Whats difference between AMD Athalon, Sempron

[Raje]

Hey guys..... I'm really getting to the point where I need to upgrade pc. My Xp 3200+ is startig to burn out and I want a new processor... I want a bit more kick than the original did... but also looking not to spend too much.

When browsing for a new processor I find that I do not know the difference between Athalon64, Sempron, and Opteron .... also they say + winchester and plus sledgehammer... which I again I admit... I don't know what that means. Can anyone explain some/ any of this.

And how about a buget replacement. I play games and like to crank up the graffix... Mostly I do media conversions.. avi -> dvd ->gbm etc. I know I'll need a new board but that much I can figure out.

 

[floppybootstomp]

Your XP3200's starting to burn out? Wot you mean?

The socket A XP3200 is a fine processor, I have two of them.

However, if you have the upgrade itch, it really isn't worth replacing the XP3200 so you'll need:

Motherboard
Processor
PCI Express Video card

Go 64 bit; socket 939; consider a better cooler than stock AMD cooler; if your budget stretches that far, go for at least XP3700, San Diego Core, 1Mb cache.

You'll probably be able to use your old memory.

As most socket 939 motherboards now only have PCI video card slots, the bother of also having to buy a new video card can often prove a stumbling block when wishing to upgrade, it certainly is for me, makes it kinda expensive.

And FWIW, if you're going to upgrade to a 64 bit system, you'd be doing yourself an injustice if you had anything less than 1Gb RAM, preferably 2Gb.

And for motherboards I'd personally recommend Asus or DFI, but there are other choices out there. And in my POV, I'd stay away from Abit, they seem to have had their day ever since one of their main men moved to DFI. I've read lots of stuff about problems and instability with latest Abit boards.

 

[Me__2001]

the cheapest route would be to buy just a socket A sempron but the performance would probably be the same as what you have, the sempron family i believe was designed to be a low end home user CPU for word processing etc, the Athlon 64 is where the performance is, they're designed for highend systems for gaming and encoding etc opterons are for workstations and multi CPU setups im not really sure of thier performance but they are pricey

the actual difference in the sempron and athlons i think is the size of the L2 cache and the onboard memory controller but i dont really know TBH, winchester and sledgehammer are the Athlon 64 core names, i think the sledgehammer were the first cores and the winchesters are improved and have more features the even newer is the san diego which has 1MB L2 cache

for best performance for your money get an X2 3800 or a normal 3700, i think the price is pretty similar

 

[Raje]

Thanks for the quick responces... the knew the situation with the board and card... I was hoping that by some crazy miracle one of you would tell me sempron wouls best suit me, or that there was some amazing socket A processor I could use. But seems it will be another athalon.

Oh and Flops.... the procesor is definately less stable lately... I've been really abuising it I think lately. I tend to mulit task ALOT... at one point I was runnng a DVD decrypt program and dvd shrink program at the same time.... well after a few shutdowns I stopped doing it. My PC is a space heater.... I wish I lived much more north where it would not bother me.. but here in Florida its just terrible.. the PC much raise my room temp at LEAST 5 degrees. I mean when you walk through my house the ac is cold... when you enter my room you feel like you've stepped outside. And lately its not uncommon that I set the pc to perform a legnthy task and when I return its off. I had thought it was the heat sink and fan... so I re seated everything.. and still had same effect. Do for now the case is open and I have a small desk fan blowing directly over processor and cpu.

 

[muckshifter]

The Socket 939 Sempron is nothing else but a Venice-core Athlon 64 with a cut-down L2 cache ... there is no other difference ... other than price, and finding one, tho that should be easer by the end of the year.

 

[floppybootstomp]

Raje, I think your best bet would be to consider some better cooling, maybe even a water cooling setup.

If you only have stock HSF, consider the Gigabyte Pro cooler, I've tried most socket A coolers, including all thermalright/fan options and strange but true, the Gigabyte model with built in fan gives best results.

And, maybe, some more case fans, in my experience case design and choice of fans makes a huge difference to temps.

Oh, and using Arctic Silver heat sink compound makes a difference. Not much, but it helps.

It does look as if you're experiencing heat problems and an upgrade won't necessarily cure your current problems.

 

[Me__2001]

The Socket 939 Sempron is nothing else but a Venice-core Athlon 64 with a cut-down L2 cache ... there is no other difference ... other than price, and finding one, tho that should be easer by the end of the year.

good point mucks, forgot about them, if you look at todays quick news their is an article testing one

 

[Raje]

Its not the stock cooler.... i switched that out a long time ago.. and yes I have used artic 5 paste. Its a large solid copper with a 80mm fan now. In total there are 3 case fans... but if you inlcude the processor fan, and the 3 on the psu alone I think i have enough. I even thought about a top blowhole.. but thats just going to blow the hot air around and maybe it will keep the pc cool.. but I', still sweatig at my desk.

I have often thought about water cooling, but I feel that if the ambient temperature of the room is already high, how cool will the water keep it??

I was also told that the newer Athalon 64's do not run as hot.

 

[floppybootstomp]

I was also told that the newer Athalon 64's do not run as hot.

They don't. And also there are a lot of really excellent coolers available for sckt 939 CPU's.

But - it's an expensive option to upgrade.

It would be better and you will upgrade eventually anyway, we all will, but...... I just trying to think of a way round your current prob.

I have an XP3200 based system that multi-tasks in much the same way as yours, DVD Shrink etc, and I don't have problems with heat, Thermalright HS/Valman 92mm fan/Arctic Silver paste on that one.

But - it be a lot cooler in SE London than Florida.

Food for thought.

 

[Raje]

I think that may be my largest problem. Now that summer is comming to an end here, the problem does not happen as often... yes we do have a winter.. but all that mean are 70-80 degree days. But I may get lucky and we will have freezing cold morning tmeps this winter.

It was actually in the 60's, but I'm originally from much further north so the cold does not bother me too bad... but its funny to see people here and the huge winter coats.. and no sign of snow