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AMD

The New Athlons 207

Posted by CmdrTaco from the stuff-to-read dept.
An anonymous reader linked us to an article about the new batch of athlons. The story talks about the new 1.1 ghz mobile athlon 4, and also good price cuts for the older ones. I'm thinking its time to build my game machine.
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The New Athlons More

The New Athlons

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  • Wow (Score:1, Offtopic)

    by Mister Transistor ( 259842 )
    Time for me to start building that Beowulf cluster I've always wanted...

    /fp?
  • these are mobile chips and a Duron... I thought gamers needed top speed... do you read the articles?

  • Compaq will be among the first vendors to launch systems based on the new processors, offering both new mobile processors in its Presario 1200 family of notebooks, AMD says.

    ...i thought compaq & intel were sleeping with each other. i guess i haven't been keeping up with the soap opera.

  • Why is it... (Score:3, Funny)

    by kurowski ( 11243 ) on Tuesday August 21, 2001 @09:24AM (#2202148) Homepage
    ...that we always see stuff like
    AMD is currently shipping the processors, and expects widespread availability in systems in conjunction with the launch of Microsoft's Windows XP operating system, which is set for Oct. 25, AMD says.
    and not
    AMD is currently shipping the processors, and expects widespread availability in systems in conjunction with the launch of Linux kernel 2.4.12, which is set for Oct. 25, AMD says.
    I mean, come on, AMD, what has Microsoft done for you lately? Linux users are your true fans, your true friends. Tell us what we want to hear!
    • As much as we hate it, Windoze is still the big cash cow. Many people will buy complete new systems just to run this bloated "new version" of the OS.
    • AMD is currently shipping the processors, and expects widespread availability in systems in conjunction with the launch of Linux kernel 2.4.12, which is set for Oct. 25, AMD says.

      AMD is currently shipping the processors, and expects widespread availability in systems in conjunction with the launch of Linux kernel 2.4.12, which is set for Oct. 25, Oct. 30, Nov. 5, Nov. 13, Nov. 20, Nov. 29, and Dec. 3, AMD says, as long as they can find a way to change Moore's Law accordingly.

      But seriously, the 2.4.12 release hardly warrants a new CPU. Something we tend to forget is that the hardware industry is just that, an industry and needs to make money. The release of Windows XP will, as much as we hate to see it, generate a short-term increase in PC sales. Can you honestly say that Joe Q. Public will go to his local best Buy to get that new Compaq because the 2.4.12 kernel was released?
    • Because there's no need for a CPU upgrade with each new kernel release. Even the latest 2.4 kernels run fine on my 486. There's no reason to upgrade my CPU to boot a new kernel. There is always a need to upgrade my entire system to load the latest Windoze. I still run Win95 on my Windoze box (yes, of course I have one, it's legacy support!) and the only reason I'd upgrade is if I REALLY wanted USB support, which I don't on the machine. The rest of the PC consumers are buying into the "I'm not 'experiencing' my PC enough so I'd better upgrade to Windoze XP" FUD. Then they need to buy all new hardware and they wonder if $700 more is really worth it to "experience" their computer the way MS says it should. AMD is just feeding off of Wintel. MS releases bloated code to make Intel happy, AMD releases faster, cheaper chips, and ends up being the winner. Nothing wrong with that. AMD is my friend.
      • Umm... "FUD" stands for "Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt". That's not exactly what I'd say they're spreading to consumers.

        I do have friends who actually want Windows XP... and are waiting to buy a computer until it comes out, no matter how much I try to convince them otherwise.

        It's not even because Microsoft says they need it.

        It's because PC Magazine says it's cool. And they listen to that crap, because since it's "PC Magazine", it must be official, and good, right?

        People don't realize that everything is biased towards making money. :)
    • I don't have the numbers but I bet even though the majority of Windows users use Intel, there are still more Windows machines with AMD processors than Linux machines.

