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Athlon Xp 3200+ 400FSB is Coming

SoDaLaS writes "Athlon 3200+ Coming: According to CNET The Athlon 3200+ with a 400MHz FSB is on the way in the next two weeks. It'll be interesting to see how well the processor overclocks at that high of a bus speed...it didn't seem to hamper the new 800MHz FSB Pentium 4, which many people were worried about too."

54 of 302 comments (clear)

  1. 400 MHz, 800 MHz by Gothmolly · · Score: 5, Informative

    Lets make sure we're comparing apples to apples. The 400 MHz bus on the Athlon is a DDR doublepumped bus, so its really 200 MHz. The 800 MHz FSB on the P4 is a quadpumped bus, so its really 200 MHz.

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    1. Re:400 MHz, 800 MHz by VAXman · · Score: 2, Informative

      Yes, and the peak bandwidth of the double-pumped 200 MHz Athlon bus is 3.2 GB/s, and the peak bandwidth of the quad-pumped 200 MHz P4 bus is 6.4 GB/s.

      So factoring the double/pumped into frequency gives the more realistic performance picture.

    2. Re:400 MHz, 800 MHz by AccUser · · Score: 4, Funny

      Why compare apples with apples? Why not apples with pcs? After all, the Athlon is built around the x86 architecture... :-P

      --

      Any fool can talk, but it takes a wise man to listen.

    3. Re:400 MHz, 800 MHz by GigsVT · · Score: 3, Informative

      Yes, but calling it "Mhz" is misleading. That's like saying the PCI bus runs at 1056Mhz because it is 32 lines running at 33Mhz.

      We already have enough misleading and confusing computer terms, we don't need to add another one.

      --
      I've had enough abrasive sigs. Kittens are cute and fuzzy.
    4. Re:400 MHz, 800 MHz by arvindn · · Score: 4, Funny

      In that case, wouldn't the AMD thing to do be to call it the "800+" FSB? :)

    5. Re:400 MHz, 800 MHz by GigsVT · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Mhz is NOT a measure of throughput or performance. It has a very specific definition, Million cycles per second. Don't let them confuse the term and water it down until it is meaningless.

      --
      I've had enough abrasive sigs. Kittens are cute and fuzzy.
    6. Re:400 MHz, 800 MHz by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Does it give the more realistic picture? I'm not a hardware designer or anything, but I've always been under the strong impression that the front-side bus speed mainly matters when you have a memory access. In that case, what really is going to make a difference isn't bandwidth. Instead, it's latency.

      I'm assuming that when something isn't in the cache, the processor is going to read a whole line at a time, but will start with the word actually needed and then fill the rest of the cache line after that. In that case, the processor only has to sit and wait while just one word is fetched from RAM. So what really matters is not how fast you can stream in multiple words, but how fast you can read in one word. (Of course, there are times when streaming in lots of data is helpful, such as when the processor isn't mainly hitting its cache but instead is copying a large block of memory...)

      As I said, I am not an expert, and there is always the possibility that doubling or quadrupling the data rate will reduce the latency of memory reads as well as increasing the bandwidth. If so, I'd love to be enlightened about this topic...

    7. Re:400 MHz, 800 MHz by CTho9305 · · Score: 2, Informative

      There are multiple phase-shifted clocks. These clocks run at 200MHz, but features of interest (edges) occur at 400 or 800 million times per second. The end result is functionally indistinguishable from an 800MHz clock.

  2. Finally.... by DarkBlackFox · · Score: 5, Insightful

    AMD can take advantage of DDR 400 for synchronous system performance. Expanded front side bus + more work per clock cycle= damn good performance. Great stuff.

    1. Re:Finally.... by sigep_ohio · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I would think that it isn't going to do much more than extend the Athlon's lead in some areas(business content) and close an already large gap in others(multimedia) between the P4.

      But it is nice to see that AMD moved the Athlon to the 400MHz bus. Now hopefully they will give the Athlon64 the same support, along with a dual-channel memory controller like in the Opteron.

      --
      Beer Die is the game of champions Learning To walk my own path.
    2. Re:Finally.... by shamilton · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Answer me this, where did this whole notion that P4s are somehow faster than AMD chips come from?

