Athlon XP 2400+ upgrade worth it?

[ku]

Hi! I'm considering upgrading my 1.4 tbird to a 2400+. My current computer is in my signature. Do you think this will help me alot or are there just too many things limiting the potential of the 2400+? Also, I have a SVC GC68 hs/f and was wondering if that would suffice on the 2400+. I'm currently running 1550 mhz (147mhz FSB) with 47C idle and 55C on full load. I mainly want to get the extra FPS boost in games (Call of Duty, UT2K4, and even Counter-strike). I personally think that it's my CPU that's the bottleneck because there is a HUGE, and i mean HUGE difference from when I run default FSB and OCed (40-50fps to 70-80fps in CS). Thanks for the advice!

 

[Soulkeeper]

i suggest replacing it with a mobile barton as they are unlocked and the 512kb of cache would prob benefit you well in some things

yeah i would upgrade the motherboard and the cpu for under 200 bucks
nf7-s
2500+ mobile


or you could keep yur current motherboard and get a mobile 2600+ (even 2ghz) beings they run on the 266 fsb (133) like yur board supports and they overclock well

 

[lilstd]

wow throw that junk away you cheap bastard

 

[ku]

LOL LUUUUKE!!!!!

Well, the point is that I have to save as much money as possible. Chances are that I'm going to buy a new computer early 2005 if I go with this upgrade, so I don't mind if it's a little bit outdated. The most important thing for me is making sure that I'm not wasting 20 bucks on a processor that will give me the same performance as if I were to get a cheaper one (ie. 2400+ vs 2000+)

 

[Cheetah8799]

My advice:

In most of the newer games (ut2k4, far cry, etc) you would do well to have more than 512mb ram and a Radeon 9600 or better. Your Ti4200 may be a big FPS bottleneck in some of these games. Your CPU probably won't improve the FPS all that much in the newer games, mostly the load times. If you upgrade to a 2400+ though, you should see a difference in load times, and performance in general.

I'm not sure about your heatsink. It should work well enough for you to get started. If it runs too hot, upgrade the heatsink too. If you want to be on the safe side though, upgrade, or maybe get a cpu with a stock heatsink to use just in case.

 

[Cheetah8799]

Well, the point is that I have to save as much money as possible, so spending money on a new motherboard and stuff is pointless if I want to save money.

If your current mobo will support the 2400+, check the FS forum for a used one, then sell your tbird. Should end up being a pretty cheap upgrade that will make a noticable improvement in your system.

 

[ku]

thx cheetah

I'm sure my heatsink can handle the 2400+, if not, any suggestions under $20? Yes, I am poor. Perhaps i'll just get retail but i'll see first.

As for games, my biggest concern is counter-strike, and I am positive that my video card can handle it (I know a lot of lan centers with the same video card that is easily capable of constant 100fps, and I dont need it to be amazing for ut2k4 just yet). I think that the only reason i'm lagging now is because my CPU isn't capable of processing multiple models (other players). It'd be helpful if someone with a similar setup as mine (graphic card, motherboard/ram, higher cpu?) could post their performances.

 

[kyparrish]

i'd say the upgrade is worth it...

when i moved from a 1.6GHz Pentium 4 Williamette core to a 2100+ Athlon chip (with the same 64mb Geforce4 Ti vid. card), my computer felt much faster...performance in games drastically increased

I would say...buy a mobile 2400+ (that comes unlocked, by the way), and then OC the heck out of your system...you could always pick up a Speeze Falconrock HSF for like 14 bucks shipped from newegg if you think you'll need a better HSF

if you spend the money now on a decent cpu like the mobile 2400, then you could probably extend the life of your whole system for at least 1-2 years, and hey...in a few months, you might get some more cash and want to mate your new cpu with a better vid. card!

 

[myocardia]

Poor man's awesome system: Abit NF7 for $78, mobile Barton 2600 for $101, 400 watt Allied PSU for $30, Speeze FalconRock hsf for ~$10.50, 512MB stick of Kingmax PC3500 for $82. You could even hold off a month on the ram, since the mobile Barton's are unlocked, but that would cost you considerable performance, compared to running your processor at 2.4-2.5ghz with a 200+mhz fsb.

 

[ku]

Awesome... after I have a little talk with my brother and the home computer, I'll most likely end up getting this chip (saving money > my brother's access to a computer). I would LOVE to overclock, but unfortunately, I have one of those $60 (entry price!) motherboards lol. I can get it to 147mhz FSB easily, but can't hit 150 (probably motherboard that is holding me back). But hell, maybe I'll just get a new motherboard too if I happen to find a couple hundred bucks somewhere =D...

EDIT: Oh yeah, should I get the mobile or barton? Keep in mind that my motherboard supports only 266mhz.

