Which system should I choose?

[Jack]

Hello,
I need to choose between these 2 systems:
1.
comes with an Athlon 64 X2 5000+ 2.6GHz dual core processor, 1GB of DDR2
RAM, and a 320GB SATA II hard drive
and Vista Home Premium (32 bit)

2.
comes with Pentium 4 CPU, 3.2 GHz, 2GB of DDR2 RAM, and a 320GB SATA II hard
drive and Vista Home Premium (32 bit)

The real difference is only the CPU and RAM size.

Which system to choose and why?
Thanks,
Jack

 

[Dustin Harper]

If the second option is a Core 2 Duo then the second one hands down. If it
is just a plain P4, non-dual core, I'd go for the first one and upgrade to 2
GB of RAM when you can.

 

[Cari \(MS-MVP\)]

I'd agree with Dustin!

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

An AMD dual core blows the doors off of a Pentium 4 any day. Add more ram
and mix.

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

I meant to add that the AMD system will run a lot cooler as well.

 

[JW]

Another very important criteria is what make and model of graphics cards are
in the systems.
And certainly a 2 core 64 bit processor is better to have then a single core
32 bit processor so you can upgrade to Vista 64 bit in the future.

 

[Dwarf]

Hi Jack,

I would opt for your first option and go with the Athlon 64 X2. As well as
running slower than the Pentium 4 (yet giving the same or greater
performance), they also run cooler and consume less power. AMD processors
have another advantage in that they are, or have been in the past, cheaper
than the equivalent Intel model. Another advantage lies with the chip
architecture and the way that system RAM is accessed. With the Pentium 4, all
information between the processor and the rest of the system flows through
the system bus. This includes memory as well as graphics and other system
data. With the Athlon 64, however, the memory controller is built-in to the
processor. This means that the processor can communicate directly to the
memory over a dedicated bus without this data having to share the system bus.
Because there isn't the volume of traffic needed on the system bus it doesn't
need to run as fast and yet it can still out-perform the equivalent Pentium 4
system. However, I would recommend that you use 2GB of RAM and that you use
dual-channel mode for the best performance.
Dwarf

 

[Dustin Harper]

Although I think Intel is a better CPU, the P4 Prescotts weren't exactly the
greatest. In this case, the AMD would be the better option. AMD makes great
CPU's, but with the Core2Duo and Quad's, the Intel's are better performing
for the price.

What horror stories are you talking about, anyway? The Phenom recall? I run
a P4 3.0 (Prescott!) and an AMD Athlon 64 4400+. Both run with zero
problems. I prefer the AMD in this case. But, a Core2Duo wipes out the AMD
CPU's.

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

I run the same exact cpus as Dustin mentions and the Prescott is doing
utility duty in the basement while the AMD 4400+ is my favorite gaming and
testing box. Only my Q6600 quadcore beats it (does so handily, however).

 

[GP]

Well, it depends on what you need it for. Other than that, I would go for the
second one if you haven't already done so.