[RodriCO2000]

It seems that my beloved other half is in need of a new computer and needs to get a PC. We would get a mac but the excuse is that I already have one, and the games he wants to play are PC only.

Anyway our system of choice has been a custom built HP system and now we are torn between 2 processors, the Athlon64 3400+ running at 2.2 Ghz and the Pentium 4 HT 800Mhz FSB running at 3.0 Ghz.

I pretty much have only owned Macs and I am quite aware of the megahertz myth and I would incline to go with the Athlon, but many people tell me the Pentium4 HT is an awesome procesor. Either way the system will have a 256MB Radeon 9800XT so that is a non issue, but my spouse is worried about the 800Mhz difference in chip speed.

I would post this on a PC site but MacNN has nothing but helpful people and I trust you guys over any other site.

Any help is helping me make the decision is greatly appreciated.

BTW the computer will be used to play games, mainly Star Wras Galaxies, and for normal everyday stuff (e-mail, web, etc.)

[turtle777]

Wow, that's a tough one.
You expect MacNN people recommend you a PC system

Sorry, conflict of interest...

But seriously, I don't know too much about PCs.

From what I know, the difference between the Athlon 2.2 and Pentium 3.0 shouldn't be too great. It's for a reason that Athlon names them 3400+, to indicate how they would compare with a Pentium.

HP might not be the worst choice, still better thean a Dell...

-t

[velodev]

My opinion is the megahertz are too close to care, really... so it comes down to this:

AMD.

Support the underdog (you do have an apple already, right?). Intel has the marketshare and AMD usually has the lower priced, higher quality chips (usually is the keyword).

[Landos Mustache]

What type of work will he use it for where the 800MHz would make a difference.

[Superchicken]

Some people think gaming is work.

Go with the Athlon. You're looking at performance that would beat a 3.4Ghz P4. The Athalon can run at a Lower Mhz yet still be faster because it's a better designed chip. As for the HT, that's hyper threading, it allows a processor to behave like two processors, this can be useful in some situations, but for things like gaming it would actually make your machine run slower. So HT is not a reason to buy a chip if you're looking at this as a gaming system.

Go with the AMD, his PC gaming friends will respect him more

[velodev]

Originally posted by Landos Mustache:
What type of work will he use it for where the 800MHz would make a difference.

Numbers-wise it is 800Mhz but performance-wise the gap is very narrow.