Topic: AMD vs. Intel processors

[nickgregory]

OK computer geeks...need your help  

I am in the process of considering upgrading my motherboard and processor (currently P3 450 Mhz), and I am curious as to peoples experiences with the AMD vs. the Intel processors...specifically peoples experiences who use SF, Cool Edit, Win XP....etc...

Thoughts?

[zhianosatch]

AMD suits all of my needs...

[Nicaragua]

I use all of those programs w/XP and AMD works fantastic.  I've had the same processor for 4 years now w/out problems.  cant really offer any help on Intel since i really have had no experience w/them.  all my fellow geeks steered me clear of em when i was building my computer back then....can't really remember why though, sorry

[creekfreak]

I am also am AMD fan, never had a problem with them, and they cost way less

[nickgregory]

you guys are making me feel much better....the AMD is definitely a better option cost wise for me...!

[zhianosatch]

if you're doing lots of graphic rendering, i've HEARD that the p4 will suit you better, but sheeit, why pay? amds run hot, but hell, big deal, they're cheaper and work better for me

[nic]

I think the issue has been settled, but in the past, alot of audio apps would not work corectly on certain chipsets. check out the website of the apps you use most to see if the there are any known problems with various chipsets.
the VIA kt133 is a known problematic chipset

[Nick in Edinboro]

The Pentium's are currently well out pacing the AMD's in terms of front side bus (FSB) speed, cache, and perhaps even clock speed (GHz).  By outpacing I mean nearly double too.. I think the latest P4's have something ridiculous like an 800mhz front side bus, also have a 533mhz version.  I think AMD is topped out right now at 400mhz perhaps.  FSB could be considered your "motherboards speed", which is important because your IDE, PCI, and every other bus will be some fraction of that speed, ie. higher the better.  I tend put a lot of focus into the FSB speed as there's a serious "MHz myth" about what is really *faster* and what has the highest numbers.

Will you ever *need* all that extra bandwith?  Probably not, but it might speed up teidius tedious things like resampling, I couldn't say for certain...

While it might be out of your price range (not sure what your looking to spend) if you honestly do a lot of intensive work on your PC with large audio files you might want to look for a dual processor mobo or the new home version of the Athlon64.  Those would fly through large audio tasks like you wouldn't believe... a friend has a dual processor box and it's night and day.

Guess it depends on usage and yer wallet.  I run an AMD 1700+ so I ain't even up to date myself  I just am sure to record at 44.1 all the time

[nic]

npsinboro...theres much more to a system than if its a dual-processor, etc...

my best friend and taping cohort has a dual Athlon MP1.3Ghz, 1GB DDR2100 and even SCSI 10,000 RPM harddiscs, yet my PIII 1.13Ghz w/ 1GB PC133 ram with 7,200 RPM IDE drives SMOKES his system with regards to audio processing..seriously, my system is almost 2x faster than his dualie!

[zhianosatch]

he must be runnin shome shitty ass mobo, then!

[nic]

nope, he has a great system and for anything OTHER than audio processing his machine smokes mine.
we've both tried to figure it out and asked others and no one has a clue as to why mine is SO much faster in audio.

[Nick in Edinboro]

That's wild luvean!  The only things that come to mind that might cause such a thing is using some software which is optimized for Intel technology and assembly calls (MMX, SIMD, etc) but I'd think it's more likely that he either has a poorly configured system or some motherboard or hardware config that choking performance (ie. slot A board but wrong fsb?)..  Crazy!  I totally believe you, heard of weirder things for sure.  Same OS, programs and everything?

You have a Pentium III or the III-S?  That III-S is faster then some of the P4's!!  Even still it's tough to imagine.

This is neat...audio comparisons on like 64 processors

[nic]

I have a PIII-S.
the only thing I can think of is that SoundForge and Vegas Pro arent dual-processor aware.

[Sean Gallemore]

runnin an AMD AthXP 2200+, that shit smokes the boat

[RRobar]

Currently I have a 2.4 gHz P4 W/ 512 of DDR as my laptop (soon to be replaced for a Mac PowerBook) and a Athalon XP 1700+ w/256 DDR as my home desktop. I have resampled similiar sized wave files on both and call me crazy but I think the Athalon 1077+ is faster (using cool edit Pro to downsample). I have not tried resampling 24/48 on the athalon as I've had no need to so far. I use wavelab on both most of the time. I like the Athalon chips just seem smoother in how they run.

[Styx Cover Band]

Man I'm stuck in the stone age, I'm running an AMD-k5 533mhz like 56mb RAM.

[creekfreak]

Man I'm stuck in the stone age, I'm running an AMD-k5 533mhz like 56mb RAM.

is their a gerbil on a wheel on the inside?

[hoobash]

You dont need anything faster then a middle of road athlon xp. My current system is running a xp 1800 with nforce2 chipset. Intel is currently faster the amd if you want the high end system. If you want a great system at a good price you cant beat amd

[crunchy]

You might want to purchase an after marker heatsink for you rprocessor though. I built a system this summer and I think I remember reading that the heatsink intel provices with their chips are pretty good, while AMDs stock heatsinks arent as good and let the chip get hot.

[rabhan]

1. go to newegg.com and get all your hardware

2. amd's rawk. i use them in my two desktops at the house.

3. they cook eggs faster than an AD1000. get a volcano or similar fan, spend the 20-30$ on one, you will need it. also, get the arctic silver shit, it really works.

4. asus mobo's are some of the best imho. run the asus probe if you get one, you can monitor your system status, temps, speeds, voltages, etc.

5. go see ratdog!