I have been googling around trying to find a definitive answer to the following. I think what I need is opinions

I am using this processor:

processor : 0
vendor_id : AuthenticAMD
cpu family : 15
model : 44
model name : AMD Sempron(tm) Processor 3000+
stepping : 0
cpu MHz : 1000.000
cache size : 128 KB
fdiv_bug : no
hlt_bug : no
f00f_bug : no
coma_bug : no
fpu : yes
fpu_exception : yes
cpuid level : 1
wp : yes
flags : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush mmx fxsr sse sse2 syscall nx mmxext fxsr_opt lm 3dnowext 3dnow up pni lahf_lm
bogomips : 2009.02
clflush size : 64
power management: ts fid vid ttp tm stc

The box has 2gb RAM and has a VIA K8M800 chipset.

I need to replace the psu and the sound card. That costs money (I know .... only a little )

Somewhere, I have an old HP Pentium 4 2.53 ghz box. As far as I remember, it all works. I haven't got any more details about the box but I know it takes the same memory as this box ie it would have 2gb.

Is it worth digging it out? How does a Pentium 4 (would you need more info. about the P4 cpu to answer?) compare with the AMD Sempron? I get the feeling that the HP box would be a more robust machine : the AMD Sempron was an economy model, wasn't it?

I'd appreciate your thoughts.

Both those CPUs are use slightly older technology, and though both dissipated lots of Watts, I think the Pentium4 was the real power hog.

At the time, I chose a AMD 2500 (Barton) over a Pentium4. It had the feature that it ran (clearly) faster than the P4, even though its clock speed was under 1.9GHz. The Sempron derived from the Barton, cost less, and could not be overclocked.

The numbering system was designed according to marketing hype norms. The idea was to convey what equivalent competitor's product it would be equivalent to. eg. I think a AMD XP2.1 was supposedly as fast as a Intel P4 at 2.1GHz (I think), even though its standard clock was at 1833 Mhz. How fast stuff would run depended also on memory FSB speeds, motherboard chipsets, and architecture bottlenecks. The processors could not be directly compared based on clock speed alone.

Here is a link to tables revealing what Semprons do. http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/127


A Sempron 3000, though clocked slower, would perform within a few hairs of a 3GHz P4. At the time, even if the P4 was marginally faster on benchmarks, I think most (gamers) chose the AMD (for cooler running).