Athlon X2 Declared "BEST CPU IN THE WORLD"

[jiggie2g]

So wait... these aren't really shipping yet? It's just a paper launch then? Hmm.. I wouldn't be surprised if Apple updated the G5 again by November.

Well I just got my Venice core Athlon 64 3000+(1.8ghz) today hoping to OC it to atleast 2.6ghz...but crossing my fingers for 2.8ghz, expecting my Leadtek 6600GT PCIe friday. My new rig will be complete. It will hold me over till fall when the X2's are out. Plus ATI + Nvidia will bring thier next gen 24 pipeline cards I predict these will push over 10 Billion Texels and 1 mill Triangles a sec.


No not yet but , Unless Apple releases a DC G5 + PCIe it won't matter. I really see no real need for a Quad core Machine. Apple will most likely make a single socket DC PowerMac G5 w/ PCIe and sell it at a lower price. Which would be the smart chice , no need to make a Powermac almost no one can afford.

1 socket DC 2ghz G5
PCIe X700Pro 128MB GDDR3
512 DDR Ram
160GB HD
Tiger + iLife '05
for $1999 would be an excellent value.


Fact of the matter is most Geeks will just buy the 4400+ like me for the 1MB L2 cache and OC it up to like 2.8ghz from it's stock 2.2ghz.

4400+ = Dual FX-51 (dual 2.2ghz 1MB L2)$587
4800+ = Dual FX-53 (dual 2.4ghz 1MB L2)$1001....Easy Choice.

OC'd 4400+ = Dual FX-55(2.6ghz) or Dual FX-57(2.8ghz) ...I can't wait.

Dammit this PC stuff is getting expensive I will soon have to get an Antec TruePower II 550W.

 

[~Shard~]

Dammit this PC stuff is getting expensive I will soon have to get an Antec TruePower II 550W.

But that can't be, I have always heard that PCs are far cheaper than Macs....

 

[jiggie2g]

But that can't be, I have always heard that PCs are far cheaper than Macs....

Well when u compare the hardware to the overpriced stuff apple will sell you.
When I see a Radeon 9650 and 512MB ram in a $2699 machine i don't know weather i should laugh or cry. For Nearly $3K I better get 2 Nvidia Geforce 6800GT cards in SLI and a 2x 250GB SATA RAID setup with an AMD Athlon FX-55, don't forget 1GB ram.

I'm not rich so I can't afford a PowerMac and i don't do iMacs anymore. My setup is great , Fast future proof in the end cost me $1300 w/17in LCD

I put together an Athlon XP-M machine back in Dec for about $650. now tht it's time to get an upgrade i don't have to fork out $2K for a new desktop.

AMD Athlon 64 3000+(Venice) $149
DFI Lanparty UT NF4 Ultra-D (SLI Modded) $130
Leadtek Geforce 6600GT 128MB GDDR3 $169
Total Cost of Upgrade $448............some of the Venice CPUs have been reported to hit 3.0ghz on AIR.

Sorry but no Mac is gonna give me that kind of value. So for less then the price of a Mac Mini i've made my PC 4x faster then a Mac mini.

 

[PlaceofDis]

Sorry but no Mac is gonna give me that kind of value. So for less then the price of a Mac Mini i've made my PC 4x faster then a Mac mini.

yeah but you have to use Windows (or Linux) the point being that you dont get the benefit of OS X with that machine, which is the best part about using a Mac in the first place. and its not like you can compare x86 hardware to PowerPC hardware spec to spec because they are different platforms that work in different ways....

 

[Bigheadache]

So wait... these aren't really shipping yet? It's just a paper launch then? Hmm.. I wouldn't be surprised if Apple updated the G5 again by November.

Shipping in late June to OEMs. the dual core Opteron 8xx's are already shipping. Retail box kits are expected to lag by a couple of months so you probably won't see them in June.

 

[840quadra]

yeah but you have to use Windows (or Linux) the point being that you dont get the benefit of OS X with that machine, which is the best part about using a Mac in the first place. and its not like you can compare x86 hardware to PowerPC hardware spec to spec because they are different platforms that work in different ways....

Good point,

and even the software that can run on both systems is sometimes not a fair test of either platform.

I run both an AMD and PPC system in my house, they both do what I need, and I like to have close to the fastest of both worlds.

