need processor input

[elny3680]

i have very little knowledge of computing hardware so i need some help...

my brother wants to upgrade his computer from an amd duron processor to an amd athlon...i did as much as i could to help him & i came upon these from recommendations of others




can someone tell me if they will be able to work together? the core is a barton which is the reason why im confused...im not sure if the mobo can support it

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-150-045&depa=1

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-379&depa=1



i also saw this, would this be a better combo?

http://shop4.outpost.com/product/3980648#detailed



this is the current mobo he is using with an amd duron 1ghz

http://www.ocworkbench.com/hardware/elite/k7s5a/k7s5ap2.htm

thanks for any help you can provide...feel free to make suggestions

 

[Ronnie]

The links from newegg will work fine together. What kind of memory do you have for your setup. Have you considered a mobile 2500+ and overclock it.

 

[OrenSam]

first of all, you must get also new RAM, considering you currently have SDRAM in the comp...
second of all, I don't think buying the MOBO you suggested would be a good idea... the CPU is great thou (considering its very low price, of course)
the most inexpensive (but good) combination would be the barton 2500+ with either Abit NF7-S or the ASUS A7N8X.
you can add to these a stick of 512MB Samsung DDR400 memory, and your all set

 

[Boyne7]

you could also get a DFI NFII ultra infinity, that is also on par with the nf7-s and a7n8x, i have personally tested all 3 of them, and i found the nf7-s and dfi ultra infinity to be better than the a7n8x, though that is due to the overclockability. and yes you will also need new ram since you have sdram, if you dont want to overclock than 512mb of pc2700 will be fine, look for cas2 as it will yield better performance with an athlon.
i also have experience with that cpu, it is VERY nice, especially if you overclock, i had 2 of them and both of them could hit 200x11 for 2.2ghz easily, thats the speed of a 3200+ for only 100ish dollars though you will need pc3200 ram if you do that, and probably a better hs/f

im sorry if any of what i just said confuses you, to sum it up basically i suggest the abit nf7-s or DFI NFII ultra infinity, the cpu u have chose is awesome, and i suggest som pc3200 ram, i also suggest 2 sticks of 256mb instead of 1 stick of 512mb because you can run it in dual channel with those motherboards which will yield around a 5% performance gain in some cases.

 

[Boyne7]

oh and also Welcome to the Forums

 

[elny3680]

wow, thanks for the replies...im going to see what my brother would like to do...i think i can help him budget some of those items...hopefully the comp will run smoother

 

[gherald]

NF7-S will be a great overclocker, especially if you spend a few more $$ and get the Mobile 2500 barton.

You may not be ready to OC quite yet, but later on when you (or your bro) have the time/inclination, it could be fun.

 

[DarthSlyGuy]

Just letting you know that if you do a BIOS update on that board you will be able to use any Athlon XP (Thouroughbred only.. NOT BARTON) up to 2600+ ... Might save your brother a little money so he can afford to upgrade to a 64-bit system when the prices go down. If the board still runs fine, I would hold off on a new Mobo upgrade. To get to the page where you can download the updated bios, select what board revision you have from the list of links below. If you are not sure just look on the motherboard, should be on there some where. If you have any further questions(such as how to update the bios, etc.) just pm me.

K7S5A PCB 1.1
K7S5A PCB 3.1
K7S5A PCB 3.1B

 

[elny3680]

so far this is the tentative setup...i think this is what we will most likely get though...

OCZ Performance Series 184 Pin 256MB DDR PC-3200

ABIT nForce2 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket A CPU, Model "NF7-S"

AMD Athlon XP 2500+ "Barton", 333 FSB, 512K Cache Processor

one thing id like to know is this...for the memory, what is the use of ecc & registered/unbuffered...or better yet, is there a site for computer reference?

besides that, what are your opinions on this setup? again thanks for all the input, you guys have been really helpful



actually...i may get this memory instead, it is essentially the same price, though im still curious as to what some of the terms mean

OCZ 400256R2 PC3200 256MB DDR 400MHZ CL2

 

[Delorian]

I'm not sure of the details of it, but ECC has to do with Error Checking Capability and Registered has to do with speed I believe. Beware of getting ECC/registered ram if your board does not support it! You should be able to find the manual to the board available for download and check exactly what type of ram it supports. A nice feature of some of the new NFII boards is the ability to use dual channel for your mem bus. The dual channel feature doesn't need any type of special ram (any 2 identical sticks of ram will usually work) but the motherboard must support this feature. The gain is arguably 5-10% faster speeds (much more so if you have integrated graphics which relies on your system ram's speed) but would be the same price or possibly cheaper than getting a 512 mb stick. 512 would be much better performance than 256 anyday. You can find kits for a couple dollars more than the regular 2 sticks if you are worried about compatibility. Hope this helps!

 

[myocardia]

That looks like a very nice system, assuming he's meaning to get 2x256MB sticks of the OCZ ram. If not, I would recommend he get the 512MB stick, along with this heatsink: Speeze FalconRock hsf for $10.50. BTW, the two links you provided are for the same two sticks of ram, but at two different sites. Order from newegg, or you'll be sorry!

 

[elny3680]

i received my parts today...the abit nf7-s, 2 ocz modules & amd processor

now, can someone help me with the mobo installation? i know how to install the hardware but im not sure if i need to update the drivers first or if i need to have the windows xp cd in the drive before startup. is it a straight install? do i need to backup my drives? thanks again

ethan

 

[Ronnie]

I hope you like your new parts. Make sure to backup all your data files, then install your new hardware put in xp cd and let it do its thing. After xp does a fresh install you can load your lan drivers and go get all the lastest chipset drivers, video drivers and windows updates.