Each month we dig deep into the mailbag here at CPU in an effort to answer your most pressing technical questions. Want some advice on your next purchase or upgrade? Have a ghost in your machine? Are BSODs making your life miserable? CPU's "Advanced Q&A Corner" is here for you. I work with large access databases (1 million to 1.5 million records) and multiple Windows applications such as Excel, Word, and PaperPort. The last game I regularly played was Space Invaders. But database queries sometime take several minutes, and I occasionally have to close programs to free up memory. I'm thinking of the Pentium 4 Extreme (3.46GHz), MSI Neo Platinum 925X motherboard, 4GB of DDR2 RAM, and high-speed SATA mirrored hard drives. However, after reading numerous reviews, I'm confused over whether to wait for the updated motherboard (1,066MHz bus) or go with an AMD high-end setup. Also, I'd like to know whether these leading-edge components are better than midrange components. A: Great question, Ben. This is one that we've been debating around the HotHardware.com labs for a couple of months now. The usage model you described is not uncommon but very different in terms of its system-level processing requirements vs. a typical gamer's usage model. Without question, if you are a heavy-duty gamer, the Athlon 64 powers the fastest systems on the planet right now. However, if you do a lot more than just gaming, especially in a multitasking desktop environment, the P4 is likely a better choice. For as much flack as Intel took this year with respect to the P4's relatively low IPC (instructions per clock cycle) rating vs. an AMD Athlon 64, the P4 has some redeeming qualities as a result of its HyperThreading capabilities. Specifically, the P4 excels over an Athlon 64 in multitasking situations such as
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Computer power supplies convert alternating current (AC) line to direct current (DC) line, needed by the computer.
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Chipsets are single chips that provide many of the functions of a motherboard. Generally, they integrate the clock generator, bus controllers, system timer, interrupt controller, DMA controller, CMOS/RAM clock, and keyboard controller functions.

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Each month we dig deep into the mailbag here at in an effort to answer your most pressing technical questions. Want some advice on your next purchase or upgrade? Have a ghost in your machine? Are...

Each month we dig deep into the mailbag here at CPU in an effort to answer your most pressing technical questions. Want some advice on your next purchase or upgrade? Have a ghost in your machine? Are...

Each month we dig deep into the mailbag here at CPU in an effort to answer your most pressing technical questions. Want some advice on your next purchase or upgrade? Have a ghost in your machine? Are...

Each month we dig deep into the mailbag here at CPU in an effort to answer your most pressing technical questions. Want some advice on your next purchase or upgrade? Have a ghost in your machine? Are...

Each month we dig deep into the mailbag here at CPU in an effort to answer your most pressing technical questions. Want some advice on your next purchase or upgrade? Have a ghost in your machine? Are...

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