 

[840quadra]

Why do you people still insist Jobs is going to put out a DC PowerMac right after Apple just updated thier entire line(except ibook). If by some miracle Apple was going to put a Dual Dual PM G5 it would cost more then 90% of the people here can afford. atleast $3299...with a crappy Radeon 9650..lol


Update: Well seems someone actually did Overclock an X2 4800+ ...the crazy boys over at Amdzone hit 2.7ghz per core on stock Voltage, they said it was pretty easy to OC and that 3.0ghz seemed very possible

http://www.amdzone.com/modules.php?...s&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=124&page=4

Wow, take it easy and take a touch less Caffene before posting here.

No need to flame Mongo for what he said, he just has high hopes, and said nothing about what exactly he expects from Apple, so lets not assume anything that wasn't said.

 

[Hydra]

Yep, Athlon 64 X2 4400+ (1MB L2 caches) is the one that's slowly starting to lure me to go back to x86 age..

But don't worry, I won't be giving up on Apples either.

 

[840quadra]

Yep, Athlon 64 X2 4400+ (1MB L2 caches) is the one that's slowly starting to lure me to go back to x86 age..

But don't worry, I won't be giving up on Apples either.

It is fun to live in both worlds.

my setup
X86 AMD computer = compatable hardware for work applications, and the few games I enjoy.
Powermac G5 = Studio recording box,video audio editing, OS X play box, and Itunes music server.

 

[Mav451]

Man, jiggie being bold again. I mean, its exciting, but I don't flaunt it. Its like sports. You let the actions speak for themselves. Some sports fans trash talk before the game, other people Monday-morning quarterback. I prefer to do neither.

When the chips perform, then they speak for themselves. By perform, I mean they have a tangible impact. Hearing about A64's being used in the movie Sin City is what I consider a tangible impact. If we hear about the X2's being used in new supercomputers/renderfarms/etc...then you can tell me to shut up.

 

[dubbz]

If we hear about the X2's being used in new supercomputers/renderfarms/etc...then you can tell me to shut up.

Won't happen, since the X2 is made for desktop systems. But I'm sure we'll see supercomputers with dual core Opterons in the future.

 

[840quadra]

Won't happen, since the X2 is made for desktop systems. But I'm sure we'll see supercomputers with dual core Opterons in the future.

People once said the same thing about buiilding a Super comptuer out of G5 Powermac computers. If someone takes the time and spends the money on an AMD system like the fourmer Powermac Super computer, it can be done.

 

[emotion]

I think we're fogettimg here that AMD and IBM have a partnership to produce chips.

http://www.macnewsworld.com/story/36834.html

and that there was a rumor that Jobs was in talks with AMD at some point.


what this info means is another thing....macosx on amd? or a more complicated arrangement.

 

[~Shard~]

Well when u compare the hardware to the overpriced stuff apple will sell you.

...

AMD Athlon 64 3000+(Venice) $149
DFI Lanparty UT NF4 Ultra-D (SLI Modded) $130
Leadtek Geforce 6600GT 128MB GDDR3 $169
Total Cost of Upgrade $448............some of the Venice CPUs have been reported to hit 3.0ghz on AIR.

Sorry but no Mac is gonna give me that kind of value. So for less then the price of a Mac Mini i've made my PC 4x faster then a Mac mini.

Depends how you define value.

I always find it amusing when people resort to quoting either system performance statistics or individual pieces of hardware and their associated costs when trying to justify why a PC machine is "better value" than a Mac machine. Quote all the hardware specs you like, for me performance and value is measured by the OS, the ease of use, the stability, the security, the software (big component - how powerful it is, i.e. iLife), how productive I can be, and how much fun I can have using my machine - these are the factors that make me rank one machine superior to another when it comes to things like value - hardware is only one small piece.

Of course you need decent hardware to run everything fine, but when my friend can run all the latest apps on his 4-year old 450 MHz PowerBook (512 MB RAM), and when he installed Panther it actually made his system faster, you can't tell me that the latest, greatest and fastest hardware is a necessity.

Not knocking that system, or the AMD chip - all impressive. Just saying...

