Decisions, decisions...

[jeece]

I was wondering... Should I buy an Athlon XP 2800+ (and leave it stock) or a 2500+, unlock it, and overclock it a little? I know unlocked 2500's can achieve 3200+ speed, and the price difference is here too...

I've never done any OCing, but I've read a little on the topic. I guess with a step-by-step procedure, I could do it right. I only aim at a mild overclock, something that could put a 2500 into 2800 range.

1- Would I lose any system stability/CPU reliability?
2- I know I'd need more cooling, but is air cooling will be enough? (CPU fan + HS , 1 intake 80mm fan and one 80mm exhaust fan) I don't want to go the H2O way yet, but I'd like some reasonable noise level too.

I plan on purchasing an ASUS A7N8X Deluxe with the CPU. Oh, by the way, what's the difference with this MB and the A7N8X-E Deluxe, exept the WiFi slot and 1 more serial port?

Thanks a lot!

 

[ekÆsine]

there is nothing to unlock for xp2500. just change:

CPU external frequency: 200
CPU frequency multiple: 10.5
results in xp3000 @ 2.1 Ghz

you may have to raise voltage to get equivalent xp3200 with an xp2500, mine runs unstable with 200 & 11 multiplier. my games reboot. stock heatsink fan is okay for either overclock. no need for something fancy like water.

get A7N8X-E there is only a few dollars difference but you get a lot more features including gigabit NIC.

 

[domwells]

i have just bought a barton 2500 and the multi's are locked on my A7N8X-Deluxe. I can only get the FSB up to 360MHz as well stable, even if i stick the voltage up to 1.8v... this gives me 1984MHz which is? 2700+ ish?

 

[custom2.4ghz]

Just buy the 2800..

 

[custom2.4ghz]

Or buy a P4, which in my opinion, are better CPUS.

 

[play2lose]

save urself 50 bucks and get a 2500+
u can even use stock cooling....
and if the multiples are locked a 2700+ for 100 bucks is better that a 2800+ for 150
there's not even that much of a diff...
but be sure you have 512 DDR400 PC3200 Memory or higher

 

[jeece]

I guess I'll stick with the 2500+...

About the RAM, I know Corsair would be the way to go... but I kinda like Kingston too.

anyways, if I aim only at a "mild" CPU overclock, could I only install 2 "basic" 256Mb PC3200 sticks? Or should I go with higher quality (and price ) Kingston's "Hyper-X", "CL-2.5" or Corsair's "XMS" or "LL"?

What would be the best RAM choice, without buying "too much"?

 

[ekÆsine]

corsair XMS is only $60 for 256MB which is plenty. if you already have at least 256MB dont get more memory, its not needed. you wont see much improvement.

what is your hard disk make & model? you will see a lot of speed increase with a faster hard disk.

 

[jeece]

what is your hard disk make & model? you will see a lot of speed increase with a faster hard disk.

I was looking either for a WD Raptor 36 Gb 10k RPM as a master, and keep my actual IDE WD 7200 RPM 60Gb as a slave, or install a single regular 7200k S-ATA 120 Gb drive, I don't know yet.

 

[The DaWg-0220-]

Just be careful what brand of memory you put in the motherboard . I have an A7V333 mb, and I can tell you from experience that asus' motherboards are very picky about their memory. I haven't looked at the webpage for the A7N8X-E yet, but I'd recommend if they have a list on the bottom of the page with certified memory that is certified to work in the motherboard, go with that.

Originally posted by ekÆsine
corsair XMS is only $60 for 256MB which is plenty. if you already have at least 256MB dont get more memory, its not needed. you wont see much improvement.

It depends what you're doing with your computer as to how much an extra 256 mb of RAM will help. It sounds like the machine your building could be used for games, so I'd definately get 512 mb of RAM. Even if you aren't though you will definately see a pretty good speed improvement with the extra RAM. But be careful, if you have RAM from a previous computer it may not work in that asus motherboard, I know my motherboard doesn't like mixing of brands.