Should I Upgrade to a 3000+ Barton Chip or a 3000+ Athlon64 Chip?

[CoBRaXT]

I'm currently running on a 2000xp and think that it's time for an upgrade. The thing is, the max my mobo can support is the 3000+ Barton (333fsb) chip which I can get for ~ $100. Should I just do that? Will I see a significant improvement in games/daily use? (9800XT video card).

Or should I just go straight to Athlon64 3000+? I would need to replace my mobo as well so this would run me about $230 total.

Which one should I go for?

 

[SynthDude2001]

You'd definitely see a much larger jump in performance with the A64. I have an XP running at ~2400MHz myself (which would already be somewhat faster than a 3000+ XP), and I'm looking to upgrade to Athlon 64 in the semi-near future.

Anyways, I'd recommend the A64 wholeheartedly, but of course only you can decide if that's worth $130 more to you.

 

[Dufrane]

I would go for the A64 setup. I went from a Barton 2500 to an A64 3000 and did notice a difference in how snappy things were in windows xp

 

[CoBRaXT]

Hmm...would you guys recommend that I do a clean install of windows after replacing the mobo/cpu?
Also...would I need for format my HD before doing so?

 

[fwtong]

Originally posted by: CoBRaXT
Hmm...would you guys recommend that I do a clean install of windows after replacing the mobo/cpu?
Also...would I need for format my HD before doing so?

I think it's a good idea, because at the very least, you're going to be loading new mobo drivers, so it'll be good to start with a clean slate.

 

[imported_DaveA]

i think im going to die! MSI K8N NEO 2 PLATINUM and a Athlon 64 3200+ 90nm has just been ordered!

 

[Netopia]

Why couldn't you just get a Athlon XP-M, which are all unlocked?

Even if it turns out that you couldn't change the multipliers on your motherboard, you could overclock this chip more because it is based on a 266MHz FSB, so, for instance:

At newegg, you can pick up the 35 Watt (COOL RUNNING) Athlon XP-M 2400+ for $99. It's normal speed is 1800 (133 * 13.5) @ 1.35W Now almost all of these do 2300-2400MHz, so it probably wouldn't be a big deal for you to run yours at ~2250MHz (13.5 * 166).

I've got one running right now at 2460MHz @ 1.675 volts and it runs cooler than my older 2500+ (1833).

Just a thought...

Joe

 

[CoBRaXT]

My mobo isn't really designed for OC'ing or else I would be all over the Mobile AthlonXP. Also, wouldn't the cache increase from 256kb to 512kb (with Barton or A64) cause a significant boost in performance?