Athlon XP V's Sempron

gs39t

I'm looking to upgrade a machine i have thats currently running an XP 1700+. I was going to buy an XP 3000+ and just go with the same mobo/ram option i have now -Asus A7V8X/ 512mb. Some of the Sempron models are compatible with this motherboard, but should i bother with them? Also, would the Athlon 64 really be a good option as an alternative ? (which would mean a whole new mobo)

I'm just looking to beef up a machine a bit, just for general use, its not used for gaming or the like

Thanks in advance

StRiKeR

if you not playing games the sempron will do fine for office work, but they are lower than xp, sempron are in the celeron class, they replaced the duron, for your needs, the a64 is no use to you really! depends what you looking to get out of the cpu and the use of you pc! but i wouldnt go for the sempron tbh!

gs39t

Would the XP 3000+ be a good option, then ? I'd say what the heck and go buy an Athlon 64 and mobo but there's plenty of life left in the A7V8X yet. I'm just thinking if the XP 3000+ is good, then ill just buy that and stick with my current mobo/ram setup

ViperVenoM

id say slap a mobile 2500+ in

its gonna be cheaper than the 3000, will clock with ease 3000+ speeds and will do a lot more if in due course you need it to

jozi

ViperVenoM wrote:

id say slap a mobile 2500+ in

its gonna be cheaper than the 3000, will clock with ease 3000+ speeds and will do a lot more if in due course you need it to

A whole lot more!

A mobile cpu is prob cheaper than a 3000+ to, not sure as i never checked prices for them.

Jozi

StRiKeR

in that case yea, if you gonna be overclocking it then the mobile be a better buy, but if you dont want to be overclocking, even a 2800+ would be plenty in your case, I used to have a 2800+ and it does everything just fine may not be very very fast but for office work more than enough and you wouldn't notice much different between the 64 and the xp really( i take it you just uding it for doc's and stuff when you say general use and not playing games!)

BadCharlie

ViperVenoM wrote:

id say slap a mobile 2500+ in

its gonna be cheaper than the 3000, will clock with ease 3000+ speeds and will do a lot more if in due course you need it to

I agree

gs39t

I'll look into the MP then, thanks

StRiKeR

no not MP thats a different chip all together, its mobile version you want not MP thats for dual processors setup

Col_Loki

If your going to be overclocking then the mobile chip is almost the only option TBH. Your motherboard has a VIA Kt400 chipset which means you wont be overclocking much with the FSB, you will have to use the multipliers.....and also your memory is probably Pc2100 so it wont be able to hit high speeds.

PS last time i checked the cheapest place to get a mobile chip including delivery was from www.excaliberpc.com (there in the USA and have wierd shipping restrictions, but its perfect in your case).

gs39t

My mistake! I thought the MP was the mobile one -what exactly am i looking for?

EDIT: according to this article on Toms Hardware Guide its not compatible with normal socket A ? http://www.tomshardware.com/cpu/20010514/palomino-07.html

phlebas

I'm fairly sure the Semprons are pretty much re-branded athlon xp's with the newer thoroughbred cores, they just got a rename so as to take the place of Durons and paint the 64 bit amd's as the new top line, as far as I know they perform just as well as a standard Xp. Except of course for that weird 3100 version, which seems to just be a crippled socket 754 compatible chip, which isn't infact 64 bit.

Athlon mps are for dual cpu systems i think, the mobile one you're looking for is one of these http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/AMD_Athlon_XP__Mobile_.html , they're xp's but built for laptops and as a result they run alot cooler at a lower heat and with an unlocked multiplier, so useful if you want to overclock.

ViperVenoM

yep

and if you look at overclockers priceys..the mobile 2500 is £16 cheaper than the xp3000+

that £16 can go towards a nice heatsink so you can rip the crap out of ur mobile and take it well beyond 3000 speeds

gs39t

OK, last question, i promise

The mobile has a 266mhz FSB and the XP 3000+ has a 333mhz FSB, does that really matter? I have no intentions of overclocking, i have a 3ghz P4 system thats my power rig, i just want to get the best out of the AMD machine without having to buy a new mobo, and with the amd 64 prices i dont want to spend €500 on a 64 bit CPU i really dont need

Thanks

Gary

Col_Loki

If your not overclocking then a mobile chip is a waste TBH. Pop in a regular 2500+ , you might have to use a divider to run your Ram slower than the FSB .......

The mobiles will fit the socket A motherboards, there is a rarer type which wont (which only work in laptops). The main advantage of the mobiles, is since there not going to have good cooling they are hand picked and some of the best chips. They also have unlocked multipliers because the laptops have to adjust the multiplier downwards for the power saving features....

An Xp2500+ would be a good choice, the 2800+ wouldnt be bad either but the Xp3000+ and 3200+ are a total waste of money and dont perform up to there raings TBH.