  • No Kidding... (Score:2, Interesting)

    by jejones ( 115979 )
    Tell me about it. My current dilemma is whether to spring now for a SiS 735-based mobo, or to wait to see how the motherboards with the nForce chipset go...since the high-end nForce will be set to suck down data from two DDR DIMMs at a time (remember when you had to buy SIMMs in pairs? similar thing here...), it should pretty well obliterate the only real advantage the P4 has, namely raw bandwidth, leaving the P4 choking on the dust of a (considerably lower clock rate) Athlon.
    • DDR from Crucial is cheaper then any Pc133 Cas2 out there. SDR is now more expensive then DDR thanks to Crucial's free 2 day. Also, the nForce is more then 8mos away at the least, and when it comes out - expect it to be $250+ for a motherboard. Nvidia is way to ahead of the game on this one and the nForce is not gonna swim.

  • Good To See (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Flagbrew ( 471794 ) <jeff AT flagbrew DOT com> on Tuesday August 21, 2001 @09:27AM (#2202164) Homepage
    Unfortunately, the price of the cpu is not the issue in building a game box. Those geForce 3's are what squeezes your pocketbook dry.
    • sorry "squeeze"
    • The GeForce3 is listed for $290 on pricewatch [pricewatch.com], which is certainly better than the $600 it was originally.
    • I was able to buy one on ubid [ubid.com] for $260! Of course, it was part of a 200-something shipment, so everybody got them cheap.
    • Why get a GeForce 3 when you can have a Kyro II on your doorstep for $88 and it will play everything out there today more then fine and the GeForce 3 is going to play the next gen stuff (a la doom 3) @ 30FPS. ?! Buying a GeForce 3 is a very very bad idea when a Kyro II on a fast 1+GHz system is a very fast card. (Kyro II like VooDoo 5s have no T&L so they scale a lot better, see VooDoosource.net for more info on that).


    • After getting to use a flat-panel LCD at work, I won't use anything else. I can actually look at the screen for more than an hour without my eyes getting tired. No glare. No funky reflections. I'd trade a 21" monitor for a 17" flat-panel in a heartbeat.

      I'm spec'ing out a home computer. The 17" flat-panel is more than the rest of the machine put together...

  • About the new Athlons... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by cavemanf16 ( 303184 ) on Tuesday August 21, 2001 @09:27AM (#2202167) Homepage Journal
    My roommate and I were just talking about this subject last night. While new chips are coming out every three months it seems, there is other hardware limiting the PC and the all powerful gaming rig. It would behoove you Taco, to get a really sweet mobo, monitor, and case, and then get the cheapest CPU chip you can find. After all, 1 year from now, the 'new' Athlon 4's will be standard fair in the chip market, and probably 1/2 the price too.

    Besides, given AMD's track record for good chips (lately), and cheaply priced, that outperform the P4's, and with P4's hitting 2GHz soon, I wouldn't be surprised if a year from now you would be able to find those Athlon 4's for under $100...

    • As I have pointed out, the CPU (at least when going to AMD systems) is a lot more 'flexable'. If you get say the EpoX board right now (8kHA) and a Tbird 1.4ghz for $235 shipped, you are paying less then what you would have been paying for a P3 700 2 years ago at this time. Also, when you can get a 1ghz for $68 that can be easily oc'd to higher (Some AHJHAs are hitting 1.6 w/ air cooling), come a year from now when the Athlon 4s are @ 2ghz, you can pick one of those up for $150 and slap it in your box and ebay your 1.4 or 1ghz and still not totally eat the cost.
  • Well, not at last.. they have been coming down in price for a while now. This should not come as a surprise to anyone
  • I've used Intel CPU's all my life, and never had a problem with them. The offer the most Ghz, are stable, fast, and 100% compatible with common applications. Can do SMP and have the MMX.

    Why should I decide to go for AMD CPU's ?

    This is how your average joe thinks when walking into a computer store for his new computer.7

    How do you convince them, that AMD is "better" ?

    They don't care it gives 5 frames more in Quake, when you've already got 40+ @ 1024x768. Then only know the Pentium and MMX buzzwords etc.