      Canadian dollars:

      1800, AMD: $95, Intel: $215
      2400, AMD: $160, Intel: $240
      2800, AMD: $349, Intel: $499

      That is, comparing the 1800+ to a 1.8 P4, etc. And yes, those AMD readings are usually pretty conservative. If you compare performance per tic, AMD continues to beat the living crap out of Intel, has since the K7, and likely will continue to do so for generations yet.

      Point 1: If you want a cheap CPU, an 1800+ for a hundred bucks (60 USD) is a damn fine deal. If you want to be loyal to Intel, that will buy you a 1.7 Celeron, which is comparable to a T-Bird 1333 of two years back.

      Point 2: If you want to shell out, then you are getting more bang for your buck by buying a high end AMD, although this point is a bit weaker as they tend to get closer in price.

      Point 3: If you REALLY want to shell out some coin, you could buy one of the really high end Intels, which pull ahead of AMD chips due to lack of an AMD offering in the same range. But then, if you are going to shell out, why not purchase a Xeon, or dual AMDs, or Sun hardware, or a data processing centre to run Quake? The scale is only relevant where you can actually compare the two, so in my opinion, this point is moot.

      This can all be explained if you consider Intel isn't so interested in making a great processor as it is making great fabrication processes, and patenting them. The processor is more of a testbed. Much like how id is mostly a technology company, but Carmack has said if they didn't make a game, they would end up missing things in the engine.

      --
      "[A] high IQ is like a Jeep; you will still get stuck, just farther from help!" --Just d' FAQs, c.g.a
    3. Re:Finally.... by workindev · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Answer me this, where did this whole notion that P4s are somehow faster than AMD chips come from?

      You might want to check this out. Find me a single benchmark that AMD took the crown in. You will soon discover that the closest AMD got to winning a benchmark was 2nd place on the Sysmark Office 2000 test. The rest of the tests placed AMD in 4th, 5th, and sometimes even 6th place (behind the slowest P4 in the test, the 2.53GHz).

      This can all be explained if you consider Intel isn't so interested in making a great processor as it is making great fabrication processes

      So basically, even though Intel isn't interested in making a great processor, they still make one that is superior to what you are promoting?

      The only fair comparison would be a dollar amount comparison (a $200 AMD processor vs a $200 Intel processor), and Intel still takes the crown with that. An XP 2800+ is about the same price as a Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, and the benchmarks still show Intel ahead on majority of the tests. The only thing we have to thank AMD for is the fact that we don't pay $5,000 for a superior Pentium 4 now.

    4. Re:Finally.... by Uberbah · · Score: 2, Informative

      I haven't looked at the entire review, but I smell the wiff of bullshit comming from Tom. First I checked out the game benchmarks...where he only ran Quake 3!!! If you didn't know, Quake 3 has always run faster on P4's than on Athalons. To be fair, he should have also benched something like Serious Sam 2 which has a similar advantage on AMD chips. I would be similarily suspicious of his other benchmarks, like mp3 and mpeg encoding. If he knowingly uses a game that's better optimized for one processor in a benchmark, whats to stop him from doing the same in others?

      Remember that Tom plays favorites with Intel and AMD, depending on who's giving him more free stuff these days. A year or two ago he was loudly claiming there was no way Intel would be able to compete with AMD and that they'd end up exiting the consumer processor business.

      So basically, to paraphrase: "there are lies, there are damn lies, and then there's benchmarks"

  3. Overclocking by sigep_ohio · · Score: 3, Informative

    Unless they shrunk the Athlon core, I don't see a lot fo room for overclocking. The 3000+ isn't an overclocking dream, so simply moving to a faster bus ain't gonna make the 3200+ any better.

    --
    Beer Die is the game of champions Learning To walk my own path.
    1. Re:Overclocking by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I think the point was that with the high FSB speed there would be little room to increase it. With current intel processors the only way to overclock is via the FSB, but this is not true for current AMD chips that come multiplier unlocked...

      Of course the highest end chips are never great overclockers, they are already quite close to the "edge".

      Current AthlonXP 1700+ on the other hand... cost me $70 and runs at 2500MHz.

