the Newcastle Athlon 64 chips in performance
(it might vary a bit depending on the application), since for example the
Newcastle Athlon 64 3000+ runs at 2ghz, while the Winchester Athlon 64 3000+
runs at 1.8 ghz.

What
are the pros/cons of this compared with that of P4, given what I have for my
planned use of my PC?



Thanks for any inputs on this.

Shantanu Sen

I just bought a AMD 64 3000+ and a MSI K8T mother board for $209. One gig
of DDR 3200 cost $120. These prices pleased me. I doubt if I ever use the
64 bit capability of the new processor. Perhaps the 64 bits will help it
perform well in its current mode. I don't upgrade. Its better to assemble
a new machine and keep using the old one. My old machine worked well for 10
years and will continue to be used. Its loaded with software that I don't
want to buy again. I am setting up a lan so my old machine can access the
big drives on the new machine. My printing will continue to be done on my
old machine. Microsoft will let you download a trial version of its new
Windows XP 64 bit. I didn't bother with it. I am loading Windows XP pro on
it Saturday. All this to get rid of my dial-up internet and go to DSL and
LAN.

"Shantanu Sen" wrote in message
. ..
I am planning my first home-built pc and at the moment doing some research
to decide whether to go for a P4 or an AMD 64. The things that I plan to
do
with my PC is basically same video editing and working with (and
compiling/building) enterprise Apps and databases such as WebLogic/oracle
etc. No high-end gaming is on the cards.

I am also on a budget - $100-120 on the mobo and ~$200 on the processor. I
was leaning towards a P4 3.0 but puased a little to check out the AMD 64
3000/3200 since it offers me some sort of 'future proofing' for the 64 bit
software coming down the pipe in the next 3/4 yrs.

On researching the mobos for the AMD 64, I see that most of the 754 pin
ones
are priced well (means withing my reach), but the upgrade path is clearly
with the 939 ones which higher than my budget. If I am realistic about
myself - I do not see myself upgrading after every 6months/1yr - I will
probably upgrade after 3/4 yrs and by that time I might as well get a new
mobo since dual core's will most likely be a norm by then.

The only reason then, I would go for a 939 pin socket mobo now, is for
dual
channel memory. All the P4 mobos within my budget (e.g. Asus P4P800-E
Delux)
has this by default whereas the corresponding AMD ones do not support it -
typically they have 3 dimms. (on a side note - if I get one of this, how
do
I use a 2 gig ram? why do these have 3 dimms and not 2?)

The question I have is that is not having DDR on AMD that big a deal? What
are the pros/cons of this compared with that of P4, given what I have for
my
planned use of my PC?

Thanks for any inputs on this.

Shantanu Sen

More like a few months from now. Expect there to be plenty of 64 bit
software a year from now.



clairvoyant minions



"JK" wrote in message
...


Shantanu Sen wrote:

I am planning my first home-built pc and at the moment doing some
research
to decide whether to go for a P4 or an AMD 64. The things that I
plan to do
with my PC is basically same video editing and working with (and
compiling/building) enterprise Apps and databases such as
WebLogic/oracle
etc. No high-end gaming is on the cards.

I am also on a budget - $100-120 on the mobo and ~$200 on the
processor. I
was leaning towards a P4 3.0 but puased a little to check out the
AMD 64
3000/3200 since it offers me some sort of 'future proofing' for
the 64 bit
software coming down the pipe in the next 3/4 yrs.




On researching the mobos for the AMD 64, I see that most of the
754 pin ones
are priced well (means withing my reach), but the upgrade path is
clearly
with the 939 ones which higher than my budget.

There are some socket 939 motherboards for around $120. A socket 939
Athlon 64 3000+ or 3200+ will also cost around $25 more than the
socket
754 version, so it will be around $60 more(cpu and motherboard)
going
with socket 939 rather than socket 754.

If I am realistic about
myself - I do not see myself upgrading after every 6months/1yr -
I will
probably upgrade after 3/4 yrs and by that time I might as well
get a new
mobo since dual core's will most likely be a norm by then.

Dual core chips are intended to be direct drop in replacements for
single
core chips, although, I don't know if socket 939 will still be used
3 or 4 years

from now.



The only reason then, I would go for a 939 pin socket mobo now, is
for dual
channel memory. All the P4 mobos within my budget (e.g. Asus
P4P800-E Delux)
has this by default

Not really, as the Pentium 4 doesn't have the memory controllers
integrated
on the cpu, which is a very important difference.

whereas the corresponding AMD ones do not support it -
typically they have 3 dimms. (on a side note - if I get one of
this, how do
I use a 2 gig ram? why do these have 3 dimms and not 2?)

The question I have is that is not having DDR on AMD that big a
deal?

The Athlon 64 uses ddr dram. The newer Winchester core (socket 939)
Athlon 64 chips all have dual channel memory access. They are
probably
on average comparable to the Newcastle Athlon 64 chips in
performance
(it might vary a bit depending on the application), since for
example the
Newcastle Athlon 64 3000+ runs at 2ghz, while the Winchester Athlon
64 3000+
runs at 1.8 ghz.

What
are the pros/cons of this compared with that of P4, given what I
have for my
planned use of my PC?



Thanks for any inputs on this.

Shantanu Sen

In article FPP4d.1863$nj.709
@newssvr13.news.prodigy.com, says...
I am planning my first home-built pc and at the moment doing some research
to decide whether to go for a P4 or an AMD 64. The things that I plan to do
with my PC is basically same video editing and working with (and
compiling/building) enterprise Apps and databases such as WebLogic/oracle
etc. No high-end gaming is on the cards.

I am also on a budget - $100-120 on the mobo and ~$200 on the processor. I
was leaning towards a P4 3.0 but puased a little to check out the AMD 64
3000/3200 since it offers me some sort of 'future proofing' for the 64 bit
software coming down the pipe in the next 3/4 yrs.

The AMD64 stuff really isn't for the budget-minded. You
*might* be able to do it for those prices.

(I have an Opteron 144 system, Asus SK8V motherboard,
and (2) PC2100 512GB ECC memory sticks, recently
built... still trying to determine whether it's TMPGEnc
3's problem or an issue with my system, but I can't
encode MPEG2 with it at the moment. So verify with your
video software vendors... although my problem is
probably user-error.)