3000, 3200, or 2.8c

TheBaronTheBaron Austin, TX
edited June 2003 in Hardware
i'm having trouble making the decision on what to buy. i've narrowed it down to these:

xp 3000+ / a7n8x deluxe - $388
xp 3200+ / a7n8x deluxe - $580
p4 2.8c / ic7-g - $488

however, i'm leaning away from the 3200 choice because of price considerations, and because i really dont think the performance difference is worth $200. i'm having trouble mainly deciding between the 3000 and the 2.8c because benchmarks are not extremely consistent between reviewers. some show the 2.8c creaming the 3000, others show the 3000 whooping up. tom's, of course, is biased, but i really dont feel like sorting through the mess. so what're your opinions?

Comments

  • teflemingtefleming
    edited June 2003
    Around here you're gonna get a pretty consistent AMD reccomendation.

    What are you using the system for? If you are comfortable with Overclocking then you could always get a 2500+ and O/C it to 3200 speeds.
  • mmonninmmonnin Centreville, VA
    edited June 2003
    The 3200+ is only 33mhz faster but has a faster bus. You can OC the 3000+ to the same speeds if you wanted too.

    Either way you shold get PC3200. For the Intel you should get 2 sticks if that makes any difference to you.

    Most people are going to say the AMD as will I.
  • TheLostSwedeTheLostSwede Trondheim, Norway Icrontian
    edited June 2003
    If it was me, i would choose the Intel setup. It beats any Amd non-server setup right now. The 2.6C is actually a better choice IMO. IC7-G or the Asus? Close call but i would choose the Asus deluxe.

    This is coming from an AMD fan.
  • TheBaronTheBaron Austin, TX
    edited June 2003
    im getting 2 sticks of 512mb pc3200c2pt corsair either way
  • ClutchClutch North Carolina New
    edited June 2003
    I would go with the xp 3000+ / a7n8x deluxe - $388 setup myself, which I'm always big on price stuff myself because of being on a tight budget. And yes, around here you will get lots of amd love :) And as Moxon said, what are you going to be using this computer for?
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited June 2003
    The 3000 is $100 cheaper, which means more $$ to spend on other stuff... I'd get that and overclock it if I needed to...
  • Omega65Omega65 Philadelphia, Pa
    edited June 2003
    Nix the Asus/3200+ choice. Every 3000+ will do FSB400/2.2ghz @ stock voltage.

    I would say, if water cooling go with #1, if your sticking to Air get #3 with a P4 2.6C (using a 3:2 FSB:Mem ratio your OC ranges are 2.60ghz-3.90ghz (FSB800-FSB1200) and get a good NB cooler for the IC7
  • muddocktormuddocktor
    edited June 2003
    I pretty much agree with Omega in this too. XP3000+ for AMD, but with an Abit NFS7 2.0 board instead of the Asus board. The Asus board isn't bad by any means(I have a rev 1.04) but the NFS7 2.0 looks to be the best nf2 on the market now.

    If you go with P4, the 2.4/800 or P4 2.6/800 and IC7-G or IC7. An overclock to 3.0+ with the new 800 fsb P4 is almost a given and without raising the vcore.
  • TheBaronTheBaron Austin, TX
    edited June 2003
    sorry air OC. i was considering the NF7-S, but i can't ever tell from newegg if i'll be buying v2.0 or not, and i'd like the 200fsb ability even if i dont immediately use it. i like the 2.6 oc idea, i'll look into that
  • Omega65Omega65 Philadelphia, Pa
    edited June 2003
    Go to ExcaliberPC.com

    They list the NF7-S v2.0
  • emptyempty houston
    edited June 2003
    why does it say you should get that bios survival kiton the nf7-s v2.0. is there something wrong with the bios or just a gimic to buy something else?
  • mmonninmmonnin Centreville, VA
    edited June 2003
    $5 cheaper too at ExcaliberPC.com. Newegg has free shipping tho. So Newegg is still prolly cheaper.

    Oh and you can get an Abit shirt at newegg for free with free shipping too.

    Free Corsair hat too.
  • muddocktormuddocktor
    edited June 2003
    empty said
    why does it say you should get that bios survival kiton the nf7-s v2.0. is there something wrong with the bios or just a gimic to buy something else?

    There have been some isolated problems with all nf2 boards losing the bios code with extreme overclocking attempts; somehow the bios info gets corrupted. ExcaliberPC is selling a preprogrammed bios chip that is a drop in for the nf7 2.0 series of boards for a very reasonable price. I just bought a bios savior for a friend's old kk266 board last month and it was $25. Of course it also came with another socket and in effect it gives you 2 different bios chips you can switch between with the flick of a switch.
  • ClutchClutch North Carolina New
    edited June 2003
    For me with shipping newegg is $1 cheaper, with no guarantee of the 2.0, the free abit shirt does sound tempting, but I think I'm still going with excaliber.
  • TekGamerTekGamer Earth
    edited June 2003
    Id get the intel rig and some decent cooling and OC to 3.4 or 3.6

    It should do 3.4 no problem..

    If choosing the Amd road then the 3000 its the best choice

    Tek
  • TheBaronTheBaron Austin, TX
    edited June 2003
    i'm gonna hit up the intel rig with a 2.8c and an iS7-g, instead of the C, assuming that they enable PAT (or its springdale equivalent) sometime soon

    or maybe not, i want a PAT enabled springdale board, but i want the best, and i dont like that the asus board has a 3com gigabit controller and a promise raid controller
  • WuGgaRoOWuGgaRoO Not in the shower Icrontian
    edited June 2003
    i like AMD systems, i like AMD cpu's, and i personally have had both. I dont know what it is about me, but i just feel a greater level of satisfaction running an AMD cpu..but thats just me...id go with the 3000+, and that NFS-7 board...ive asked about mobos on other forums and that has always been reccommended to me
  • WuGgaRoOWuGgaRoO Not in the shower Icrontian
    edited June 2003
    but...mackanz is right....it seems that intel systems are out performing the AMD's (not Mhz for mhz of course but) when u look at it from a cost point of view. I mean, correct me if im wrong. But i just saw benches from tomshardware, and everything up to and including an intel 2.66 cpu beats the barton 3000+...but then again from what i heard, toms favors intel greatly. ANYWAYS if i am wrong, sumone plz smack sum knowledge on me (i personally rather see AMD beat intel)
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited June 2003
    1. I don't see Tom's Hardware as all that slanted towards Intel. I read several sites - just one of them Tom's.

    2. There are no two ways to say: the 875 Chipset (Canterwood) and P4/800 CPUs combos are performance winners. 800MHz front side bus is no longer just theoretical - it's real with the 875/865 chipsets.

    3. If you build a Barton-based system, I would highly recommend the Abit NF7-S, Revision 2.0.

    My two upcoming upgrades will consist of Intel - 2.8C with Abit IC7, and an AMD - 3000+ with Abit NF7. If prices don't drop on the 3000+, I may purchase a 2800+.

    http://www.short-media.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&postid=446#post446

    You will have a very good performer with any of the proposals you've posted. I think the 3200 is way overpriced, considering it's performance might not be noticeably better than its lower clocked AMD siblings.
  • fuxorfuxor i live in a giant bucket
    edited June 2003
    are you planning on overclocking? I've heard the 3000+ doesn't have much potential, but a 2800+ is cheaper and can overclock better.
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