AMD 2800XP vs Intel 2.8 P4/800

[mandark]

I know there are sites out there that will give benchmarks for these cpu's. Based on the benchmarks Intel clearly trounces AMD. The question is: Does it make a difference when it comes to playing the latest games that are coming out now?

I've been thinking about upgrading for a while now and have been doing a lot of research regarding these CPU's and all the time the framerates are in excess of 250 f/s. With an ATI 9800 Pro and 512 MB of memory does the Intel speed really make a difference to the naked eye when the frame rates are over 200?

[matthewcraig]

I'd say video card speed and not the main processor speed make good frame rates. Chipsets like Celeron or any $300 computer are excepted, of course. That said, I'd start with more system memory. I just upgraded from 512MB -> 1.5GB today. Take the $300 you save buying AMD and pay for super fast memory with it.

[Renzatic Gear]

Not at all, anything in excess of 60 FPS is basically a buffer. Since the eye really can't differentiate that many frames a second all it's good for is making sure that you maintain a constantly smooth framerate at all times and will also show how well your comp might perform with future game.

You'll want a fast CPU of course, but you won't notice the differences between the P4 and XP in games so either/or is good. Personally, I like the XP better cuz it's cheaper and the best mobo you can get, the Nforce2, only supports it. Also, like Matt said, your graphics card is what will make or break your computer.

If you want my recommendation, and if you're willing to wait a few months til you upgrade, you can go with the Athlon 64 with the new PCIX interface. ATI is releasing a new card for it that's twice as fast as anything currently out but is gonna retail at $199 on release. That's cheaper than my card now, and even though you might end up paying about the same once you mix the new CPU and mobo together you'll end up with a better deal. All the stuff in my computer is gonna be phased out over the next year or two, so you'll be running with newer hardware and will be able to upgrade alot easier than I will. And you have the whole 64-bit thing...alot of games are coming out now that take advantage of it.

[mandark]

Do you have a site address for this new vid card from ATI so I can do more research? I just purchased an ATI 9800 Pro for $189 this weekend but if this new ATI chip is going to run twice as fast I might as well hold off.

[Renzatic Gear]

You'll have to dig for info on tech sites like Anandtech and Tomshardware to get info about the new card since it hasn't been officially announced yet.

You can check some info out here (http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.html?i=1966).

It actually looks like I was wrong about one thing, it does come in an AGP version, so you might not have to upgrade to a PCIX mobo to use one.

But if you've already grabbed a 9800 Pro I dunno if you should worry about it...it'll last you a good 2 years and it's still one of the best cards you can get right now.

[mandark]

You know what? You are right. I'm not going to worry about it and just hold on to the 9800 Pro. If I keep waiting for new technology to come out I will end up not doing any upgrades at all. I will be upgrading to a 2800XP or 3000XP too since my Athlon 1.2 and GeForce3 is just not cutting it anymore.

BTW, thanks for the link.

[Renzatic Gear]

Either way you've made a pretty good choice..going the 64 bit route would make it a little easier for you to upgrade again in the future, but what you're getting is plenty speedy as it is.

And once you have all your stuff you must play Farcry!