AMD to Intel????

**Alpha_One** · February 25th, 2007 09:09 PM

Originally Posted by number001

I appreciate everyone trying to diagnose the problem. But you have to understand my Intel (then/before) and AMD (now/currently) sysem are essentially share the same every piece of hardware and software installed, save for the CPU and Mobo. No changes were made. Yet, the AMD does have a 3 to 4 seconds of "freeze" once in a while, esp. when I'm throwing it with so many tasks at the same time. Even startup is also slower. The P4 3.0E does not seem to have any of these problem, even when its temp is already 60F - this is the "PressHOT" core, btw.

Yes, there is hard drive activity when the "freeze" occurs bec. it is loading something (ie. program, file, etc...).

Well, I dont know. Lots of people were all praises for the MB I got, for its supposed enthusiast level of usage capabilities.

***************************

Oh well, I hope the shops in Gilmore still sell some Intel P4 CPU in the sub Php 4,500.00 price tag. Here in the Philippines, they move old stocks out quickly and forcing everyone to spend so much money on the latest CPUs. At least, in the US, through newegg, ordering and assembling is a breeze. And most importantly, newegg still carries old stocks, unlike here. Here, even with the number of shops in Gilmore, you'd still be hard-pressed to find anything not mainstream (ie. slightly old stock).

The P4 HT is a lot smoother during multi-tasking than the single-core A64s I've used. It isn't THAT bad though... I mean, even on my old Duron system I can feel the slowness, but none of that freezing malarkey.

Does the sound stutter (sirang plaka/pirated CD yung tunog) when it freezes? Do you have the Cool n' Quiet enabled (try disabling it)?

OT: Re old stocks: There isn't much of a "spare parts" market here in the Philippines. Everyone I know replaces their computer when it breaks, and everyone has exactly the same hardware it has when it was bought.

**Syuryuken** · February 25th, 2007 09:25 PM

Asrock tipid version ng Asus hehehe

Anong aasahan mo sa tinipid na motherboard?

Sa lahat ng nirerepair ko halatang-halata ang kabagalan ng ECS, Foxconn, Asrock, kumbaga parang ipit ang speed ng CPU.

**boybi** · February 25th, 2007 09:41 PM

Originally Posted by number001

Well, let's wait for boybi's reply. He has the same MB as yours and the same cpu as mine and he is experiencing the "freeze" also.

I've found the source of the 'freezing'. it's caused by u*******. i guess i'll go back to using *******. but i'll observe further if it is really u******* that is causing the 'freezing'.

Originally Posted by Jun aka Pekto

Anyway, he's got the nForce4 SLI which has minor differences from mine. His built-in sound is also different. Mine is the Realtek ALC850 while his has a built-in Creative SB Live!

mine also have the Realtek sound chip. i think only the later releases of the mobo came with the Creative sound chip.

**Alpha_One** · February 25th, 2007 09:47 PM

The ALC850 sucks. Even I wonder why I'm not replacing it with a VIA Envy-based card yet.

Back to topic, how about antivirus software? What do you use? Some programs have performance issues when used with certain AV's (and vice versa).

**mikmik316** · February 25th, 2007 10:03 PM

Originally Posted by Syuryuken

Asrock tipid version ng Asus hehehe

Anong aasahan mo sa tinipid na motherboard?

Sa lahat ng nirerepair ko halatang-halata ang kabagalan ng ECS, Foxconn, Asrock, kumbaga parang ipit ang speed ng CPU.

As I expected, since sir syuryuken is looking for performance, you wont really get that from Asrock. Asrock was designed for stability & compatibility in the 1st place that's why you will notice such technologies designed in their product such as AGP & PCIe slots in 1 board, Graphics card slot for those integrated graphics-only chipsets, and thicker PCB boards (6-layer compared to 4-layer boards).

But then again, what really makes a good board? Ako I don't look at the brand name but rather on the chipset it has... I would rather choose a Biostar, Jetway or Sapphire board with Intel chipset rather than an Asus, MSI, or ECS board with a ULi or SiS chipset.

And the good thing worth sticking for the Intel platform is that they design the CPU, chipset and you can even buy an Intel motherboard. As for AMD, they rely on 3rd party chipsets so quality varies...

I am not sure if there is a microcode update or an errata for AMD CPUs... better check their website if they have a bug fix for their CPU.

**boybi** · February 25th, 2007 10:27 PM

Originally Posted by Alpha_One

Back to topic, how about antivirus software? What do you use? Some programs have performance issues when used with certain AV's (and vice versa).

hmm, i've just switched from Sygate to ZoneAlarm firewall, and my AV is Avast. is there anyone here with the same AV-Firewall combo?

**number001** · February 25th, 2007 11:11 PM

^I use ZoneAlarm, Spybot, and Norton AntiVirus 2006.

**boybi** · February 26th, 2007 12:17 AM

i am now thinking that it's u******* with ZoneAlarm that is causing the problem. i have been using u******* for a long time and haven't experienced freezing. until only recently, when i switched to ZoneAlarm that the freezing occured. ZoneAlarm and Avast together doesn't freeze the PC, as have been observed that past couple of hours.

**Jun aka Pekto** · February 26th, 2007 04:36 AM

Originally Posted by boybi

i am now thinking that it's u******* with ZoneAlarm that is causing the problem. i have been using u******* for a long time and haven't experienced freezing. until only recently, when i switched to ZoneAlarm that the freezing occured. ZoneAlarm and Avast together doesn't freeze the PC, as have been observed that past couple of hours.

I think that happened to my HP laptop (P4-2.4ghz) which had Limewire installed. It had ZoneAlarm Free version which limited many of Limewire's outbound features.

I wiped the hard drive completely and never installed any P2P apps again. It's been fine since until the laptop fell off the roof of an SUV. Now, it's time for a replacement......iBook, perhaps?

**Jun aka Pekto** · February 26th, 2007 04:50 AM

Originally Posted by Alpha_One

The ALC850 sucks. Even I wonder why I'm not replacing it with a VIA Envy-based card yet.

OT
If it's just sound quality, I don't have good-enough ears to tell the difference between it and my Audigy 2 Value. As far as causing any instability or other problems. Mine has none to speak of except occasionally doing the "skipping record" thing on BF2's main menu. That's the sole reason why I have an Audigy 2 Value installed. That was under Win XP. That problem's not present with BF2 under Vista RC1 which is why the Creative card is disabled in Vista RC1. The Realtek's doing just fine.

Via on the other hand, has had a track record of unstable and quirky motherboards especially with the KT266 and KT266A series. I lost an Abit and a Soyo KT266A boards after 2-3 years while an older AMD760 board outlasted both and still works great in my wife's pc. The Abit simply died for no reason. The Soyo (Dragon+) lasted 3 years. So long as no cards were installed except an agp video card, it was great. But put anything on the last 3 pci slots and that board becomes very unstable. Granted, that quirkiness may not apply to other Via-based components like the Envy soundcard or the Firewire chip of my current pc. But, I learned to take the name Via with caution.