    Besides, the new mobile Athlon is not *that* impressive, I'd definately go for a Transmeta CPU.

    • Re:Intel ? (Score:3, Insightful)

      by NetJunkie ( 56134 )
      AMD does all that and does it faster while being cheaper, that's why.

      Why pay $300 for a chip when you can get a faster one for $200? Just as compatible. Has the same MMX. They do SMP.
      • AMD does all that and does it faster while being cheaper, that's why.

        Why pay $300 for a chip when you can get a faster one for $200? Just as compatible. Has the same MMX. They do SMP.

        AMD just barely started doing 2-way SMP, so that is one area where there is absolutely no comparison. If you need SMP, you'll almost certainly want to stick w/ Intel for now.
        • Tyan is the one that did the board and chipset really. Tyan knows SMP. IF you want Dual Proc. SMP go AMD. Also, you can get 1U dual 1.2GHz PaloMinos. How kinky is that? Cheaper SMP solutions that dont have everything and the kitchen sink (as well as power 3d rendering support) are on the way.

          Besides, if you want real SMP - everyone knows you stay away from the x86

      • It's even better than that (Score:1, Interesting)

        by Anonymous Coward
        A quick check to Pricewatch.com shows the Athlon 1.4GHz at $107 and the equally performing Pentium 4 1.8GHz for $548 (Note - OEM prices without HS/F). For that same $548 I can get the Athlon 1.4, a $300 GeForce3 and four sticks of 256MB DDR PC2100 RAM.
    • Nice troll. One small point that i would like to make is that you can't do SMP with the P4s, but you can with the athlons.
    • "They don't care it gives 5 frames more in Quake, when you've already got 40+ @ 1024x768. Then only know the Pentium and MMX buzzwords etc."

      euh? As far as I know, Mr Joe knows the difference between 1GHZ and 1.1Ghz (more Hz = better). He probably also knows "Less Money = Good". Therefore all you need is a salesman who can tell Mr Joe that AMD is less $$ / Hz.

      There you go
    • How much is best buy paying you these days? The P4 may hold the MHz crown but that is due to its stretched pipeline. Performance wise, the Tbirds and Athlon4s smack the living crap out of P4s. Also, currently the Athlon4MPs are the fastest Dual Proc. system available (x86). Rummor has it that the new Tuts in Dual are pretty fast but thats just rummor. Also, it is not just q3 we are talking about, and if you are only getting 40 fps, you need to upgrade, but that is the old FPS argument that is tried and trite.

      Also, since the Athlon came out, no CPU jump has shown a MASSIVE performance bennefit. The P4s are actually slower the the P3s. The Athlon 4s are about 10% faster then the Tbirds. Unless its been 2 years since your last upgrade, dont expect much. Also, don't forget that with games like Doom comming out, your system right now is not getting pushed. It will come to the point where it will be.
    • This is how your average joe thinks when walking into a computer store for his new computer.

      The average joe I know is too computer illiterate to know that Intel has a "reputation" and go with the cheaper AMDs. I know that doesn't stand for most people, but those that I know also have me advising them to avoid the P4 at all costs (no pun intended :) )
    • As I explained to my father-in-law's friend last weekend that when he goes with Intel, he's paying for Blue Man Group advertisements and the "doong-ding-doong-Ding" sound.
      He understood then...
    • haha the average Joe is thinking all that? I don't know where you live, but the average Joe here is still buying HP's from Wal-Mart and could give a shit what CPU it has (assuming they even know what a CPU is) as long as it has lots of really cool software they'll never use and comes with a monitor (actually they call them "screens") and a FREE PRINTER! WOW!

    • Re:Intel ? (Score:1, Troll)

      by WasterDave ( 20047 )
      40?? 40 is nothing. I'm running 60-70 most of the time in 1024x and am constantly wondering if I'd be better off staying in 800x where it the video card rarely drops below 100fps and the monitor refreshes at 100Hz. 40 is too slow, by a long way.

      Ohhhhhh, sorry, just re-read the post. This was a generic troll. Is there a troll.pl knocking around I didn't know of?