    2. Re:Overclocking by Maverick2219 · · Score: 3, Informative

      The thing with overclocking usually isn't to get the newest, and fastest CPU and then overclock the hell of it. It's to get something in the midrange and then overclock. For instance, when the Barton core was first released you didn't see curious overclockers buying 3000+ parts to overclock, no they (myself included) purchased the 2500+ part at a savings of roughly $400. I can overclock my 2500+ up to what SiSoft Sandra says is 3200+ performance specs with very little noise a-la my watercooling system. I needed a watercooler anyway due to the high temperatures in the summer in my room, and guess what? It's completely stable. People won't buy the 3200+ CPU's en mass to overclock them, but they will buy the boards updated to run the 400Mhz bus so that they can overclock their old 266 and 333Mhz bus CPU's in a more stable environment.

      --
      I try to make everyone's day a little more surreal.
    3. Re:Overclocking by DarkBlackFox · · Score: 2, Insightful

      If I'm not mistake, they affixed a heat spreader to the Opteron. What would stop them from/why wouldn't they slap one on the higher power Athlons? Seems to me that's what keeps the P4's "cooler," along with heatsinks of twice the mass... simple thermodynamic physics.

    4. Re:Overclocking by fobbman · · Score: 4, Informative

      I'm going to assume that you are trolling, but as I'm an angler myself I can appreciate a good set of inline blades.

      What I don't think you understand about the CPU business is that when Intel, AMD, whomever makes CPUs, they make them without knowing which one will end up going what speed. It's not until they test them that they find out, and then they put them into a bin based on the max speed they run.

      Well, let's say that they have a good run and they get 60% of them to go at 3000+ speeds, with the rest waterfalling down from there. That's great, but the market isn't demanding a bunch of 3000+ chips. Turns out the big push is for, say, 2400+ chips. So, to fill those orders they set many of those faster chips to run at the 2400+ speeds via the cutting of bridges.

      Why not just release all those 3000+ chips at 3000+ speeds? Profit, dear troll, profit. If they flooded the market with those higher-priced chips, then the price would go down. Better to make a large profit on those fewer faster chips.

      At least, that's how I understand it.

    5. Re:Overclocking by Maverick2219 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Purchasing the right part WILL get you a massive overclock though. The prime example is the Athlon XP 2100+ Thoroughbred B part. This CPU is actually running at 1730Mhz, however many overclockers are getting these CPU's up to 2500Mhz on stock air-cooling and 100% stable. It's unknown why these particular parts are doing such a high overclock, but anyway you slice it a 44% overclock is pretty significant.

      Also, my own CPU which runs at 1830Mhz and overclocks to 2200Mhz is still getting a 20% overclock.

      --
      I try to make everyone's day a little more surreal.
    6. Re:Overclocking by svirre · · Score: 2, Informative

      Wrongo.

      Heat spreaders hinder thermal dissappation, they do ot help.

      What they di is to privide a measure of physical protection for the fragile core.

    7. Re:Overclocking by 10Ghz · · Score: 2, Funny
      First, overclocking works decent for a few people, but is not available to the masses for several reasons including technical difficulty and noise issues


      Ummmm.... How is overclocking going to make the system more loud? I mean, I have 700Mhz Duron with standard fairly standard heatsink/fan. I can push the CPU to about 900Mhz without changing anything, and the system does not make one bit more noise when compared to standard 700Mhz.

      Or do you think that those clock-ticks in the CPU's make a noise, and therefore more clock-ticks = more noise?
      --
      Lesbian Nazi Hookers Abducted by UFOs and Forced Into Weight Loss Programs - -all next week on Town Talk.
  4. Overclocking by mrtroy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Damnit why, everytime a new board comes out, overclocking is brought up.

    First, overclocking works decent for a few people, but is not available to the masses for several reasons including technical difficulty and noise issues

    Second, overclocking is kind of dumb (expecting 10000 evil replies for that, but listen first) because if the board really could safely go faster, the manufacturer would produce it that way, and sell it for more!

    Third, maybe everyone doesnt want their computer to sound like a jet is going off from the cooling needed to overclock, especially since as computers are getting faster, and more "stuff" is being put in smaller and smaller spaces, heat is increasing as well. Thats why mobos are coming with bigger fans, graphics cards are coming with giant fans that take a whole slot, etc.

    Now personally, I considered overclocking, fiddled with it, decided it wasnt for me, but I realize a small amount of people will do it. Cheers to them, but why can we not critically analyze a mobo without considering overclocking, which will benefit less than 1% of users! Lets look at the raw performance, and it should be sweet with this fat bus!