 

[Dont Hurt Me]

I think we're fogettimg here that AMD and IBM have a partnership to produce chips.

http://www.macnewsworld.com/story/36834.html

and that there was a rumor that Jobs was in talks with AMD at some point.


what this info means is another thing....macosx on amd? or a more complicated arrangement.

It would be nice if we could get modern hardware and OSX at the same time. With Apples structure only the top powermac could be considered new tech everything below it is kind of old and slow when compared to Pcs. Its a shame the fastest single cpu machine apple makes is only a 2.0 G5 iMac where in the pc world they will be seling dual core athlons to anyone who has a socket 939 nmachine. I have said it for years best software and for the most part very stale hardware performance wise in fancy clothes. Come on Steve give us OSX for Athlons if hardware has to be so.....older.

 

[virividox]

well if i could run a mac on an amd chip i would why not

 

[jiggie2g]

Man, jiggie being bold again. I mean, its exciting, but I don't flaunt it. Its like sports. You let the actions speak for themselves. Some sports fans trash talk before the game, other people Monday-morning quarterback. I prefer to do neither.

When the chips perform, then they speak for themselves. By perform, I mean they have a tangible impact. Hearing about A64's being used in the movie Sin City is what I consider a tangible impact. If we hear about the X2's being used in new supercomputers/renderfarms/etc...then you can tell me to shut up.

Would A64's being used to render all the special effects in Star Wars Episode III:ROTS , or being used to Peter Jacksons King Kong , and Dreamworks upcoming CG film Madagascar. Be considered a Tangible impact.

Personally what I consider tangible is AMD who less then 2 years ago was being laughed at by all Intel Fanboys + Critics around the world for it's aging Athlon XP being creamed by the P4. Has now Humbled Both Chipzilla and IBM with a Superior product forcing both companies back to the drawing board.

 

[blitzkrieg79]

Would A64's being used to render all the special effects in Star Wars Episode III:ROTS , or being used to Peter Jacksons King Kong , and Dreamworks upcoming CG film Madagascar. Be considered a Tangible impact.

Personally what I consider tangible is AMD who less then 2 years ago was being laughed at by all Intel Fanboys + Critics around the world for it's aging Athlon XP being creamed by the P4. Has now Humbled Both Chipzilla and IBM with a Superior product forcing both companies back to the drawing board.

Thats how it always is with technology, companies overlap each other from time to time from generation to generation, its not like AMD will hold performance lead forever, someone will come out with a better processor design sooner or later and that someone will be IBM lol But seriously, I really do think IBM is making the most noise lately, hell with dual core chips from AMD or Intel (IBM had those since Power4 was released), They got Power5 which gives Itanium fits at a cheaper cost, they got the CELL (which looks like a demon when it comes to multimedia apps), and you know they are not sitting still and are researching and developing desktop versions of probably Power5 or maybe even a CELL-like processor, I mean I know Intel and AMD are about to ship/are shipping dual cores right now but I dont think the software is ready for it anyway...

 

[jiggie2g]

Thats how it always is with technology, companies overlap each other from time to time from generation to generation, its not like AMD will hold performance lead forever, someone will come out with a better processor design sooner or later and that someone will be IBM lol But seriously, I really do think IBM is making the most noise lately, hell with dual core chips from AMD or Intel (IBM had those since Power4 was released), They got Power5 which gives Itanium fits at a cheaper cost, they got the CELL (which looks like a demon when it comes to multimedia apps), and you know they are not sitting still and are researching and developing desktop versions of probably Power5 or maybe even a CELL-like processor, I mean I know Intel and AMD are about to ship/are shipping dual cores right now but I dont think the software is ready for it anyway...

To be quite honest I don't even consider IBM a contender at all. Pretender more like it. As you will never see an IBM processor in a x86 PC, Intel and AMD will never allow that. I Love OSX but from a market stand point IBM/Apple is to the PC market what Ralph Nader is to a Presidential Election ...a statistical non-Factor. Apple will always be a shrinking nichie , and IBM will do thier thing in the high-end server market.

Cell is never going to penetrate the PC market. It's a Techie's wet dream , just like Sony's Emotion Engine 5yrs ago. for cell to work all apps would have to be re-written from the ground up to take advantage to the hardware and no one will do that.

