CPU Price Guide 2/22/02 February 21, 2002 Sarju Shah

AMD	Page:: ( 1 / 4 )

Intro

So we slacked off for a few weeks. Let’s just say we were waiting for something substantial to happen. Without our knowing, quite a few big things have been rammed down our throats. The first being the demise of www.resellerratings.com. We went there to verify some companies, and then found out that they just up and disappeared without so much as a whimper. Until we find a better way to find non-sketchy companies we’re going to go with whatever old ones we have, and then just pick the lowest price from the lot on Pricewatch. This does poke a hole or two into our guides, but there isn’t much we can do to remedy that at the moment.

Since our last update, prices have taken quite a big turn. To the benefit of consumers everywhere, they’ve gone down like feathers in a vacuum. To add to that goodness, there are quite a few more processors available. Intel unveiled most of its Northwood CPUs in the last month. The bad part being Pricewatch has yet to make a differentiation. The good thing is that from the prices we managed to rustle up, they are pretty much identical. So when you find one, hold on to it! We’ve been hearing reports that the new Northwoods are to overclockers what Preparation H is to a fiery tush. People have achieved nearly 600MHz overclocks when combined with the 845DDR motherboards. I think the CPU scene just a got a bit more exciting people.

AMD

AMD CPUs
CPU	Current	12/20/01	Change	Shop	Rating
Athlon XP 2000+/1.67 GHz	$245	N/A	-	TCWO	6.0/7
Athlon XP 1900+/1.60 GHz	$186	$248	-62	TCWO	6.0/7
Athlon XP 1800+/1.53 GHz	$134	$184	-50	TCWO	6.0/7
Athlon XP 1700+/1.47 GHz	$112	$142	-30	TCWO	6.0/7
Athlon XP 1600+/1.40 GHz	$105	$126	-21	TCWO	6.0/7
Athlon XP 1500+/1.33 GHz	$99	$107	-8	TCWO	6.0/7
Athlon MP 1900+/1.60 GHz	$261	$337	-76	NewEgg	6.5/7
Athlon MP 1800+/1.53 GHz	$199	$268	-94	NewEgg	6.5/7
Athlon MP 1600+/1.40 GHz	$167	$180	-13	NewEgg	6.5/7
Athlon MP 1500+/1.33 GHz	$174	$170	+4	Monarch	5.6/7
Athlon 1.2 GHz MP	$169	$165	+4	Monarch	5.6/7
Athlon 1.4 GHz 266 FSB	$95	$99	+4	TCWO	6.0/7
Athlon 1.33GHz 266 FSB	$84	$95	-11	TCWO	6.0/7
Athlon 1.2 GHz 266 FSB	$94	$86	+8	NewEgg	6.5/7
Athlon 1.0 GHz 266 FSB	$80	$73	+7	NewEgg	6.5/7
Duron 1.3 GHz	$85	N/A		NewEgg	6.5/7
Duron 1.2 GHz	$68	$89	-21	TCWO	6.0/7
Duron 1.1 GHz	$59	$72	-13	TCWO	6.0/7
Duron 1GHz	$45	$56	-11	TCWO	6.0/7
Duron 950 MHz	$39	$47	-8	TCWO	6.0/7
Duron 900 MHz	$38	$46	-8	TCWO	6.0/7
Duron 850 MHz	$38	$43	-5	NewEgg	6.5/7
Duron 800 MHz	$35	$36	-1	NewEgg	6.5/7

Notes

Since our month long hiatus, prices for the XP series have taken quite a tumble. Our recommendation lands on the relatively cost effective XP 1700+ or 1800+. With such a low price and performance only hair away from the 1900+ and 2000+, you might as well try your hand at a rather modest overclock of 100-200MHz. You’re almost guaranteed 100MHz, which puts you squarely in 1900+ territory, when using a 1700+.

On the MP scene, prices have really gone south. We’re going to guess that the flawed release of the 760MPX chipset might have something to do with that. We have the distinct feeling that many people were scared off when they saw a server level chipset released with non-functioning USB ports. This has been remedied now; but it doesn’t help the position of a company trying to enter the high-end sector to come out with a broken product, especially when the segment you are shooting for is about as anal as can get about stability.

The regular Thunderbird Athlon has barely budged in the past few months. Until they completely disappear, we expect them to sit around this price range. At this point in time, there should be absolutely no reason to buy one of these, as the XP is only handful of dollars more.


SIDEBAR: AMD just announced it’s Hammer chipset, called the AMD-8000

Intel

Page:: ( 2 / 4 )

