Atomic Systems

Okay chaps

I'm after a new PC and the final decision has come down to two virtually identical spec PC's apart from the processor.

So, it's a toss up between:

Advent 3518
Intel Pentium 4 HT with a clock speed of 3.2Mhz

Advent 3618
AMD Athalon 64 3200+ with a clock speed of 2GHz, However Athalon quote 3.2MHz performance and it's a 64 bit processor (Makes no real difference without a 64 bit version of windows)

The Intel machine is £120 more, But comes with 1024Mb of memory compared to the AMD machines 512mb.

All other specs are identical.

So, Which one shall it be?

ForburyLion wrote:Okay chaps

I'm after a new PC and the final decision has come down to two virtually identical spec PC's apart from the processor.

So, it's a toss up between:

Advent 3518
Intel Pentium 4 HT with a clock speed of 3.2Mhz

Advent 3618
AMD Athalon 64 3200+ with a clock speed of 2GHz, However Athalon quote 3.2MHz performance and it's a 64 bit processor (Makes no real difference without a 64 bit version of windows)


The Intel machine is £120 more, But comes with 1024Mb of memory compared to the AMD machines 512mb.

All other specs are identical.

So, Which one shall it be?

Although I have a machine with and AMD chip I would go for the spec with the most memnory it will have a bearing on system performance and MSTS itself. I expect there wil lbe people to tell you otherwise but in the main there will be little noticeable difference between the processor performance.

Buy the AMD one and get another 512Mb stick of memory. It'll cost you a lot less than £100.

http://www.dabs.com/uk/templates/Channe ... &catid=197

Intel's P4 is 3.2Mhz and costs $120 more than a 2Ghz?

What about the graphics cards? If you're looking to play MSTS at a decent resolution and frame rate it is crucial to make sure that you get a good one. To be honest, if you want a PC which is future-proof and capable of running MSTS 2 (when it finally comes out) at a decent frame rate, I'd make sure it has a decent card in it, and if possible, avoid MX standard cards.

Intel...

It's got a 250mb Gefore fx 5200 (I think) oh and 320GB of hard disk space

I'll be upgrading the memory to 1Gb if I go for the AMD, It's just deciding which processor!

Clock speeds of 3.2Ghz for the Intel and 2Ghz for the AMD probably don't tell the whole story with regards to performance.

If they're about the same I think I'll go for the AMD as it's a 64 bit processor.

AMD processors do run faster than Pentiums of the same speed due to the chip architecture, but they can be very troublesome and need significantly more cooling than a P4. I have a 1.8ghz athlon - equivalent to 2.4 ghz P4 but it needed 5 cooling fans to keep it on for more than 10 minutes.

I would echo the other comments about ram and graphics cards. Go for the most you can afford, if necessary at the expense of a slightly slower cpu chip.

The reason that amd processors say 2400+ for example when the true speed id 2050mHz (I think) is that intel processors do not run as fast as they claim. For example a 2.4 gHz Pentium will not run anyway as fast as an amd that has a true speed 2.4 gHz.I have found that having a top spec graffix card in a agp slot will speed up a machine far greater than having lots of memory. Iam using 512Mb at the moment and I have never run out of memory. Maybe you could get a discount by buying the amd machine without the graffix card and putting the saving with the £120 to buy a realy top spec graffix card
Cheers JIM

Hmm, I have a 1.1Gz Athalon at the moment and it's the noisiest machine I've ever used!

If the Intel can run quieter (Less fans) I think it'll win!

If quiet running is important to you have you thought of getting a Shuttle from TCO computers? (see link on left of front page). The current spec is equivalent to what you are discussing.

Did you know that advent is the trade name for pc world???
yuk!
"I can see clearly now the pc is gone!"

ForburyLion,

The spec you've just described sounds very nice, and if you're wanting a PC which works "Out of the box" then I think you're onto a winner. I had the misfortune of working for PC World Tech Support, and Advent & Median were generally the most reliable and certainly the best spec/quality PCs they sold. All the components used were pretty much standard, none of this pattern mobo/case rubbish, and everything seems pretty upgradable. Stay clear of Packard Bell and HP PCs by all means. The myth used by PCW, that Packard Bell and Hewlett Packard PCs are good quality, is a load of rubbish. The major selling point PCW use when selling these overpriced and incompetantly manufactured and configured PCs is that they are made by "Big name" manufacturers.

The only reservation I do have about the PC, which isn't major, is the graphics card. The Geforce FX 5200 is the budget bottom end FX card. It is actually slower than some cards in the Geforce 4 range. Not that this is really an issue, because its' very easy to change a graphics card at a later date.

ForburyLion, can I suggest that you take a look at page 31 of the current issue of ComputerActive at the Medion Titanium 8080 XL.

This PC has received their highest award, the only problem is that it does not come with a monitor. But the price of £850 more than makes up for it.

Take a look at your local ALDI store for more details.

If I was looking for a new ready built machine at the moment I would go for that.

I have no connection with ALDI or ComputerActive.

Tony.

I'm not after a monitor, Just a PC base station (and could do with some speakers).... Will have a browse in WH Smiths on the way home.

I just want something that can run MSTS (and hopefully MSTS2) at full wack, Has a DVD RW, At least one firewire port and preferably with usb/firewire ports on the front where they can easilly be accessed.

Big hard drive would be an advantage!