      Dave

  • "I'm thinking its time to build my game machine."

    Will he be using Windows (at all, perhaps dual boot)? ( :

  • Must resist urge to be early adopter

    Couple a few of these in a cluster with HAL and you have a machine that will refuse to install winXP! I am sorry dave i can't let you do that.

  • A Gaming Machine? Which OS? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by FortKnox ( 169099 ) on Tuesday August 21, 2001 @09:32AM (#2202198) Homepage Journal
    I'm thinking its time to build my game machine.

    If you are talking the latest and greatest games for your "gaming machine", that more than likely means that its a Windows box. Now I admit that my gaming machine is a windows box, but can you, Taco???

    You always whine about quicktime movies that you can't play, yet you talk about playing "Black & White" (which I believe is only playable on a windows partition). Now, I know you have at least a small windows partition, but won't admit it. Will you admit taht you are going to have a windows gaming machine??
  • ... or Moron?

    Slashdot requires you to wait 20 seconds between hitting 'reply' and submitting a comment

    thus killing the +1 Funny one-liner.
  • On the Heise Newsticker [heise.de], they have a quick comparison of the new 1 GHz Duron with the older Durons and a 1 GHz Athlone. No need to dig out that old German dictionary since the main info is combined into a little table.

    Ciao

    M

  • Sounds hot! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Neorej ( 398404 ) <j.veen@k[ ]is.nl ['pn-' in gap]> on Tuesday August 21, 2001 @09:33AM (#2202206) Homepage
    I mean, my notebook has a 566 Mhz celeron, and that things gets so hot sometimes I fear great fears for the poor DVD's I insert into all that heat to be able to watch them whilst on the move.

    A 1.13 Ghz notebook will therefore probably become standard issue survival gear since you can work, e-mail, game and toast bread on it. I wouldn't put in a DVD though, it'll probably melt.

    Wicked.
    • The new Athlon4 and Morgan cores are on a smaller process and are designed to be not as hot, even tho AMD Procs are notorious for their heat.
  • ... a beowolf cluster of these?

  • economic slowdown (Score:1, Flamebait)

    by perdida ( 251676 )
    My goodness.. this is all like rearranging chairs on the Titanic. This is a serious global recession here, folks. Do you think athlon is going to be supporting these chips or continuing development in two years?

    The weakest companies in chip manufacture ar going to be weeded out. There will be a few competitors, or maybe only one, in each tech-industry subcategory.

    I would not say that Intel makes better technology, but it has better political-action-committee hires and better schmoozing skills, and will likely come under the protection of the United States when the real economic shcink-back begins and we revive the ancient pracitice of protecting our old industries.

    AMD, athlon, etc. are unlikely to merit this protection.

    Of course, those of you who change your technology several times a year at investments of hundreds of dollars a pop might not care. I've owned the same computer since I was 14 and not 'cause I am 1337 either, it's cause I've not been able to scrape up the cash for a new one that's worth buying.

    • Ya young whippersnapper! My first box was a _$3200_ XT with a 30 mb harddisk.

      Can't afford a new computer. Sheesh. A _$400_ emachine runs rings around my last computer.

      And you obviously haven't been around long enough to notice that AMD's been around through a few 'recessions'.

      There'll always be room for a 'Pepsi'. The only question I have is: I can't tell if that'd be Intel or AMD...

      Whelp, there goes the last of my karma.
    • LOL, I don't think you understand... Intel may have better ass-kissing skills, but they're at the low end of the dock right now. Pound for pound their processors can't kick out the power.

      Also, AMD has been around for just as long. Never seen an AMD 386/20, I take it? Or AMD imbedded processors and other chipsets? I think they have the guile to weather the storm.