Intel CPUs
CPU	Current	12/20/01	Change	Company	Rating
Pentium 4 2.2 GHz 478-pin	$468	N/A	-	StarComp	-
Pentium 4 2.0 GHz 478-pin	$306	$425	-119	nMicroPC	5.7/7
Pentium 4 1.9 GHz 478-pin	$233	$274	-41	NewEgg	6.5/7
Pentium 4 1.8 GHz 478-pin	$191	$216	-25	NewEgg	6.5/7
Pentium 4 1.7 GHz 478-pin	$161	$204	-43	NewEgg	6.5/7
Pentium 4 1.6 GHz 478-pin	$135	$168	-33	Krex	5.6/7
Pentium III 1.26 GHz Tualatin	$238	$266	-28	JazzTech	5.2/7
Pentium III 1.2 GHz Tualatin	$179	$254	-75	Accubyte	5.2/7
Pentium III 1 GHz	$112	$134	-22	NewEgg	6.5/7
Pentium III 933 MHz	$106	$123	-17	ECONOPC	-
Pentium III 800EB MHz	$95	$108	-13	Accubyte	5.2/7
Pentium III 700E MHz	$96	$104	-8	Krex	5.6/7
Celeron 1.2 GHz	$84	$114	-30	Krex	5.6/7
Celeron 1.1 GHz	$72	$80	-8	TCWO	6.0/7
Celeron 1.0 GHz	$64	$60	+4	TCWO	6.0/7
Celeron 900 MHz	$51	$46	+5	TCWO	6.0/7
Celeron 850 MHz	$48	$43	+5	TCWO	6.0/7
Celeron 800 MHz	$53	$47	+6	TCWO	6.0/7

Notes

The price drops we observed with AMD take place on a somewhat lesser scale when we look at Intel prices. Just about every CPU dropped in price, with the exception of the Celerons – those fluctuated around as they have been for a rather long while. The new additions to the Intel lineup include the 2.2GHz Northwood, as well as a host of other Northwoods that have gone incognito for the moment. They are out there, but not very many companies are carrying them at the moment. If you were after a P4, we’d really recommend getting a 1.6A-1.7AGHz model. The newer Northwood variants have been known to overclock almost as well as the Celeron 300A of yore. Priced at a meager $135, the 1.6A would make for a pretty light purchase. Some reasonably quality DDR SDRAM and an 845DDR board shouldn’t set you back much further.

What we are really waiting for is the release of the RAMBUS 1066 i850 boards. They should be popping out pretty soon, around quarter two – we hope. With those boards one should be able to take advantage of the current 1.6A fad, and pull even more performance out of it. To those of you that still think RAMBUS is expensive, please do look at the prices. Conventional RIMMs are either the same price as DDR, or even cheaper. This is definitely an option waiting to be taken seriously, especially as DDR prices increase.

Prices on PIII parts have finally started to take a small tumble, but most are still to high to warrant considering. Unless you are upgrading and don’t want to be bothered to change out your current setup, this is clearly no mans land. We hear the Celerons are good overclockers at the moment, but their performance barely justifies their cost. A comparable Athlon setup in price, sans overclocking, will most likely roast the Celeron to a crisp. So unless you are going for a small upgrade, steer clear.


SIDEBAR: AMD is considering using RAMBUS technology in one of their new chipsets for the Hammer series of chips.

Wrap	Page:: ( 3 / 4 )

We’ve actually seen a lot of action that should influence your CPU buying decisions. Dealing with AMD first, VIA has a fully matured KT266A line waiting to be taken advantage of. If that wasn’t enough, just this week the KT333 popped out; we should have a review of the MSI KT333 up next week most likely. The SIS 745 has yet to make an appearance aside from the ECS K7S6A. Coming in at $75, this board probably won’t do you any wrong.

The Intel side of things just got a bit more exciting, after a prolonged period of stagnation. With the release of the new Northwood CPUs, overclocking possibilities haven’t had it this good for a very long time. The 1.6GHz Northwood is supposed to be able to hit 2.2GHz rather easily. This should be a fairly easy task when combined with the 845DDR, which has been called the modern day BX by many. You could also opt to wait for a little longer to see the advent of RAMBUS 1066. With the price stigma associated with RAMBUS officially gone, there should be no reason not to consider the i850 as an option.







SIDEBAR: Prices have taken quite a tumble. What would you consider upgrading to? Athlon? Super overclocked P4? Wait and see how 1066 turns out? Speak up in the news!

Pondering?

Page:: ( 4 / 4 )

Wondering how we get our prices? All our cost numbers come from www.Pricewatch.com. Pricewatch has gives a good estimate of what the going rate of parts should be. Aside from using Pricewatch, we also have some rules we follow when we pick who gets to have the lowest price.

The First Rule about…

Ok. Rule number I has officially been destroyed by the demise of Resellerratings. Stay tuned.

Rule Number II

It is not enough to lay down this rating scheme. Anyone could write one glowing review of a company, and bam! They have a perfect rating, and you still have no clue how this company functions when stuff goes wrong. We decided that fifty or so reviews would be enough to weed out numerous companies, thereby making sure that at least a few of those reviews consist of people that are impossible to please. Sure this makes it hard for good small guys to get their foot in the door, but word of mouth is viral with a community as small as this. Heck, look at Plycon, they've done mighty well considering their size. So do your part if you happen to stumble across a good retailer, do the right thing and give them a positive rating.

Disclaimer Number III

We're sure somebody is going to start some conspiracy theory about FiringSquad being in cahoots with some company or another. Let's just get that out of the way, there is no such thing; if there was, I'd want my piece of the pie. The companies picked here are based solely on price and a decent Resellerrating (which is largely determined by people like you). And another thing, if some price looks to good to be true, don't go blabbing to the companies and raise hell about getting your flagship processor for $2.00, chances are we were probably snorting up while trying to type. Errors happen, we'll try our best to minimize them.


SIDEBAR: Pooh bear likes honey.