I am getting ready to buy a new processor for my home pc. I currently have an Intel Pentium III processor 500mhz. I want to upgrade to an AMD Athlon. I need to know if my motherboard is compatible with the new AMD.What measures would I have to take to do this, I have tried looking in the Device Manager but all it tells me is that I have a motherboard and it is working properly. So if I could get some help it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
Motherboard compatibility
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Ok, settle down, class is now about to begin....
First things first... You can't replace an Intel chip with and AMD anymore. After the departure from the socket 7 architecture both Intel and AMD moved into proprietary slot cartridges. Later they realized how stupid that was and moved back to socket format. Intel uses the socket 478 standard for the P4 while AMD uses whats known as socket A for its Athlon line. These two are not compatible in socket design or board design.
Ok, now onto the next lesson. If you want to upgrade to an Athlon, you need to decide which speed you want. The newest revision of the Athlon is based of the "Barton" core and carries 512 K on die. These debuted at speads rated as 2400 + (I believe, can't remember off the top of my head.) Before these Athlons were based of the "Thoroughbred" core which carried 256K on die. The T-Breds are set into two categories based on the core design, revision A and B. The B revision is the newer, duh, and is based off the .13 micron manufacturing process.
Now onto how AMD names its cpu's. Since AMD uses a 10 stage pipeline (as oppoesed to Intel's 20) they can't come close to matching the pure core speed of P4's. To present themselves as being competive, AMD broke from standard naming rules and decided to name their chips in respect to how they compare to a P4 (they claim its actually based on older Athlons but whatever....
). This means that an Athlon running on the Barton core with the 2800 + designation will run as past as a 2.8Ghz p4. The actual clock speed however is 2Ghz. This comparison is due to the pipeline lengths (I won't go into detail unless you really want to know). Now a problem that exists in the market is that AMD also has a 2800 + based off the T-Bred B core. This runs at 2.25Ghz.
Basically, in a long winded answer to your question, you would definitely need a new mainboard if switching from a P3 (slot 1) to and Athlon (socket A). My suggestion, depening on your budget would be to get an Asus or Epox board based on the nVidia nForce 2 chipset. Then pair that up with a 2400+ T-Bred B and you have a nice speedy system with lots of overclockability.
Btw, if upgrading to an nForce 2 board with an Athlon XP you would need to get some DDR ram, preferably PC2700 C2. Crucial is solid and cheap.
Any more questions?
First things first... You can't replace an Intel chip with and AMD anymore. After the departure from the socket 7 architecture both Intel and AMD moved into proprietary slot cartridges. Later they realized how stupid that was and moved back to socket format. Intel uses the socket 478 standard for the P4 while AMD uses whats known as socket A for its Athlon line. These two are not compatible in socket design or board design.
Ok, now onto the next lesson. If you want to upgrade to an Athlon, you need to decide which speed you want. The newest revision of the Athlon is based of the "Barton" core and carries 512 K on die. These debuted at speads rated as 2400 + (I believe, can't remember off the top of my head.) Before these Athlons were based of the "Thoroughbred" core which carried 256K on die. The T-Breds are set into two categories based on the core design, revision A and B. The B revision is the newer, duh, and is based off the .13 micron manufacturing process.
Now onto how AMD names its cpu's. Since AMD uses a 10 stage pipeline (as oppoesed to Intel's 20) they can't come close to matching the pure core speed of P4's. To present themselves as being competive, AMD broke from standard naming rules and decided to name their chips in respect to how they compare to a P4 (they claim its actually based on older Athlons but whatever....
). This means that an Athlon running on the Barton core with the 2800 + designation will run as past as a 2.8Ghz p4. The actual clock speed however is 2Ghz. This comparison is due to the pipeline lengths (I won't go into detail unless you really want to know). Now a problem that exists in the market is that AMD also has a 2800 + based off the T-Bred B core. This runs at 2.25Ghz. Basically, in a long winded answer to your question, you would definitely need a new mainboard if switching from a P3 (slot 1) to and Athlon (socket A). My suggestion, depening on your budget would be to get an Asus or Epox board based on the nVidia nForce 2 chipset. Then pair that up with a 2400+ T-Bred B and you have a nice speedy system with lots of overclockability.
Btw, if upgrading to an nForce 2 board with an Athlon XP you would need to get some DDR ram, preferably PC2700 C2. Crucial is solid and cheap.
Any more questions?
Hi,
Well, it wasn't me who asked the question, but since it seams you know allot about the subject, can you elucidate my mind about all that AMD names and stuff?
Thoroughbred, Barton, A & B versions ... which ones are in the market and how can I check which one my dealer is trying to sell me ...
Also about the multipliers and voltages and overclocking ... (how can I math the OC)
It should be a big "Once uppon a time" post, but ... you started it ... ... no, really I would like to know more about it ... I once studied a bit when buying my PIII600EB Coppermine, and the lame 820 intel chipset (I think it was 820), but know 3 years latter, I have lost some topics ...
If you could also add some links for that kind of knowledge, I would appreciate ...
Thanks
Well, it wasn't me who asked the question, but since it seams you know allot about the subject, can you elucidate my mind about all that AMD names and stuff?
Thoroughbred, Barton, A & B versions ... which ones are in the market and how can I check which one my dealer is trying to sell me ...
Also about the multipliers and voltages and overclocking ... (how can I math the OC)
It should be a big "Once uppon a time" post, but ... you started it ...