    --
    [I can picture a world without war, without hate. I can picture us attacking that world, because they'd never expect it]
  5. Benefit? by NSParadox · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The Athlon chips have not been super-sensitive to changes in FSB. The performance impact of the Athlon XP moving from 2x133MHz to 2x166MHz was significantly less than the P4's gains going from 4x100MHz to 4x133MHz. The P4 gains have been incredible with the jump to 4x200MHz.

    It seems that AMD is trying to squeeze every bit of performance out of an architecture that would be better squeezed by being optimized, i.e. Opteron. It's a shame that AMD's yields of Opteron have proven to be dismal, but if I was a motherboard manufacturer I'd be pretty mad at AMD right now. More motherboard manufacturers are going to have to qualify their boards and more chipset manufacturers will have to qualify their products as well, even if they can already meet 400MHz operation. Will the performance impact really justify the costs that all parties incur by moving to yet a new FSB in less than, what, 6 months?

    --
    Unless mankind redesigns itself .... robots will take over our world. (Stephen Hawking)
  6. Make up your own shit, you wanker by Doctor+Sbaitso · · Score: 4, Informative

    From HardOCP [H]ardNews 6th Edition posted on Wednesday April 30th, 2003:

    Athlon 3200+ Coming:
    The Athlon 3200+ with a 400MHz FSB is on the way in the next two weeks, according to C|Net. It'll be interesting to see how well the processor overclocks at that high of a bus speed...it didn't seem to hamper the new 800MHz FSB Pentium 4, which many people were worried about too.

    --

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    Hello, Slashdot user. My name is Dr. Sbaitso. I am here to help you.
  7. This thing is gonna be HOT by checkyoulater · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I already have trouble cooling my XP1900 without having it sound like a jet engine. With a slow fan and decent heatsink, my CPU still sits around 48 degrees C. I'm afraid to think how hot this thing would be. How can anybody productively use a computer with a fan that is as loud as an engine idling?

    --
    Is that a real poncho? I mean, is that a Mexican poncho or is that a Sears poncho?
    1. Re:This thing is gonna be HOT by chefbimbo · · Score: 2, Informative

      The athlon is rated to be safely running at 85 C. Mine always runs at 60 because of low noise components (GOOD heatsink but still) and I couldn't care less for it.

  8. This is bad news. by Krapangor · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Computer processors get faster and faster. You might think that this is a good thing, but I'll explain why it has only negative effects.

    With faster processors we get less efficient programs. 10 Years ago you could do internet/email/word processing/spread sheets with just a 33MHz Intel 386 with 16 MB RAM. Today you need for the very same things a Pentium IV with 2 GHZ and 128 MB RAM. There are some niece applications which need a lots of CPU Power like Quake or Nurmerical Simulations, but must Joe Adverage apps don't really need it. The programs need it due to sloppy coding. And the faster CPUs gave rise to the OOP paradigm. While it primarily is a nice theoretical concept for safer and more secure program, it's used these days just for code-bloat and GUI overload. Inpedendent studies show that in fact 73 percent of all "OOP" code is just imperative with C++ class bloat added.
    Further the higher compiler and debugger speeds introduced much more sloppy coding styles. In the 60/70ies the computers of the Apollo program hadn't a single computer crash, which is completely unthinkable these days. The reason why the NASA is keeping old 8080 Intels in their shuttles is that they won't get decent code quality form modern processors these days.

    Personally I think that the whole CS community must rethink their position towards computers speeds. Instead of the todays faster-is-better point we need a paradigm change towards just-as-fast-as-necessary.

    --
    Owner of a Mensa membership card.
    1. Re:This is bad news. by sh4de · · Score: 4, Funny
      There are some niece applications which need a lots of CPU Power...

      And Bob's your uncle? Maybe you meant niche? Also, "a lots" is new to me.

      Mensa member, beware of the high IQ

      Anybody else being cut by the razor sharp irony in this? Or maybe I'm just bitter I didn't get accepted to Mensa with my puny IQ of 138.

    2. Re:This is bad news. by Hagakure · · Score: 3, Funny

      No, he meant niece. The rest of us won't fully understand that statement for another 10 years.

