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What to upgrade?

A

Alex41290

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Feb 20, 2004
Messages
1,570
Sorry, I know this is a dumb question that has probably been asked numerous times, but I'm sorry, I don't want to go through all of the other threads in all the other forums. SO, onto my question:

I have an Athlon XP 2500+, which I got within the past year, so its not old itself, but I know the actual processor itself is outdated. I don't really want to overclock, so I was thinking of a 3000+ or a 3200+. Now, for the moment, I want to get an idea for how much its gonna cost, just so I can save up. I know the 3200+ runs at around $180 on newegg, so its not bad. But i was also wondering if it would be worth it to go 64 now. I know I'd hafta get a new mobo, but is it worth it? Or, dare I say, go Intel? I'm not a phanboy for either side, its just I'm biased to my AMD because i've tried friends' Intels, and they're not that great. But, I'll stop getting myself flamed. If you have any suggestions, please, I'd like help. I want to go AMD because I'm not rich, nor are most people, but I'd rather get the "bang-for-my-buck" and not the "premium" on the market. Also, my parents'/sister's PC just crapped out (finally) and I sort of helped it (cleared the MBR, :p) and I can't find the 98 install CD. So, what's a suggestion for that? I was thinkin 64 2800+, cuz all they do is AIM, web surfing, and some games (the sims, civilization 3) and its a good processor thats relatively inexpensive. The 3000+ looks nice too, but anyway, I'd like your reccomendations on that too, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Alex

Also, I'm thinking about upgrading my RAM, because truthfully, it sucks. You can also make suggestions for upgrades for anything else, I was just wondering about my CPU.
 
You probably could overclock your cpu to 3200 and not have to worry. Just make sure you have an unlocked processor which were barton's produced before week 38 or 39 I believe. But you would definately need at least pc3200 ram.

The Asus board...its an alright board but people like the deluxe version. The main differences I can think of are the nf 400 'ultra' chipset, MCPT and dual channel in the deluxe. The deluxe is a faster board but yours is fine. Heck, dual channel doesn't really make a difference in xp systems anyways. The performance difference is about 5% max. So I would recommend a single ship 512 pc3200 and try overclocking you 2500.

As for the 3200 I wouldn't touch it, you can easily oc a mobile 2400m or 2600m to more than a regular 3200xp. Check out pricewatch.com for better deals on cpu's, you could pick up a 3200 xp for $112 if you really wanted to. But of course new egg has wonderful service and you could pick up a 2600m from them for 99 now

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-436&depa=0

As far as your families computer is concerned, an a64 2800 would probably be a good choice since they don't need it for much and it will last long in that respect. The only thing you may even think about upgrading latter on in that would be the cpu, but can wait till the a64 3700 is dirt cheap. That computer would be pretty future proof for there needs. Chaintech nf3 250 board would be my choice, great reviews and its a bargin at about 80 bucks.
 
Well, one of my next questions is a noob question, but the other is okay.

How do I find out if my processor is unlocked? I know what it means. Is mine unlocked if I can change the multiplier in my BIOS? If so, mine is.

My other question, how far can i overclock (safely) on the stock fan and heatsink? Last time I overclocked it, I blew it out and my PC wouldn't boot. I don't want that to happen again.

But thank you for the help, I'll look into the RAM because I should upgrade that too. So, I don't NEED the 3200+ or a new motherboard? And, if so, which motherboard should I get. I don't like how mine only has 3 DIMMs because then i can only add 1 more stick of RAM. Also, I would like firewire, but I can just get a PCI card for that. Also, do I need to get thermal paste and crap if I put a non-stock fan on it? Because I see all this Artic Silver stuff, and I'm wondering where you use it. Sorry for the noob question.

Again, thank you for the help.

Alex

EDIT: One more thing, instead of going 64 for my family's, could I just get either that 2600 or a 3200 and give my family the old 2500? I'm not sure if its worth it, or if i should just stick with getting the 64.
 
