AMD XP 2500M > Time To Upgrade

[nheather]

I'm not exactly a newbie but I've been happily using my current system and am out of touch with current CPU architectures.

It is time to overhaul my machine but when I look at the CPU section in overclockers I am faced with a range of CPUs and I am finding it difficult to determine which is best for me and which would offer the best performance increase per pound over my existing CPU.

My current CPU is

AMD Athlon 2500 Mobile running at 2154MHz (5 x 431)

This runs super stable on air cooling so I could probably squeeze a bit more juice but I really think its time for an upgrade.

Moneywise, I would be looking at CPU, Motherboard, Graphics Card and if necessary memory.

For the CPU I would be thinking around the £100 give or take. Happy with Intel or AMD.

I'd appreciate any suggestions.

Cheers,

Nigel

 

[Dark_Angel]

For that amount of cash, it depends!

Option 1:

A really cheap 939 CPU, like the venice 3000 (stock clock is 1.8GHZ, I have mine to 2.75 or so)... costs about 60.

Option 2:

A64 Sandiego 3700, once again 939. About 100.

Option 3: a cheap Intel Duo core... about 90.

Option 4: wait a month, until conro is out, save up as much as possible and either grab one of them, or grab a Dual Core A64 3800 for about 100 - 110...

*EDIT*

What do you want to do with your PC? just gaming, or more?

 

[nheather]

Thanks for the reply.

My PC is mixed use, but to be honest the only area where I can honestly say it needs to be improved is gaming.

Where I'm struggling is with the architecture change.

When I last looked, the clock speed was a pretty good measure of what performance to expect.

But now the architectures have changed considerably (64bit, dual core) but the clock speeds haven't moved that much.

So if I compare my current Athlon 2500M with a Athlon 64 3000+ - my current clock speed is actually higher.

What I'm not clear is how much improvement the architecture changes bring.

Cheers,

Nigel

 

[trojan698]

Well you've got SSE2, SSE3, both of which provide a considerable boost I believe. 64 bit will helpful when more applications support it.
Random Q, why use such a low multi on your XP-M ? Why not 220 x 10 for example, and run your ram @ 1:1 ?

 

[~>Dg<~]

well i just sold my 3000xp on ebay yesterday for 87.00 and i would sell yours now while still fetching good money. i brought which price per pound is probably best deal you can get a 3500 venice retail pack for 80.00 delivered not oc but i think its funny paid roughly that for my barton nearly two years ago so its basically a straight swop for a newer faster cpu crazzee .yes there is the 3700 venice but at 40 quid dearer i dont think its worth forty quid diff for what in gaming you wont prob notice he waits for reply from 3700 owners

 

[Dark_Angel]

Pretty much, the best thing to remember is that the new CPUS are a lot more optimized, and therefore carry out FAR more instructions per clock, compared to an older CPU.

TBH, in basic windows work (I mean basic, not unzipping things, just internet and email) even a low end CPU like a celeron 1.2GHZ is enough, so dont panic if you put in your new kit and then think to yourself windows doesnt feel that much faster... wait till you do something intensive and you wont be able to believe the difference!

Depending on the amount of cash you have, and how good your current video card is, you could grab the Asrock 939 motherboard (the cheapest one, which has AGP support) and a Venice 3000 for about 100. This will enable you to have a nice basic system up and running.

Dont forget though, you may need faster ram (if yours is not already 3200) and you will more than likely need a new PSU. If you happen to have a Radeon 9800 Pro or something, it would probablly last you a couple of weeks to save up and grab an X1800XT or 7900GT (depending if you prefer ATI or nvidia, for the record most people say X1800XT).

 

[nheather]

Thanks for all the help and suggestions - really appreciate it.

trojan698 - My mistake. It's a long time since I set up my CPU so couldn't recall what the multiplier was. I used Aida32 before this post - it reports my CPU as 5x241. But I have just checked with CPU-Z and it gives 10x215.5 which I think is correct - I could try pushing it a little more but not by much.

My M/B is an Abit NF7

My graphics card is a Radeon 9700 Pro (128MB)

My memory is Corsair Value Select PC3200

My PSU is a Enermex 400W

I was hoping just to change the following for now

CPU - Sounds like an Athlon 64 Venice - what's best one for clocking
Motherboard - No idea but probably another Abit becuase the current one is good
Graphics Card - Thinking of a Radeon X1800 - one of the ones that can be modded

Cheers,

Nigel

 

[Dark_Angel]

Honestly, there is no best clocker... it really depends on stepping. I have had my A64 3000 venice for about 1 year, and have it running at just over 2.75GHZ all of that time... seems to run nicely too.

 

[nheather]

Dark_Angel

No I'm pretty sold on the Venice I'm just wondering which one.

The 3000, 3200 and 3500 are all within my price range.

But I know that sometimes, the lower examples actually have more clocking potential.

What's the situation with the Venice CPUs?

 

[Dark_Angel]

Hmmm.

The Venice 3000 will typically clock about the same as the 3200, the difference is that the Multiplier of the 3200 is slightly higher, so if you have a bad clocking motherboard, then this can help a lot.

The venice 3500 is not as popular is the 3000, 3200 and the 3700 San Diego. the 3500 will probablly clock abit higher than the 3000 or 3200 can (mostly because it is clocked slightly higher to start with) the difference is not going to be that large though.

A lot of people who are going to 939 are using a venice 3000 (or 3200) and then going to make the jump to dual core later this year.

If it were me and I was making a cheap gaming system for a friend, I would probablly stick with a 3200 or a 3000, and just clock the hell out of it, probablly sticking on an a 3rd party cooler, rather than the retail one.

You dont mention which resolution you wish to be gaming at, but I would probablly recommend spending more cash on the video card, consider the X1800XT the min to be happy (it should run just about everything at 1280x1024 with nice high levels of AA+AF, and 1600x1200 at pretty nice levels to so should hold you off to DirectX 10 next year) back on topic though

Basically, grab the Venice 3000 for 60 now, and then in say 3 - 4 months grab a cheap dual core, or wait a month and grab the 3800 X2 for about 110 or so in mid to late July. Either way, you will have a very nice system.

 

[~>Dg<~]

youd b a fool to buy a 3000 for about 65 quid+ delivery when for 80.00 gets u a 3500 delivered crazzee.thats retail as well not oem its 75.00+5 post.

 

[Defcon5]

youd b a fool to buy a 3000 for about 65 quid+ delivery when for 80.00 gets u a 3500 delivered crazzee.thats retail as well not oem its 75.00+5 post.

Id say you'd be 'crazzee' to spend an extra 20 quid on a cpu that will clock to the same speed.

That 20 would buy a nice freezer64 pro

 

[Dark_Angel]

Id say you'd be 'crazzee' to spend an extra 20 quid on a cpu that will clock to the same speed.

That 20 would buy a nice freezer64 pro

Thats kind of what I figured. Most venices clock to same kind of speeds, so you may as well get the best cooling possible