How much of a performance penalty if I use PC2100 memory with a Socket 754 Sempron?

[StormRider]

I'm looking for a cheap upgrade to use with my spare PC2100 memory. I was thinking about getting another Athlon XP motherboard but then I noticed that a Sempron Socket 754 solution would be about the same price.

 

[Tostada]

Originally posted by: StormRider
I'm looking for a cheap upgrade to use with my spare PC2100 memory. I was thinking about getting another Athlon XP motherboard but then I noticed that a Sempron Socket 754 solution would be about the same price.

Either system will be slowed down slightly by running PC2100 (DDR266) memory, but that doesn't change the fact that a 90nm Socket 754 Sempron is a much better CPU than an Athlon XP. Maybe a nice dual-channel NF2 board would actually give the Athlon XP more memory bandwidth than a single-channel Socket 754 board, but the Socket 754 system would still be better.

Watch out for the 128K cache Semprons like the 2600+. It's probably worth the extra $8 to get the 256K 2800+. The 256K models are also reported to be better overclockers.

 

[IEC]

The integrated memory controller on the newer chips is always a plus - go s754. it's a good choice for budget builds right now.

 

[Twsmit]

It wont slow you down much. Running a divider with slower memory doesnt really hurt the K8 architecture "that" much.

 

[StormRider]

Thanks, I'm gonna order a Socket 754 motherboard and Sempron when I get home tonight!