On Thu, 7 Feb 2002 14:28:41 +0700, Brian Durant <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >Again, I strongly recommend an AMD-based system. You can get better > >bang-for-buck that way. Someone else on the list recommended a Soyo Dragon > >motherboard. I second that recommendation. It has built-in sound and ethernet > >that apparently works very well in GNU/Linux. > > Thanks Sridhar, > > Here is what my tech guy says about AMD: > > "Pentium 4 is more stable in long term usage. The processor is cooler then > AMD. If the fan fail then the processor is save because there is a > protection for overheat damage.
AMDs do run hotter, and the older ones don't have thermal protection. I think that's been fixed in the Athlon XP 1800+ and beyond. I don't think this is a cause to worry, though. AMD have 25% of the CPU market (and rising) for a reason. > AMD Athlon maybe faster then P4 (in some cases). But most problem I find > when work with Athlon is usualy processor broken, because in longterm usage > the fan is usually getting weak and it cause the processor not working very > well. I have heard anecdotes about this, but I can't find any proof that AMD processors are any less reliable than Intel ones. If it bothers you that much, you should probably spend a little extra on a good fan/heatsink combo. They don't cost much nowadays, and they're a good thing to have no matter what chip you've got. > AMD Athlon XP 1800 is shown on bios is 1.5GHz not 1.8GHz, but AMD claims > that the speed is 1.8GHz." No, that is wrong. If you read AMD's documentation, it usually states the proper speed of the processor somewhere (in this case, 1500MHz). The "1800+" model number (it is _not_ the MHz speed) means "this is as fast or faster than a Pentium 4 going at 1800MHz". And they're right: look at any reputable hardware site (e.g. http://tomshardware.com and http://anandtech.com), and you'll see an Athlon XP 1800+ knocking the socks off a Pentium 4 2GHz in almost every test. Besides, how can you compare MHz between different chip types? The answer is you can't. MHz is not an indication of real-world performance, it is simply clock speed. What is important is what you do with this clock speed. The Pentium 4 is a very inefficient chip when it comes to clock cycles: Intel artificially raise their MHz rating simply to fool people who buy into the so-called "MegaHertz Myth". Apple has a good page on this at http://www.apple.com/g4/myth/. If you have Quicktime (only really possible on GNU/Linux with the CodeWeavers Crossover plug-in), you can watch a very informative video explaining the subject. Why does the Itanium, Intel's next generation processor, run at 'only' 800MHZ when the Pentium 4 runs at 2.2GHz? Why does the Sun UltraSparc III top out at around 1GHz? Why does your average Cray CPU run at 'only' 300MHz? Because they are more efficient with their clock cycles than the Pentium 4. The same goes for the Athlon. > Now, I don't know a lot about this, as I say, this will be my first PC. > It does seem to be that the price for an AMD Athlon XP 1800 is about $US > 50 more than for an Intel P4 1.6GHz at the moment in Indonesia. As to > reliability and heat issues, someone please enlighten me. AMD processors have for quite some time been the CPU brand-of-choice for PC enthusiasts. These people actually know what they're doing, as opposed to your average consumer who buys from whatever company advertises more (i.e. Intel). According to several overclocking sites I've visited, the Athlon overclocks quite well. This is the ultimate test for any CPU, since it imposes the most physical stress (particularly heat). Any CPU that can operate reliably when overclocked should be super-stable when running at its proper speed. -- Sridhar Dhanapalan Did I mention my belief in the true meaning of "intelligence"? "Intelligence is the ability to avoid doing work, yet get the work done". Lazy programmers are the best programmers. Think Tom Sawyer painting the fence. That's intelligence. Requiring almost no effort is a big plus in my book. It's the "clever" programmer I'm afraid of. The one who isn't afraid of generating complexity, because he has a Plan (capital "P"), and he knows he can work out the details later. -- Linus Torvalds
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