[Slimjimer]

I am needing a new computer and I want a fairly decent computer but I want to know exactly what I am buying. What are the differences in speed between a celeron processor, a p3, and a p4? Say an intel celeron processor has a speed of 1.6 ghz then what is the difference between that and an intel p4 1.6 ghz? Is there a chart somewhere that can help me or could someone clarify this?

[antx]

A celeron is the lowcost version of the P3. P3 is the predecessor of the P4. If you want a decent computer its no use talking about celeron, P3 or even Duron (lowcost version of Athlon), and older Athlons like the Thunderbird.
P4 from Intel are available up to 2.6Ghz. Athlon XP from AMD are available up to 2.0Ghz but can compete with the 2.6Ghz P4 From Intel even with the lower frequency. Therefore the official name is Athlon XP 2600+. That is to indicate the speed compared to an Intel cpu.

For more detailed info check out http://www.tomshardware.com/.

... and here is a comparison table: http://www17.tomshardware.com/cpu/20030217/cpu_charts-32.html#comparison_table

[[Shizo]]

Dude from California asking those questions? Hmm, i thought everyone had those in-eye monitors and wireless internet antennas walking around the streets down at the Silicon Valley

But as antx said, that's pretty much it. Just make sure that it's either an Intel P4 2GHz / Athlon XP 2000+ or more.

[Sukhoi]

If your'e into 3d graphics and mainly do that you ought to consider buying Athlon. But if you do 2d or video i'd recommend Pentium. The Athlon is a tad bit quicker in the realm of 3d 'cause of it's 3 math engine 'thingies', whereas the Pentium is way faster when doing 2D and video.

That's my experience atleast.

Remeber to keep your Athlon cool as it get's rather hot. Remember to get a good PSU also. This can be overlooked sometimes.

You can also check www.firingsquad.com for info on PSU's and the likes.

Sukhoi