      --


      If this is Heaven I'm bailin out! I cant tolerate this ol tin-tub, so fulla trash and rats...
    3. Re:This is bad news. by javahacker · · Score: 4, Insightful

      NASA doesn't use Intel 8080 processors in the shuttles. The computers they use were developed for the Apollo program, way before the Intel 8080 existed. They use them because they are simple enough to have provably correct operation, something not true for most processors. This is a quality that must be designed for in the processor, and is more difficult to achieve as the processor becomes more complex. Code quality has nothing to do with the decision. Their code is all assembler by the way, so your code quality is very high, and very expensive.

      Inpedendent studies show that in fact 73 percent of all "OOP" code is just imperative with C++ class bloat added.
      You mean it was crappy, non object oriented code, written by bad programmers! What a shocking notion! Anyone can write bad code in any language, it hardly takes any skill at all, which is the problem, lack of skill.

      And the faster CPUs gave rise to the OOP paradigm.
      OOP is simply a codification of what programmers were already doing, it is neither a magic bullet, or a terrible evil.

  9. Press Releases by rwiedower · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Analysts say it's too early to know how the new chips will rate against each other, with testing not yet complete.

    Yes, I know it's too early to know how the new chips will rate. Everyone should know this. It used to be that a PR blitz was timed for the launch of a product. Now it comes out well in advance. This, in turn, means that delays that could affect the delivery date have to be factored in. Next thing you know, we'll have helpful stories over a month in advance of launch with more helpful statements about how the chips haven't been tested yet.

    Yes, if the chips have already been produced and are filtering into distributors, this point is moot. I just wish more was made when the products emerged and less when it was all pie-in-the-sky hyperbole.

  10. AMD $500 CPU vs iNTEL $500 CPU Re:400 MHz, 800 MHz by Forge · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Hey. Marketing people love to trumpet all kinds of fantasy based figures when they talk about CPU spead.

    The troth is that the only CPU mesure that matters is how long dose it take to rip and encode a DVD to DivX (One of the few tasks that still taks hours.) or whatever application YOU run which YOU feal is too slow on whatever system you have now.

    And for comparison, Athlon 3200+ vs iNTEL 3.2 GHz is not what matters. What matters is iNTEL's $500 CPU vs AMD's $500 (or $100 CPU).

    --
    --= Isn't it surprising how badly I spell ?
  11. Enough of 32 bits! Give me 64! by turgid · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Please, AMD, just get on with it and give us the Athlon 64. Consign the 32-bit chips to the bargain basement. The workstation and server market has been 64-bit for nearly a decade. It's time we caught up. I'm off to ebay to buy a second-hand alpha workstation...

  12. is it just me? by wirefarm · · Score: 4, Insightful

    or did others stop caring a lot about speed somewhere around 1Ghz?

    --
    -- My Weblog.
    1. Re:is it just me? by shamilton · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Indeed. I had the grandparent's mentality for three years, then recently used some extra cash to upgrade my 500 to an 1800 to play UT2003.

      The improvement in general system responsiveness was far greater than I had expected. Windows open faster, it's less evident that things are "drawn" instead of just appearing, much faster boot, etc.

      Also pleasant was reduced time waiting for compiles when making small code tweaks, waiting for photoshop filters, etc.

      You will never hit any sort of upper limit for CPU usage and just stop benefiting.

      --
      "[A] high IQ is like a Jeep; you will still get stuck, just farther from help!" --Just d' FAQs, c.g.a
  13. What price power? by AccUser · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I work from home, and have a network of 5 PCs of various specifications. You can tell when they are on because the floorboards in the hall vibrate, never mind the noise they make.

    I have recently invested in a VIA EPIA-M10000 motherboard. It is very, very quiet.

    Sure, it isn't as fast as the latest P4 or Athlon, but it plays DVD (with hardware support), DivX, and MP3 media without any problems. Quake 3 runs well.

    More importantly, I can run all my business applications without any noticable loss in speed.

    I'm going to ditch my other boxes and buy some more of these EPIA systems. It's the quiet life for me.

    --

    Any fool can talk, but it takes a wise man to listen.

    1. Re:What price power? by mrtroy · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Good points, good sir, but look at what the mini itx boards are aimed towards. They are not for the heavy gamers. They are not for video encoders. They are for the majority of people who want a quiet, decently fast, quality mobo.

