Which Processor Would You Buy?

[Helevitia]

What's wrong with being excited? I like to buy the latest and greatest. I don't see the terrible layout problem you mentioned? Also, you can't really pass judgement until you've tried it. I agree DDR2 will probably be expensive at first. And you really need DDR733 or something like that to start seeing the benefits of DDR2 anyway.

[DentyCracker]

BTX has no real advantages unless you are going Presshot, and with Intel more or less giving up the speed chase and going Banias well ...

[UtwigMU]

Merom (the codename of Netburst successor) is due 2007.

Otherwise, the ATX->BTX transition should be similar to AT-ATX transition, only a bit faster. ATX came out in 95 and in 99 there were still super7, S370 and SLOT1 AT boards and cases arround.

[rylan]

Well personally I think the design for airflow and cooling is poor. BTX is supposed to be better due to 'in-line airflow' where the cpu and agp card is cooled by the main intake fan. However, the processor sits near the front of the chassis by the intake fan, so you end up with heat from the cpu being washed over the motherboard chipsets and memory before being exhausted through the power supply or rear chassis fan. Additionally, the pci cards don't get any direct airflow as they currently do with a front intake fan. The headers for drives etc are also on the opposite side of the processor so you'd have to run cables around.

[J1NG]

Didn't some site post the question of what happens when you SMP with BTX as well? I'm pretty sure I read it was a no go... at least for a LONG while....

Not that I mind really....

J1NG

[UtwigMU]

AFAIK workstations will be EATX/SSI for a while.

[Wombat]

Originally posted by UtwigMU
Merom (the codename of Netburst successor) is due 2007.

Otherwise, the ATX->BTX transition should be similar to AT-ATX transition, only a bit faster. ATX came out in 95 and in 99 there were still super7, S370 and SLOT1 AT boards and cases arround.

I disagree. ATX was an extension of AT. The same case could usually handle both types of board. Some motherboards even handled both power connectors. BTX has a much different physical layout.

[Chrono_Wanderer]

maybe AMD won't adopt BTX at all....

[Wombat]

I doubt it. They'll need something.

The big thing about BTX that it has over ATX or even mini-ITX is that it lets you componentize the computer. BTX designed around using PCI-E and USB and whatnot to allow you to have a computer where you don't have to have this big box somewhere. I think it's going to be a big part of making computers fit better into the home (Think about how TV and radio went from living-room centerpiece to something you have in the kitchen or shower).

[DukeP]

Im actually quite (yes I dared use the Q word!) amazed, at the longevity of my current computer.

I cant even remember the chipset anymore! (Its from asus, and its intelbased). My downclocked Piv2.66 (@2.4) chugs along quite (again!!) nicely, and the 1gb of ddr ram (@ddr3000 speeds) is adequet. My old 80gb harddrive is limiting me a bit - not so for the hyperoverclocked radeon9500.

The machine is quiet (Woohey! Are you reading this KV? ) and I have been lucky with a combo of drivers and patches - its 99.8% stable (2 crashes in the last year or so).

I still tend to game in 1280x1024, although I have shifted UT2004 down to 1024x768, to allow for all the eyecandy to be activated.

Last year I was CERTAIn that I would have had a new motherboard, HD and mayhaps processor now. But I really dont see the needs (and I wont change my HD until I can go sata - which THIS motherboard doesnt support).

~~DukeP~~

[Wombat]

Originally posted by DukeP
and the 1gb of ddr ram (@ddr3000 speeds) is adequet.

Damn, you almost had the spelling thing down.

[KvHagedorn]

rofl