    • Re:economic slowdown (Score:3, Insightful)

      by baptiste ( 256004 )
      Oh please - so are you sayign AMD is going to be 'weeded out' as you say? Hardly. Not only are they grabbing market share from INtel with superior products, they are also on of the TOP producers of Flash memory - that's the cash cow that is helping keep Athlon development going. So I wouldn't count out AMD just yet. Its pretty impressive for a company like AMD to grab SIGNIFICANT market share from INtel during terrible economic times. Thats a big accomplishment and shows that the Athlon is a seriosu competitor and that it IS being purchased by people. Its not going to happen overnight, but AMD is here to stay and while they may never unseat Intel as CPU king, they are here for the long run to help keep Intel on their toes.
      • AMD's already underwater on profits. Intel just needs to hold AMD's head under while it floats just above breakeven, and AMD will drown. Flash won't save AMD (Intel makes flash too; they both do well at it) if Intel can make its performance targets on the P4 roadmap.

        In a week the P4-2GHz will be out. They've already made noises about stepping to 6GHz in fab lines under construction, and someone let slip that they think the P4 design can reach 10GHz. P4 is going to be around for a very long time. AMD has nothing like that kind of roadmap; they have cute things like nForce or whatever it's called. They are broadening with no plan for going up.

        AMD doesn't have the capital to keep up with Intel in a real footrace. They only grabbed market share because Intel made a strategic error in committing itself to RDRAM instead of making it just a high-high-end option. With the new 845 chipset (SDRAM now, DDR in the near future) and some flanking help by VIA (DDR chipset now) Intel is clearly back in the driver's seat.

        You're right about how they "help keep Intel on their toes". AMD's actions are benefitting the consumer in a gigantic way. Prices are clearly moving to our benefit, and the technology choices (SDRAM, DDR-SDRAM, RDRAM, motherboards, overclocking) are multiplying. Intel is adopting all of these, giving AMD no niche it can dominate for any length of time.

        At some point, AMD's pocketbook is going to have to give. Unless they can be bought by some giant (and it could be anyone from Tyco to Texas Instruments to Warren Buffett) they will be in debt with no net income.

        --Blair

        P.S. The CPU/chipset stuff should all be pretty fresh at www.tomshardware.com [tomshardware.com] [thanks for repeating that].
        • hehe I love how people "let things slip" like that. It's probably bs. Just like someone from Lucent let it "slip" that they might be having to file bankruptcy, then now suddenly ISPs find out that it's going to cost them thousands of $'s in hardware and software upgrades and maintenance contracts to upgrade to v.92. I think someone just let it slip so people would think they were in such bad shape they had to start charging for things that have been free for years by all the companies they've gobbled up.
    • Serious global Recession ?

      In Australia our economy is buoyant and moving ahead, the eruopean economy is stable as are most asian ones - the only one in trouble is the US after the 'throw cash at any moron with a .com in his business plan feeding frenzy' that saw some of the dumbest investment decisions ever.

      AMD are one of the strongest companies - they are second only to Intel - if anyone would have to worry it would be Transmeta or the many many chipset and board manufacturers although at the prices PC components are now it could be argued that the PC is now firmly a mass market consumer product.

      Sure - being steel and suchlike - the ones that make money - the problem with tech is that so many people were gullible enough to piss money up a wall on ideas like outpost.com or pets.com etc - replacing something you do at a store with something you do online isnt guaranteed to work (and dont get me started in razorfish or some of the 'gaming' companies)

      AMD have been around as long as intel - American Micro Devices - check out your history - and BTW Athlon is a product name NOT a company (just a note)

      I suspect that you are only 15 now so its not that bad (note - opinion only im not flaming). PC's are cheap at the moment - get out and see what new technology can do for you.

      And to close and offer some help - i used to be a Journalist (A Graded - worked on daily papers) and if this is writing then you need to study.

      Check your facts
      Offer something to back up claims
      Check history of companies commenting on

      Just trying to help you man.

  • System Prices are so cheap right now (Score:5, Informative)

    by rosewood ( 99925 ) <rosewood@ c h a t.ru> on Tuesday August 21, 2001 @09:35AM (#2202218) Homepage Journal
    Building a new box from scratch right now is stupid cheap...

