Why is the Barton 2500+ recommended so much

[MAME]

when the XP 2600+ performs better on most of the benchmarks and costs the same price?

According to their most recent benchmarks: http://www.anandtech.com/cpu/showdoc.html?i=1927&p=1 , I noticed the 2600+ winning most tests. But I always hear the Barton being recommended. Is this because of the overclocking potential or is there something else I'm missing?

If I was to overclock it, can I use the retail heatsink and fan or will it overheat (even if I overclock in moderation)? What's a good CPU temperature to maintain before it's too hot to run?

 

[BaboonGuy]

because there are TONS of us here on the forums who have a barton 2500+ running at 2.2GHz, which is basically getting a $300 or something processor for $100

 

[MAME]

What does it take to acheive such speeds? I'm buying a computer soon and have never put a cpu/heatsink on myself and I'm afraid I'll mess it up. Thus if I overclock it, I would be really afraid that I would burn it to a crisp in a matter of seconds.

What do you have to do to oc it? Just modify a setting in BIOS?

 

[Ikonomi]

Yes, it's because of the overclocking potential. If the 2600 is the same price as the 2500, that just happened recently. However, the newer Barton 2500s are being made with their multipliers locked, because AMD noticed that no one was buying the much more expensive, higher end models like the 3000 and 3200 because most enthusiasts could just OC a Barton 2500 to get the speed they wanted.

I recommend against using the stock cooler for overclocking. You're much better off doing a bit of research and getting a good aftermarket cooler that will give you the cooling performance you need for serious (or even extra-safe moderate) overclocking.

To answer your last question, a good CPU temperature to maintain is the lowest you can possibly get.

Okay, to answer your LAST last questions: To achieve such speeds, you need good cooling, an unlocked multiplier (see the bit about the newer 2500s being locked), probably some fiddling with the Vcore, and most of all, a good motherboard with a BIOS that supports changing the above values.

 

[Sid59]

Originally posted by: BaboonGuy
because there are TONS of us here on the forums who have a barton 2500+ running at 2.2GHz, which is basically getting a $300 or something processor for $100

that's the reason i got mine. mmm ..

 

[pillage2001]

Originally posted by: MAME
What does it take to acheive such speeds? I'm buying a computer soon and have never put a cpu/heatsink on myself and I'm afraid I'll mess it up. Thus if I overclock it, I would be really afraid that I would burn it to a crisp in a matter of seconds.

What do you have to do to oc it? Just modify a setting in BIOS?

With proper cooling and proper installation, you won't burn it. Just bump the FSB to 200Mhz and you're all set. You might need to increase the voltage by a bit too.

 

[MAME]

if the multipliers are locked, would I be unable to oc the cpu? Is 50 degrees C a fine running temperature or something for like 40?

 

[Ikonomi]

If the multiplier is locked, you can still alter the FSB in BIOS, effectively overclocking both your CPU and RAM. The multiplier just allows you to get extreme CPU overclocks without affecting other components like memory and the PCI bus (if your motherboard doesn't have a PCI frequency lock), and gives you more flexibility in FSB tweaking in general.

50 C is fine, 40 is even better. I figure you're good to go as long as you aren't topping 70 or something, which you shouldn't be.

 

[MAME]

rock on, thanks

So having a locked CPU wouldn't matter much for me anyway since if I do oc, it'd be in moderation? How can I tell if it's locked or not?

 

[JimRaynor]

Mine is locked, but it doesn't really matter with the barton 2500. I mean if it wasn't locked, you might not even bother with the multiplier, since you can get the 3200+ overclock from just upping the fsb to 200. Go into the bios and try and change the multiplier and if it works it's unlocked. Also if you know when chip was made, I think after week 39 they started being locked.

 

[chocoruacal]

Originally posted by: MAME
rock on, thanks

So having a locked CPU wouldn't matter much for me anyway since if I do oc, it'd be in moderation? How can I tell if it's locked or not?

