P4 vs AMD64
 

From the thread title you might've guessed the jist of this post.

I'm going to build a computer in the near future and need some advice on which would be better. I am a gamer and a net surfer; I have no need for encoding power. And cooling will not be a problem; I'm probably going to buy an Alpha/Swiftech/Thermalright HSF.

The computer is going to be under 1000 USD so please don't demand that I go for dual processors. :p

All I want is your opinion of which is better and why. Thanks:)

If you're going for gaming, I suggest your first goal would be a good/very good videocard. After that, you need a well-balanced system - mainboard, processor, (plenty of) memory.

It all boils down to what you're going to get for that 1000 dollars. Are you going for a whole system? Do you need a CRT or TFT monitor too? Do you have things from an older computer you'll be putting in? Oh, and what games will you be playing?

If you put everything together, a P4 and an athlon64 will probably be comparable in price and performance. People say athlons are better for gaming, but usually the speed there is determined by the videocard (9800 pro or more) and memory (1 gig is good).

1 gig of PC3500 memory (Geil CAS 2.5) and a 9800PRO. Don't need a monitor. Going to be getting an MSI (AMD) or A-bit (P4) motherboard.
HL2, Doom3, all the new stuff.

Athlon 64 3200+ sounds about right. For gaming, they're the better deal. Pentium 4's are better for encoding and media creation, simply because of their higher clock speed. When it comes to gaming, Athlon 64's are the way to go.

If you're gonna overclock, that RAM will do good, but if you're not gonna OC, it's a waste. A Radeon 9800 Pro will kick some ass!

-Lasereth

I'm gonna OC some; I was initially gonna get some PC4000 RAM, but ran into the problem that it was about 200 USD for 1 gig. I'll crank the FSB up a little bit to squeeze out some extra power. And now I think I will go with the AMD.

somewhat on topic.. what would be a good heatsink for an amd64 3200+

Thermaltake Silent Boost. Has been tested by multiple sites as being cooler than a SLK-900 with a Tornado fan. It's also "silent," just as the name implies. Way quieter than my Volcano 9+ at medium setting.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...106-036&depa=0

-Lasereth