Good deal on ath 600?

[Rhodent]

I am just wondering..If I can get a 600 Athlon processor for 140 bucks from a reputable computer store locally? Would that be a good deal? I am told by the owner that this is the highest chips at which full speed cache remained and so I could probably over clock it to at least 900 and maybe 1000 MHZ.

 

[Vinny N]

$140? Is it retail(3 year warranty, boxed with heatsink and fan) or OEM(1 year warranty if dealer is AMD authorized or 30 days through vendor, just the cpu)?

Lowest priced on pricewatch seems to be $129 shipped for an OEM Athlon 600, $168 shipped for a Retail Athlon 600.


Are you sure it's not a Duron or a Thunderbird? All Athlons have 1/2 level 2 cache. If you meant level 1 cache, all those chips have full speed level 1 cache.

If the owner meant the last to have 1/2 speed level 2 cache, the 700s were the last of those not the 600s.

 

[Rhodent]

ok..when you say retail...or OEM..what exactly do you mean. He deals with new stuff from a distributor and he warrants it. Does that help. He told me that the 600 was the last athlon that had full speed cache he said but did not specify L1 or L2. He said due to that they were extrememly good over clockers. This man would not lie to me. I work for a company who is somewhat connected with his as we are an ISP and he is a local comp store. He said he sells higher to regular customers. He says this chip being what it is can reach nearly 1 GHZ

 

[Vinny N]

He deals with new stuff from a distributor and he warrants it

Okay, that sounds like it's OEM then.

He told me that the 600 was the last athlon that had full speed cache he said but did not specify L1 or L2. He said due to that they were extrememly good over clockers

That part doesn't make any sense. If he was talking about level 1 cache, the Athlon 600 really doesn't stand above any of the other speed grades since many 550, 600, 650, or higher cores were used in even lower speed CPUs. (ex: a 650 core in a 500mhz Athlon)

If it's about level 2, he's wrong, it doesn't mean he was lying, he might not have known. The Athlon 600 has 300mhz level 2 cache. The Athlon 700 has 350mhz level 2 cache. Starting with the 750, the 1/2 cache speed was no longer used. That makes the 700 the CPU with the highest speed level 2 cache.

He says this chip being what it is can reach nearly 1 GHZ

That's a pretty high claim. If he meant the Thunderbird Athlons, or the Durons, then it's possible that the 600mhz chip can get to 900 or 1000 with good odds. But he told you the 600mhz chip was the highest speed with full speed cache? All the T-birds and Durons have full speed l1 and l2 cache.

I sound terribly redundant, but what this guy is telling you doesn't make much sense.