      --
      [I can picture a world without war, without hate. I can picture us attacking that world, because they'd never expect it]
  14. plagarism by synthe · · Score: 2, Informative

    When I read the article text submitted by SoDaLaS, I realized I had read it before. Look for [H]ardOCP's news about the Athlon XP 3200+ posted yesterday at 11:50am.

  15. "3200+"? What's the real clock speed? by ArmorFiend · · Score: 4, Interesting

    What's the real clock speed of this beggar?

  16. The last Athlon XP by Jungle+guy · · Score: 4, Informative
    Acording to my sources, this should be the last Athlon XP to be released by AMD. Their next desktop processor will probably be Athlon 64, wich will need a different motherboard.

    So my advice is for not buying a computer with Atlhon XP 3200, as your upgrade roadmap will be locked. It is better to buy a computer with a slower (and cheaper) Athlon, and wait untill the price drop to buy an Atlon XP 3200. Or wait for the release of Athlon 64 - it will be an excelent computer for video edition, 3D rendering and games like Unreal Tournament 2003 or Doom III.

  17. Mmmm.... by foxtrot · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The best thing about a 400 MHz FSB being available on an Athlon chip?

    The 333 MHz FSB chips will drop in price!

  18. IT DOESN'T MATTER by w42w42 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    It's the naming scheme. It is a 3200+ because that is what it's performance is relative to - a 3.2GHz Intel piece. The 400MHz FSB just allows AMD to take what would have been a slower part, and mark it as such.

  19. Today vs Yesterday by nuggz · · Score: 3, Informative

    10 Years ago you could do internet/email/word processing/spread sheets with just a 33MHz Intel 386 with 16 MB RAM. Today you need for the very same things a Pentium IV with 2 GHZ and 128 MB RAM.

    I still use my p133 for many tasks, irc, email and personal server.

    Web browsing on a 386/33, never did it, I had a 386/40. It was VGA (640x480 w16 colours), It was slow, the pages were simple. It was the only thing I could do at the time.

    Now I browse with many windows, 24bit colour at higher resolutions (rarely anything as pathetic as 1024x768).
    I can play mp3's without skipping a beat, along with movies. I was glad to get a .mod playing on my 386 without skipping.

    We've come a long way, we do have overkill for many applications, but it isn't all waste. I think too many people who complain aobut how excessive it is today forget how relatively wimpy it was before it became mainstream.

    Does anyone else remember how cool it was to have a 486 that would dir a directory listing faster then you could read it?

  20. man! by 0x12d3 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Have I really put off the upgrades for that long? There are FSB's faster than my processor? The funny thing is there is so much latency loading a lot of the modern software you really don't appreciate it! Outlook XP takes just as long to load as OE did back in 97. The xfer speeds have definitely improved (a _lot_) but rendering websites takes as long if not longer than it did 10 years ago (unless yer a fellow dillo user!). I should quit complaining; I'm as thrilled about bus speeds improving as the next guy (I do a good amount of hw irq intensive stuff) but jeez, It would be nice if avg. joe could see the improvements too and not just those of us compiling kernels on the weekend. So much of the hype causes aunt Ethel to upgrade every year with no appreciable speed improvements. But then I guess auth Ethel's never heard of a front side bus...

  21. MHz is already meaningless by TexVex · · Score: 3, Informative

    AMD CPUs outperform Intel CPUs at similar frequencies. That's why AMD stopped marketing their processors based on their frequency. In some benchmarks, an Itanium running at 900 MHz outperforms 3 GHz Pentium IVs. Once upon a time, before clock multiplying, MHz meant more than it does now. But even in the 8-bit days, a 6502 running at 1 MHz would perform similarly to an 8086 running at 4.3 MHz.

    --
    Fun with Anagarams! LADS HOST, SHALT DOS. HAS DOLTS. AD SLOTHS, HATS SOLD. ASS HO, LTD.
    1. Re:MHz is already meaningless by Farce+Pest · · Score: 2, Informative

      I think you mean 8080 or Z-80, not 8086... The 8086 is a 16-bit processor with a 20-bit address space (IIRC). The 8088 was an 8086 with an 8-bit data bus. The 8080 (and faster clone, the Zilog Z-80) was an 8-bit processor.

      The 6502 (1 MHz) compared so well against the higher-clocked 8080/Z-80 (usually 4-5 MHz) because of better pipelining and shorter instruction cycle times (IIRC).

