Prescott or Northwood?

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Prescott or Northwood?

Posted: 10/14/2004 7:21:21 PM EDT

Mom called today saying that she needs a new computer. So, it looks like I'm building my parents a new Intel based system. I have built a few rigs for myself, but it has been over 2 years since my last build. I find myself way behind the curve at the moment. Please don't attempt to sell me on AMD. I am sticking with Intel. Looking at the 2.8 - 3.0 range, in conjunction with 400 DDR.

With that said, should I go for the Prescott or stay with the Northwood?

Thanks.

Posted: 10/14/2004 7:23:22 PM EDT

[#1]

Only three things matter:

Use

How much money YOU want to spend.

Do you HAVE to have the latest and greatest.

Posted: 10/14/2004 7:34:11 PM EDT

[#2]

Quoted:
Mom called today saying that she needs a new computer. So, it looks like I'm building my parents a new Intel based system. I have built a few rigs for myself, but it has been over 2 years since my last build. I find myself way behind the curve at the moment. Please don't attempt to sell me on AMD. I am sticking with Intel. Looking at the 2.8 - 3.0 range, in conjunction with 400 DDR.

With that said, should I go for the Prescott or stay with the Northwood?

Thanks.

I will try any way.

You know I would have said the same thing about AMD before the Althon-64. Are you aware the Northwood and particularly the Prescott run MUCH hotter that the Althon-64. The Prescott is so hot it is only recommended in certain cases.

The Althon-64 with a nForce 3 motherboard is every bit as stable and faster except when encoding video or music.

Posted: 10/14/2004 7:36:22 PM EDT

[#3]

I'll make you a killer deal on a TRS-80

Posted: 10/14/2004 7:42:40 PM EDT

[#4]

If your looking at the 2.8 - 3.0 range then Northwood would be best if your going to keep it at stock speeds with stock cooling in a decent case.

Posted: 10/14/2004 7:44:29 PM EDT

[#5]

If you are not worried about the (supposed) performance benefits of the Prescott, then the Northwood is the better choice imho

The Prescott does run hot , but it seems that Northwoods are getting a premium price... the 2.8 is a very good pick and most o f the ones I have gotten lately are the high-cap models, which are rumored to have a better core.

Again, if you are looking for gaming or video high end, and dont mind the noise of the extra fans, the Northwood is a good choice.

Posted: 10/14/2004 8:00:25 PM EDT

[#6]

Quoted:
Only three things matter:

Use

Surfing the net is about the extent of what my parents do. They have been using an Emachine 333 for at least 4 years now, so I believe it has served it's purpose.

How much money YOU want to spend.

I have gathered everything into a shopping cart at NewEgg, and the package is just under $600. No monitor, keyboard or mouse included. I have replaced those items over the last couple years as gifts. Under $600 shipped for a new 3 gig system, with 512 megs DDR400, 40 gig 7200 8mb buffer HD, and CDRW/DVD combo drive seems like a bargain to me. Includes XP Home. Simply for the sake of limiting potential issues, I have decided to go with a mobo that has integrated Audio, Video, and Lan. I realize that is probably defeating the purpose of such CPU and Memory speed. Checkers and Hearts is about the extent of their gaming activities, so frame rates is not that big of an issue. My primary concern is long term stability.

Do you HAVE to have the latest and greatest.

I certainly don't have to have the latest and greatest. I try to stay close to the sweet spot in price vs. performance whenever I do a build. Like I say though, I just started reading this evening about where current technology is. Too many other interests to stay on top of the puter industry. I will be certain of my decision before placing the order on Monday. Just thought I would reach out for a bit of quick guidance on the latest Intel processors.

Posted: 10/14/2004 8:04:31 PM EDT

[#7]

Get a new power supply!!!

The P4s are power electricaly hungry beasties.... 100ish watts

Trivia: The P4 die size is about 1 centimeter squared, and in that space, it dissipates 100 watts of heat.. which is the same as a nuclear detonation.

Get a good fan too, if your cpu does not ship with one.

Posted: 10/14/2004 8:07:42 PM EDT

[#8]

Also.. the review sites I like.. are www.anandtech.com and www.tomshardware.com .. liots of pretty graphs.

i'd buy a Northwood for the price/calc power/heat ratio...

I'v never acted in a Holiday Inn Express commerical, but I play computer tech by day.

Posted: 10/14/2004 8:07:44 PM EDT

[#9]

Thanks Vulcan and Gunzilla.

Seems like each model at 2.8 are basically the same price.

Posted: 10/14/2004 8:18:32 PM EDT

[#10]

Pointless,

I'm beginning to rethink this from a heat related point of view. While I am a big fan of having plenty of fans in my case, I don't think I want to load the parent's case up with so many. My current 1.6 rig has 5 case fans, including the power supply fan. Not to mention the huge card cooler blowing directly on the mobo.

Will go with the Boxed CPU, so the stock HSF should be sufficient.

My current system has an Antec 430W Power Supply. I'm thinking 350 should be plenty for this new system. Tell me if I am wrong.

One last quick question..... SATA or EIDE HD? Never tired SATA before. No need for Raid.

Thanks.

Posted: 10/14/2004 8:57:23 PM EDT

[#11]

d00d! Y0u l1k3 so need awesome RAID for your parents BOXEN so they can be uber l33t!!

I'd go with SATA.. it has cool 'oh, ahh' features.. but also has enough industry backing/time in field that you probably won't get burned. also, the cableing is MUCH nicer than the older ATA. Windows 2000/XP should support any non-poopie SATA setup out of box.

Regarding quiet hard drives, some HD are more quiet than others. something to do with the drive bearings. google for 'quiet pc' or what not.. there is a web site that list quiet pc parts.

I have a 350w PS and am ok with my p4 2.8c.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Prescott or Northwood?

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