Semi-Dense CPU question (XP T-bred vs. Pal)

[KiltedFool]

Ok folks, I'm going to look a little dumb for a while, but educate me.

Just ordered an Epox 8RDA+ and need to purchase a processor to drop into it, since my Duron 900 just isn't stylish.

I've been wanting to get up into the 2000+ range in an Athlon XP, but I'm a little confused between the Thoroughbreds and Palominos. It looks to me like T-breds are only available in the 1800 and 2200 flavors (at least near my budget price point).

Hmm let's try again. I'm buying a retail processor for the warranty. I don't plan to overclock unless it's just a token effort to say "yeah I've done that". My budget has a hard cap of $100, and I want Newegg quality in terms of my vendor.

Now do I get a 2000+ Palomino or an 1800+ T-bred? Is there such a thing as a 2000 T-bred?

I mainly play games, I have a Ti4600 and 2x256MB PC2100 Crucial for short reference.

I'd like the newer generation, but am a little confused.

KF

 

[Lonyo]

T-breds put out less heat, so they overclock better, but if you're not going to overclock, then a 2000+ Palomino should be the obvious choice as it's faster. I don't think there's a 200+ T-bred, afaik they go from 1700+, 1800+ then 2200+ (?).

 

[Superman9534]

I have an 1800+ Tbred, came unlocked. OCed to 2000+ upping the multiplier by 1.

 

[Jeff7181]

If it were me, I'd take a T-Bred over a Palomino any day. But that's mainly for overclocking reasons.

T-Bred's run cooler IF you use a good heatsink... it should be copper, or at least have a copper base. T-Breds can run hotter than a Palomino if you use a crappy heatsink, the reason is that the core is smaller, so it has less area to dissipate heat through. If you have a copper heatsink, or are willing to buy one, get a T-Bred... if you want to use an aluminum one, I'd get a Palomino to be safe.

As far as speed goes... you're not really going to immediately notice a difference between an XP1700 and an XP2000 unless you're playing games that are hard on the CPU, or doing some other kind of CPU intensive task.

But... as overclocking has become so popular, and the difficulty of overclocking has been pretty much eliminated now that it's done with BIOS settings, there's really no reason not to unless you're concerned about warranties. For less than $60 you can get an XP1700 T-Bred and overclock it to the speed of an XP2000 just by increasing the voltage a tad, and the multiplier. If you are using PC2700 DDR RAM, you can change the FSB too and up the voltage a little more and get 1733 or 1800, which is the speed of an XP2100 and XP2200. But remember if you're overclocking, always use a quality thermal compound like Arctic Silver 3 rather than the little "pad" that comes on some heatsinks.

But I digress... this isn't an overclocking thread... I just can't resist somtimes =) I'm a firm believer in getting the most bang for your buck, and overclocking is definately the way to ensure you get more than you pay for =)

To consolidate my unorganized thoughts =)...
Palomino's are fine if you don't intend to overclock.
T-Breds are just as fine for non-overclocked performance with a good copper heatsink. And better if you intend to overclock.

 

[Cosmic_Horror]

If you are NOT going to overclock get the fastest chip you can afford regardless if it is a thoroughbred or palomino core.

 

[KiltedFool]

My intent is to buy a retail processor and use the included stock cooling, mainly because I only crack my case every 3-6 months, I don't need that extra bragging rights of "I got a blah% overclock out of this with liquid nitrogen cooling". With the Epox board I'm ordering I might nudge a minor OC out of it on geek principle, but no real chasing of uber. Ghost Recon and Dark Ages of Camelot are more concerned with my GF4 than that extra hair of speed.

Looks like the Palomino 2100+ retail from Newegg, which just squeaks in under the budget I'm under, and I like retail warranties. Sure I could buy an OEM chip, $20 HSF and some AS for similar cash, I'm just not that motivated in total, though I am fascinated by some of the rigs people have put together.

Thanks for the thoughts though, I know not overclocking is nearly a cardinal sin here.

KF

 

[Jeff7181]

To overclock or not... that is the question. =) Your choice though... I aim for bang for the buck, that's why I have what I have. Well, the video card may be an exception, but I planned for the future on that one =) I'm sure I could get a few more bangs for a few more bucks, but I don't have a few more bucks right now, so there will be no more banging... hmmmm... double meaning there, lol.

 

[KingofFah]

The 8RDA enables you to change the multipliers. Just buy a 1700 for cheap and change the multiplier, I do not think this increases heat much.
Jeff, best HSF is to have a well built copper base/aluminum HSF. Aluminum dissipates heat much faster than copper, but copper absorbs it better.

 

[cleverhandle]

Too bad there's not a 1900 or 2000 T-bred, otherwise the choice would be so much easier. I'd consider heat and noise here also. At $65 for the 1800 T-bred compared to $98 for the retail 2100 Palomino, you could buy yourself a great heatsink and a quiet 80mm fan (Alpha 8045/Panaflo L1A for example) for about the same price. Bump the FSB just a bit, you could easily get 2000 on the T-bred and have a quieter system than the 2100 Palomino at nearly the same speed. Or the same speed if you push it...