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The New Athlons
An anonymous reader linked us to an article about the new batch of athlons. The story talks about the new 1.1 ghz mobile athlon 4, and also good price cuts for the older ones. I'm thinking its time to build my game machine.
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these are mobile chips and a Duron... I thought gamers needed top speed... do you read the articles?
Tell me about it. My current dilemma is whether to spring now for a SiS 735-based mobo, or to wait to see how the motherboards with the nForce chipset go...since the high-end nForce will be set to suck down data from two DDR DIMMs at a time (remember when you had to buy SIMMs in pairs? similar thing here...), it should pretty well obliterate the only real advantage the P4 has, namely raw bandwidth, leaving the P4 choking on the dust of a (considerably lower clock rate) Athlon.
Unfortunately, the price of the cpu is not the issue in building a game box. Those geForce 3's are what squeezes your pocketbook dry.
Besides, given AMD's track record for good chips (lately), and cheaply priced, that outperform the P4's, and with P4's hitting 2GHz soon, I wouldn't be surprised if a year from now you would be able to find those Athlon 4's for under $100...
I'm thinking its time to build my game machine.
If you are talking the latest and greatest games for your "gaming machine", that more than likely means that its a Windows box. Now I admit that my gaming machine is a windows box, but can you, Taco???
You always whine about quicktime movies that you can't play, yet you talk about playing "Black & White" (which I believe is only playable on a windows partition). Now, I know you have at least a small windows partition, but won't admit it. Will you admit taht you are going to have a windows gaming machine??
Good quote, too many chars. Seriously, the slashdot 120 char limit sucks!
I mean, my notebook has a 566 Mhz celeron, and that things gets so hot sometimes I fear great fears for the poor DVD's I insert into all that heat to be able to watch them whilst on the move.
A 1.13 Ghz notebook will therefore probably become standard issue survival gear since you can work, e-mail, game and toast bread on it. I wouldn't put in a DVD though, it'll probably melt.
Wicked.
-- Si hoc legere scis nimium eruditionis habes.
AMD does all that and does it faster while being cheaper, that's why.
Why pay $300 for a chip when you can get a faster one for $200? Just as compatible. Has the same MMX. They do SMP.
Building a new box from scratch right now is stupid cheap...
CPU Athlon 1.4 GHZ $120.00
Motherboard Epox 8KHA $115.00
Memory 256 Megs PC2100 Cas2 $37.79
Hard Drive IBM 60GXP 40 GB 7200RPM $112.00
CDRW 16x10x40x $87.00
DVD 16x $49.00
Video Kyro II $88.00
NIC NetGear $10.00
Sound SbLive Value $43.00
Floppy Generic $10.00
Case Fong Kai FK-603 $90.00
Cooling Vanteck CKK $31
Price* $792.79
The ultimate network admin tool needs HELP!
This is what Tom says about the new CPU's:
l on 1400-17.html
"AMD's newly released Athlon 1400/266 is able to beat Intel's Pentium 4 1.7 GHz in a lot of benchmarks. The Intel processor performs better in Internet content creation software and some new 3D-games. Athlon can leave Pentium 4 far behind in 3D-rendering software, because of its superior FPU-performance.
Except for 3D-rendering software, Athlon 1400 and Pentium 4 1.7 GHz are pretty much neck on neck. However, the lower price tag of Athlon 1400/266 is clearly making it the more attractive product. It is also more versatile, as you can find inexpensive (though lower performing) PC133 platforms as well as DDR-motherboards for it, while Pentium 4 is still only supported by Intel850 platforms that require the expensive RDRAM memory. "
The whole article is here:
http://www.tomshardware.com/cpu/01q2/010608/ath
--sn0w
This stuff drives me Schizo. I like the idea of better processors for games etc.
But I am getting tired of propping up the bloated performance and software design practices of certain very big software software companies.
Makes me want to bang my head against a wall.
- - -
Radio Free Nation
is a news site based on Slash Code
"If You have a Story, We have a Soap Box"
- - -
"It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
Just look at PS1. It's still being actively developed on, and it was launched around '95 or so. Now let's see how many computers from 95 that can run recent games.
Yep. You'll get MUCH more gaming for your bucks if you get yourself a console. I know it's hurting our gaming pride, but it's really dumb to upgrade your computer to play games. Get a PS2, and save 500 bucks when you get a new PC (lower specs).
Stop the brainwash
Here are some early benches of the Morgan based Duron:
:)
http://www.hexus.net/review.php?review=211
It seems that the new core and its new extensions puts it far ahead of the Spitfire core and nearly up to par with the current Thunderbirds. It will be interesting seeing durons compared to P4s in the near future
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It's OK to be social, just don't tell anyone about it.
