Best Budget AMD CPU?

Jza

Senior member
Jul 3, 2001
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I am having trouble finding the sweet spot in the CPU category for my sister's budget PC. It will be intended for NON-gaming use and NO OCing!

It seems like the Athlon 2500+ is a popular choice...but that seems to be overkill for my sis's situation. What will be the athlon xp that will give the best bang for the buck?
 

Swanny

Diamond Member
Mar 29, 2001
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Might want to tell us what else is going into the PC before anyone can make suggestions;)

Also give us your ballpark budget for the CPU.

EDIT: BTW, I do think the 2500+ is a very good bargin!
 

Jza

Senior member
Jul 3, 2001
361
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Here are some of the other parts I plan on using in this budget PC:

Case: Antec SLK3700AMB w/ 350W or Antec SX630II w/ 300W

Mobo: *Nforce2 w/ Integrated Graphics Processor (MSI, Asus, etc)

RAM: DDR333/PC2700 (CorsairValue, Samsung, Micron, etc)
 

MrEgo

Senior member
Jan 17, 2003
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With pc3200 400MHz RAM, you'd have a lot more overclocking headroom.
 

Gerbil333

Diamond Member
Jan 28, 2002
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Originally posted by: Jza
Here are some of the other parts I plan on using in this budget PC:

Case: Antec SLK3700AMB w/ 350W or Antec SX630II w/ 300W

Mobo: *Nforce2 w/ Integrated Graphics Processor (MSI, Asus, etc)

RAM: DDR333/PC2700 (CorsairValue, Samsung, Micron, etc)

With that setup, I'd go for either the 1700+ or Barton 2500+. I have 1700+'s in two of my systems, but I built those a while back. Newegg has them for $42 shipped! Honestly, I can't tell the difference between my #2 system and my #1 system unless I'm gaming, and look how different they are:

#2:
Abit KR7A-RAID
Athlon XP 1700+ JUIHB TBred B
Corsair 256mb XMS2700C2 @ 2-2-2-6-1T
MSI GeForce 4 Ti 4200 64mb
Sound Blaster Live! 5.1
Linksys 10/100 PCI NIC
IBM 20gb Deskstar 60GXP ATA100, 7200rpm hd
Lite On CD-RW/DVD Comob; 48x24x48, 16x DVD Read
Black Floppy Drive
Green Aluminum Chieftec server tower w/window
Green 12" Cold Cathode
Black Rounded IDE & Floppy cables
Enermax 431W daul fan PSU

#1:
Asus A7N8X Deluxe 2.0
Athlon XP 2500+ w/Retail hsf
Corsair 512mb TWINX3200LLPT (2x256mb) @ 2-2-2-5
PNY GeForce 4 Ti 4600
Sound Blaster Live! 5.1
3Com 905CTX PCI NIC
Western Digital 40gb, 7200rpm, 8mb cache hd
Black Lite On 40x12x48 Black CD-RW
Black Aluminum Chieftec Dragon Server Tower w/window
Blue 6" Cold Cathode
Black Rounded IDE Cables
Enermax 460W, Blue, dual fan power supply
 

Shimmishim

Elite Member
Feb 19, 2001
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Originally posted by: MrEgo
With pc3200 400MHz RAM, you'd have a lot more overclocking headroom.

hehehe....

he said he wasn't overclocking but hey... i don't blame ya... it's hard to NOT overclock one of these 1700+ or 2500+'s :)




i say go for the 1700+ and some pc2100 ram

if you decide with the 2500+ then get some pc2700 ram instead...

i think if you're sister is going to be just browsing / word processing / not so cpu intensive stuff then either one will be fine...
 

xbassman

Golden Member
Feb 25, 2001
1,243
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Originally posted by: Shimmishim

I say go for the 1700+ and some pc2100 ram

if you decide with the 2500+ then get some pc2700 ram instead...

i think if you're sister is going to be just browsing / word processing / not so cpu intensive stuff then either one will be fine...

Heck my wife is using a TBird 1.0ghz/kt133a setup and for non gaming purposes it rocks!

Here's another board to consider:


Shuttle AN35(N)-Ultra

I bought one of these for my daughter's comp. Matter of fact I am using it right now as I had to rma my board. :(

Can't beat it for price/performance!
And get the 1700+. For internet and word processing and such I doubt you would be able to tell any difference.
 

xSauronx

Lifer
Jul 14, 2000
19,582
4
81
love my 1700
ocs to 2ghz easy (mobo limits me...one day ill get that nforce2 or...something else!)
but really
if its for your sister, and integrated video is all she needs, then a 1700+ is all she needs, not oc'ed. a 2500+ is a great deal for someone who needs the power, but why waste the extra cash if you dont need the power?