What do I look for to make sure I get a mobile Barton?

[amheck]

I've been cruising around Monarch and Newegg trying to get prices on the "mobile" Barton's and I'm having trouble telling them from the "regular" Bartons. Is there an easy way to tell?

Also, is there one that's considered the best overclocker? I'm planning on using this for a HTPC, so noise (or lack thereof) is important. I'd like to get a Zalman CPU cooler. Will that be ok when overclocking the CPU, or will there not be enough cooling.

This will most likely be mated with a Abit NF7Sv2 if that matters.

Thanks!
Aaron

 

[amheck]

Also, is there such a thing as a retail mobile CPU? Or are these only OEM?

 

[Dough1397]

i do believe mobile bartons are marked xp-m and they come as xp2400+ xp2500+ and there are two versions of the xp2600+
i also have read that the xp-m xp2500+ is the best overclocker

lol looking right now at, jeez you coudlnt refinre you search of processors?!?!
http://www.newegg.com/app/View...it=property&DEPA=1

ok i just realized i dont think these are "barton" mobiles but then i dont think there is such thing... i hope what i've said helps

 

[charloscarlies]

There most definitely are "Barton" mobiles. Go to Newegg and there is an entire sub-category of mobile XP chips.

Make sure you get the NF7 Rev. 2....not anything else. This is very important as a bunch of people have mistaken this for another POS board.

As for the Zalman, it is a great HSF and I highly recommend it. It's cheap, very quiet even on its highest speed, and cools very well. I currently have one running on my A64 3000+ at 2.5 ghz and it's still nice and quiet.

 

[charloscarlies]

Originally posted by: amheck
Also, is there such a thing as a retail mobile CPU? Or are these only OEM?

No there are no retail mobiles. Only OEM.

 

[amheck]

Thanks for the help and sorry for being stupid. I was just searching for Socket A on Newegg and getting a whole bunch. I now see where I can just search out the mobiles.

So is the OEM worth it for the overclockability, versus getting a retail (non-mobile and higher than 266FSB) CPU? This will be for a HTPC, so CPU power prolly isn't all that important, but I really want Soundstorm, so I've pretty much decided on the nforce2 and I'm a little nervious buying such "dated" technology with the NF4 and AMD64's coming out. So I thought that if I was buying a little older board, the CPU overclocking would make the most sense to get the most out of it.

 

[AnonymouseUser]

There are a couple of ways to differentiate the Mobile XPs from the other XPs. Their descriptions will list the following:

* 45w or 35w (lower is better, but more expensive)
* 266 fsb with 512KB L2 cache

The Zalman coolers are fine. You will be able to overclock pretty well with them, though you will be limited in the max overclock. I have an Al/Cu Zalman HS on my Mobile clocked to 2.3GHz, and it idles around 42C and tops out around 50C (with a BFG 6800OC heater in the case).

Also, there are no "Retail" Mobile chips as they are intended for system builders and not DIY'ers.

 

[charloscarlies]

Originally posted by: amheck
Thanks for the help and sorry for being stupid. I was just searching for Socket A on Newegg and getting a whole bunch. I now see where I can just search out the mobiles.

So is the OEM worth it for the overclockability, versus getting a retail (non-mobile and higher than 266FSB) CPU? This will be for a HTPC, so CPU power prolly isn't all that important, but I really want Soundstorm, so I've pretty much decided on the nforce2 and I'm a little nervious buying such "dated" technology with the NF4 and AMD64's coming out. So I thought that if I was buying a little older board, the CPU overclocking would make the most sense to get the most out of it.

Definitely go with the mobile unless you have a board that doesn't allow you to change multis. The great thing about the mobiles is with the unlocked multi you can make them act like any desktop chip you want. You want a 3200 w/ 400 fsb? Set the multi at 11x and crank the fsb up to 200. And there ya go. A 3200+ for a lot less money.

Personally, I would get the following:
Mobile 2400+ 35 watt - I think $77 last time I looked
Abit NF7 (make sure it's a true NF7...Abit did make another model that is very close to NF7) - I think around $70-80

An NF7 w/ a mobile barton is a great choice for an HTPC. Soundstorm is definitely a big plus IMHO. Don't be nervous either. It's still a great setup especially for the price.

 

[AkumaX]

barton mobiles come in 2200, 2400, 2500, and 2600 (people say 2600 is the highest o/cer)

 

[Fern]

Mobile 2600+ with stepping of IQYHA is considered the best for OCing. Generally can be purchased at excaliberpc.com, although I heard the other day they were out. But I haven't confirmed that.

The POS mob is a NF7-S2 or NF7-S2G. You want the NF7-S v.2

Fern