It really depends upon what you're wanting the PC to do.
Notebook or desktop?
Games? If so, what?
Video editing? CAD? ...
0
LeonardoWake up and smell the glaciersEagle River, AlaskaIcrontian
edited January 2006
It all depends. This will be a desktop, right? What will you use your computer for: heavy multitasking, web surfing, office applications, gaming/heavy gaming, video encoding...? AMD is generally the better choice for all-around competency. They also tend to run cooler than Intel CPUs. If you are looking to buy a laptop though, things are different. The Pentium M (Centrino setups) based laptops are slightly ahead of AMD.
Keep in mind also, the CPU is just one of many factors to consider. Tell us exactly what you want your computer to do, what upgrades you might like in the future, and how long you might like to keep your computer. We'll be happy to offer advice on all of that!
AMD now offers the A64 series in slecet notebooks for a good price these days making them a bit better than Intel's offerings. but yes it all depends on the use!
thanx for all the replys i will be using it for online java games an other games will be on alot these are the desktop computers. amd 1 i am lookin at buyin an the intel 1
amd
# AMD athlon 64 3800 (939pin) proceesor
# New Design Carrera Coolermaster Centurion + 380w
# MSI K8N SLi Platinum Motherboard
# 17 inch TFT Sharp LL-172A (black) 16ms
# 1GB DDR 400 Memory
# 250GB 7200rpm SATA HDD (8MB cache)
# Sony DWQ28A 16x Dual Layer +/- DVDRW
# 2nd Optical Drive Available (black)
# nVIDIA Geforce 6600GT 128MB PCI Express Graphics
# 5.1 Surround 6 Channel Audio
# Speaker options available
# 56Kbps v90 PCI Internal Modem
# Microsoft Original Black Keyboard
# Microsoft Optical Wheel Mouse (Black)
# Webcam & Digital Cameras Available
# MicroSoft Windows XP pro
# Microsoft Works v8 + 60 Day MS Office Trial
# No Games Software/DVD's
# 5 Year Warranty (1-3 Parts & Labour)
intel
Intel® Pentium® 4 670 (3.8GHz, 800FSB, 2MB Cache)
Genuine Windows® XP Professional, SP2
1024MB Dual Channel DDR2 533MHz (2x512) Memory
250GB (7200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive with 8MB DataBurst™ cache
6x DVD+/-RW & 16x DVD Drives
E196FP 19" Midnight Grey (TCO99) Flat Panel Monitor
256MB ATI Radeon® X600 HyperMemory graphics card
LeonardoWake up and smell the glaciersEagle River, AlaskaIcrontian
edited January 2006
The Dell site would not open for me - maintenance or something. Just some quick comments:
- both appear to be mid-grade systems that would serve your stated needs well. If you become an avid FPS gamer, then you would need upgrades.
- the AMD system has a superior processor
- the AMD system has only a 17" monitor. could you get the system with only the computer and source your keyboard, mouse, and monitor on your own?
- the Dell system has WinXP Pro, which is better than "Home"
- the AMD system will be MUCH, MUCH easier to upgrade in the future. I believe the Dell will have proprietary power supply and motherboard.
- Good motherboard that comes with the AMD system.
Again, I have not seen the details on the Dell-UK system, but at first glance it looks like the AMD would be a much better choice. What are your hardware skills. Have you considered building the system yourself?
The Dell site wouldn't open for me either. One thing I did notice on your Carrera build is that you didn't select XP Pro + recovery CD. A lot of companies have been selling computers without a Windows CD with them, including Dell; they just rely on an image on the hard drive for system recovery. That's fine and dandy until you decide to either upgrade your primary hard drive or have a hard drive failure, then you are SOL and have to pay more good money and buy another copy of Windows. Make sure that whichever system you buy, it includes a CD of your operating system so you don't get stuck if you have a hard drive failure. You might have to pay a little more for the CD, but it's much better than having to pay a lot more for a new operating system. I read about this over at hardocp.com, where they bought and reviewed a Dell system recently.
