(now dead) Sempron 3100+ back at $99, free shipping

[cremefilled]

Monarch Computers has the Sempron 3100+ back at $99, including shipping. link

thread from 2 months ago

This is identical to the higher priced Athlon 64 2800+, except that it has 256 KB internal cache (instead of 512 KB), and won't run 64-bit operating systems. There is a general consensus that the Sempron overclocks on average a little better than the A64 2800+, perhaps because of the lower cache size. Overclocks from stock 1.8 GHz to 2.2-2.4 GHz would be typical, with 2.5-2.6 possible.

The socket 939 Athlons are also a great buy, but the motherboards carry a price premium as well. Nforce3 boards for the socket 754 start at around $70.

 

[mamisano]

Nice price for a great chip. I have one, runs flawlessly. I use CrystalCPUID to control the Quiet-N-Cool, runs 800Mhz@.95v / 1250@1.2v / 1800@1.375v

 

[Avalon]

256KB of L2 cache, not 256Mb 🙂
Should be a great budget processor to overclock into quite a little beast.
You'd be better off going with this and a decent overclocking budget board ($70) than with an AXP 2600+ mobile barton for the same price.

 

[MustangSVT]

I was thinking about this.. but didnt need one at the moment... I guess I'll hold out yet again 🙂

doesnt matter... 😛

 

[Foladar]

$123 now

 

[LOLWTFBBaCUE]

I got this a few months ago when it first came out. Beautiful overclocker.

I got it to 2.3 ghz on a raidmax PSU with pc2100 RAM. It doesn't go over 58 degrees at 1.525v, which I'd consider good, since I'm stock-cooling.

Also, I'm using a ZNF3-250. At the time this was the best value/performance CPU/MOBO combination. It still is pretty good, but in my honest opinion, right now, I'd buy a 90nm 3000+, and a good cheap mobo.

I doubt you'd notice a diff tho.

 

[cremefilled]

For my own self-respect, I'd like to point out that I edited before to KB before reading the correction. 🙂

I'd buy a 90nm 3000+, and a good cheap mobo

That is a perfectly reasonable choice, but a good cheap mobo for socket 939 is going to run you $110 or so. I just bought a Chaintech VNF3-250 for $70 delivered. So the price difference (assuming the Sempron drops in price again) is $100+70=$170 versus $140+110=$250. The speed differences will depend on the test, and the overclocking results, but they would typically range from 0 to 5% (and sometimes the Sempron will overclock higher).

$80 difference isn't much, but many people could speed up their systems more by buying better memory, or a faster hard drive (Raptor), or a better video card.

One difference is that the stock heatsink/fan on the retail 64-3000+ is very good quality. Socket 939 boards should also be more upgradeable in the future.

 

[CoBRaXT]

I have a Sempron 2200+ OC'd @ 2.25 ghz which is a quite a bit faster than the stock 3100+.
If you're looking to buy a Sempron to OC, don't hesitate to do so.

 

[cremefilled]

CoBRaXT, to make sure everybody is clear on what the Sempron 3100+ is, it is an Athlon 64-2800+ with the 64-bit capability disabled & 256KB L2 cache. Your Sempron 2200+ is a relabeled "old-school" Thoroughbred. An A64 2800+ or Sempron 3100+ will be substantially faster than a Thoroughgbred 3200+ (clockspeed = 2.2 GHz), even at stock speeds. In Doom3 at CPU-limited resolutions, the difference is on the order of 30-40%.

In other words, an overclocked Sempron 2200+ is not the same thing as a Sempron 3100+.

 

[MustangSVT]

how are they able to sell it $20 below other competitors?