Oh please - so are you sayign AMD is going to be 'weeded out' as you say? Hardly. Not only are they grabbing market share from INtel with superior products, they are also on of the TOP producers of Flash memory - that's the cash cow that is helping keep Athlon development going. So I wouldn't count out AMD just yet. Its pretty impressive for a company like AMD to grab SIGNIFICANT market share from INtel during terrible economic times. Thats a big accomplishment and shows that the Athlon is a seriosu competitor and that it IS being purchased by people. Its not going to happen overnight, but AMD is here to stay and while they may never unseat Intel as CPU king, they are here for the long run to help keep Intel on their toes.
Top Most Bizarre/Disturbing Error Messages
actually .. IIRC he stated once that he dual boots.. about an year ago i think ..
..
.. how much will you pay me ?
when he was talking of some laptop thingy
whatever.. he said that he keeps the partition
for games.. or something
give him a break will ya !
he's not an elitist linux zealot
so buddy Taco
:)
The article mentions forthcoming price cuts by Intel. Here is some info on that, describing dollar values as well as the justification for it - the demo of the Pentium IV 2GHz.
This is how your average joe thinks when walking into a computer store for his new computer.
:) )
The average joe I know is too computer illiterate to know that Intel has a "reputation" and go with the cheaper AMDs. I know that doesn't stand for most people, but those that I know also have me advising them to avoid the P4 at all costs (no pun intended
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It's OK to be social, just don't tell anyone about it.
Here posted today. Basically the SiS 735 wins:
The real beauty of the 735 isn't its performance, especially since you'll find it quite difficult to notice a performance difference (in most cases) between it and the 760/KT266. No, the real beauty of the 735 is its price. The ECS board we used in this review retails for less than $80. We have seen it places for as low as $65 plus shipping. This makes the board and the platform the perfect companion for the very low cost Duron and Athlon processors. For less than $200 you can easily upgrade your system to a Duron on a SiS 735 board with DDR SDRAM courtesy of the very aggressive pricing from AMD, SiS and DDR SDRAM manufacturers such as Crucial.
Doesn't matter which OS to Taco, just as long as it makes a killer MP3 jukebox and has many, many mouse buttons.
--
"Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
I'll second that. I've really been wanting to build a quiet, low-heat system, but have been hesitant to use a chip like the Via C3. Having a duron/athlon with these characteristcs would be great. Who needs a 1.4 GHz chip? Give me a quiet and cool one at 700 MHz.
"Any fool can make a rule, and any fool will mind it."
--Henry David Thoreau
AMD's already underwater on profits. Intel just needs to hold AMD's head under while it floats just above breakeven, and AMD will drown. Flash won't save AMD (Intel makes flash too; they both do well at it) if Intel can make its performance targets on the P4 roadmap.
In a week the P4-2GHz will be out. They've already made noises about stepping to 6GHz in fab lines under construction, and someone let slip that they think the P4 design can reach 10GHz. P4 is going to be around for a very long time. AMD has nothing like that kind of roadmap; they have cute things like nForce or whatever it's called. They are broadening with no plan for going up.
AMD doesn't have the capital to keep up with Intel in a real footrace. They only grabbed market share because Intel made a strategic error in committing itself to RDRAM instead of making it just a high-high-end option. With the new 845 chipset (SDRAM now, DDR in the near future) and some flanking help by VIA (DDR chipset now) Intel is clearly back in the driver's seat.
You're right about how they "help keep Intel on their toes". AMD's actions are benefitting the consumer in a gigantic way. Prices are clearly moving to our benefit, and the technology choices (SDRAM, DDR-SDRAM, RDRAM, motherboards, overclocking) are multiplying. Intel is adopting all of these, giving AMD no niche it can dominate for any length of time.
At some point, AMD's pocketbook is going to have to give. Unless they can be bought by some giant (and it could be anyone from Tyco to Texas Instruments to Warren Buffett) they will be in debt with no net income.
--Blair
P.S. The CPU/chipset stuff should all be pretty fresh at www.tomshardware.com [thanks for repeating that].
Oh good, it seems I'm not alone. B&W seemed to be a collection of pet projects, not a game.
Dave
I write a blog now, you should be afraid.
I recommend Asus motherboards if you go AMD-- my research indicated that they have the fewest problems, but expect to upgrade your drivers immediately after installing your OS, or things will crash.
-m
Nope they dont run cooler - i would love to upgrade my PC to an athlon but living in QLD in australia i have summer daytime temps of 40 degrees celsius to deal with - my brother runs a duron 950 and this hits 65 celsius just running windows - he has 4 fans and a peltier on his chip and this is still the case.
The Intel celeron 900 runs at 38 degrees - this is much cooler and in comparison between mine and his i dont see a difference in performance times (not neither of us waste money so we are not into overclocking systems)
Then add in a 64mb Nvidia card, burners, hdd etc etc and think about it - i have seen stats that show athlons under load hittin 100+ celsius, thats too hot.
