Almost got the computer, a few quick decisions

[Trunks]

Hey I'm purchasing my computer in about a week. As most of you know allreayd I was debating on an athalon 2800+ Barton and the 2500+ Barton
I got a little feedback, mostly need a mobile amd. Anywho, I cannot get the mobile I tried so stay with me here.

If what I have read is correct the multiplier of a 2500+ is 11? And the 2800+ is 12.5? Both are locked and I'm not planning to unlock them. Will the 2500+ do the same things as the 2800+? Can the max I go with both of them without changing the multiplier and destroying the thing 3200+? Or will the 2800+ go higher.

Thanks guys I need as much input as possible

[Trunks]

Anyway as before here is the system I have geared up

AMD XP 2500+ or 2800+ I don't know yet
Abit NF7-S Motherboard
512 MB DDR 400 CAS 2.5 Ram (probably crap I don't know)
Windows XP
128 MB ATI Radeon 9600 XT
Chenming Dragon Aluiminum Case with 450 Watt PSU
2 hard drives 1 80 gb 1 40 gb

[Roadracer_4ever]

Stick with the 2500, as the 2800 is basically the same cpu, but clocked up some already. From my understanding, the Barton core cpu's are all based on the 2500, and the 2500 is the best overclocker of the batch. To bad you can't get the mobile chip, as it is unlocked. Are you stuck to only one pc store? I'd look around and grab the mobile from somewhere else if that option is available.

[Trunks]

I'm not "stuck" to one store, however unless I go online I cannot get the mobile and it would end up costing me a fortune. Isn't the 2500+ have the same multiplier as the 3200+?

[Alfonse]

Have you decided on a cpu cooler?

Have you tried these guys?
http://www.bigfootcomputers.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=Bigfoot&Category_Code=LOCATION

It's not the cheapest I've seen it, but they have this:
http://www.bigfootcomputers.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=Bigfoot&Category_Code=920.2

[jurtje]

Yes they have the same multiplier, but the 3200+ has a FSB of 200 and the 2500+ of 166.

If you have a locked processor, you can always overclock it by increasing your FSB.
I guess that the 2500+ can reach a higher FSB than the 2800+ and therefore the same total MHz. Ergo, the 2500+ would be the better choice.


However, I would gladly pay 50 bucks more for the mobile if that were the case. Just to show you how sweet that processor is.

[Trunks]

I guess I just don't understand how having an unlocked multiplier is so sweet lol. couldn't you just increase the fsb slowly and have the same results as raising the multiplier?

[Roadracer_4ever]

I guess I just don't understand how having an unlocked multiplier is so sweet lol. couldn't you just increase the fsb slowly and have the same results as raising the multiplier?

the thing of it is, you can also lower the multi, and therefore increase the fsb that much more....it's all about the end result, as well as the lower default voltage allowing the cpu to run a lot cooler, which = a higher oc to begin with. Heat is your worst enemy, as it causes instability on the processor, which in turn causes the system to hang.... Lower voltage, the ability to up it's voltage to what a normal pc proc defaults at to increase your fsb with stability etc....all points at a better oc, for less money overall. I personally would run the mobile chip myself, and am looking at one very soon. I actually found the mobile chip to be about 40 bucks cheaper than the pc chip, but I can get it locally.

[Trunks]

So if you increase the voltage, that increases the power the processor can put out, but it also increases the heat factor. The mobile chip requires less input power to have the same output of juice as the regular XP 2500+? So you can up the voltage to lets say a regular 2500+ then it can increase that much more. Am I on the same page now?

[Trunks]

Another question for you guys most P4 processors are rated 2.4 gigs and up. Thats a helluva lot higher then the AMD, I know its a touchy subject but are they really that much faster?

[Roadracer_4ever]

So if you increase the voltage, that increases the power the processor can put out, but it also increases the heat factor. The mobile chip requires less input power to have the same output of juice as the regular XP 2500+? So you can up the voltage to lets say a regular 2500+ then it can increase that much more. Am I on the same page now?

You're on the right track to be sure, although power increase isn't an exact equation in regards to speed increase, it will allow you to increase more than the default voltage will to be sure. The thing to realize here is that the mobile will easily reach xp 3200 speeds and often with a stock hsf, which = some serious performance/dollar in the end.

[jurtje]

Don't be fooled by Intel. Intel knows that MHz sell, but much more important for the final speed are the IPC, instructions per cycle.
AMD processors can do a lot more instructions per cycle than Intel and therefore need less cycles (MHz) to process the same amount of instructions.

That's a very easy view, but should explain to you that cycle speed isn't everything.

[Trunks]

So the mobile can be cooled by stock fan at overclocked speeds because of the low voltage?

[Roadracer_4ever]

So the mobile can be cooled by stock fan at overclocked speeds because of the low voltage?

That's the idea. Keep in mind if you want to attain the most stable high end overclock, a better than stock hsf would be a good idea, as would ram sinks and northbridge and southbridge cooling, as well. But for the time being, you'll see a decent overclock on a mobile proc with stock cooling, and as time and money allow you can upgrade the cooling later on to overclock higher, if instability and heat even become an issue.

The bottom line here really is this. You'll pay substantially less for the mobile proc, and be able to clock it up to speeds around the same as that of a 3200XP+. Compare the price difference there, and then think about what that would be worth to you, as it will save you a bundle in upgrading later. Should hopefully have my mobile chip next month sometime.

[Trunks]

I'll see what I can gear up, thanks alot guys:D Will you folks lend a hand when it comes to the overclocking?

[jurtje]

That's what we're here for, we're anxious to overclock the crap out of your mobile.

Remember that the mobile chip doesn't come with a heat sink fan!

[Trunks]

LoL calm down now, I haven't got the chip yet:P

[undergroundtech]

LoL calm down now, I haven't got the chip yet:P

We just get anxious, when it comes to new hardware :D

[Trunks]

lol fuel to the fire