On 2 Nov 2005 07:26:00 -0800, "Random Person"
Ive seen some articles in the past where they claim a boost from 64
bits but I dont know any 64 bit apps frankly for home use. Maybe there
are some but I havent heard of any. Also as everyone keeps complaining
about they cant find drivers for many of their peripherals like
printers etc for the 64 bit win OS.
The main reason people are buying 64 bit CPUs is , its the current gen
of CPUs and there are overall design improvements with the new gen
CPUs , well at least AMDs that make it a better CPU rather than the 64
bit feature at the moment.
Right now the dual core feature seems like it might be more of a
benefit for some users and the prices are really coming down. Someone
just posted a $299 price for the AMD X2 3800 recently. Just a few
months ago when it came out it was around 380 I think then 350 and
there was a current price cut on the CPUs so who knows maybe low 300s
maybe the new price when things settle down. Im looking for 249 for X2
3800 AMDs lowest cost dual core.
And its not just the features of the CPU itself. Its the fact the
interface - socket 939 for the AMDs and the 775 for Intels etc now are
used for newer chipsets which use PCI express sockets. Also if you are
talking about the older but still newer than socket A and really old
INTEL sockets ---- the newer motherboards use SATA HD connections etc.
None of these by themselves offer any big performance advantages but
some HD options like the Raptors need SATA though you could add a
controller I suppose. Also AGP will probably fall in popularity maybe
next year or so.
BTW, would you agree that the most cost effective CPU at the moment is
a highly overclocked Duron 1600?
I cant even remember Duron specs but most people moved on to the
Bartons duing the era of Athlon 32 bit XPs. Those are still quite
decent though Xbit labs says they stopped making socket A chips a
month or two ago and the supply seems like its drying up but Im not
100 per cent sure all thats true. Even the 754 ---some types seem to
be drying up a little. Last time I looked I still saw some OEM
versions of the mobile 512 cache XP athlons 32 bit 2400 and higher.
The Bartons were super popular as were te mobile versions cause they
almost were guaranteed to easily hit 3200 if you merely set the FSB to
200 and were as low as 70-80 bucks for a retail version but after that
they actually started going up in price as they started phasing them
out.
And nowadays ---- theres the 3100 sempron 64 bits that are said to OC
a lot and the 939 socket AMDs are said to OC very well and the prices
of 939 stuff as well as 754 sockets if you buy a refurb or one of the
cheaper boards and a sempron can really be low. Sometimes it can rival
or even beat a socket A price if you find the right sale. Example -
for me this is a once a lifetime probably deal for me especially
considering where I live but I got a Compaq 754 socket , 3200 AMD 64
with 40 gig sata drive and CDRW , 6in 1 reader with built in graphics
for $109.
If I wanted a super low cost system now --- I would try to find a
killer deal on a 754 socket AMD and look up some articles on OCing
capability of various low end 754 semprons like the 3100 vs the cost
of a 939 low end board with hopefully a new sempron 3100 for the 939
socket if it ever comes out. And compare both to the cost of a socket
A with a 2400 mobile or some other easily OCed barton/512 cache socket
A. I wouldnt get the socket A unless it was substantially cheaper
than the other alternatives and I wouldnt get a 754 unless it was
substantially cheaper than a socket 939.