      --
      This message has been scanned for memes and dangerous content by MindScanner, and is believed to be unclean.
  22. Re:That's nice, but I'm sticking with Intel by Anita+Coney · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I keep hearing from people like you who have trouble with VIA/AMD systems, and I'm just perplexed.

    For myself, friends, and family I've built 7 VIA/AMD systems and each have been rock solid. Absolutely no problems. And with the money I saved buying the VIA/AMD combo versus an Intel product, I was able to buy better graphic cards, more ram, and larger hard drives.

    --
    If someone says he and his monkey have nothing to hide, they almost certainly do.
  23. Re:AMD $500 CPU vs iNTEL $500 CPU Re:400 MHz, 800 by bryanp · · Score: 4, Funny

    The troth is that the only CPU mesure that matters is how long dose it take to rip and encode a DVD to DivX (One of the few tasks that still taks hours.) or whatever application YOU run which YOU feal is too slow on whatever system you have now.

    With enough processing power and memory maybe more people would run spell checkers.

    (yes, I'm an evil bastard who can't ignore the chance to take a cheap shot)

    --
    "An unarmed man can only flee from evil, and evil is not overcome by fleeing from it." Col. Jeff Cooper
  24. Now, if they'd just pull their heads out.... by NerveGas · · Score: 2, Interesting

    ... and raise the FSB of the AthlonMP's, then we'd have a *really* nice setup.

    Of course, they don't want to risk hurting sales of the Hammer, but it would still be nice to have more than one option, for crying out loud.

    steve

    --
    Oh, you're not stuck, you're just unable to let go of the onion rings.
    1. Re:Now, if they'd just pull their heads out.... by NerveGas · · Score: 2, Informative

      The AthlonMP line was never effective?

      Perhaps from a marketting perspective, but certainly not from a technological perspective. We took a $13,000 quad P3-Xeon machine, replaced it with a $3,000 dual AthlonMP, and guess what - the loads dropped in *half*.

      They were (and are) very good performers. Their only limitation was a memory bandwidth limit. AMD went to all of the trouble to give each AthlonMP it's own independent bus, but they never took the time to mate that with a dual-channel memory controller, so that each processer could actually *utilize* the entirety of it's bus. Even so, they were (and still are) very capable machines.

      steve

      --
      Oh, you're not stuck, you're just unable to let go of the onion rings.
  25. Re:That's nice, but I'm sticking with Intel by SophtwareSlump · · Score: 2, Interesting
    My first (actually my second, I had a 486 DX4@120) experience with AMD processors was very bad. It turned out to be the craptastic Abit KT7 RAID Board I bought. All sorts of problems with it. Random lockups, HAL errors, etc. I swapped out every piece of hardware and it would still crash and hard lock randomly. I wrote it off as a demonic board and gave it to my friend. He now suffers with it, convinced he's only step away from getting it to run stable.

    Since then, I've stuck to buying Asus and Shuttle boards and have had ZERO problems. Maybe that Abit board had a flaky chipset, who knows. I have an XP 1600 and a Thunderbird 1.33 running at home and they run fine. Never had a problem. They run just as stable as my PII@300.

    I just can't resist the price/performance ratio of AMD chips when I go to upgrade my machine.

  26. Re:That's nice, but I'm sticking with Intel by gokulpod · · Score: 2, Informative

    OS Name: Microsoft Windows XP Professional
    OS Version: 5.1.2600 Service Pack 1 Build 2600
    System Up Time: 11 Days, 2 Hours, 7 Minutes, 35 Seconds
    System Manufacturer: ECS
    System Model: K7S5A

    --
    My mom never taught me to sign.
  27. Re:"3200+"? What's the real clock speed? by Luminous+Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Allow me to speculate.

    Barton (Model 10) comes in three flavors: 3000+ (2.167 GHz), 2800+ (2.083 GHz) and 2500+ (1.83 GHz). All other things equal, the 3200+ should run at 2.25 GHz, same as the 2800+ Thoroughbred (Model 8).

    However, if AMD were to increase the FSB speed, you can expect the CPU frequency to be slightly lower. I would guess between 2.083 and 2.167 Ghz.

    AMD keeps a definitive list up to date.

  28. Since we're joking about it... by BrokenHalo · · Score: 2, Funny

    We're heading into winter here in Australia. It's nice to know I don't have to buy a heater: all I have to do is upgrade my computer :-)