Intel Pentium 4 3.2GHz - The Real Slim Shady
by Anand Lal Shimpi on June 23, 2003 11:23 PM EST- Posted in
- CPUs
Final Words
With the introduction of the 800MHz, Intel has put the nail in the Athlon XP's coffin - whatever chances AMD had at regaining the performance crown with the Athlon XP were lost when Intel introduced the 865PE and 875P platforms. Luckily for AMD, the Athlon 64 is just around the corner but it's clear who the winner of the Northwood vs. Barton battle is.
At high clock speeds, there's no denying that the Pentium 4 is the processor to have - especially the new 'C' models with the 800MHz FSB. We included results from a slower Pentium 4 1.6A and an AMD Athlon XP 1600+ to prove another point, at lower clock speeds the Athlon XP is still a better option although as higher clocked P4s drop in price AMD's advantage in this area will begin to fade as well.
So if you're looking to buy the best on the block today, look no further than a Pentium 4 but we'd caution against purchasing the 3.2GHz Pentium 4. The price premium you're going to be paying doesn't justify the performance advantage you get over a 3.0C, not to mention that the 3.2GHz Pentium 4 is the hottest running CPU on the block. We'd recommend going with one of the slightly lower clocked 800MHz FSB models (the 2.6C or 2.8C come to mind) and holding off on upgrading again until the Socket-775 Prescott CPUs hit next year.
For more information on Intel's future CPU plans be sure to read through our analysis of their roadmap here.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
17 Comments
View All Comments
Anonymous User - Sunday, July 20, 2003 - link
There looks to be something fishy about this review anyway. The P4 1.6A is probably ahead of the 1600+ in most benchmarks. When those chips were new, the 1600+ looked very clearly faster. I'm not sure whether SSE2 has really made all that difference - the relative performances must have changed by about 10-20%.Anonymous User - Friday, July 18, 2003 - link
So P4 for multimedia and Athlon XP for general office, right? Since 95% of the systems I recommend or build rarely see streaming video or 3D, then AMD is the better value for me. I think Anand is undervaluing the Business Winstone 2002 results in the overall conclusion.Anonymous User - Wednesday, July 16, 2003 - link
I agree with #4. When it comes down to price VS performance AMD stomps on Pentium.Anonymous User - Monday, July 14, 2003 - link
This is the typical review that one might see from the Wall Street based analysts that know virtually nothing about Processor technology, and prefer to keep their heads stuck in the sand. The XP3200 was extremely competitive with the original (read NOT 800 FSB) Pentiums, which is all that AMD had to compare it with at the time of intro.It is interesting that Intel always seems to have the newest design "waiting in reserve" for when AMD presents its newest design. What would happen if AMD never introduced another new processor? Would that mean that the newest offering from Intel would never arrive on the marketplace? You can bet on it. Instead of using Intel-oriented benchmarks and downplaying the extraordinary lengths that AMD has gone to over the last 3-4 years, you should be realistic and point to the advantages that the mere presence of AMD has created for consumers.
For the money, the AMD line is still the best value, and can equal the performance of the Pentium line is virtually all the everyday uses for a PC.
Please try to keep some shred of perspective in the future. Thanks.
Anonymous User - Friday, July 11, 2003 - link
you're an asshole, god damn. chill, the guy was being calm about it. you're the people in teh intarweb i avoid. thx.Anonymous User - Thursday, July 10, 2003 - link
From 1 Anonymous User to another, you are an idiot. PS2 as the best gaming platform? X-Box has better hardware in all respects, so as consoles go it is technically better. PS2 still has more games..and relating to sports that is where the console usually shines over the PC. But neither can do what a PC with proper hardware can do, in any aspect. So yes, the PC is the ultimate gaming platform, hence why both the PS2 and X-box are more like pc's than old consoles.Also this review had a benchmark on general use, including office, etc...and AMD won nicely, so if you read the whole article your complaint was solved before you made it. But most of us do play games, which is why most benchmarks are game related, non gamers usually don't go for top end, cause they don't need it. Hopefully you will post a better message next time or at least be more informed on the facts before dribbling false info.
Anonymous User - Sunday, July 6, 2003 - link
What about Office application performance? I read that the Athlon still blows away the P4 in most everything but games. Most of us spend our PC time doing other things besides gaming. If we wanted the best gaming platform, we'd buy Playtstation 2's.