How Fast Is Amd?

[SiNi*F8]

I read somewhere, that if it's an Athlon 1700, it's supposed to be the equivelant of a Pentium which runs at 1.7 ghz, don't hold me to that though.

[El_Jefe]

Originally posted by SiNi*F8@2 March 2003 - 20:50
I read somewhere, that if it's an Athlon 1700, it's supposed to be the equivelant of a Pentium which runs at 1.7 ghz, don't hold me to that though.

That's what AMD wanted people to believe, but benchmark scores over the past couple of years have proven them wrong. The faster clock speeds increase performance in almost all areas with the exception of a couple of the tests.

Even AMD latest attempt to compete, the Barton chip(Athlon 3000+) scores lower in most areas of benchmark testing than the latest Pentium 4.
The combination of Intel's faster clock speeds and bus speeds seem to pretty much out do their AMD counterpart.

[Wizzandabe]

a 1.7 when insatlled with a os will probaly go to abou a 1.5 or 1.4 fast enough.

[TRshady]

Thanks everyone, I thought 1.4 ghz was about right for a 1.7xp athlon.

[J'Pol]

Originally posted by TRshady@2 March 2003 - 13:21
Thanks everyone, I thought 1.4 ghz was about right for a 1.7xp athlon.

It is the + series of Athlon processors which do not reflect the actual clock speed.

For example the Athlon XP 1700+ actually runs at 1436 (or thereabouts) The reason for using Athlons are that for broadly equivelant specs they are cheaper. There are other factors to consider, e.g. the instruction set and the amount of cache. If your friend wants it mostly for games then I believe the P4 is best. I use an Athlon XP (but I don't play big graphicy games). I was told it was designed with Win XP in mind, but that's probably pi$h, I'm very gullible.

However please bear in mind that a balanced system is more important. Particularly a good amount of ram and graphics card (for your gamer friend). No point in a P4 2500 with 128Mb ram and a 32Mb graphics card.

[Lamsey]

Mid-range Athlon XPs are as good as their Pentium 4 counterparts, so an athlon xp 1700+ is not noticeably different from a P4 1.7 GHz.

However, with higher-end processors the AMD ratings are a little generous to themselves, so an Athlon XP 3000+ only really compares well to a P4 2.8 GHz.

To get the best unbiased info, check Tom's Hardware Guide.


Oh, and:

bear in mind that a balanced system is more important.

Damn right! - and the most important part of your system is the motherboard. Everything plugs in to it, so your processor, RAM, etc. are only as good as your mainboard.
Right now, I'd recommend the Asus A7N8X as a really kick-ass board.

[Nobody1234]

Dollar vs. speed AMD is gives you more for your money. Check out the 2200+ it offers a lot for your money right now.

To get the best unbiased info, check Tom's Hardware Guide.

I agree with Lamsey on this one... They have all sorts of test results there.