As far as overclocking is concerned...its all about temperatures. For an xp you should stay below 60C under load and you should be fine. Check this page out for a listing: http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=244237
your looking for something like 0335, that 35th week of 2003 when the cpu was produced and anything under week 35 is most likely unlocked.

Artic silver is great stuff, you can go to arcticsilver.com and find application instructions as well. AS5 is the best stuff out there right now but AS3 is pretty damn good too. They are the bast thermal grease maker around.

3dimms is the most your gonna find with an xp board. The best xp board out there for a long time was that asus deluxe. Like I said you should be able to oc fine with that board you have. But if you want firewire I've heard alot of good about this abit board: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-127-167&depa=1

I don't know what to say about your families computer. Its really up to you. But I think a 2800 64 setup is plenty of power to last them a long time. But you could give them your old 2500 and my guess is that it will seem a whole lot faster than whatever system they had with win98 on it.
 
Alex41290 said:
Well, one of my next questions is a noob question, but the other is okay.

How do I find out if my processor is unlocked? I know what it means. Is mine unlocked if I can change the multiplier in my BIOS? If so, mine is.
Click to expand...

#1, Try to change the multiplier via the BIOS.

#2, Check the datecode on the OPN, the one in this picture would be on a LOCKED cpu

0342.gif


The code is read "year" "week" the one in the picture is "week 42, 2003"

MD
 
Well, I just realized that I was stupid for asking about the multiplier, cuz i knew, i just had to go through the "alex" memory bank and find it :p. lol, so, with my 2500, what 3rd-party fan/heatsink should i get to adequately cool my proc? I'm overclocking now, stock, and its up to like 2.03GHz, which isn't that much, but it wouldn't POST at anything higher than 11x multiplier. I also didn't want my RAM too high, so I think i did 185 FSB.

Thanks for all the help, I think i'm just going to overclock. I also have one more question: for RAM, I actually have 3200, i didn't realize that. In that case, is 185 not fast enough for my RAM? Could i safely take it higher on the proc and ram?

Alex
 
pc 3200 is another term for ddr 400. So your ram is rated for 200mhz which double pumped (200x2) is 400. Your biggest enemy is heat you need to stay under 60C load. Your looking for a combination of stability and temperature. As you raise the fsb you will probably need to raise your cpu core voltage to maintain stability. Average voltage is about 1.7V for overclocking a 2500 to a 3200, all chips are different and its just the pick of the litter if to find the exceptional ones. Ideally you would like to get to 200x11to fully utilize the ram without having to actually oc your ram. Obviously the more volts you pump in your chip for stability the more the temperature is gonna rise. If you don't have a program, I use CPUCool to check my temps under load during gaming and stuff. You can get it off of google from many sites, here is one:
http://www.cpufsb.de/CPUCOOL.HTM
eventually you'll want to look into using SiSoftware Sandra and do a burn in to make sure your comp is stable. Again google for that.
 
Sorry to say, I have no idea which temp is my CPU, but I'm assuming its the highest one, which, doing nothing, is at 43C: is that okay? Also, I've used SiSoft Sandra before, and i like it. I put my multiplier to 10.5 and the FSB to 200, so its a 3200+ now, and, so far, its runnin like an angel. Thanks guys, but, jw, what 3rd party heatsink/fan should i get? thermaltake? well, thanks for the help, you guys have been great. My VCore is 1.696, and u said 1.7, so i'm guessing i'm okay.

well, thanks again for the help.

alex
 
the best out there right now as far as performance/noise ratio goes is this bad boy
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=35-118-109&depa=0
of course though its huge and you need to check one out in the store to see if it will fit in your case and on your motherboard. The biggest issues are if there are any mb capacitors that are too tall around the socket, if your psu clears, and it should clear ram but that can be an issue.

I would also check out thermalright (some nice and expensive all copper designs), and swiftech.

I tend to stay away from thermaltake becuase the first one I ever had was one noisy bastard. But their silent boost for the xp seems to get good reviews and its not such a behemoth as the zalman.


here, found this:
http://www.zalmanusa.com/product/cooler/7000(AB)_462MBlist_eng.htm
looks like all you'd have to worry about is your psu.
 
