:: Single Core Proc Overall ::

SINGLE CORE PROCESSOR ROUNDUP
(overall comparison)

<< PROCESSOR LIST >>

Processor

Clock

Processor

Clock

Intel Pentium 4 530
Intel Pentium 4 540
Intel Pentium 4 550
Intel Pentium 4 560
Intel Pentium 4 570

3.00GHz
3.20GHz
3.40GHz
3.60GHz
3.80GHz

1024KB
1024KB
1024KB
1024KB
1024KB

AMD Athlon64 3000+
AMD Athlon64 3200+
AMD Athlon64 3500+
AMD Athlon64 3700+
AMD Athlon64 3800+
AMD Athlon64 4000+

1.80GHz
2.00GHz
2.20GHz
2.20GHz
2.40GHz
2.40GHz

512KB
512KB
512KB
1024KB
512KB
1024KB

Intel Pentium 4 630
Intel Pentium 4 640
Intel Pentium 4 650
Intel Pentium 4 660
Intel Pentium 4 670

3.00GHz
3.20GHz
3.40GHz
3.60GHz
3.80GHz

2048KB
2048KB
2048KB
2048KB
2048KB

AMD Athlon64 FX-57
Intel Pentium 4 XE

2.80GHz
3.73GHz

1024KB
2048KB

<< TYPES OF ANALYSIS >>

Performance (%) :

-	Data taken from various review sites, especially Anandtech and Xbitlabs.
-	The data is reorganized so that all processors can be viewed in a single database.
-	Data is converted into percentage (%) for easier comparison.
-	The Pentium4 531 is chosen as the base system. The performance of the other CPU is relative to the P4 531 in terms of %.
-	90% / 110% means a CPU performs 10% worse / better than a P4 531.
-	The overall performance is calculated by taking the sum of each app (in %) and divided by 9.

Performance to Price :

-	Value taken by dividing the performance with the price in USD.
-	Higher value means the processor is worther to buy.

Performance to Power :

-	Value taken by dividing the performance with the power in Watt (W).
-	Higher value means the processor is more efficient --> save more power.

:: CATEGORY 01 ... Below USD200 ::

APPLICATION	531 3.0, 1M	3000+ 1.8, 512	630 3.0, 2M	3200+ 2.0, 512
General Application Multitasking Application Photo & Video Editing Audio & Video Encoding Gaming Application 3D Model Rendering 3D Model Rendering (MAYA) Science and Maths Application Software Development 0	100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 0	108.18 089.99 110.10 090.28 116.40 091.94 128.24 115.69 112.85 0	103.28 103.86 109.30 107.96 103.53 097.01 141.99 102.09 101.29 0	113.66 101.17 119.42 098.03 121.76 100.35 141.99 123.70 120.55 0
Price (USD) Max Power (W)	178.00 101.60	124.00 043.20	178.00 107.00	155.00 046.50
Performance (in %) Performance to price Performance to power	100.00 005.62 000.98	107.07 008.64 002.48	107.81 006.06 001.01	115.63 007.46 002.50

COMMENTS:

Athlon64 3200+ is recommended because


-	Best performance and efficiency in this group.
-	Higher overclockability in general.
-	Supports 10x multiplier --> no need to stress HTT PLL so much when o/c.
-	After o/c-ed, performance to price ratio might exceed o/c-ed 3000+.

:: CATEGORY 02 ... USD 201 - 250 ::

APPLICATION	541 3.2, 1M	640 3.2, 2M	3500+ 2.2, 512	3700+ 2.2, 1M
General Application Multitasking Application Photo & Video Editing Audio & Video Encoding Gaming Application 3D Model Rendering 3D Model Rendering (MAYA) Science and Maths Application Software Development 0	103.52 105.63 106.30 106.92 104.47 101.85 105.57 105.37 102.60 0	106.66 110.13 114.84 114.05 108.83 101.21 149.86 109.87 106.42 0	118.87 111.67 127.91 106.04 127.00 108.84 156.15 132.88 129.76 0	122.79 114.12 128.91 106.71 132.64 109.22 156.40 138.69 138.33 0
Price (USD) Max Power (W)	218.00 105.60	218.00 111.00	205.00 050.30	238.00 051.10
Performance (in %) Performance to price Performance to power	104.69 004.80 000.99	113.54 005.21 001.03	124.35 006.07 002.47	127.53 005.36 002.50

COMMENTS:

Athlon64 3500+ is recommended because


-	Best performance to price ratio
-	Very little difference in performance difference compare to 3700+
-	Very little difference in performance to power ratio compare to 3700+
-	3700+ cannot be found in LYP, need to order through bulk order.
-	However, San Diego core (3700+) has bigger cache and might have better o/c ability. So, if you are an overclocker or benchmarker, go for 3700+ through bulk order.

