if I could get an

Dual AMD 2100 in a 4 u case with 2 intel pro 100/s nics, 2 36.7 scsi drives and 2 gb of ram with the other usuals

for about the same price as a

Dual p3 1.4 in a 1 u case with built in nic adapters 2 36.7 scsi drives and 2 gb of ram

Would u pick the amd? I am only asking because I know the amd is more machine, but I have heard so/so comments on the amd mp's for servers. What does everyone think?

What motherboard are these on?

If the dually P3 is on a Sever Works/Super Micro, I would take that anyday over a Tyan (if thats what the AMD is on).

Whats with the dual nics? Id go with the p4, saves space and over time will addup in colocation savings. I think the going rate is about 25-50 a u, thats a 150 or 75 difference a month

I have got a full rack. No worries there...=)

I'd go with the p3 ! You may have a full rack now, but you'll thank yourself when you fill it up! The p3 is a better server chip anyway. If you could tell us what each motherboard is, we could give a better evaluation!

Well, for whats its worth....I'd go with the Intel.

(There was a test done on www.tomshardware.com of AMD chips, and Intel chips... of Duron's and Pentium III's and P4's of what happens if a heatsink comes disconnected from the chip for some reason.

The AMD chips LITERALLY fried, complete with smoke, and 600+ degree temps and destroyed both chips and motherboards.

The P4 was smart enough to slow itself down so it didnt cook and kept workin.

The Pentium III machine shut the machine down hard until the heatsink was reconnected.)


(They have an interesting video of the test there.)

While the P4 does have active thermal throttling and the P3 did shut itself down, AMD now has features which do the same as well. But this catch is it is not on the CPU like Intel's thermal solution, but rather a function of the motherboard.

This again brings up the issue of what motherboard is being used.

I've heard too many horror stories about Athlon chips in web server roles. I'm living one right now with one client - we will be swapping out the CPU / memory / motherboard in the next few weeks because we're living one of those horror stories. I have an Athlon, motherboard, and memory gathering dust in my basement because of my own hooro story.

Go with the P4, or dual P3 and sleep at night.

Performance ratings of the MP were not too great, I've read about 3 or 4 reviews of the MP as I was curious and all said that its Intel counterpart was a better component. I'd also get the P3 for space saving as already mentioned.