AMD XP 1600 or better : what should i do ?

[Mohammad]

I am thinking of building a new system. The best option that i also decent on the pocket seems to AMD XP 1600 . However, should i go for something lower or higher. I also don't have much info on overclocking. How is AMD overclocking different from P3 overclocking. Are there any RAM issues that i will have as currently i have a P3. Last but not the least, i have heard they have cooling issues ? how true is this ?

 

[Pentium]

I have an AXP 2200+ and it doesn't OC well

 

[SickBeast]

I just got an XP1900+ and it doesn't overclock worth a damn. It posts at 1752mhz, but windows won't boot. I hear the 1600+ overclocks well though.

 

[Swanny]

Most Palomino 1600+'s will get to 1800+ speeds. But that depends. No AMD CPUs really overclock well except Thoroughbred B, which won't be out for another month.

I wouldn't worry about cooling as long as you pretty good airflow in your case. As for RAM issues, what kind of RAM do you have now. That could make a difference.

 

[yodayoda]

i have heard that many people are hitting 10.5 x 166 (1750 MHz) with their XP 1600+ (1400 MHz) chips. that is a very healthy overclock of clockspeed but assumes you are using a KT333 mobo with a 1/5 divider.

 

[blinkme210]

Yah what sickbeast said. 1600+ oc's well. About a month back when I got this comp. I oc'ed it to 1663Mhz (12.5 x 133 multiplier) from 1400mhz stock. The only problem I had with it was that it took me forever to unlock the damn thing. Countless tries of filling in the L1 bridges that u can barely see. And yah u can oc the 1600+ up pretty high.

Though during my testing if I got it up any higher than 1663 mhz, cooling became an issue. Even with my Thermaltake Volcano 7+ it went up as high as 70C. I got kinda scared as I didnt want to burn up my CPU, so I turned it down a little to 1600Mhz (12 x 133 mulitplier). I'm pretty sure u could oc the 1600+ wayyyy higher with watercooling. But to futher cool things down in my computer, I put it down in my basement and cut out 2 blowholes. And now it runs at average 45C/39C. Another suggestion, use copper base heatsinks with HIGH PERFORMANCE thermal paste. Like the Artic Silver kind.

Hope that helps. Sorry dun know too much about RAM though. But so far no issue. As unlocking the CPU doesnt increase PCI, AGP, RAM speed. Unlike changing the FSB.

 

[drewdogg808]

i originally had a xp1900...but it sucked at overclocking. i picked up a xp1600 and i'm very satisfied with it. i'm able to run it at 10.5x166 (1750) at default voltage. i bumped up the voltage a little and i'm now at 1.8ghz stable. i was even able to get it to boot into windows at 1890ghz! this is on aircooling. so i would go with the xp1600...but get decent cooling as amds do run hotter than p3/4s. and you probably would be better off getting some decent ddr (pc2700) with a kt333 mb. my guess is that you are still using sdram with that current p3. good luck.