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Can I use an amd 2500+ heatsink on a 3000+?

S

Sanius

Member
okay, I tried EVERYTHING, and I still can't get hl2 to run at fast speeds on my 6800, and I guess I will give up and just belive everyone when they say my processer is a bottleneck. so, I looked at newegg for a fast processer, and found an amd 3000+, 400 fsb, not 64-bit, but I think it will do. but it's OEM, $147. good price? I hope so. but will my heatsink work with it? since it's oem, it probably will not have anything put a processer.
 
I don't want to overclock, i'd rather get a new processer overall. and the rest of the system is a nvidia 6800 (not gt or le), and a 512 mb of ram.

also, the manual for the 6800 said "6800 ultra" weird, huh?
 
Your heatsink would work, but an XP3000 for $147 is a horrible price. You can probably get an A64 3000 (754) for that much. Overclock for now (it's really not that hard, and many XP 2500s will do 200FSB without problems) and save your money for an A64 setup later.

Besides, I don't think an XP3000 would be that much of an improvement over your XP2500.
 
you are right, the 64 bit 3000+ is $2 extra, but getting a 64-bit motherboard would be how much more, $100? Also, I can't just overclock. I would have to get a real fan, and that requires me going through my dad to get money for it, and he doesn't want me to overclock. and if I could, I wouldn't. i'm just not that kind of guy.
 
You can probably play around with OCing on the stock cooler, see how far you get.

FYI, you can find good S754 mobos for around $70, and good S939 ones (some with PCIe) for ~$120. IMO, this would be a much better upgrade than another Socket A proc.
 
An A64 2800 beats an XP3200 in most everything, so it's a good option as well. I'd just recommend something other than an MSI or VIA-based board (try a Chaintech, Epox, or Soltek budget NF3 250 board).

You'd still be running 32-bit instructions on the A64, because you probably don't have any 64-bit software (and if you did, you wouldn't be using an AXP to run it). The speed difference between the A64 and AXP (I assume this is really what you meant) is due to architectural changes, especially the addition of an onboard memory controller. (This contributes to why a 1.8GHz A64 is beating a 2.2GHz AXP.)
 
i dont think the proc is your issue. i can run hl2 fine with my 2500 and 6800.

make sure you have all your drivers up to date.
 
shimsham, I did everything. I spent 3 fecking days trying to increase fps. I just need to get a new processer. and I don't mind doing so.
 
I got some people telling me that 32-bit won't help in recent games for like another year (doom 3, hl2, that kind of thing) is this true?
 
Screw the new CPU, add another 512 mb RAM. Athlon XP2500 is a decent CPU - if you have the stock HS with the copper slug on it, you can probably OC it to 2.0 ghz easily (PR rating of 3000+). Those are great overclockers.
 
Originally posted by: techwanabe
Screw the new CPU, add another 512 mb RAM. Athlon XP2500 is a decent CPU - if you have the stock HS with the copper slug on it, you can probably OC it to 2.0 ghz easily (PR rating of 3000+). Those are great overclockers.
Click to expand...

didn't you already hear me? I don't want to overclock, I CAN'T overclock. so don't bother telling me.
 
I didn't notice you had just a half-gig of RAM--double that if you're experiencing lots of choppiness. May as well make it PC3200 (even if your other stick isn't) for easier overclocking on the AXP and a slightly better carryover to an A64.
 
Originally posted by: ts3433
I didn't notice you had just a half-gig of RAM--double that if you're experiencing lots of choppiness. May as well make it PC3200 (even if your other stick isn't) for easier overclocking on the AXP and a slightly better carryover to an A64.
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don't worry, i'm planning on getting another 512 pc3200 probably for my birthday or a little after it (this march). I just don't need it right away, i'm more worried about supplying enough speed to my videocard 😛
 
Originally posted by: Sanius
Originally posted by: techwanabe
Screw the new CPU, add another 512 mb RAM. Athlon XP2500 is a decent CPU - if you have the stock HS with the copper slug on it, you can probably OC it to 2.0 ghz easily (PR rating of 3000+). Those are great overclockers.
Click to expand...

didn't you already hear me? I don't want to overclock, I CAN'T overclock. so don't bother telling me.
Click to expand...

Yep, I read that. But we can change and learn new things. It isn't as scary or difficult as you think. Even if you don't feel comfortable doing it now, you can read up on it and gain some confidence by seeing what others have done and how they do it. It doesn't have to be as scary or complicated as may seem.

Again, bump up your memory to a full Gig before spending money on a new CPU or video card. Many have noticed it makes a substantial difference in smoothing out certain games. Don't be too focused on benchmarks etc... rather how does the game actually play - that is the bottom line. 😉

You won't be getting as much bang for your buck by a relatively minor upgrade in CPU. Memory will probably offer you the apparent speed boost you need. Here is why - if any application is using up all the RAM available, the computer will be forced to use a space on the hard drive called the page file (virtual memory) to make up for the lack of RAM. The hard drive is about 3 orders of magnitude slower than RAM memory. The time it takes for the computer to swap back and forth to the hard drive really slows down peformance and causes choppiness.

 
so I should give up on getting a new cpu and motherboard right now, and just wait 3 more months? great thinking there. you haven't given me a reason to wait until I can add another 512 on, I can't do that right away. I'm just going to use $35, while my parents spend the rest. I don't want to be rude and add another $70 onto it. sorry, I would do it right away, but i'll wait.
 
