Should i upgrade again? (from 1700-2500)

[SuperStrokey]

Well i have a 1700 xp that will do 2200 mhz on my epox 8rda+ (C1 stepping). THe problem is im not sure if i should maybe grab a barton (assuming i can get one of those new AQZEA ones). Is it really worth it? Another thing i would like to know is how do i find out if its my chip or my board thats holding me back? Would a barton make that much of a difference in performance over my 1700?

 

[Jeff7181]

Depends on what the rest of your computer is comprised of. If you play games and you're still using a GeForce2, a video card would be a smarter upgrade. If you only have 256 MB of RAM, more RAM would be smarter. If you're using an old 5400 RPM hard drive, a new hard drive would be smarter.

You're not gonna see THAT much improvement over the XP1700 @ 2.2 Ghz... but if everything else in your computer is good, go ahead and get the XP2500.

 

[bjc112]

Originally posted by: SuperStrokey
Well i have a 1700 xp that will do 2200 mhz on my epox 8rda+ (C1 stepping). THe problem is im not sure if i should maybe grab a barton (assuming i can get one of those new AQZEA ones). Is it really worth it? Another thing i would like to know is how do i find out if its my chip or my board thats holding me back? Would a barton make that much of a difference in performance over my 1700?

While Jeff is right,

2200 mhz??? Absolutely not, if you get a Barton 2500+ chances are you will hit 2.2 stock voltage and max out around 2.3 on some decent air cooling..

The Barton on average probably need a little more/less than 100+ to take the T-Bred "B" @ 2.2ghz

Save your money.

 

[Soulkeeper]

it's just a question of if you need the extra cache
if you run apps that love lots of cache then go for it
if not then don't bother
they overclock about the same as the 1700+
if you don;t like the 2.2ghz you've reached either try better cooling or another 1700+
unless you just wanna have fun and splurge on a 2500+ which offers only a slight improvement when both chips are overclocked to their max in games and such

 

[SuperStrokey]

Well i got a gforce 5600ultra version 2 and 1 gig of pc3200. Im more wondering if its my mobo thats holding me back and not the chip. I dont have another mobo to check though... sigh

 

[bjc112]

Originally posted by: SuperStrokey
Well i got a gforce 5600ultra version 2 and 1 gig of pc3200. Im more wondering if its my mobo thats holding me back and not the chip. I dont have another mobo to check though... sigh

2.2ghz????!!

You have an 800mhz overclock for about $50.

You are probably at the limit of the chip. Stick with it, the extra speed ( which is VERY minimal ) and cache is not worth $85.