Which Barton Processor should I buy?

[philippmike1]

Thanks for taking the time to read my post.
I currently own a system with a MSI-NForce 2 Ultra 400 chipset and a XP 2000 processor. I will shortly buy a new processor (for the same motherboard) and wish to know people's ideas on a new one. I was thinking of going to the XP 3200@400mhz.
P.S. I do currently have water cooling so overclocking IS a option. Any ideas?

 

[bjpatrick]

I'm in the same boat as you. I possess a XP 2000+ processor and was wondering how to get the best bang for my buck!

 

[Mr5oh]

I also was in the same situation for a while, using a 2100 XP though, this was right about the time 64-bit chips were coming out. Personally I couldn't justify the price jump from the 2800+ XP to the 3200 XP+. I ended up purchasing the 2800+ XP.

You do not need water cooling to overclock. I run my 2800+ XP, at 2.6 ghz on air cooling without any problems.

In my opinion your best bang for the buck, would be the 2800+ XP, or a 2500+ XP Mobile chip. The 2800+ is generally a good step down in price from the 3200+, which I still feel is overpriced. The 2500+ Mobile chip is known for its great overclocking abilites. Any 2500+ chip you get should be able to get to 3200+ speeds (Desktop or Mobile), but many people here on the board are able to get the 2500 Mobile up to 2.5 ghz, on air cooling.

What RAM are you using? PC3200 hopefully? (For the new CPU)

My Desktop: <A HREF="http://Mr5oh.tripod.com/pc.html" target="_new">http://Mr5oh.tripod.com/pc.html</A>

 

[4Ryan6]

Well you have the M/B for it, so if upgrading is in the cards I'd go for the 3200+/400fsb, you didn't mention but the biggest expense if you don't have it would be the RAM to run it, you'll definitely want at least the PC3200 RAM to get the most out of its capabilities, and higher for OCing.

 

[SidVicious]

A Mobile Barton is the way to go, unlocked multiplier, lot of headroom for overvolting and overclocking make it the best buy for value concious buyers that want to upgrade a Socket A platform.



Mobile Barton 2500+ @ 2.5GHz (200MHz x12)
Abit NF7-S V2.0
2x 512MB of Samsung TCC4
Sapphire Radeon 9700 128MB @ 360/310
2x Maxtor 40GB 7200RPM RAID-0

 

[marneus]

As long as it is 400FSB it shouldnt matter, U can overclock to faster

Trust me I know what I'm doing... ooops, grab the cat...