... no, really I would like to know more about it ... I once studied a bit when buying my PIII600EB Coppermine, and the lame 820 intel chipset (I think it was 820), but know 3 years latter, I have lost some topics ...If you could also add some links for that kind of knowledge, I would appreciate ...
Thanks
Ok, first off, one of the best places to get details on the Athlons is off of ArsTechnica. The boards there are especially helpful as these people are constantly up to date on product offerings.
The Athlon's in the market now range from T-birds up to the newest Barton cores. Most sites, such as Newegg and Googlegear give a lot of information about the specs of the cpu they're selling. Now the companies should tell what the core design is and whether it was made on the 18 or 13 micron process. You'll actually find that some of the older 18 micron Palamino chips, such as an 1800+ are more expensive than the newer T-Bred 1800+ which are made using the 13 micron process. The reason for this is purely supply and demand as some older boards can't handle the upgraded FSB of the T-bred.
Now all sorts of problems have arisen since AMD released two core version of the T-Bred. Since the packaging of retail and OEM cpu's don't state which core revision is used people ahve become a little paranoid about what they might be ordering. Although some of the places such as Newegg have been nice and will sometimes say which one you are getting, its often hard to tell. The only definitive way is to look at the chipset #'s on the back. You should ask the people on the Ars forum for what the latest designations are as I can't recall them off the top of my head, but I believe a U signifed the B revision.
As for how FSB and the clock multiplier work... the core speed of a cpu is determined by those to thigns alone. In perfect theory, the FSB is multiplied by the clock multiplier which yields the core speed. Thus, a 266Mhz FSB and a clock multiplier of 11.5 would yield 1.53Ghz, the setting of an Athlon 1800+ T-Bred with either A or B cores. This leads to the ability to OC the core by moving the FSB up in 1Mhz increments or moving up the clock multiplier in either .5 or 1 steps. In theory, an old Pentium with an adjustable clock could be put on a 200Mhz FSB with a clock at 3 and you would have a 600Mhz Pentium. The problem in the real world is that the chip would literally be burning. With the addition of more transistors to the core due to smaller manufacturing sizes allows for a higher core speed / heat ratio.
Some good places for information are:
ArsTechnica They have some very thorough blackpapers and their forums are filled with people who know a lot more about this stuff than I.
HardOCP One of the most definitive sites about overclocking.
TomsHardware This is a must read for tons of information and reviews of products.
Last but not least... Anand's own articles carry a wealth of information that deserves a read through.
The Athlon's in the market now range from T-birds up to the newest Barton cores. Most sites, such as Newegg and Googlegear give a lot of information about the specs of the cpu they're selling. Now the companies should tell what the core design is and whether it was made on the 18 or 13 micron process. You'll actually find that some of the older 18 micron Palamino chips, such as an 1800+ are more expensive than the newer T-Bred 1800+ which are made using the 13 micron process. The reason for this is purely supply and demand as some older boards can't handle the upgraded FSB of the T-bred.
Now all sorts of problems have arisen since AMD released two core version of the T-Bred. Since the packaging of retail and OEM cpu's don't state which core revision is used people ahve become a little paranoid about what they might be ordering. Although some of the places such as Newegg have been nice and will sometimes say which one you are getting, its often hard to tell. The only definitive way is to look at the chipset #'s on the back. You should ask the people on the Ars forum for what the latest designations are as I can't recall them off the top of my head, but I believe a U signifed the B revision.
As for how FSB and the clock multiplier work... the core speed of a cpu is determined by those to thigns alone. In perfect theory, the FSB is multiplied by the clock multiplier which yields the core speed. Thus, a 266Mhz FSB and a clock multiplier of 11.5 would yield 1.53Ghz, the setting of an Athlon 1800+ T-Bred with either A or B cores. This leads to the ability to OC the core by moving the FSB up in 1Mhz increments or moving up the clock multiplier in either .5 or 1 steps. In theory, an old Pentium with an adjustable clock could be put on a 200Mhz FSB with a clock at 3 and you would have a 600Mhz Pentium. The problem in the real world is that the chip would literally be burning. With the addition of more transistors to the core due to smaller manufacturing sizes allows for a higher core speed / heat ratio.
Some good places for information are:
ArsTechnica They have some very thorough blackpapers and their forums are filled with people who know a lot more about this stuff than I.
HardOCP One of the most definitive sites about overclocking.
TomsHardware This is a must read for tons of information and reviews of products.
Last but not least... Anand's own articles carry a wealth of information that deserves a read through.
Well thanks, but are you saying I will have to replace my current motherboard with an AMD board? If so, what is the "average" price for one. Oh and and one more question, what about the new Intel Xenon Processor? Do you know any specs about it and if it is "better" than an AMD in your opinion?
Ok, the easy thing to answer is that yeah, you have to switch to a board that supports the Athlons. The best of these are based on the nForce 2 chipset. As for Xeon, don't even think about it. Those are expensive as all get out and are used for high-end workstations and lowend servers. My suggestion, an Athlon 2100+ and a board based off the nForce2 chipset, Epox and Asus are pretty much the leaders, but you can look at Evan's 6-way round up in the mainboard section here.
Good Day,
floccus: Thanks for the info, and even more for the links very good stuff for my knowledge
cya
floccus: Thanks for the info, and even more for the links
very good stuff for my knowledge cya
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