I'm with leo, I'd consider building the computer yourself. Its generally cheaper and easier to troubleshoot if you were to come across problems.
0
LeonardoWake up and smell the glaciersEagle River, AlaskaIcrontian
edited January 2006
Smoothy, another option would be to have a local computer custom shop build a system for you. Get recommendations for a reputable shop. Such a business can:
- build a system tailored to your needs -- present performance needs, upgrading potential, longevity and quality of system
- can repair or replace faulty components without waiting weeks for service and shipping and without having to converse with someone in a foreign country who's working off of a pre-prepared diagnostic flowchart
- a reputable local builder is much more likely to be responsive to any troubleshooting needs/problem reports - they need a good reputation to stay in business.
I always try to discourage people from buying off the shelf computers unless they are buying several computers all of which must be an identical configuration and have a liberal service contract.
Comments
Notebook or desktop?
Games? If so, what?
Video editing? CAD? ...
Keep in mind also, the CPU is just one of many factors to consider. Tell us exactly what you want your computer to do, what upgrades you might like in the future, and how long you might like to keep your computer. We'll be happy to offer advice on all of that!
The notebook's Intel solution should be Pentium-M, Celeron-M, or Centrino based, not Pentium 4.
amd
# AMD athlon 64 3800 (939pin) proceesor
# New Design Carrera Coolermaster Centurion + 380w
# MSI K8N SLi Platinum Motherboard
# 17 inch TFT Sharp LL-172A (black) 16ms
# 1GB DDR 400 Memory
# 250GB 7200rpm SATA HDD (8MB cache)
# Sony DWQ28A 16x Dual Layer +/- DVDRW
# 2nd Optical Drive Available (black)
# nVIDIA Geforce 6600GT 128MB PCI Express Graphics
# 5.1 Surround 6 Channel Audio
# Speaker options available
# 56Kbps v90 PCI Internal Modem
# Microsoft Original Black Keyboard
# Microsoft Optical Wheel Mouse (Black)
# Webcam & Digital Cameras Available
# MicroSoft Windows XP pro
# Microsoft Works v8 + 60 Day MS Office Trial
# No Games Software/DVD's
# 5 Year Warranty (1-3 Parts & Labour)
intel
Intel® Pentium® 4 670 (3.8GHz, 800FSB, 2MB Cache)
Genuine Windows® XP Professional, SP2
1024MB Dual Channel DDR2 533MHz (2x512) Memory
250GB (7200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive with 8MB DataBurst™ cache
6x DVD+/-RW & 16x DVD Drives
E196FP 19" Midnight Grey (TCO99) Flat Panel Monitor
256MB ATI Radeon® X600 HyperMemory graphics card
thanx
http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?cs=ukdhs1&kc=npuk5&oc=d01915a&x=15&y=15
- both appear to be mid-grade systems that would serve your stated needs well. If you become an avid FPS gamer, then you would need upgrades.
- the AMD system has a superior processor
- the AMD system has only a 17" monitor. could you get the system with only the computer and source your keyboard, mouse, and monitor on your own?
- the Dell system has WinXP Pro, which is better than "Home"
- the AMD system will be MUCH, MUCH easier to upgrade in the future. I believe the Dell will have proprietary power supply and motherboard.
- Good motherboard that comes with the AMD system.
Again, I have not seen the details on the Dell-UK system, but at first glance it looks like the AMD would be a much better choice. What are your hardware skills. Have you considered building the system yourself?
- build a system tailored to your needs -- present performance needs, upgrading potential, longevity and quality of system
- can repair or replace faulty components without waiting weeks for service and shipping and without having to converse with someone in a foreign country who's working off of a pre-prepared diagnostic flowchart
- a reputable local builder is much more likely to be responsive to any troubleshooting needs/problem reports - they need a good reputation to stay in business.
I always try to discourage people from buying off the shelf computers unless they are buying several computers all of which must be an identical configuration and have a liberal service contract.