AMD Sempron Processor 3100+ & ECS NFORCE3-A Motherboard for $80 at Outpost.com

[Zap]

newvan at default speeds the Sempron will be around the same or faster in most things - that's with a 200MHz deficit even. Once you bring the MHz the same, then it should be faster in pretty much everything. Now, whether you will notice a difference... depends on your usage patterns. No, web browsing and downloading won't be any faster. Games that used to run choppy may run smoother. Encoding will be faster.

ToneLoc I have some information on this board as well as basic overclocking settings. So far one person has been unable to get much out of this motherboard (don't know why yet) but pretty much everyone else has been able to take it up to the maximum FSB pretty easily.

 

[Melectricus]

Aaaargh, motherboard smoked when turned on. A circuit trace on the back of the board is burned from the 20 pin power connector to the top left of the board.

Only had HDD, floppy, dvdrom, front usb-keyed, front connectors including audio, 9800pro vid, stock amd HSF with AS5, 2x512 kingston 3200, in my 380w sonata case. No post just a puff of smoke. No grounds no bad stuff, I probably had about 30 builds before this-had a one or two no posts on bad mobos- but never this. What? I need to RMA.

Put all old parts back in case an35nultra xp2500 ocd to 2.2 etc and all is good sooo....any opinions?

 

[Zap]

Melectricus, that sucks.

 

[Zebo]

Originally posted by: Zap

Originally posted by: Zebo
The best CPU, AMD or Intel, for overclcoking is by far the 144 opteron if you can find them for the $123 sugessted retail price..

Care to share with us where we can find one for that price or close to it without having to buy a motherboard?

They've been around.. http://www.xl-pc.com/scr/xtcat.dll/item?pr=1&opt=4&item=AMD-OP144-939 Who knows if it's stocked but many memeber have gotten them for $125-$135. It's not my fault retailers are jacking up AMD's MSRP.

 

[Zap]

Yeah, there was a thread about XL-PC (AKA X-Technology or something like that). People ordered, but were getting their orders cancelled.

 

[TheRealDeal]

For those who can tolerate the Tiger Direct Rebates, here is a barebones Sempron 3300+ for $100 AR. Its socket A...... But the budget buyers will love it.

deal

 

[neovan]

Thanks for the info OhioState and Zap. Going to wait for another Fry's deal similar to this one since I have about 3 near me.

 

[Hammyton]

I springed on this deal and other than having to format my HD cuz of the "operation system error" it works great Thanks AT!

 

[furballi]

The AMD 3100 130nm (Paris) also supports Cool and Quiet. Install the AMD CnQ program and set the power management to MINIMAL power. The multiplier will automatically drop from 9x to 5x when idling.

Still can't figure out why system will only pass Prime95 "blend" mode with 2T timing when the DIMM2 slot is used. The memory is DDR400 Kingston ValueRAM. The PC runs great at 265MHz FSB, 2.5-3-3-6-1T, HT 3x(166MHz or 5:6 memory divider) with one stick of RAM in DIMM1. Vcore is +1.7%. Vdimm is DEFAULT. Super Pi 1M digits time of 39.1 sec with CnQ enabled.

 

[PrinceKee]

I ordered this because I lost my mobo and processor the other night. But, does this work with PC2700 RAM and an ATX case? I don't want to have to buy all new RAM right now I just bought this just to recover some stuff from my old HD. I see that the form factor for this board is 295mm*205mm my last shuttle board was 230mm*200 so will this fit? Also I had an Athlon XP 2200 so that heatsink should still work right? Thanx in advance...

 

[Zap]

Yes, works fine with ATX case and PC2700. Your overclocks may be limited by the RAM. The power supply will probably work unless it's really crappy. You will need a new HSF, just buy the cheapest that will work since the CPUs don't get very hot even with mild overclocks. Sounds like your Shuttle board was mATX. As long as the case can hold standard ATX boards, no problem.

 

[PrinceKee]

So I need a new HSF? Can you point in the direction of a cheap one? Or can I walk into like COMPUSA or bestbuy and get a cheap one? So this mobo will fit in my case? I think my power supply is 350W.

EDIT: This is my case below except I don't have the 2 side fans I have one larger fan in the window area...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811156020

Please tell me this will work because I already ordered this...

 

[Zap]

That case will work fine. What power supply do you have?

Yes you need a new HSF. CompUSA will probably have one, just make sure it is for the proper socket (754) and usually any cheap one will work since these CPUs run pretty cool, unless you want super silent or super overclocking. If you can't find one locally for under $15, then time to look for one on eBay or elsewhere online. If you can get one made for Athlon x2/Opteron with heatpipes, that's a really good one. They used to go for $15 after shipping on eBay but may be more now.

 

[PrinceKee]

I don't know what kind of power supply I have. I'll have to see but I think it's an ATX also. Glad this will work with my case. My case isn't just like that it has the neon lights on the sides and is silver. But, I think that's the same brand...

 

[PrinceKee]

OK, I have a Raidmax power supply. Model number RD-350W and it's a 20 pin one...

 

[Zap]

Eh, that's not the best unit but will probably work.

 

[PrinceKee]

Why? But, it will work right? I don't need to overclock or use a top of the line video card. Also just in case I can't find a HSF cheap around are there any cheap online I should buy?

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: PrinceKee
Why? But, it will work right? I don't need to overclock or use a top of the line video card. Also just in case I can't find a HSF cheap around are there any cheap online I should buy?

amd stock heatsinks work just fine, people sell them on ebay.

not the most quiet, but if you have cnq on and the automatic fan regulation from the motherboard it might be off half the time.

this one is thermal controlled

 

[PrinceKee]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: PrinceKee
Why? But, it will work right? I don't need to overclock or use a top of the line video card. Also just in case I can't find a HSF cheap around are there any cheap online I should buy?

amd stock heatsinks work just fine, people sell them on ebay.

not the most quiet, but if you have cnq on and the automatic fan regulation from the motherboard it might be off half the time.

So I can use my old HSF from my AMD Athlon XP 2200+?

EDIT: Nevermind I assumed you meant my old one. But, my old socket A 2200 hsf looks just like that one...

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: PrinceKee

So I can use my old HSF from my AMD Athlon XP 2200+?

EDIT: Nevermind I assumed you meant my old one. But, my old socket A 2200 hsf looks just like that one...

the socket A ones won't fit on the clip, afaik. the socket 754/939/940 heat sinks are signficiantly larger than the standard socket A heat sink.

 

[PrinceKee]

Thanks just got to find a cheap HSF and hope I don't have to reformat and can repair my windows installation on my old HD's...

 

[Zap]

You never have to format to fix Windows (unless your partition table is fubared). Worst case scenario is a delete-reinstall. Don't worry about losing data.

 

[yukit]

Originally posted by: PrinceKee
Thanks just got to find a cheap HSF and hope I don't have to reformat and can repair my windows installation on my old HD's...

You may not be able to boot normally because the drivers installed on the hard drive maybe imcompatible with the new hardware.

Before you swap the hardware, download the latest drivers for your new MB, but don't install yet. I guess you have the driver CD just in case.

You should try to boot in safe mode. Then install the new drivers. This usually works.

 

[YenlyD]

Originally posted by: ToneLoc
i havent oc'ed since my celly 300a went to 450 lol...:beer:

Hehe, same thing here... looking to replace my old nforce 2 board and have some fun overclocking! Hoping my PC2700 will be able to keep up with the stuff I might have to throw at it.... =/

 

[PrinceKee]

I thought I could boot Win XP Pro from the CD and do a repair install and then I'll be able to boot and install the drivers for the new board.