Budget OC: Sempron 2400+ vs Deleron?

[bluemax]

I hear a fair bit about these two budget CPUs - they do pretty well on their own but they appear to be overclocking champs!

I would either go AMD with the Sempron 2400+ overclocked from 333FSB to 400FSB (I hear no tweaking is required, just the simple FSB change!)

... or the Celeron D 2.4GHz which (I hear) overclocks from 533FSB to 800FSB without issue.

Are either chip almost a "sure thing"? Which would you go for?

I'm leaning Intel because:
1) More i865 motherboards have 4 RAM slots for 4x512MB which is MUCH cheaper than 2x1024MB.
AMD and 3x512MB is tolerable, but not as good.

2)The end overclock is a higher numerical result - leading me to think it likely will be faster.


NOTE: This is not for gaming - this is for a pro-audio program which will eat CPU cycles and RAM sticks for lunch! 😀

 

[drpootums]

hmmm...i would just get a 2500+ and oc it to the 3200+ speeds. It will be much faster than both, and will only cost about $40 more.

However, is that is out for sure, i would go with the sempron, dont let the FSB # fool you, these can oc well.

 

[cheesehead]

The celeron will not go up to 3.6 ghz, period. Not a bat's chance in heck, especially considering the padded numbers associated with them. Also, consider the issue of other features. Celerons are much slower than a P4 with equivalent clock speed. They have no hyperthreading, 1/4 the cache, and are'nt designed for gaming at all. Although they work fine for word processing and such, they're miserable when it comes to tasks like audio editing. Lastly, good luck cooling it-without peltier-enhanced watercooling, no P4 can do that kind of overclock.
For a really cheap sound editing setup, you may as well get a Sempron 3100+ (A64 based) and a VNF3-250. The 3100+ (which can OC to 2.2 with no trouble at all) can beat the crap out of a Celeron at 3.6, and it's only 100$. (the VNF3-250, a high-quality motherboard, is 70$). It's a single-channel-memory-only processor, too, so you can get 3x512mb without losing any performance. (it can blow the celeron @ 3.6 out of the water AT STOCK SPEEDS!) The 3200+ Winchester is an even better overclocker, but it costs slightly more (190$) and requires a more expensive motherboard. Of course, it can overclock up to 50% on air, something wich no celeron has done in years.
-Cheesehead.

 

[tfinch2]

my sempron 2400+ hits 200 fsb for 2.0 ghz without a sweat. it hits 42c under load.

 

[bluemax]

Originally posted by: tfinch2
my sempron 2400+ hits 200 fsb for 2.0 ghz without a sweat. it hits 42c under load.

Sounds like Sempron's 1.25x overclock from 333 to 400 is the way to go. Good thing I know one or two AMD XP motherboards with 4xDDR slots. Asrock... nice. 🙂

From some people, it sure sounded like the Deleron had no problem going from 533 to 800FSB. A 1.5x overclock is really high though...

So - now that Sempron has kind'a been decided (though the other suggestion of the XP-M is also tempting...) which Semprons overclock well? The lower, the better I imagine.



... and out of curiosity - how does one overclock an XP-M? Can you just adjust the multiplier in the BIOS and expect it to work? Or do you have to mod the chip in some way? I'm not a modder.... no wire tricks for me.

 

[AkumaX]

2)The end overclock is a higher numerical result - leading me to think it likely will be faster.

hehaehahehhae, thats why intel is still in power

i'd go w/ the XP-M

... and out of curiosity - how does one overclock an XP-M? Can you just adjust the multiplier in the BIOS and expect it to work? Or do you have to mod the chip in some way? I'm not a modder.... no wire tricks for me.

the reason why people want the XP-M is because you don't have to mod it, its already unlocked. just get a good motherboard (nf7-s v.2) and change the mult + fsb to some nice amount (probably start off at 11, 11.5 or 12 x 200) and work your way there. good luck!

 

[Brunnis]

I'd really, really like to recommend an XP-M 2400+, 2500+ or 2600+. I have 2600+ myself, which I run on an Abit NF7-S 2.0. I run the CPU at 2.5GHz (12.5*200) on 1.75V (or 1.68V as reported by BIOS). My guess is that it pretty much would walk over a Celeron even if it ran at 3.6GHz... Also, the XP-M is totally unlocked from factory, so you don't have to fiddle with the FSB. 🙂

 

[bluemax]

Yowza! Just plug it in and no tricks? Just set multiplier and FSB and go? Beauty! 🙂

XP-M may be my best best - especially with the lower heat output... that could be even better than the Sempron!

 

[Stormgiant]

Originally posted by: Cheesehead
The celeron will not go up to 3.6 ghz, period. Not a bat's chance in heck, especially considering the padded numbers associated with them. Also, consider the issue of other features. Celerons are much slower than a P4 with equivalent clock speed. They have no hyperthreading, 1/4 the cache, and are'nt designed for gaming at all. Although they work fine for word processing and such, they're miserable when it comes to tasks like audio editing. Lastly, good luck cooling it-without peltier-enhanced watercooling, no P4 can do that kind of overclock.

I'm sorry to let you down, but your wrong. It's true that they are slower then 800fsb Prescott, but they overclock really good. Most of the people i know and on the web can get good overclocks. Some better, other worse.
About the cooling, your totally wrong. Because it has only 1/4 of the cache, it runs much colder than the big brother. It is a slow cpu compared to others, but don't go thrashing it's name just because...

Originally posted by: Cheesehead
For a really cheap sound editing setup, you may as well get a Sempron 3100+ (A64 based) and a VNF3-250. The 3100+ (which can OC to 2.2 with no trouble at all) can beat the crap out of a Celeron at 3.6, and it's only 100$. (the VNF3-250, a high-quality motherboard, is 70$). It's a single-channel-memory-only processor, too, so you can get 3x512mb without losing any performance. (it can blow the celeron @ 3.6 out of the water AT STOCK SPEEDS!)

Of course it will, it's almost a full feature A64!!!

In your case bluemax, i would go with the XP-M as others sugested.

 

[AkumaX]

XP-M may be my best best - especially with the lower heat output... that could be even better than the Sempron!

it IS better than the sempron. all semprons have 256kb cache (w/ exception of 3000+), whereas the XP-M (at least the ones we're talking about) have 512kb cache. with the lower heat output.
semprons run anywhere between 1.5v to 1.65v, whereas the XP-Ms are starting at 1.35v to 1.45v

 

[bluemax]

Beauty. $40CDN well spent - though a cooling unit will also up the price. If I don't go for a SFF system like Soltek ($230CDN for KT400A!) I might go Sempron just to keep costs as low as possible. That and I'd have to buy 1024MB memory modules for the SFF route which is $100 more expensive than 2x512MB modules.