If you mean Athlon64 3200+, it would be more cost effective to purchase an Athlon64 3200+ and an accompanying board (Something with the new SiS chipset would be nice). It'll be faster than the top regular P4 (EEs are crappy. When it costs a grand, and you can't drive it, have your girlfriend go nuts over it, or add it to your house.. It's crap).
Plus socket 754 is a sound investment, as that platform is here to stay.
i was looking at a 3000+ or a p4 2.6-2.8, but also isnt thier suppost to be some new amd boards out in the next couple of months? (my asus a7n8x deluxe being down is killing me, already thinking of new computer to build)
The new AMD boards will be for the Socket 939 AthlonFX chip which is going to replace the current Socket 940 platform. The arrival of the 939 will herald the arrival of lower-heat, lower-priced, and faster-running Clawhammer chips.
I really don't know, to tell you the truth. I just built my first Pee4 and it's a really nice responsive machine and overclocks pretty damn good too. I got a 2.6 cpu, but now I wish that I had ordered the 2.4 instead. Right after I had my order in, I read over at overclockers.com forums that peeps have been getting a new stepping in 2.4 and 2.8 which are failed EE procs and they overclock like a mofo. I see people posting over there about o/c in the 3.5-3.6 range on air with them.
I think that right now you can build a good Pee4 rig for cheaper than the A64 rig, but I don't know how long that will last. I figure that sooner or later the prices on the A64 will drop into the reasonable level.
I'm taking a pass on 754, all my reading suggests that (*GASP!) Thrax may be wrong and that 754 may NOT be here to stay, that 939 will basically supercede it. Like our resident young genuis (meant as a compliment T, no sarc atall) I am eagerly awaiting 939 with its dual channel goodness. It seems the Newcastles will have 1/2 the L2 cache (same as A64 3000 @ 512) of their big brother FX (1MB cache) and hopefully, corresponding pricing. I'm waiting.
Plus, if past history holds, by the time 939 is out, AMD will have refined the silicon/mfg techniques and hopefully the lower speed rated (and less xpensive) chips will be good overclockers to and past the highest rated FX chips. The wild card is what efforts AMD is going to put into locking the chips and what countermeasures the enthusiast community can come up with.
Comments
Plus socket 754 is a sound investment, as that platform is here to stay.
Can't wait!
I think that right now you can build a good Pee4 rig for cheaper than the A64 rig, but I don't know how long that will last. I figure that sooner or later the prices on the A64 will drop into the reasonable level.
Plus, if past history holds, by the time 939 is out, AMD will have refined the silicon/mfg techniques and hopefully the lower speed rated (and less xpensive) chips will be good overclockers to and past the highest rated FX chips. The wild card is what efforts AMD is going to put into locking the chips and what countermeasures the enthusiast community can come up with.
My 2cents. (OK, that's a buck Canadian.)