CPU requirements

[stoevi]

Hi all,

my old CPU (P4 1.8) just died. Not having a machine now with MP running, I suddenly realise how often I use this great piece of Software. I urgently need a new (cheap) CPU.
The requirements say that 1.8Mhz is enough and the cheapest CPU I could find is a Celeron-D 2.5Mhz.
Now, I lost trace about all the CPUs available years ago, but I remember that "Celeron" was kind of equal to "slow".
Does anyone have experiences about MP running with a celeron?
Do I better invest more in a "better" CPU, especially with the next step from .NET1.1 to .NET2.0 which probably will demand more CPU power in the future.

Any information/suggestions/opinions appreciated,
thanks,
jan

[jellybeard999]

celerys have improved MASSIVELY with the D... it aint as good as a P4 ... but is MUCH better than old ones will be fine...

HOWEVER intel are no longer kings in ANY sector with reagards to performance and price - AMD have em tied up...

but companies still buy intel :roll:

if u just want a chip, the celly D will do fine, if u want a new system.. .AMD A64 range (A64, X2, FX) is the best u can get

[STSC]

Do I better invest more in a "better" CPU, especially with the next step from .NET1.1 to .NET2.0 which probably will demand more CPU power in the future.

That's not true. I have a P3-S 1133 and MP starts a lot faster with the latest CVS than with MP 0.1.3. But this might also be improvements in the Code.

I would go for a Sempron 64.

[gxtracker]

Considering you most likey want to stay with the same motherboard, recommending a platform swap to AMD might be a bit futile. Of course, if you are looking to get a new motherboard, and maybe some ram, then i would also be on that boat and recommend an AMD soloution. The new Venice AMD64 chips run so cool and stable at low voltages, that I wouldn't be hesitant to try and run it with a passive cooler.

Like Jelly I agree; the Celeron D CPU's are much, much better than what the celerons were like back in the day we remember them. Definatly not the performance king, but they are very overclockable as well as cooler running due to having the smaller cache.

It also depends on what you want the HTPC to do. if you plan on gaming or media encoding, then I would get the fastest possible. If its for simple usage; watching TV (hardware encoding card), playing movies, music, nes/snes emulators, etc... then I've gotten away with a puny 800Mhz P3. Everything is relative.

[stoevi]

Thanks to all who replied! I'll probably go for a Sempron64. I need a new mainboard anyway, because the current one only supports SD-RAM and the combination of a P4 and slow SD-RAM did not really boost the performance. :wink:

Greetings,
Jan