Posted: 7/22/2006 1:24:45 PM EDT
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I was in the local computer parts store today contemplating a new build. One of the resident Geeks told me to wait for CONROE that was comining out later this year. He talked as if this could be the end of the Athlon processor. I've personally leaned toward Intel because of a bad experience with AMD during one of my first builds (long time ago...) Is CONROE all that is's cracked up to be? Please remember that I can barely spell "computer" and can assemble components only. Thanks! 
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Jumps in processors are never what they are cracked up to be, in terms of actual user experience. When doing a build of a PC, just like an AR... figure out what your budget is, how you will use it, and then buy what is readily available that meets your needs. Waiting for the next CPU is silly, IMHO. I too like Intel because of years of horrible experiences in the past with AMD and stability problems. However, I can say AMD is not the same company they were, and since we see their CPU's moving into enterprise servers and business class desktops.... there is very little fear in choosing a CPU from either company, today. For most people, unless you are trying to build the most awesome gaming machine, or if running benchmarks for specs and then having bragging rights is your thing.... just get what you want today. That being said - I no longer build my PC's. With the deals you can get from dell which include large LCD monitors and the licensed OS - I cannot build them even close to the $$$ amount. www.gotapex.com/ |
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conroe appears to be the real deal and not just a minor performance increase. It will be in stores by the end of the month but it will be probably be hard to get a hold of for the first couple months. here is a review It outperforms anything AMD has out by quite a wide margin but AMD will be answering back next year with their K8L processors, no one knows what the perfomance of those will be exactly but its a good bet they will at least equal the conroes that are out at that time. |
+1 I have been in IT for well over 15 years and have built my PC's myself throughout that time. The only "already built" I buy are laptops. Having said that, the era of build your own is pretty much dead.  Would 100% agree with the above post and say go see www.gotapex.com. Dell and several others have gotten so competitive; you really can get a great deal through them. It's become hard to beat. Even for someone with an expert skill set. Unless you are building a graphic rendering machine, high end gaming platform or another IT specific server or desktop, I would recommend a Dell or other maker for your needs. Even THEN the Dell’s are doing a great job of keeping up. The other advantage is you have you don’t have to worry about software/OS hassle with one that is already built. |
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Your question is a common one. There is always something coming down the pipeline. Most of the time, just go ahead and get what you need today, no big deal. Every once in a while, there's something that might be worth waiting for...if you're not "needing' today. Conroe sounds like one of these. AMD has been the "bang-for-the-buck" chip that has been kicking Intel's butt recently. But the recent reviews/tests on Conroe more than takes back the lead. If you need to, go buy today, no major deal..today's chips are muy rapido. If the work you're doing is general computing/web/email/office/spreadsheet type stuff...today's CPUs will do you fine for a few yers. If you're "contemplating" and waiting 3-4 months won't be an issue and having a powerful CPU is desired (3D design, gaming, designing nuclear weapons, GoatBoy's "photo storage" computer ), then I'd wait. |
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99.9999999% of pc users have 1000 times the hardware they actually need. for the first time in recent history processing power and hardware components are actually exceeeding what the software and OS can do. PC's in todays market are disposable. IMHO unless you have a specialised need, high end gaming, video editing, 3d modelling etc, you don't need the bleeding edge tech. in most cases a decent midrange box will accomplish 99% of your tasks efficiently if you do a bit of investigation and planning before buying. |
As Orion_Shall_Rise said, they are almost out. Also, AMD will be dropping prices by half at the end of the month. It pays to pay attention to the market trends. |
intel has promised that with EVERY new chip. they have seldome lived up to the press hype. |
