Hi folks, I've got another hardware question. I'm still researching a new computer (still flipping between mac and pc). Right now I have a PC question. I've got two quotes for 2 systems. One reasonably powerful and one supposedly "kick-ass" ssytem. I'm wondering if the difference in price tas is warranted. THe main differences are thus: Cheaper system first: Processor: INTEL P4 S470-800 2.8 G (265$ CAN) Board: P4 S478 ASUS P4P800-DX (189$ CAN) Memory: Kinsgton KVR 400MHZ DDR NO_ECC 1 G Kit (299$) More expensive system: Procesor: INTEL P4-E S478-800 3.2G (459$ CAN) Board: P4 S478 ASUS P4C800-E-DX (279$ CAN) Memory : CORSAIR 400 MHZ DDR NO-ECC 1G TWINX LLPT (459$ CAN) Basically I'm wondering if the difference in performance I can expect from the higher priced components are worth it. The guy at the store says the P4-E is significantly more powerful than just the P4, and that the CORSAIR ram is also quite superior. What do you guys think? I don't doubt that he's telling me the truth, I just wonder if the increase is worth it. Thanks for any input you might have. Cheers, Max

I'm no guru. . . here is the bit that I know.. . http://www.anandtech.com/cpu/showdoc.html?i=1956 basically, not clear that the E is much better than the non-E. You should read it though. On the memory side- thats a dual channel memory board, right? So you are actually getting two Simms to make up the 1G? (otherwise the TWIN line is kind of pointless- see the Corsair website) You would probably get slightly better performance with the Corsair- I don't know enough to quantify it though. Corsair is famous for the overclocking abilities of their memories. If you aren't going to optimize and overclock, it is probably overkill. Markd

Another way to think of it is, is it 60% better? It's 60% more expensive, but probably won't give you anywhere near that kind of difference in performance. Usually on the PC side, there is a nice spot where you can get 80% of the performance for about 60% of the price. That 2.8 looks to be about there. Regards, Eric Winemiller Digital Carvers Guild 3D plug-ins for Carrara http://digitalcarversguild.com

Thanks guys, thats pretty much what I suspected. I.E.: that the performance hike might not be on par with the price hike. This would ne my first PC, coming from a MAC world. I want to make sure I make a well researched purchase. :o) Cheers, Max