Hardware Analysis - AMD Athlon 2500 vs 3000 XP

Re: AMD Athlon 2500 vs 3000 XP

Poseidon — 2005-08-17T01:06:33-05:00

You can get a basic Athlon 64 2800+ for a great price. And it's performance will surpass any Athlon XP

Re: AMD Athlon 2500 vs 3000 XP

Bobby Omosetan — 2005-08-16T22:15:38-05:00

Poseidon

Yes, I am aware of the potential of the Athlon 64. But I'm not really looking at spending much. I just need to know if the cost to performance ratio of a 50$ cpu is good enuff.

Re: AMD Athlon 2500 vs 3000 XP

Poseidon — 2005-08-14T06:18:09-05:00

You will get better performance if you invest in a Athlon 64 3000+ with a average mobo. Shouldn't be more than $200.

That will give you a boost.

Re: AMD Athlon 2500 vs 3000 XP

Bobby Omosetan — 2005-08-14T03:36:04-05:00

thanx. but is there anything alse you can tell me or some sites you can direct me to...?

Re: AMD Athlon 2500 vs 3000 XP

Maestro — 2005-08-14T02:43:08-05:00

Hi,
I would definitely go the Barton core, but your ram will hold you back no end..........

Re: AMD Athlon 2500 vs 3000 XP

Bobby Omosetan — 2005-08-14T01:43:04-05:00

Hello all.

First, my current specs:
AMD 1800 XP+ (LOL)
DDR 266 ram
GA-7S748 MOBO
2 WESTERN DIGITAL ATA HDDs
LG cdr/rw dvd combo
audigy 1 gamer

I recently asked a friend to get me a 3200+ barton but have changed to the 2500+ after reading soo much about it. I know the MOBO is fsb400 capable, so...

My questions. can my above config attain 3200+ speeds on the 2500+ cpu? Should I go with a 2500+ barton or a thorobred? How do I unlock the multipliers? Would I need a BIOS upgrade? What RAM upgrade would be advisable as well as cpu heat issues?

I do video editing, animation and the occasional gaming on the above specs so I think the boost would do much to help me.

Thanx all....

Re: AMD Athlon 2500 vs 3000 XP

SuPeR Xp — 2005-02-02T22:07:00-05:00

Put your CPU's FSB to 200MHz which is DDR400.

And try leaving the FSB/Ram Ratio to Auto.

And if you still have problems, then update your Bios with the newest one ASAP. And try again.

Re: AMD Athlon 2500 vs 3000 XP

Russ V — 2005-02-02T06:33:33-05:00

Hi ,

Thanks for your reply.

I have something which says "Adjust DRAM Freq (FSBRAM)".
But it only has two options : 1. Auto
2. By Spd

During my initial setting.( i.e when my machine crashed frequently at 2.2GHz,3200+) , this was set to By Spd. I changed it to Auto when i clocked down my CPU.

I don't see any values to tweak with besides these two options.

Thanks
- Russ

Re: AMD Athlon 2500 vs 3000 XP

SuPeR Xp — 2005-02-02T02:38:59-05:00

Here this is how your Bios should look like.
FSB/DRAM Ratio
http://www.firingsquad.com/media/hirez.asp?file=/hardware/msi_...ges/09.jpg
AND
http://www.firingsquad.com/media/hirez.asp?file=/hardware/msi_...ges/12.jpg

Again, Good Luck & Post Back Soon.

Re: AMD Athlon 2500 vs 3000 XP

SuPeR Xp — 2005-02-02T02:35:26-05:00

First off, leave everything to default. Keep the CPU @ 3200+ (2.20GHz) (200 x 11) & you�re FSB @ 200.

Now, the problem you are probably having is that you are running the FSB 200 (DDR400) in sync with the DDR @ 200 (DDR400). But your DDR only supports 166 (DDR333). So what you need to do is enable a divider so that your Ram can run 333 while the CPU�s FSB is 400.

So, in the BIOS under �Advanced Chipset Features� look for something that says
FSB / DRAM Ratio. Take it off of �Auto� & adjust the Ratio in a way so that your DDR speed runs @ 333. I�m not sure what the ratio is so just experiment. And & "ONLY" when you find the ratio for your DDR Ram to run 333, then you can probably do mild tweaking to like say 340, 350 or 360 etc..

Good Luck & Post Back Soon.

Re: AMD Athlon 2500 vs 3000 XP

Russ V — 2005-02-01T23:48:49-05:00

I don't think my previous message got posted so my apologies if this is posted twice ...

I bought my CPU as a AMD Athlon XP 3200+ but at 2.2 GHz (200 X 11), I get the blue screen of death. However when i clock the CPU as shown below , it works fine.

Current Config :
1.8 GHz (166 X 11) (Max : 166 X 12 = 1.99Ghz) AMD Athlon 2500+
MSI K7N2 nForce2 Motherboard
3 X 512MB RAM, Kingston, PC2700,333Mhz
120 GB WD HDD
CD RW/DVD R

What am I missing here..Why doesnt it work at 2.2Ghz as a 3200+. Is my RAM Compatible ? Do I need to increase Vcore. CPU Temperature is fine around the 42C-45C mark. Can someone help me with the right config to get to work at 2.2GHz.

Thanks
Russ

Re: AMD Athlon 2500 vs 3000 XP

SuPeR Xp — 2005-02-01T22:28:06-05:00

There is a divider so that it does not need to be compatible. Plus we don't have 2000MHz Ram speeds yet.

Re: AMD Athlon 2500 vs 3000 XP

Russ V — 2005-02-01T22:03:29-05:00

Hello All,

Would you know if the Memory Frequency needs to be compatible with the CPU FSB Frequency.

For example
I have a Kingston 512MB PC2700 333Mhz on a 2.2GHz AMD Athlon XP 3200+ (400Mhz FSB).Is my machine crashing because I need a 400MHz PC3200 RAM and that currently my RAM can't handle the processor speed. If I clock my processor to Athlon 2500+ (333Mhz FSB) with the same RAM config as above then it works like a charm. What would the best scenario for my situation be ??

This might be a trivial question but i'm a newbee to Hardware...Thanks.

Re: AMD Athlon 2500 vs 3000 XP

SuPeR Xp — 2005-01-09T20:47:50-05:00

It may be your sensor then. ANyway get a good heatsink & fan, and away you go.

Re: AMD Athlon 2500 vs 3000 XP

Michael Del — 2005-01-09T14:02:04-05:00

I think I may do that today (the installation process has me concerned). One thing tho...Even when I first boot up the system after no use, the CPU temp is listing at 43C and quickly goes to 59 with little running. Is it possible my sensors are malfunctioning? My sensors routinely say I'm over 70C but the system is stable and the box is not warm to the touch.