.. Posted January 28, 2005 Report Share Posted January 28, 2005 OK, I have just bought a new mainboard that accepts an AMD processor in a Socket A config. But looking at the list of processors, there seems to be a ton to choose from. What's the diff between Athalon XP & Sempron? Thoroughbred, Thorton & Barton? What is the best value in your opinion? Any websites with a simple but comprehensive listing of what is what? I am thinking that an advertised (I understand that AMD's actual clock speed is slower than the advertised one) clock speed of ~2K is fine for me cuz I always buy one or two steps below the current technology. I am upgrading from a Celeron 1200 that does just fine for me (in fact I don't know why I bought this stuff). So anything will be a noticable improvement. Cheers, SD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krml Posted January 28, 2005 Report Share Posted January 28, 2005 Hi Suadum Try this site. http://www.amdmb.com/ I hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlton68 Posted January 28, 2005 Report Share Posted January 28, 2005 Hi, can you tell us which mainboard you bought? And about your RAM, do you intend to use what you have (specs please) or buy new one? What are your usual tasks for the machine? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.. Posted January 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2005 Mainboard is here. Have not bought the RAM yet, but it looks like I need PC3200 DDR400 RAM to compliment the nForce 2 Ultra 400 chipset. Overkill, but that is what I seem to be getting out of the MoBo documentation. Correct or not? Recommendations? Usage? Not heavy, just office stuff with the occasional streaming video and game (latest one is the new Leisure Suit Larry, nothing intense like Doom 3 or whatever). Don't have much time for that. Do not own a video camera, so video editing is not on the agenda at this time. Graphic card is 8x AGP by Asus, powered by Radeon 9550 chip. I plan on keeping my HDDs and not upgrade to SATA at this time. As I said, my four year old Celeron 1200 w/512 RAM on a Asus TUSI-M board has been fine for all my tasks, but a) my integrated video card is not enough to play Leisure Suit Larry and one stick of RAM just crapped out, so I thought I would upgrade my stuff instead of putting money into the dinosaur. Thanks. And thanks for the link krml. Cheers, SD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krml Posted January 28, 2005 Report Share Posted January 28, 2005 According to the website you linked, it looks like you can use PC3200/2700/2100/1600 DDR SDRAM. So any of these will work. I would opt for the 3200 myself. Make sure that it is compatible with the board. AMD processors are a little harder to deal with than Intel when placing RAM on the MB. Sometimes you have to put the RAM in a certain slot. I thought it was an MB issue but I used three different MBs with AMD procs. All of them had their quirks with the memory. AMD makes great processors. I have had them in the past with the only issue being memory placement. Once I figured that out everything worked great. After using a Celery you will be amazed at the speed of the AMDs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlton68 Posted January 28, 2005 Report Share Posted January 28, 2005 Well, nice mainboard. For that I recommend a CPU with Barton Core which is either 2500+, 2600+ (also available as Thouroubreed), 2800+, 3000+ or 3200+. the 3200+ and some 3000+ support 400Mhz FSB, the others 333Mhz FSB. If your CPU is 333Mhz FSB you can do with DDR333 Ram. But price is about same so I suggest to buy DDR400 Mhz Ram and run it according to the CPU clock. If it is 333Mhz run your Ram at the same speed rather than at 400Mhz. Buy two sticks (2 x 256MB) for Dual Channel. You always have the option to buy an CPU with 333MHz FSB and overclock it. But I guess this isn't what you have on your mind. E.g. as I write this I run my XP 2600+ at 400 Mhz which adds up to something about 3400+ (nforce2 400 Ultra Mobo). Get's hotter than I like, and will for sure have a shorter life than usual. Or you can buy a mobile CPU. They have the nice option to use the PowerNow! functions on your desktop. Barton core but run at 266Mhz FSB. Software manages the CPU speed according to workload. Does it on-the-fly so you don't have to restart. Have it in my daughters computer. while watching movies it steps down to a cool 800Mhz (real core speed) and if needed runs at the nominal 2000Mhz (XP-M 2600+). The Semperons are cheaper, have a Barton core with only half the Level2 Cache (that's why the core is called Thoroughbreed-B or Thornton). And they aren't comparable via the name as they run at a lower speed, too. XP 2600+ at 1900Mhz but Semperon 2600+ at 1833Mhz. There's a gap of about 30 Euros between them. If price is an issue you should take a look at the Semperons. Given your usage this should be no problem. Don't forget about the CPU Cooler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJsushi Posted January 28, 2005 Report Share Posted January 28, 2005 Try www.tomshardware.com for good reviews on chips and boards. Given what you say u are going to use the PC for I would go with a cheaper Sempron. No need to pay for a high output chip when you are not going to use it. Use teh savings toward better RAM, video card or software. I would probably get a cheaper chip and put the savings towards a kick ass +400w PSU with at least dual fans and variable speed control. Don't chintz on the thermal compound when it comes to an AMD chip. They run very hot so a good compound is essential. I recommend the Artic Silver brand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 29, 2005 Report Share Posted January 29, 2005 If I were you, I would take the mother board back where you got it and have them populate it with a CPU/heatsink/fan and memory. Cost: probably the price of the CPU/heatsink/fan and memory. [color:"green"] The reason I say this is that all the critical components come from one place - if they assemble then they can take care of it if problems develop. If you buy one part here and another part somewhere else and then assemble it yourself - who is liable? The other guy and/or yourself.[/color] [color:"white"] . . . . . . . [/color] [color:"white"] . . . . [/color] [color:"white"] . . . . [/color] [color:"white"] . . . . . [/color] [color:"white"] . . . . . [/color] [color:"white"] . . . . . [/color] [color:"white"] . . . . . [/color] [color:"white"] . . . . . [/color] [color:"green"] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krml Posted January 29, 2005 Report Share Posted January 29, 2005 I agree with MM on this. If you do not have a lot of experience seating a CPU then you will be in for a hard time. I personally cracked one when I attached the heatsink. So basically I was out $300 US. I have put many on since but it might be easier to let someone else do it for you. Save yourself the risk of damaging it and losing money. Pay them instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJsushi Posted January 29, 2005 Report Share Posted January 29, 2005 You should treat the installation of a new chip the same as you would a virgin. You use a little lube and you insert nice and slow. Never slam or force just ease her into the right positions. Do it right the first time and you will be rewarded many times over. Later after she is broken in or seasoned properly you can put her through her paces, beat the hell out of her and run your benchmark tests! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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