2.6, 2.8 3.0 is there a big difference

Is there a big difference in performance between the 2.6, and 2.8 and 3.0
intel processors. I am buying parts this week to finally build, and want
some input. The computer is only going to be a game machine, and internet
browsing. Would there be an athlon processor that provides a reasonable
performance comparison. The reason I ask is that there is quite a price
difference in processors from 2.6 to 3.06 or 3.0.

I am using a Dell 1.8ghtz computer, not sure of the fsb, and it plays the
games okay, such as Half life. I want to build for the future, and lean
toward a intel processor, asus motherboard, 1 gig memory, and 800 fsb.
Would there be a Athlon processor that can compare to the intel p4's. I
don't mean to slight athlon in any way, so please suggest what you would
rather have if you were building.

JIm

On Thu, 29 Jan 2004 23:09:03 GMT, "jim a" <jima102250.RemoveThis@comcast.net> wrote:

 >Is there a big difference in performance between the 2.6, and 2.8 and 3.0
 >intel processors. I am buying parts this week to finally build, and want
 >some input. The computer is only going to be a game machine, and internet
 >browsing. Would there be an athlon processor that provides a reasonable
 >performance comparison. The reason I ask is that there is quite a price
 >difference in processors from 2.6 to 3.06 or 3.0.
 >
 >I am using a Dell 1.8ghtz computer, not sure of the fsb, and it plays the
 >games okay, such as Half life. I want to build for the future, and lean
 >toward a intel processor, asus motherboard, 1 gig memory, and 800 fsb.
 >Would there be a Athlon processor that can compare to the intel p4's. I
 >don't mean to slight athlon in any way, so please suggest what you would
 >rather have if you were building.

Right now the 2.8ghz 800mhz FSB is the best bang for the buck. I have
compared it to a 3.2, and can't really tell the difference in real-world
usage. Any 2.8 on a decent motherboard can be safely overclocked to over
3.0ghz without sacrificing stability or CPU life. I run a 2.8 at 3.3 at the
moment and it's very sweet.

The Athlons seem slow to me. Although they stack up with the P4's in the
benchmark programs, it the real world they simply seem slow.

Bob<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->