 

[ravenvii]

IBM not a contender? Are you kidding me? There is much more to the CPU business than just desktops. IBM has just about monopolized the console sector for this generation, making chips for the XBox 360, PS3 and the Revolution. There's also the high-end server stuff you mentioned. Not a contender. LOL

 

[blitzkrieg79]

To be quite honest I don't even consider IBM a contender at all. Pretender more like it. As you will never see an IBM processor in a x86 PC, Intel and AMD will never allow that. I Love OSX but from a market stand point IBM/Apple is to the PC market what Ralph Nader is to a Presidential Election ...a statistical non-Factor. Apple will always be a shrinking nichie , and IBM will do thier thing in the high-end server market.

Cell is never going to penetrate the PC market. It's a Techie's wet dream , just like Sony's Emotion Engine 5yrs ago. for cell to work all apps would have to be re-written from the ground up to take advantage to the hardware and no one will do that.

I agree with you to a certain point BUT somehow Apple was able to survive the entire Windows 95 era when all the other companies such as Commodore and Atari went down, they survived the worst and I think that people will turn away from Microsoft OSs to something that actually works and isn't as prone to spyware nor viruses... Back in the 1980s it was unthinkable that Atari or Commodore were ever going to go down, but they all ignored what Microsoft was doing... To make it all short, technology changes quickly and in this business you better market/innovate or you will go down very quickly...

As far as IBM is concerned, I never said they were gonna compete with Intel nor AMD (but come to think of it they do compete mainly in the server market), its just that IBM currently offers the most innovative (plain simply best) technology of the mentioned 3 companies and I dont think they are pretenders, its just that they are trying to go against the Wintel crowd and the only ally (like they got any other choice) is pretty much Apple (and we know Apples current marketshare)... IBM and Apple drive on a totally different architecture than Wintel and with their low market share its even more difficult to push the technology forward but as I mentioned earlier, both were able to survive the Microsoft storm and I think the best it yet to come from those companies where Microsoft and Intel will probably steadily slide...

As far as CELL is concerned, you know, Emotion Engine was developed by Sony (and Toshiba if I am not mistaking) which didnt have too much experience designing multimedia processor chips. And thats why they turned to IBM, and I believe that unlike the Emotion Engine, CELL is actually a serious threat to the entire computing world as we know it today, if CELL was designed solely by Sony I wouldnt believe the hype either but IBM was there for a very big reason... And I wouldnt be surprised if Apple was on the Cell desing secretly either as they got something all the other companies dont have and don't want to deal with Microsoft anymore and that is Darwin/Mac OS X...

 

[minimax]

[...] Intel Fanboys [...]

What's that, written all over your face?

Seriously, I thought most teenagers idolized popstars. Times have changed...

 

[jiggie2g]

What's that, written all over your face?

Seriously, I thought most teenagers idolized popstars. Times have changed...

Another Ignorant comment from a Mac Zealot ....now hurry back home before you miss Fox News.

I never rooted for Intel , the Pentium M is a great CPU i will give them that , but otherwise they make crappy CPU's. The P4 and Windows Me was the reason I went over to Mac in the 1st place. Now that XP is a decent OS and AMD is kicking ass all over again, T-Bird days are back

And I wouldnt be surprised if Apple was on the Cell desing secretly either as they got something all the other companies dont have and don't want to deal with Microsoft anymore and that is Darwin/Mac OS X...

Apple can't just switch hardware architecture's at will. They would have to rewrite OSX and companies would have to rewrite programs over again , that will not happen. Plus everyone here wpuld have to buy a new mac. If that's the case they just might as well go x86. from what I read about cell on Anandtech it dosen't seem to be an ideal CPU for the kind of complex OS's that desktops use. Consoles use very simple OS's do not require all the extra processes that say an OSX or XP would.

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2379

 

[Blue Velvet]

Now that XP is a decent OS...

My recent experiences with XP Pro SP2 have been nothing of the sort. I was amazed and also disappointed to see how little Windows has come on since '95 & '98. I'd even prefer to use Win2000 which I do every day on the office PC sitting next to my dual 2.5 G5.

I guess it depends on how high you set the bar...

 

[minimax]

Perhaps I should spell it out for you: A M D F A N B O Y.
Sure it's a good processor, but the way you are obsessing over it is quite...ludicrous, really.