:: CATEGORY 03 ... USD 251 - 350 ::

APPLICATION	551 3.4, 1M	650 3.4, 2M	3800+ 2.4, 512	4000+ 2.4, 1M
General Application Multitasking Application Photo & Video Editing Audio & Video Encoding Gaming Application 3D Model Rendering 3D Model Rendering (MAYA) Science and Maths Application Software Development 0	108.17 114.83 120.48 117.17 109.74 110.48 112.94 112.12 105.32 0	110.46 116.24 119.93 119.98 113.97 106.47 159.19 115.67 111.84 0	123.16 117.98 134.05 113.63 131.25 115.93 168.14 145.28 141.22 0	127.28 120.61 135.09 114.33 137.04 116.33 168.42 153.59 150.57 0
Price (USD) Max Power (W)	278.00 110.30	273.00 116.10	288.00 053.60	341.00 054.50
Performance (in %) Performance to price Performance to power	112.36 004.04 001.02	119.30 004.37 001.03	132.29 004.59 002.47	135.92 003.99 002.49

COMMENTS:

Athlon64 3800+ is recommended because


-	Best performance to price ratio
-	Very little difference in performance difference compare to 4000+
-	Very little difference in performance to power ratio compare to 4000+
-	4000+ cannot be found in LYP, need to order through bulk order.
-	However, San Diego core (4000+) has bigger L2 cache and might have better o/c ability. So, if you are an overclocker or benchmarker, go for 4000+ through bulk order.

:: CATEGORY 04 ... USD 351 and above ::

APPLICATION	561 3.6, 1M	571 3.8, 1M	660 3.6, 2M	670 3.8, 2M
General Application Multitasking Application Photo & Video Editing Audio & Video Encoding Gaming Application 3D Model Rendering 3D Model Rendering (MAYA) Science and Maths Application Software Development 0	110.40 119.23 123.35 124.21 114.59 114.66 118.73 119.15 108.45 0	115.71 126.38 132.63 133.04 118.74 119.09 124.80 126.15 111.54 0	113.61 122.05 124.31 126.20 119.13 111.50 170.59 123.14 117.45 0	123.53 131.25 131.55 133.12 124.18 116.23 176.47 132.00 123.49 0
Price (USD) Max Power (W)	218.00 105.60	218.00 111.00	205.00 119.40	238.00 123.40
Performance (in %) Performance to price Performance to power	116.98 002.81 001.02	123.12 001.93 001.04	125.33 003.13 001.05	132.42 002.19 001.07

COMMENTS:

Not Recommended as they performed slower than category 3 and have very low performance to price and power ratios.

:: Category Extreme ::

APPLICATION	P4XE 3.6, 1M	A64FX 2.8, 1M
General Application Multitasking Application Photo & Video Editing Audio & Video Encoding Gaming Application 3D Model Rendering 3D Model Rendering (MAYA) Science and Maths Application Software Development 0	110.40 119.23 123.35 124.21 114.59 114.66 118.73 119.15 108.45 0	115.71 126.38 132.63 133.04 118.74 119.09 124.80 126.15 111.54 0
Price (USD) Max Power (W)	0999.99 *120.00	1031.00 0*60.00
Performance (in %) Performance to price Performance to power	129.95 001.30 001.08	153.51 001.49 002.56

COMMENTS:

* the max power is an estimated value.
Not Recommended as they are TOO expensive.

CONCLUSION

1.	Performance King	: Athlon64 FX-57 (~54% faster than 531)
2.	Best Performance to price	: Athlon64 3000+
3.	Best Performance to power	: Athlon64 (All have similar efficiency)

This is just the overall performance (a.k.a. rough comparison). In general, AMD Athlon64 is a better processor than Intel Pentium 4, in terms of performance, price and efficiency.

Usually lower end processor is worther to buy, because the pricing is not linear with the performance gain. Super high end processor (the extreme) and P4 x60 above is not recommended as they are too expensive and not worth the money. It's better to learn some overclocking skill to boost the performance near to or beyond the extreme processors.

Last but not least, you cannot say AMD wins Intel in all application, bcoz there's some field where Pentium 4 has outstanding performance. You should read about the detail comparison in order to choose the appropriate processor for your work and daily usage.

| Intel Processor Pricing | AMD Processor Pricing |