    CPU Athlon 1.4 GHZ $120.00
    Motherboard Epox 8KHA $115.00
    Memory 256 Megs PC2100 Cas2 $37.79
    Hard Drive IBM 60GXP 40 GB 7200RPM $112.00
    CDRW 16x10x40x $87.00
    DVD 16x $49.00
    Video Kyro II $88.00
    NIC NetGear $10.00
    Sound SbLive Value $43.00
    Floppy Generic $10.00
    Case Fong Kai FK-603 $90.00
    Cooling Vanteck CKK $31
    Price* $792.79
    • don't forget shipping from all those cocks who advertise superlow prices on pricewatch and hit you with $20 shipping per item:

      20*12=$240 shipping

      So the total is a little over 1$k

    • I just bought a Kyro II and had to take it back because it *does not* work in Linux/X11. The SbLive is still fscked up as far as Linux Drivers are concerned. DVD *still* doesn't work in Linux, so forget that one. Get a GForce 2 or 3, and a SB256/512PCI works great (and just as cheap or cheaper).
      • My SBLive works in linux, it's the older SBLive Value, but they use the same chipset. What problems have you been having?

        DVD drives work in linux now, older kernels that do not have DVD support will see a DVD-ROM drive as a CD-ROM drive.

        There are still problems with playing CSS encypted DVD movies on linux, but those are being worked on, and there's a variaty of linux DVD players now.

        It's worth noteing that the problems with CSS encypted movies are more about leagel issuses than technical issuses. The OpenDVD.org site [opendvd.org] has more infomation.
    • Something that has SCSI u160 and dual chips...

      CPU Athlon MP 1.2GHZ $185
      Motherboard Tyan S2510 $495
      Memory 256 megs PC21000 ECC $57
      Hard Drive IBM 18g SCSI Ultra160 $400
      CDRW 16x10x40x $87.00
      DVD 16x $49.00
      ELSA GLADIAC 920 $359.00
      Sound SbLive Value $43.00
      Floppy Generic $10.00
      Case SUPERMICRO CSE-044 $209.00
      Cooling Vanteck CKK $31
      Price* $2333
      • The AC pointed out some serious flays with this system idea. Also, if you have that Tyan board get two cpus and tool coolers obviously. Also, get more then just one SCSI drive if you are going for it. Also since you are on SCSI get SCSI CDRW and DVD so that increases the price.

  • Tomshardwarepage.COM Conclusion (Score:4, Informative)

    by sn0wdude ( 317116 ) on Tuesday August 21, 2001 @09:38AM (#2202228)
    This is what Tom says about the new CPU's:

    "AMD's newly released Athlon 1400/266 is able to beat Intel's Pentium 4 1.7 GHz in a lot of benchmarks. The Intel processor performs better in Internet content creation software and some new 3D-games. Athlon can leave Pentium 4 far behind in 3D-rendering software, because of its superior FPU-performance.

    Except for 3D-rendering software, Athlon 1400 and Pentium 4 1.7 GHz are pretty much neck on neck. However, the lower price tag of Athlon 1400/266 is clearly making it the more attractive product. It is also more versatile, as you can find inexpensive (though lower performing) PC133 platforms as well as DDR-motherboards for it, while Pentium 4 is still only supported by Intel850 platforms that require the expensive RDRAM memory. "

    The whole article is here:

    http://www.tomshardware.com/cpu/01q2/010608/athl on 1400-17.html
  • Isn't competition great? We get better products for a lower cost. My question is, where is transmetta and their power-saving cruscoe chip in all of this. I though they would have a higher impact on the portable market. They certainly can't complete against the Athlon 4 or the Intel equivalent, they just don't have the resources. Who will win the chip wars? I'm taking bets from 9 to 5. Maximum bet of $1000 dollars and minumum of $2. We will give odds. 25:1 Transmeta, 3:1 AMD and 2:1 Intel.
  • My Duron 750 is not even 6 months old and is already deprecated, I must really resist the temptation to buy a Giga TBird, because I know that the performance would not be noticable, but then again, everyone seems to have 1GHz+ processors these days. Oh well, I'll just lie about it.
    • I don't see what the fuss is. I have an old K6-2 533 and it runs like a beauty. The only realy program I've really had problems with is Black and White. My processor is simply not fast enough once you get past the first few levels. I usually don't buy a new computer until the Mhz quadruples. Their is just no need except for bragging rights and those who must be able to play the absolutely newest games.
  • AMD is currently shipping the processors, and expects widespread availability in systems in conjunction with the launch of Microsoft's Windows XP operating system, which is set for Oct. 25, AMD says.