 

[kyparrish]

i'd get the mobile (which is a barton core, btw)...

it runs stock at a bus speed of 133mhz (perfect for your mobo), runs cooler, is unlocked (in the future, you might have access to a better mobo to OC this baby), and isn't that much more expensive...

i'm not familiar with your motherboard, does it support different multipliers? this might be important as i believe these chips default to 6 x 100mhz ... so you'll want to be able to have higher multi's available

 

[kyparrish]

forgot to add...

if that mobo of yours doesn't support changing the multiplier, and you don't plan on buying another motherboard, i would probably be more inclined to tell you to just buy an athlon xp 2400+ (non-mobile)...since you should have no problem running it at the default speed of 15 x 133mhz

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: kyparrish
forgot to add...

if that mobo of yours doesn't support changing the multiplier, and you don't plan on buying another motherboard, i would probably be more inclined to tell you to just buy an athlon xp 2400+ (non-mobile)...since you should have no problem running it at the default speed of 15 x 133mhz

I agree, if you aren't going to buy a motherboard and your motherboard doesn't support changing the multi, I would just go with the XP2400, even though you would get roughly 3 times the performance, for only a little over $100 more, if you took my suggestion.

 

[dguy6789]

if it only supports 266mhz fsb then getting a barton is risky. Mainboards only go up to 12.5 on unlocked cpus, and if you board wont be stable above 266fsb, you would be stuck with a 1.67Ghz barton. If i were you, i would be on the safe side and get an athlon xp 2400+ from newegg.com. They are very reliable(the best by far imo) and they have 2400s that come with heatsinks. here is a link.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-336&depa=1


And I believe you will see a very big improvement in general windows usage and in games. The 2400+ is alot faster then 1.4Ghz tbird. You will be able to multitask ALOT better, doing stuff will just seem smoother, and other cool fast related stuff

But remember, mobile bartons dont come with a heatsink, but if you get one, your running a risk of not having your board oc above 266fsb. So for a totally safe option that requires no overclockin, follow the magic clicky.

 

[ku]

Well, as of now, it's either going to be a $300 upgrade (mobile 2600+, Abit NF7, 512 PC3500) and use it for another 2 years or so, or get the 2400+ and use it for just 1 more year. It depends on how much money I can scrape up... THANKS GUYS!

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: ku
Well, as of now, it's either going to be a $300 upgrade (mobile 2600+, Abit NF7, 512 PC3500) and use it for another 2 years or so, or get the 2400+ and use it for just 1 more year. It depends on how much money I can scrape up... THANKS GUYS!

Ku, don't forget since the mobile Barton has an adjustable multi, when it's put on the right board, you can wait awhile on buying the ram, and still be able to overclock the crap out of the chip. You just won't get as much performance as you would get with PC3200 or faster ram. That puts the price of your best upgrade option under $200, assuming the psu you have now has enough power.

 

[ku]

My PSU should be adequate (Enermax 430 watt... got it after my 300W blew up... and yes, BLEW UP) Anyway, thanks for that info about ram... I was having a hard time looking for ram anyway (the good priced ones are out of stock T_T)

 

[irenealan]

I thought the Ti4200 is comparable to a 9600... is it the 128mb version of the Ti4200 that would run better than the 9600?

Originally posted by: Cheetah8799
My advice:

In most of the newer games (ut2k4, far cry, etc) you would do well to have more than 512mb ram and a Radeon 9600 or better. Your Ti4200 may be a big FPS bottleneck in some of these games. Your CPU probably won't improve the FPS all that much in the newer games, mostly the load times. If you upgrade to a 2400+ though, you should see a difference in load times, and performance in general.

I'm not sure about your heatsink. It should work well enough for you to get started. If it runs too hot, upgrade the heatsink too. If you want to be on the safe side though, upgrade, or maybe get a cpu with a stock heatsink to use just in case.

 

[ku]

Nope, it's the 64mb version...

Anyway, I just ordered the parts. THANKS GUYS! I decided to go with the cpu/mobo/ram upgrade and hopefully, it'll last me another 2 years or more. Now I just have to find another source of money for CPL this summer -_-...

Athlon XP 2600+ mobile
OCZ 512mb PC3500 (I know, it sucks but I have no money)
Abit NF7
Speeze Falconrock + AS5

 

[Soulkeeper]

there is also a modified bios for that motherboard out there
this bios gives you more overclocking options (i forget the name of it right of the top of my head tho, ANYONE ??? )
i wouldn't even worry too much about the fsb speed that your motherboard is capable of for now
you should get plenty out of a barton above 2ghz with 140mhz fsb
i owned that motherboard for a few weeks before, but didn't get a chance to really use it before a friend of mine needed it more than i did, it was a good budget motherboard at the time

good luck

 

[myocardia]

Very excellent choices, my friend. OCZ ram doesn't suck, by any stretch of the imagination. It's as good as Corsair's XMS and Kingston's HyperX, they just don't spend millions on advertising they way Corsair and Kingston do, that's why it doesn't cost as much. You definitely won't be sorry with anything you've chosen, I guarantee you. If you do have any problems getting it overclocked, come back and we'll tell you what you need to do to get it straightened out. Just make sure to either wipe your hard drive and reinstall windows, or do a Windows deltree and reinstall Windows, if you know how.