Ditch Pal for TBredB/Barton?

[CaptainNemo]

My system consists of the following:

XP2100+ @ stock FSB + Akasa Silver Mountain HSF
1024MB PC2100 RAM (2.5)
MSI 745 Ultra Mobo (SiS 745)
Everything else...

I bought this 8 months ago and it has been fine; however, the XP2100+ has limited overclocking ability and its heat output means that QUIET operation isn't really an option (for me, cooling gadgets are about noise reduction more than anything else).

8 months ago, the price of a Pal XP2100+ (retail) was £75. Today, Tbred start at £35 (XP1800) and top out at £65 (XP2600), whereas a Barton (XP2500) can be had for £60 (all ex-VAT/sales tax).

I was going to upgrade all my fans etc (current noise level isn't extreme, but it is annoying), but would buying a new CPU for roughly the same cost do the same thing (but with extra speed/overclocking potential)?


"Some mice have two buttons. Macintosh has one. So it's extremely difficult to push the wrong button." - Apple ad. circa 1984.

 

[ChipDeath]

hmmm... you could buy a T-bred 'B' XP1800+, to experiment with how far your board will go, but I suspect your mobo/RAM combination will hamper any overclocking you do. Plus I'm not sure if the multipliers on t-breds and bartons get unlocked on SIS745 chipsets, so you won't necessarily get that option. That said, a new t-bred/barton will probably be quite a lot cooler than your palomino, so you'd be able to slow down your fans and reduce noise.

A fairly quiet HSF should cost ~20 quid though, so if you only want reduced noise, that's still the cheapest option.

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The end is nigh.. (For this post at least)

 

[pIII_Man]

i would recomend the barton...seems that amd is starting to ship tbred A's with the new batches of tbreds...why? i have no clue...


Proud owner of DOS 3.3

 

[ChipDeath]

You'd have thought they'd have gotten rid of all the tbred 'A' chips, as they stopped making them ages ago.. Strange.

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The end is nigh.. (For this post at least)

 

[pIII_Man]

check newegg...see all the angry reviews....new chips 1.5v...but tbred A's...they are definitly NOT old stock...according to their dates (on the chip) it seems amd has started reproducing the tbred A...

Go figure


Proud owner of DOS 3.3

 

[ChipDeath]

wonder if it's a deliberate plot to foil the Cheapskate Overclockers? Maybe the suits in AMD's marketing department wanted to put a stop to £35 2.3Ghz chips...

If they are, I'll go intel next upgrade just out of principle 😡

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The end is nigh.. (For this post at least)

 

[pIII_Man]

they may be cheeper to manufacture (less layers)....but switching back and forth between chips does not help amd...


Proud owner of DOS 3.3

 

[tombance]

That mobo doesnt unlock the higher multipliers on the Tbred B of lower than 2100+. However, I have successfully managed to run it at 166FSB with full stability and no mods (it really is a great chipset, quite fast and VERY stable), so a barton should be fine.

<A HREF="http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k1=6752830" target="_new">Yay, I Finally broke the 12k barrier!!</A>

 

[CaptainNemo]

I've managed to get mine up to 145Mhz before (1885Mhz), but it won't go any higher; is it due to the Pal, or is the memory holding it back?

"Some mice have two buttons. Macintosh has one. So it's extremely difficult to push the wrong button." - Apple ad. circa 1984.