    This stuff drives me Schizo. I like the idea of better processors for games etc.

    But I am getting tired of propping up the bloated performance and software design practices of certain very big software software companies.

    Makes me want to bang my head against a wall.

    - - -
    Radio Free Nation [radiofreenation.com]
    is a news site based on Slash Code
    "If You have a Story, We have a Soap Box"
    - - -


    • But I am getting tired of propping up the bloated performance and software design practices of certain very big software software companies.


      Ah, but you are forgetting that their bloat and the faster processors to cope with that means that we can compile our freshly downloaded kernels/glibc/gcc[1] faster than ever before! :)

      [damn, and just _after_ I'd bought that new machine... *sigh*]

      [1] gcc 3.0.1 is out, btw. See your nearest mirrors for details.
    • I can't help but think (hope) that someday in the not so distant future this will backfire on MS. Now that we have all this extra hardware power would be the perfect time for someone to come up with an OS that isn't bloated. It wouldn't be easy, but with the right marketing scheme and support from major software vendors it could be done.
  • Just look at PS1. It's still being actively developed on, and it was launched around '95 or so. Now let's see how many computers from 95 that can run recent games.

    Yep. You'll get MUCH more gaming for your bucks if you get yourself a console. I know it's hurting our gaming pride, but it's really dumb to upgrade your computer to play games. Get a PS2, and save 500 bucks when you get a new PC (lower specs).

    • Now let's see how many computers from 95 that can run recent games.


      They would if the recent games used crappy 5 year old graphics.

      How many new PS1 games do you see that have significantly better sound, graphics & videos the the ones released 6 years ago?
    • Yep. You'll get MUCH more gaming for your bucks if you get yourself a console. I know it's hurting our gaming pride, but it's really dumb to upgrade your computer to play games.

      Yeah....except the PC games have more strategy (at least real-time strategy) games then consoles, and more kinda odd ball games (theme park simulator anyone? -- I don't think that is on any consoles, but I could be wrong).

      It also at least use to be the case that PCs had better force feedback stuff (the DreamCast's idea of force feedback is a shaker from a pager).

      Now if "all" I wanted was some Kick-Fu games (and there is nothing wrong with that -- that's why I have a DreamCast!), and a few gun games, a console makes sense. If I want Civ-III then a console isn't so hot.

  • Here are some early benches of the Morgan based Duron:

    http://www.hexus.net/review.php?review=211 [hexus.net]

    It seems that the new core and its new extensions puts it far ahead of the Spitfire core and nearly up to par with the current Thunderbirds. It will be interesting seeing durons compared to P4s in the near future :)

  • Devo machine...it's all about compile time.

    (Get yourself a good disk too)

  • I decided against the earlier Athlons because of their extreme power requirements and heat output.


    They required an AMD Certified power supply, and the heat given off required huge heatsinks, CPU fan, case fans, etc. With all the cooling, it would make enough noise to drown out my MP3's. And, when my apartment hits the mid 90's on those hot summer days, I would not be confident in one of these staying up.


    When they shrink the die size, why don't they also release some of the lower clock speeds? Like an 800MHz chip that would only need passive cooling, and a 250W power supply.. Yes, I could underclock one of the new ones. But, I want one that's tested & confirmed to work with passive cooling.

