Recent XP 2500s don't usually overclock as well as some of the earlier issues of the chip. If you're counting on running one at 200MHz front side bus you might just be in for a bit of disappointment!

On the other hand, when looking at Athlon64 I think RAM compatibility is the wrong thing to be worried about - you should be concerned about the Socket format! A64s will be moving to the Socket939 format sometime in the near future, and those jumping in to the current Socket format might just be left with a rather limited upgrade path.

For the moment, I'd suggest an XP in the 3000+ or 3200+ models, or a P4 at about the 3 GHz range would be ample.

For Video editing, the most important thing to look at in your purchase is decent RAM (which you can reuse later) in copious amounts, and heaps of drive storage space, preferably SATA drives for future proofing.

Catweazle so itd be better for me to get an amd 64 3000+...socket 754 it is..i really have no choice..cause thats where my budget gets me....is 1 gb dimm enough for the mean time....? and about the ram compatibility ar yousure ram will work? as ddr400? cause i read tests only the asus mobo got most of the rams working...and the prob is our local comp shop dont have that mobo..only epox k8t800 and msi k8t800 neo...both did well but not as good as asus...so what else ? by the way...thanks for the quick reply...

I think Catweazle's suggesting an XP 3000 or 3200, not the 64 3000. There's a bit of a difference... Especially price-wise... If you're on a budget, you'd probably want to go with the XP 3200.

In your case, make sure you buy brand-name components, and you should be in good shape. The only times I've ever run into any RAM compatibility problems have been when I've used no-name "el cheapo" RAM. Other than that, I've been good, and I've used Gigabyte, Intel, Asus, Soyo, and Amptron boards in this manner.

If I were you, I'd get the XP3200+ and the DDR400 RAM. From there, you should base your motherboard purchasing decision on what's available, and then out of that, which board has the most features for the least money.

oops, sorry. I forgot to respond to this earlier.

That's exactly what i meant, Alex. I wouldn't really advise anyone to feel pressured to switch to A64 and Socket 754. It'd be better to 'patch up' just yet, and wait for Socket 939 with PCI Express slots a bit further down the track.

High-end games machines are the only ones that'd have you looking at A64 and Socket 754 just at the moment.

im from the philippines and amd 64 3000+ costs only $50 dollars more than xp 3000+...so what you think? really confused on what to buy...

I think you'll find that a suitable motherboard costs more as well. Compare the price of an ABit NF7-S motherboard (which is a high performance, fully featured Athlon XP motherboard) with the cost of a decent nForce3 250 chipset motherboard for Athlon64 (which is the best in class for that processor choice).

ok thanks a lot...so ill be getting a xp...thanks!

I think you should go with the amd 64 they are much more powerful. It is a better buy too. Asus motherboards are some of the best motherboards so with that and and the amd 64 you should have a good computer


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yes if i am to think about the long run...i think 64's are better...