Pity as i would love to dump intel - the P4 is a shitheap (DDR ram my butt)
I refuse to argue with Anonymous Cowards - if you want a discussion get an account....
After getting to use a flat-panel LCD at work, I won't use anything else. I can actually look at the screen for more than an hour without my eyes getting tired. No glare. No funky reflections. I'd trade a 21" monitor for a 17" flat-panel in a heartbeat.
I'm spec'ing out a home computer. The 17" flat-panel is more than the rest of the machine put together...
You cannot apply a technological solution to a sociological problem. (Edwards' Law)
True - 90 farenheit is 32.2 degrees - thats a spring day - also we get humidity of approx 90% on an average day - its hard to keep things cool - keeping yourself cool is hard enough. My point was that the ahtlons i have seen havent been any cooler - this might just be my experience - i dont know - but 4 fans in a tower case should give good cooling - i dont know what to make of figures im seeing of 60-65 degrees celsius - but i have seen them over and over and with my own eyes.
The thing is i want a tbird - my intel processors have been disapointing me for a while - i wasnt happy with my p3500 and although i like the 900 celereon (it was cheap and i needed a PC quick) i would never go to a P4 while the DDR issue is around (i have a gb of SD 133 RAM that im not prepared to replace just cause intel says to (and i have seen talk of better performance on DDR - 10% does not equate to (in Australia) a price of double for DDR VS SD)
Still this was always an AMD problem - i have sold PC's on and off since 386 Days and the early Cyrix and AMD processors were always hotter than an Intel - thats a fact of life i guess and something we have to live with - but i wont be happy until i see them running at the same core temp as a P4 in the same box with the same cooling (although i have seen very hot P4's as well)
I refuse to argue with Anonymous Cowards - if you want a discussion get an account....
Serious global Recession ?
.com in his business plan feeding frenzy' that saw some of the dumbest investment decisions ever.
In Australia our economy is buoyant and moving ahead, the eruopean economy is stable as are most asian ones - the only one in trouble is the US after the 'throw cash at any moron with a
AMD are one of the strongest companies - they are second only to Intel - if anyone would have to worry it would be Transmeta or the many many chipset and board manufacturers although at the prices PC components are now it could be argued that the PC is now firmly a mass market consumer product.
Sure - being steel and suchlike - the ones that make money - the problem with tech is that so many people were gullible enough to piss money up a wall on ideas like outpost.com or pets.com etc - replacing something you do at a store with something you do online isnt guaranteed to work (and dont get me started in razorfish or some of the 'gaming' companies)
AMD have been around as long as intel - American Micro Devices - check out your history - and BTW Athlon is a product name NOT a company (just a note)
I suspect that you are only 15 now so its not that bad (note - opinion only im not flaming). PC's are cheap at the moment - get out and see what new technology can do for you.
And to close and offer some help - i used to be a Journalist (A Graded - worked on daily papers) and if this is writing then you need to study.
Check your facts
Offer something to back up claims
Check history of companies commenting on
Just trying to help you man.
I refuse to argue with Anonymous Cowards - if you want a discussion get an account....
The 845 is only a POS with SDRAM because SDRAM is much, much slower than DDR or RDRAM. Half and a third as fast, respectively. If it can beat the VIA DDR chipset (which is only 5-7% slower than the i850 RDRAM chipset), it will give near-RDRAM performance with DDR memory.
The P4 was derated in order to get it to market ASAP because P3 was not going to keep up with Athlon at all. If AMD hadn't made that leapfrog (with help from some former DEC Alpha engineers), Intel would have had time to make P4 work more efficiently. But this is what they have. Not that they ever stop. They're usually doing R&D three designs out (not steppings or shrinks, but families).
P4 will have to stay 20-30% ahead of Athlon in Clock Speed and will have to make 845 fly on DDR in order to compete box-for-box. Bus speeds will probably start ticking up with time, too.
AMD will be in trouble nonetheless. The GHz/GHz comparisons do have a powerful marketing effect, capable of overcoming hundreds of dollars worth of valuation difference. The benchmarks are split. (It's funny to watch people argue over that, saying one side's wins are due to "biased" benchmarks. There's no such thing as a biased benchmark; there's only better performance with a given piece of software.)
A top-end Intel chip using Rambus runs circles around the fastest possible factory-spec AMD-based system. (Overclocking works for both, and is a micro-niche, so it's economically moot.) One you buy today could hold that advantage for a year. Yes it's 50% more expensive, but that 50% is now $6-700, not the $1.5-2k that used to separate the top boxen. Hell, with the deflation in computer prices, you could buy *both* and have change left over for an Ethernet switch.
Intel thought it could ignore AMD, and that cost it a bunch, but now it's turned to face AMD directly, and AMD's more likely to lose ground than to gain.
--Blair