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4 Replies Last post: Dec 15, 2006 8:33 AM by phillypa800

mngjones

1 posts since
Dec 14, 2006

Dec 14, 2006 5:05 PM

processor comparison...AMD Athlon 64 vs Intel Pentium 4 or D

I'm looking to buy another computer and have a few questions.
1. What is the difference between an AMD Athlon 64 x2 dual-core 3800+ and an Intel Pentium 4 or D?
2. We are looking to buy the Dell C521 or the E521...does anyone have experience with either of these computers or with Dell? We are looking to do some basic video and phot editing with our system so we ant it to be able to multitask.
Any advice would be great!
Thanks,
MNG

jbking

967 posts since
Aug 29, 2006

1. Dec 14, 2006 5:14 PM

in response to: mngjones

Greetings,

1. What is the difference between an AMD Athlon 64 x2 dual-core 3800 and an Intel Pentium 4 or D? +

Well, they are made by different companies and use different architectures among other things. There are CPU charts on Tom's Hardware where specific models are compared and I would note that while that Athlon is a specific model the others aren't as there are several Intel Pentium 4 models as well as Pentium Ds, e.g. the 800 and 900 series to give 2 subcategories here alone.

+2. We are looking to buy the Dell C521 or the E521...does anyone have experience with either of these computers or with Dell? We are looking to do some basic video and phot editing with our system so we ant it to be able to multitask. +

While I don't personally, I would note that that is likely not the top model of AMD processor that Dell offers and so one idea may be to bump this up in the case where you have something processor intensive.

Regards,
JB

Home Desktop: VoodooPC Hexx. AMD Athlon FX-60, 2 GB RAM, 2 x 250 GB HD, 7900 GTX video card. Home Laptop: HP dv4000, Pentium M, 2 GB RAM, 80 GB HD, ATi 700 Radeon Mobility

phillypa800

355 posts since
Sep 26, 2006

2. Dec 15, 2006 8:01 AM

in response to: mngjones

here's an article i came across in respect to your question. hope this article helps. i tried to find an article in pcworld but no dice. i'm sure there's one but reading so much hurts my brain.

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2014674,00.asp

good luck

"I won't eat anything that has intelligent life, but I'd gladly eat a network executive or a politician." ---------- Asus P5KC M0b0,Q6600 CPU, Artic Cooler Freeze Pro7 H/F,OCZ DDR3 PC3-10666 RAM, Barricuda 7200.11 3Gb/s HD, nVidia 9800GTX+BE, Seitek Keyboard/Optical Mouse, HEC Zephyr 750W PSU, Raidmax Aztec Case, WINXP32BIT

jbking

967 posts since
Aug 29, 2006

3. Dec 15, 2006 8:28 AM

in response to: mngjones

Keep in mind in that article the Intel CPUs used are "Core 2 Duo" which are the newest processors from Intel and not the generation or 2 back that the Pentium 4 and D are. Just something I think worth pointing out.

http://reviews.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/components/0,1000001694,39233885,00.htm does compare that AMD to Pentium Ds, which concluded with this note:
"AMD currently offers the most attractive dual core option. The entry level Athlon 64 X2 3800+ may cost $87 more than its Intel counterpart, the Pentium D 820, but the AMD chip is a much better performer. It also uses considerably less power. A typical Athlon 64 X2 3800+ system uses less than 100W, while an equivalent Intel-based system uses about 50 per cent more, so it will be easier to build a quiet office PC around an AMD dual core chip. The lower electricity cost could also be a significant factor in enterprises with several thousand PCs."

However, the article is from Nov. 2005 so it is a little old.

Regards,
JB

Home Desktop: VoodooPC Hexx. AMD Athlon FX-60, 2 GB RAM, 2 x 250 GB HD, 7900 GTX video card. Home Laptop: HP dv4000, Pentium M, 2 GB RAM, 80 GB HD, ATi 700 Radeon Mobility