Should i change my processor?

[ziplocpicker]

I just recently bought a mobile AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Clawhammer (1 meg L2 cache, 1.8 ghz)off newegg BY MISTAKE. But it still used a socket 754, so i thought "what the hell" and put it into my mobo, and i must say, it works pretty well. The HSF even fits, although its not as snug as i would like. Its pretty steady by itself, but i can tilt it or rotate it a tiny bit if I put some force into it.

However, i've been having second thoughts because it is a mobile cpu, so i called up newegg and they are willing to waive the restocking fee if i send it back and buy another.

So my question is, should i hold onto this one, or buy the Athlon 64 3000+ Newcastle (512 kB L2, 2 ghz) thats meant to be a desktop cpu? WHich is better for overclocking? Which is more stable? Does the smaller cache have a major impact on gaming (my major cpu use) Any other issues?

BTW, the currently running 33 C idle and a 30 min Prime95 test reached a high of 37. It hasn't been OC'd yet.


Thanks.

 

[Brian23]

keep it. The shipping costs alone will set you back the price of a star wars dvd.

 

[ziplocpicker]

actually, the shipping is only 4 or 5 bucks to send back the old one and get a new one.

 

[imported_wyrmrider]

if your cooler fits and motherboard supports in bios you're good to go
maybe some different optimization at the transistor level whigh MIGHT reduce max OC
but then lower power use might...
wyrmrider

 

[MDE]

I'd keep it, it should OC farther.

 

[sangyup81]

There are two Clawhammers for the 3000+. If you find a CG or a C0, the CG will overclock nicely but the C0 will suck.

 

[ziplocpicker]

wyrmrider- THe motherboard supports it, though it doesn't show up as "mobile" in the bios. Just appears as AMD Athlon 64 3000+. The fan is not as well mounted as i would like it to be, but i'm getting some pretty good temps so i'm assuming the contact is decent.


Sangyup- How do i tell the difference between a CG and C0?

 

[Sentential]

You will find that information in CPUz as well as the P/N number of the chip.

 

[ziplocpicker]

any other advice/comments? If i want to send it back i need to do it tomorrow.

 

[Gautam B]

Dude, you got a monster on your hands. I got my mobile 3000+ to hit 2.8GHz on air for some benchmarking, and 2.7GHz daily stable. And at the same time more or less matched the performance of the Winchesters/Venices. The cache really is worth a lot on socket 754.

 

[o1die]

Use cpuid to get the complete specs on your mobile. My clawhammer athlon 64 2800 has only 512 cache, but it was a retail boxed closeout at Fry's. The board was almost free, so I don't really care about overclocking. Good luck. And if you got good contact with your heatsink, you must know what you're doing. Some folks shave off the corners of the plastic bracket to get good contact. What's your method?

 

[ziplocpicker]

The HSF doesn't have really good contact. I just used the standard retention clip thingy that came with my heatsink. I think i will shave a bit off those plastic bumps if i do keep it though, becuase I can still move the HSF if i try to tilt it.

link to hsf: http://arctic-cooling.com/cpu2.php?idx=10&disc=

Thanks for all the help.

Gautam B- How did you get all the way to 2.7 GHz? I can only get to 2.1.

 

[MDE]

Try to lower the HT multiplier to 3x.

 

[Rock Hydra]

Originally posted by: ziplocpicker
any other advice/comments? If i want to send it back i need to do it tomorrow.

I'm assuming that it's not that snug because of the lack of the IHS on the die which would probably compensate for the small height loss. But, actually i'm sure that when the thermal paste is cooled down, the heatsink will be stuck to the CPU anyway, so I wouldn't worry about it. Just don't move the case or jar it much when it's on.

 

[ziplocpicker]

Thanks for all the help guys. I'm probably gonna go with the mobile processor, since it seems to be running pretty well right now. The hsf is a little loose because of the lack of the IHS, but i plan on shaving a bit off the little plastic bumps on the back of the mounting bracket to compensate. THe heatsink came with enough paste for 3 applications.

anyone have any tips on spreading really thick and dry paste easily and evenly? Also, would the lack of an IHS help the heat transfer between the cpu and the hsf?

 

[imported_wyrmrider]

ixnay on the thick goop
get the hsf snug with the plastic removal or get a shim or some copper foil
some have sanded down pennies but it is impossible to keep them parallel without a surface grinder
does anyone have the proper thickness?
what does your hsf vendor say?
wyrmrider

 

[ziplocpicker]

The thick stuff came with the hsf, and they recommend using it over others. It actually seems to work pretty well anyway, so i don't mind using it.
The method I heard used most often is shaving down the bumps on the bottom of the mounting bracket 1/8th of an inch, so i'll try that. I have an extra one that came with the hsf i can use if i screw up too badly.
I don't think i need another copper conductor between the core and the hsf since the base is already copper and far more polished than anything i could get. I was just curious if the normal IHS is made out of something better.
I haven't talked with the hsf vendor. I just read Bar81's thread on mobile processors.

 

[imported_g33k]

I'd keep the mobile. I have the NC 3000+ and I was only able to OC it to 2450mhz before it was peaking 60C under load. I would think that mobile chip would overclock better since it runs cooler.