Originally posted by: Sanius
so I should give up on getting a new cpu and motherboard right now, and just wait 3 more months? great thinking there. you haven't given me a reason to wait until I can add another 512 on, I can't do that right away. I'm just going to use $35, while my parents spend the rest. I don't want to be rude and add another $70 onto it. sorry, I would do it right away, but i'll wait.
Click to expand...

Do things in a stepwise fashion. First, bump up your memory to 1 Gb. See how things go. If you have to add a new CPU/mobo later - the extra memory will surely help regardless so it is not wasted $$. If the extra memory makes a difference, they you can save the money and be good for a while. Make sure you do get memory which will be good for a future motherboard. Get at least PC3200 - hopefully your existing memory will be usable in a new mobo too.

As others have said, going from an XP2500+ to an XP3000+ wouldn't be a big enough improvement so the A64 and mobo will be the next jump you can make.

Having said all that, if you have the skill do replace all these parts, O/C shouldn't be difficult for you. But if you are dead set against it, I can respect your decision.
 
thanks. I would get more memory first, but I think that getting a new processer/mobo first would help me lots (so would getting a real sound card, intergrated sounds fine, but I hear it eats processing power).

I just don't think my parents would like me getting more ram, and if it doesn't speed up anything, I have to go back and have my parents spend MORE money. so you can see why I am getting a new cpu instead.
 
A gig of RAM does a lot for gaming smoothness.

Integrated sound doesn't really eat all that much CPU time, and an Audigy 2 might give you something like 0.5 FPS extra. You only need a soundcard if you have high-end speakers; otherwise, the quality difference will be indiscernable.
 
I agree with ts3433,

I'm not sure why your parents are ok with a new CPU and mobo, but against memory. Maybe it isn't intuitively logical that memory can make a difference, but if you read technical forums allot and see what other people are experiencing, and if you know the principles of how computers work - you'll begin to understand that memory can make a big difference - it just depends on the circumstances and software.

I saw the memory issue illustrated dramatically when I was working on a friends computer. She had a 1 Ghz Athlon PC with only 64 mb memory and Windows ME. She was having problems so I agree'd to help her install Windows XP on it. Windows XP will run on 64 mb of system memory (check Microsofts website). I installed XP on that machine and it ran like a complete dog (surprise!). Her computer ran like some heavily spywared computers I've seen as a tech support at Syracuse University - you waited and waited and waited some more and wondered if the computer was locked up or somthing. Nope, it was paging like crazy to the hard drive since 64 mb was barely enough to function at all.

I had enough memory lying around that would work on her PC to get her up to 128 mb without her having to spend anymore $$. The difference was like night and day! The computer would actually boot up and be ready to use within a few minutes vs maybe 10 minutes! That was just a simple example of how memory can make a big difference in speed. Obviously computers aren't sold with less than 128 mb and we all know that XP really needs 256 to be really usable for multitasking.

As ts stated, onboard vs sound card won't make a noticable difference in peformance. Once upon a time, when CPUs were much slower - it mattered allot more how much processor power was used by the sound card. Personally, I think that many onboard sound solutions are quite good - both of my current computers offer 6 channel sound on board and sound nice (Epox 8RDA+ has Sound Storm and my Dell Intel LGA motherboard has 6 channel sound too. I haven't bought a sound cards since my Diamond Monster Sound 300MX.

Anyway, it's up to you.
 
Originally posted by: Sanius
thanks. I would get more memory first, but I think that getting a new processer/mobo first would help me lots (so would getting a real sound card, intergrated sounds fine, but I hear it eats processing power).

I just don't think my parents would like me getting more ram, and if it doesn't speed up anything, I have to go back and have my parents spend MORE money. so you can see why I am getting a new cpu instead.
Click to expand...
I'll tell you from experience, my laptop with 512MB plays HL2 horribly (choppiness, stuttering) on almost any quality setting while my desktop with 1GB plays it perfectly with all the settings cranked.
 
my parents are not against getting more memory. I just mean, I don't want to higher the costs. and just to note, I don't really deal with stuttering or the like in hl2. only in a huge blast of explosions, other then that, it's fine. (and I bet the fps drop with explosions can be fixed with a new processer)

also, whats the specs of your laptop MDE?
 
Sanius:

Hopefully this will help.

BEFORE:

* Athlon XP 2500+ @ (200x10)
* 512MB PC3200
* Radeon 9800 Pro

Max HL2 detail. Pretty choppy. Long time between level loading.

* Athlon XP 2500+ @ (200x10)
* 1GB PC3200
* Radeon 9800 Pro

Max HL2 detail. Smooth sailing

At maximum detail half-life uses 800-850MB of memory.
 
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