AMD setup

[Lloydr]

ok this is a pretty stupid question but i'm curious about somethin.....a buddy of mine works at a computer warehouse and can get me a AMD Athlon XP system for a low price.....i need to know what is the downfalls of this setup and anything that just using an intel setup which is my favorite all around would fix...the system has: AMD Athlon XP 2000+ (1.67ghz) processor, 512mb ddr pc2100 ram, VIA KM266 chipset, S3 prosavage8 video card(integrated....AGHHH), and a few fancy features i don't care about since i have parts laying around that i can use if needed(dvd-rom, cd-rw, large hdd, etc.)...compared to a something like a 1.6ghz p4(ddr pc2100) and a 2.0ghz p4(ddr pc2100)on either SiS650/961 or intel i845 chipsets....or maybe something faster.....whats the statz look like....and before hand, any issues gonna be there for Linux Redhat 7.3 Valhalla with the chipset, cpu, or gpu? thanx in advance

[ July 02, 2002: Message edited by: RedHat SeaWolf ]

[choasforages]

go with the amd system. it will probably end up being faster then the intel one. the xp2000 is a p-rating/*i hate those fucking things*/ a p-rating is what intel processer it would be as fast. and as long as it has an agp slot, you don't need to use the built in video. and you won't be benifiting the wintel movement/*i think intel has dealings with microsoft*/

[badkarma]

the only intel p4 which beats an AMD is the 2.4/2.6 Ghz ... which is insanely expensive.
For me choosing between intel/AMD is no choice, AMD wins every single time (my home is completely intel free    )

edit:

avoid the integrated videocard at *all* costs though

[ July 02, 2002: Message edited by: BadKarma ]

[Lloydr]

i know to avoid the integrated video....it has an agp slot for upgrade and i'm gonna use it too lol.....looking for a good priced nVidia Geforce...somewhere between the geforce256-geforce2 Ultra....the GF2 MX lineup is lookin pretty nice for the price....any recommendations? l8r

[Sleeping Dog]

The last dozen or so machines that I have built have been AMD based.  I have only had one negative experience with their processors and that was solved by the supplier.

If you ever decide to upgrade to a dual-processor system, AMD is the only way to go.  Their MP architecture gives 80-90% increase in performance when a second processor is added as opposed to Intel only providing a 30-40% increase.

You may want to check out the Matrox 550 video card.  They run about $100 and really provide a lot of bang for the buck.  It comes with dongles and adapters for a variety of setups including dual head, s-video, etc. etc.  I have put that card in the last three systems that I have built for my clients and everyone seems to really like it.

Happy 4th to all.

Sleeping Dog

[TheQuirk]

the P4A's are faster then the Athlons in graphics.

Of course, they cost way more, and the difference isn't THAT big.

[Master of Reality]

whats so bad about integrated video? I have integrated video and it doesnt seem too bad... maybe thats just because i cant afford a better one.

[Lloydr]

well the 2 systems i can get off a buddy for smame price goes like this:
system 1) Pentium 4 1.6ghz 256kb L2 cache, SiS 650/961 chipset w/ SiS Real256 intergrated graphics, 256mb DDR PC2100 ram, 60gb hdd,and cd-rw drive(don't matter for me...got plenty)

system 2) AMD Athlon XP 2000+ (1.667ghz), Via KM266 chipset, S3 ProSavage8 integrate gaphics, 512mb DDR PC2100 Ram, 80gb hdd, dvd-rom, cd-rw....

both are same brand and everything....almost same exact price, the amd system is like $25 cheaper but don't matter..... which would be a more stable hardware setup with the best support in Linux Redhat 7.3 when their both straight out of the box? i'm probaly gonna end up with either a Geforce 2 MX420 or somethin like that....or if all else fails and we upgrade a different system, then i will end up with a 3dfx voodoo3 3000 agp 16mb(lol)....it's great card in linux but is a bit old....lol....l8r

[markdcc]

AMD for sure, for the price you can't beat the performance.  I built a dual Athlon MP 1800+ on a tyan board with a gig of reg ECC ram for under 1200 bucks, and it kicks ass.  I also have a K6/2 400 toshiba laptop running RH 7.2 that works great.

[badkarma]

why integrated video sucks? shared memory (not really a problem on 256mb+ systems ... but a very big one for my 128mb machine) and poor performance....

[Lloydr]

it's not the deal with it being intergrated or nothin or the shared memory (512mb ddr)....it's that the intergrated card isn't exactly a top dawg card....don't know what kind of redhat support i will have...it's a S3 ProSavage8...anyone know about this card on how well redhat supports it????????? and what kind of graphics can it put out straight out of the box....i'm probaly gonna have to end up with like a geforce2 MX or somethin.....l8r

[Lloydr]

lol it's kinda funny.....i can get redhat setups to fire up with full support and know the systems by heart when they are one of a few brands that we use mainly for all our SSI work...or trusted solaris when required....but thats not dealing with any gaphics hardly.....graphics end i know about as much as the next person thats been in systems for basically all their life...but no cert or nothin....amd systems i haven't dealt with lately other than a FEW run ins with them when setting up a midrange penguin computing setup so amd are kinda on my unknown side....big intel and Sun UltraSparc fan but jus trying new things...jus ain't gonna go to apple...intel, sun, and a few amds have proven themselves worthy of being used for our home servers and systems so i'm gonna keep it that way....jus kind etchy about the new athlon XPs (supposedly microshit worked with em but i dunno don't care...jus hate microshit)...what i've seen from the few penguin computing workstations and rackmounts i'm gonna give the XP athlons a swing for a while...if it sucks i'm gonna strip it's guts and sell that bitch lol....l8r