That is very true. HOWEVER, the Conroe (aka Core 2 Duo) chips really do seem to be a significant leap forward. Not only in processing power, which is improved much more than I thought possible, but also in Lower Power Consumption. Any time you can get significantly more Processing Power with less Power Consumption (thus less heat) you are doing good. I also recommend the Anandtech article on Conroe. It has pretty comprehensive test results that show the Conroe processors next to the top of the line AMDs. Look for yourself. Futuristic PS: Confession time, I'm posting this from an eMachines Athlon 3200+. I'll be replacing it with a homebuilt Conroe machine by year's end, but this machine has been my number one PC for almost a year now with no trouble at all. IT Geek by profession (mostly WAN/LAN design) and this is what I use. |
hell man even a midrange box can handle gaming. i'm running a compaq sr1830 nx. 200 gig sata drive athlon 3500+ 1 gig of ram lightscribe dvd burner and it came with a pci-rx16 slot. i threw in an ati radeon x850 crossfire (basically an x850xt) and bf2, h2, q4 all look great and play smoothly on it. the thing vista microsofts latest bloatware to replace xp is coming out next year. freind of mine went to the microsoft road show and they said 1 gig of ram will be needed for it.i downloaded one of the betas and it was 3.3 gigs for the 32 bit x86 edition. the 64 bit was 400 or 500 megs more i think. |
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I always build my computers since I could get a better deal than dell ! Just build the way I like it, I am waiting for Conroe to come out since i wanna to have somethign that will use dual core... the system that I am using now is P4 3.2e which is overclocked to 3.8ghz without crashing, I am using water ! Pretty niffty if you can say ... I am going to keep my system until next year to upgrade everything since the price is silly cheap, just build it, they will come ! |
Yes, for most purposes CONROE == CORE 2 DUO That said, there will be additional flavors of Core 2 Duo down the line, with different codenames. The easiest thing to do when you see one of those Intel or AMD codenames, is to Google the name. Usually one of the first few links will explain what Processor Models are actually included in the umbrella of the codename. It is much like saying Beretta 92 Series. There are numerous models that fall within that series. Then, the successor (sort of) would be the Beretta NinetyTwo Series, which is newer and also with multiple models within the family. Also, there are usually explanatory Guides to this stuff at some of the common PC sites: Anandtech.com Tom's Hardware ExtremeTech Ars Technica PC Stats Futuristic |
You either are building very specialized stuff, or you havent really done a fair cost comparison in the last two years. You cannot build the same quality system anymore cheaper than what you can get from a dell deal. I bought a Dell system recently, core Duo CPU, 4 GB ram, DVD burner, 300GB SATAII, 19" LCD flat panel, with the Windows OS license for less than $1200 shipped with tax. You CANNOT build that same system for that price. I use it as my virtual server, running Windows Server 2003 64bit, running 8 Virtual Servers on it simultaneously. |
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When one of my relatives wants a new computer, they always come to me. I've always suggested they buy a Dell (or let me sit down and buy it with them, to get what they need for their purposes). However, if you're a "poweruser", Dell is not as affordable as building your own. You may be able to get the same basic parts (cpu, graphics) that I buy - but you're not going to get a quality cooling solution, good (and customizable!) motherboard / bios, decent RAM, or a good case. If you want to buy from a dealer high end, you're going to have to go with Falcon Northwest, or VoodooPC. Alienware used to be included, but they're now owned by Dell. This is not an attack on Dell, as they're perfect for the vast majority of the market. For those who love their computers, and want do to a LOT with them, all of it customized, you still can't beat building your own. ETA: Yes, I'm building a new system in October based on Conroe. For those who will be waiting until Vista comes out - google "Kentsfield", a Quad-core that will be coming out shortly before Vista. |
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Basically: Conroe is intels dual core version 2. Why is this good? Because dual core kicks ass. But why is dual core version 2 better? Because it uses less energy, less energy means less heat, less heat means you can put more electricity into the cpu, more electricity, means you can clock higher. Intels dual core that is out right now as "core" and pentium D, are the shizznit right now. AMD does have an Athlon 64 X2 which is dual core, this is an excellent gaming chip...but it gets really really hot. Intel will trump their X2 with Conroe. This chip is going to be an overclockers dream
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To me, used to be I could always build for less (though I pumped up a system or two...friggen gaming!) But in the last year or more, Dell's been on the insane pricing track. I could still go lower if I heavily play the rebate game. Problem is, Dell's on the coupon/rebate bandwagon now...go to FatWallet.com and watch each day and every couple of weeks, there's an insane Dell pricing thing going on. |