Looking to upgrade to my first AMD system...need advice...

[BlueWeasel]

Here's what I have now:

Abit BE6-II BX motherboard
P3 1ghz @ 1.33ghz
512mb PC133
Gainward Ti4200 GF4
Maxtor 60gb HD

As you can see, I have my BX motherboard maxed out and its time to upgrade. I am looking at upgrading to an Nforce2 board with an XP+ processor. Unfortunately, I have never used an AMD system. I try to keep up with it on the boards, but I am unsure about which XP chip to choose based on O/C'ability and performance.

I want a chip that can be O/C'd pretty far, but I wouldn't mind paying a little extra to get a faster chip. IE, I wouldn't mind paying extra for a 2000+ instead of getting a slower chip and O/C'ing to 2000+ speeds. However, I don't want to limit my overclocking by getting a particular CPU.

Here is what I am currently looking at:

Chaintech 7NJS Nforce2 MB (yeah I know its expensive, but it has features that the other boards don't)
Corsair CMXPC3200, CAS2, 256mb x 2 (to take advantage of the increase in bandwidth)
????? XP processor

What XP chip would you suggest?

 

[DOOMIII]

a .13 micron XP 2000+ should be modest.BTW,why don't you choose A7VN from ASUS?

 

[BlueWeasel]

Well, a feature that I am looking for is more than 2 controllers for drives. My Abit BE6-II has 2 ATA/66 controllers and 2 IDE/33 controllers and I like it that I can put a single drive on each controller.

Unfortunately, the Chaintech is the only Nforce2 board that has this feature. If not for this, I'd probably go with the Asus...

 

[DOOMIII]

I see,your case is unusual to most of us,hoho

 

[chizow]

Basically, you have 1 group of CPUs that will do 2.0 ghz max, and you have the ones that do significantly more than that. The price model on AMD CPUs reflects this disparity pretty well. Starting with the 2400+ you will get significantly more OCing headroom b/c they are T-Bred Rev. B's. They are @ 2.0ghz normally, and can get you anywhere from 2.2ghz to 2.5ghz on air. They run around $170 OEM.

The "rest" are a mixed bag of AGOIA, AROIA steppings from the Palomino family; the infamous 1600+ were known to hit 1.8ghz with relative ease on air. 2.0ghz with extreme cooling. The higher PR rated CPUs with the same steppings could get you closer to 2.0ghz on air. The 1700+ and 1800+ are currently only being produced as T-bred A. The first batch ~week 24 (one I got) weren't so hot and OC slightly better than the Palominos, but run cooler and draw less power. The newer stepping 1800+ (week 42 or later) have been hitting 2.0ghz. The lower PR rating CPUs from this group are the way to go, as 2000+ to 2200+ PR rated CPUs don't do much better but are still over $100. Also, rumor has it that the 1700+ and 1800+ will be coming out in T-bred B sometime soon, and when that happens, that will definitely be THE chip to own for price/performance/oc'ability on an Athlon system until Barton or Hammer comes out (or the 333mhz versions drop in price).

Chiz

 

[magomago]

Well, if $$ is no object get a 2400+...I read that some guy oc'd it to a 2800+ on air...

One thing I hate about the Athlon XP is htat its a mess orginization wise...You got old Pal 1700+s, and then Ta, and now Tb...its horrible

 

[BlueWeasel]

Bump up for more to see.

I still can't make up my mind about which one to get. Currently the 2000+ is $91 at Newegg while the 2400+ is $175 OEM.