Ampersand said:
I know this question might have been asked 1000 times, but I have a choice
between a Celeron 2.8 GHz and a Pentium 4 2.4 GHz. They're roughly the same
price so I'd like to know if they're equivalent or if the P4 is superior.
Thanks!
The answer to this depends a great deal on WHICH P4 2.4 and WHICH Celly
2.8 you mean...
There are three P4 2.4GHz versions:
- 2.4G (100MHz FSB, 512KB cache)
- 2.4B (133MHz FSB, 512KB cache)
- 2.4C (200MHz FSB, 512KB cache, hyperthreading)
And two Celly 2.8GHz:
- 2.8 (100MHz FSB, 128KB cache)
- D-335 (133MHz FSB, 256KB cache)
The Celeron-C 28x100 with 128KB cache is one of the most
disproportionate CPUs of all time, the huge 28x multiplier makes it
totally dependent on memory bandwidth and cache, two things it is
totally lacking in. This CPU is - to put it bluntly - crap.
However the Celeron-D-335 21x133 would quite probably give the slower
two 2,4GHz P4s a run for their money. Only the 2.4C, with its 200MHz FSB
would clearly trounce it.
However a lot depends on the motherboard you choose - if the memory
bandwidth the board can offer is greater than or equal to the FSB
bandwidth (i.e. 4200MB/s or greater), the Celeron-D is at its best.
However if less bandwidth is available (say with a single-channel PC3200
board) the P4 is favoured as its larger cache can compensate for the
greater latencies for the RAM. Ironically the reverse are usually
paired, P4 with the good boards and Celeron with the crappy ones.
Any new board would support the 200MHz FSB required by the P4-C and the
1.4V required for the Celeron-D. However if you have an older board bear
in mind these requirements might not be met...
