Hi
I have an ASUS A7N8X-X motherboard and want to upgrade my
CPU, currently an Athlon XP1800+.
1. Is a Sempron 2800+ faster than an XP2800+?
Last time I checked nope. The semperons overall were slower than the
better XPs though there are some older style Thoroughbreds etc selling
but I think they are even slower than those.
Your best bet is to get the barton 2500 or mobile version and
overclock it to 3200. It does this super easily with 3200 memory on
your board then you get a big performance boost for not that much
money.
The only semperon I think is really interesting is I think 3200 - the
one thats a 754 socket , they say it OCs like crazy so if it falls in
price as low as the old barton 70-80 bucks and you can pick up a cheap
754 socket board for 50-70 bucks then its a real bargain. And you can
upgrade later to a amd 64 chip. The other thing is FRYs has had
recurring $200 deals on a cheaper AMD 64 754 socket chip and MB combo
so that may make the semperon 3200 not such a hot deal after all
unless you can get both for dirt cheap as I said. And if you can
spend 100 more you can start thinking 939 already since the prices
have fallen on those too. I got my Chaintech ultra and 939 3000 Amd 64
for $300 with PCI express. If you didnt want PCI express you can get
MBs down to $70-80 so it would have been under $300.
One slightly unfortunate thing is they are phasing out the barton 2500
xp - all the XPs in favor of the semperons. So the prices have
actually gone HIGHER ! I bought my Barton retail for 2500 (w/fan) for
$85 at newegg. Its now 125 or so at both ZZF and newegg !!!
You can get it for 103 at Mwave.
You can also get the OEM version for 85 at newegg (no fan/htsink).
Also look at the mobile version.
One thing I found a little puzzling. The consumer reviews as usual
rave about the barton 2500 and say it oces easily but they mention it
run really hot. Mine never went over 50C with the stock fan. It ran
really cool. One guy was quoting some really high temps.
2. Will I need to upgrade the bios to run a Sempron on this motherboard?
Possibly depends on the board. Look at the site --- they have lots of
bios listed and the reasons usually why they are needed,
The local stores are no longer stocking XP, or they are more expensive for
the same nominal 'speed'. Anyone have any knowledge or experience in this
area?
They are phasing them out as everyone says. Id get a barton right now
if all you want to do is upgrade the chip on your board. The ASUS - I
had the deluxe , all you do is set the FSB to 200 instead of 133 or
whatever its on as long as you have 3200 mem. My crucial 2100 sticks
actually can run OK at 3200 though.
3200 is on sale almost everywhere again this week. Compusa $59 after
rebate 512 megs, CC $59 same , etc. Also check Outpost etc.