I guess what i'm getting from all of your replies is that its not okay to stick with stock cooling? haha, I would think that it would make a HUGE difference. But I'm also having a problem. In the BIOS it says 10.5x and 200MHz. But then, in this program I use, CPU-Z, and it says that its 11x. It doesn't really matter to me, but i'm just wondering why. I also checked the heatsink on the CPU fan, and it was barely warm. Not that it matters, but it just seems like i might not need a new 3rd party cooler. But I should just to be safe. And, if possible, is there a good one for like $20, cuz $40 bucks for a fan is pretty steep.

also, what RAM should I get? I want a single stick of 512MB, possibly, but 256 wouldn't be too bad.

thanks,

Alex
 
I would trust your bios and not the program, try CPUCool and see what it says, or you said you have sandra, what does it tell you. But of course make sure you are running the latest bios just to be safe.

For $20 your not gonna do much better than the stock HS. But do pick up some arctic silver at least.

As far as ram is concerned you should get 512 if you plan on gaming. 256 is slow on windows xp which I assume your running. btw I thought you said you actually have pc3200, you should be fine unless you want performance/low latency ram, but that is expenxsive stuff.
 
I think it would be worth getting the A64. But if you don't plan on upgrading for a couple yars, go with the 939 socket. :D
+1
 
So $40 is pretty much what its gonna be for what I want? well, I used motherboard monitor and it says the "CPU diode" is at 58C, and that's just sitting here typing. So, it seems worth the $40 if i'm gonna overclock. And, yes, i do have 3200 RAM, but i only have 512, and what i was thinking was either 768 or 1 gig of RAM. I don't really need low latency, i mean, my CAS latency is 2.5-3-3-8 now, is that good? I've seen 2-2-2-6, so i'm assuming mine is just okay. Also, i'm kind of confused on the method of applying artic silver. if you know of an easy way of explaining it, that would be great. So, r u saying that Zalman beast was the best one? that's what i got from it. Also, what about getting a fan controller? I was thinking about it so I could speed up all my case fans (though i only have 2, i want 2 more though). Is it a good idea? If so, could u point me in the right direction for a good one. Its not gonna work with my case (door) if the nobs stick out too much, so i'm not sure what would work. And what 80mm fans are good (and relatively cheap) for my case. I would like to get 2 more, one for the front, and one more in the back, just to increase air-flow. And for CORPs, i used CPUCool, and it also said 11x multiplier. Its really confusing. I think i'm just gonna go down to 10x anyway, for a solid 2GHz, just to be safe. The reason i want more RAM is that everything is seeming to be slow. I'm not sure what the cause for that might be. maybe its cuz i'm used to speed when i didn't have anything on my PC, lol :p. Its not like its really, really, slow, its just slower than normal. one more thing, when i try to play aquamark 2 (the demo) it says: EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION and then a lot of numbers and small words. It just annoying, not like it matters, just a demo.

Well, thanks everyone for the help,

Alex

EDIT: About SiSoft Sandra, I can't use it because my motherboard displays the wrong temperature. It says its at like 137C, and it wouldn't be alive if it were at that. since it stops on the temperature errors and i want it to for my CPU and i can't set it higher than 99, i guess i'm screwed.
 
I'm pretty sure (99%) that my multiplier is locked, cuz that would explain the "stuck at 11x" problem. Is there any way to unlock it? I don't want to hafta bridge the L1, do i have to? If its not possible to unlock it or anything like that, should i just get a 3000? or the 2800 cuz its got a 12.5x multiplier off the bat, and its pretty cheap....


Well, thanks a lot guys, hopefully it will work out for me.

Also: my family got a new PC, sorry to say it was an intel, but the Best Buy didn't have any AMD 64's at the store, and so we decided to get one that we could take home right then-and-there. Its a 3.0GHz, 512RAM, Radeon 9550 256MB, 160GB HDD, all for $1100, lol...

Thanks for the suggestions for that PC...



Alex
 
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