The 3.2C firmly holds the lead over the AthlonXP, and over every other single-processor CPU out there. Until Intel's next generation desktop CPU makes its debut, the Pentium 4 3.2C is as good as it gets. That being said, unless you're going to spend $3000 on a Dell (in which case you probably aren't reading this) the 3.2C is not something I would recommend to anyone to actually buy. This processor can cost $200-300 more than the 3.0C, and 99% of the time the differences in performance between the two is negligible. The real star of the P4C line is the 2.4, which will get to at least 3.2ghz with some half decent cooling, costs 1\5 as much, and offers better performance thanks to 1000mhz+ fsb. As with every Intel flagship to come before it, the 3.2C is insanely overpriced and scarce. There won't be much from Intel until into Q4 of this year, so I wouldn't expect the price of the 3.2C to drop any until we see a 3.4Ghz Prescott.
As for the AthlonXP, the 3200+ is not as good as it should be. It used to be that PR increases meant clock speed increases. Its painfully obvious that AMD hit a wall with the 2700+'s 2.16ghz clock speed. If you recall, the 2800+ was slower than the 2700+, but AMD felt that an extra 256kb of cache justified the PR increase. Did it? Or was it that there wasn't 80mhz left to squeeze out of the core? The 3200+ only runs 40mhz faster than the 3000+, but apparently AMD feels that combined with a 67mhz bump in FSB = 200mhz of Intel class speed increase. It doesn't. Let's hope the Athlon64 shows sooner rather than later, because the K7 is in dire need of a replacement.
Highs:
- Fast
- Really fast
- Not much more heat or power draw than the 3.0C
- Hammers the 3200+