    • FYI, it is hard pressed to find a PSU that is not AMD OK. Even DEER makes AMD okay PSUs. As for cooling, you can get $20 coolers from 2CoolTek that will easily keep a sub 1.2ghz Tbird (yet alone Palomino) cool enough in a 90F environment.
      • Nope they dont run cooler - i would love to upgrade my PC to an athlon but living in QLD in australia i have summer daytime temps of 40 degrees celsius to deal with - my brother runs a duron 950 and this hits 65 celsius just running windows - he has 4 fans and a peltier on his chip and this is still the case.

        The Intel celeron 900 runs at 38 degrees - this is much cooler and in comparison between mine and his i dont see a difference in performance times (not neither of us waste money so we are not into overclocking systems)

        Then add in a 64mb Nvidia card, burners, hdd etc etc and think about it - i have seen stats that show athlons under load hittin 100+ celsius, thats too hot.

        Pity as i would love to dump intel - the P4 is a shitheap (DDR ram my butt)
    • When they shrink the die size, why don't they also release some of the lower clock speeds? Like an 800MHz chip that would only need passive cooling, and a 250W power supply.. Yes, I could underclock one of the new ones. But, I want one that's tested & confirmed to work with passive cooling.

      I'll second that. I've really been wanting to build a quiet, low-heat system, but have been hesitant to use a chip like the Via C3 [cpuscorecard.com]. Having a duron/athlon with these characteristcs would be great. Who needs a 1.4 GHz chip? Give me a quiet and cool one at 700 MHz.

  • Price Cuts (Score:2, Interesting)

    by envisionary ( 238020 )
    The article mentions forthcoming price cuts by Intel. Here [tomshardware.com] is some info on that, describing dollar values as well as the justification for it - the demo of the Pentium IV 2GHz.
  • can anyone recommend a (preferably UK based) source of cases with power/ reset switches(and even better CD drive) which can't easily be accessed by a 14 month old son who is fascinated by all the bright lights?

    i.e. power and reset behind either a sliding or locking door.

  • Intel, wake up... Someone's knocking on your door.

    http://www.anandtech.com/cpu/showdoc.html?i=1515
    http://www.tomshardware.com/cpu/01q3/010821/index. html
    http://www.sharkyextreme.com/news.shtml#1010821:09 35

    Oh, and by the way... Happy birthday, Athlon.

    http://arstechnica.infopop.net/OpenTopic/page?q=Y& a=tpc&s=50009562&f=77909774&m=5690986652

  • Here [anandtech.com] posted today. Basically the SiS 735 wins:

    The real beauty of the 735 isn't its performance, especially since you'll find it quite difficult to notice a performance difference (in most cases) between it and the 760/KT266. No, the real beauty of the 735 is its price. The ECS board we used in this review retails for less than $80. We have seen it places for as low as $65 plus shipping. This makes the board and the platform the perfect companion for the very low cost Duron and Athlon processors. For less than $200 you can easily upgrade your system to a Duron on a SiS 735 board with DDR SDRAM courtesy of the very aggressive pricing from AMD, SiS and DDR SDRAM manufacturers such as Crucial.
  • These announcements usually turn into AMD/Intel bickering. I have lately been siding with AMD, and I figured I'd summarize the reasons for disliking Intel here:

    -CPU ID

    -False advertising (speed up the internet my arse)

    -Forcing a proprietary memory standard on us

    -Three different socket standards in the last year

    -Exploiting the consumers lack of knowledge, pushing the Ghz over performance

    Here in norway, the P4 1.8 costs NOK 3200, more than twice the price of the better performing Athlon 1.4 at NOK 1500.

    In addition we have all the problems with the Camino chipset and the botched P3 1.13 launch

    Did I miss anything?

    What reasons do we have to dislike AMD lately?

    -Tharald
  • Anonymous person?? what happened to anonymous COWARDS?
  • I built an AMD system for gaming only to discover that the chipset for my motherboard was fundamentally incompatible with AGP. After screwing around with AGP paging size, PCI latency, 4-in-1 drivers, and all the rest, I gave up and bought a (slower) P4 system.


    I recommend Asus motherboards if you go AMD-- my research indicated that they have the fewest problems, but expect to upgrade your drivers immediately after installing your OS, or things will crash.


    -m

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