I know the answer probably depends on many many things, but

which is the quicker processor- P4 3.2 or Athlon XP 3200, and by what sort of margin?

looking to buy a new home PC, not sure which processor to go with though.

thanks guys

 

P4 is marginally quicker, not much in it mindu if u want to save the £££'s. Get a amd64 3200 or 3400+ they are quicker than p4 equivalent and future proof for 64bit OS and apps.

 

Check here for loads of links for speed and testing using various m/boards and setups.


http://www.amdboard.com/athlon_64_3200.html

 

If it's a standard 32 bit XP you are talking about, the P4 is a country mile quicker. In fact, all the 800 FSB HT p4s are much quicker than the XPs, and with recent price drops and cooler running, they are a much better proposition. (And no, I ain;t a P4 freak, I have run XPs in the past, but they have lost ground now)

XP64 is the only viable option now for Athlon (if you are at all bothered about performance), but for the money I'd get a 3ghz P4, becasue by the time any decent 64 bit apps (or a Windows version) come out, the 64 bit CPUs will have dropped in price and upped in spec. It's just forking out for bragging rights at the mo IMO.

Geezer