Tell us what motherboard you plan on getting!!! It had better be nForce2. EVen then, not all of them overclock the same...some have better voltage options in the BIOS. You'll also need to remember that its 99% certain that you'll get a locked one if you buy new. That means you'll have to overclock thru the FSB:

xxx FSB * 11 multiplier

That means you'll need pc3200 (ddr400) RAM. Folks with unlocked CPUs can cheap out and use pc2700:

166 FSB * 13/14/15 muliplier

Again...count on yours being locked.

You'll also want a better HSF than the stock one. The stock HSF is actually pretty decent...still a bit noisy though. A larger sink (think: copper...Thermalright) allows you to run a larger, slower fan (think: Panaflo.) Again, you'll need to have a mobo picked out before you can choose one. It also gives you more headroom for your overclock, because its very possible that you will have to raise voltages when you do. Not every chip/memory/mobo combination will run a XP2500@2.2ghz on stock voltages. Take my 2500 for instance...I purchased it off a forum from a guy who said it needed 1.8v to run XP3200 speeds. On my system however, it is Prime95 stable at 2.2ghz with just 1.65v....Prime95 stable at 2.3ghz with 1.7v, and so on.

 

[arsbanned]

A good bet for a HSF unit is the SLK- 900A with a 92 mm fan, say, a Vantec Stealth, or a Panaflo. Nice and quiet but extremely effective.

 

[arsbanned]

Does anyone have any data or links to data on how the XP 2600 overclocks?

 

[Ionizer86]

Hmm, that's interesting. I wonder if the 2600+ goes well at 200 FSB now that AMD's had another few weeks to improve yields...

 

[adams828]

Originally posted by: MAME
rock on, thanks

So having a locked CPU wouldn't matter much for me anyway since if I do oc, it'd be in moderation? How can I tell if it's locked or not?

unless you get it used or from a vendor who has been holding it forever, 99% chance it's locked. but as everyone has said, that's not really that bad. i just got a 2500+ last week, running it at 3200+ speeds with no problems at all!

make sure you get some decent pc3200 ram so you can run it in synch and get the full benefits of your increased fsb as well!

 

[Ionizer86]

And make sure you get a board that does well at 200 bus. Something like a Rev. 2 NF7-S (which has the nForce 2 Ultra 400).

 

[Jeff7181]

XP3200's come with the same heatsink/fan that XP2500's come with, so it's not necessary to get a different heatsink to keep it cool. You can run it just fine at 2.2 Ghz with the retail heatsink as long as you don't start increasing the voltage.

 

[tomstevens26]

Originally posted by: Jeff7181
XP3200's come with the same heatsink/fan that XP2500's come with, so it's not necessary to get a different heatsink to keep it cool. You can run it just fine at 2.2 Ghz with the retail heatsink as long as you don't start increasing the voltage.

I just built an XP2500+ w/ the A7N8X-E Deluxe Thursday. Put in 2 sticks of KVR PC3200, bumped the FSB to 200 and it's been running completely stable. Using the retail HSF has me a little concerned since I've seen the temps go up to 60C, but I played Call of Duty and UT2003 for HOURS (much longer than I care to admit )yesterday and never seemed to have any stability issues. No lockups, crashes...nothing but fun! Like I said, the high temp has me a little worried but from everything I've seen on here and the AMD forums I think I should be fine.

 

[mechBgon]

Also keep in mind that there's a Barton 2600+ in addition to the Thoroughbred 2600+. In fact, doesn't look like Newegg sells the Tbred 2600+ any more.

I think I bought my 2500+ at the right time months ago when it dropped to $96 (retail-boxed). It hasn't gotten a lot lower since then.

 

[zodder]

Originally posted by: Sid59

Originally posted by: BaboonGuy
because there are TONS of us here on the forums who have a barton 2500+ running at 2.2GHz, which is basically getting a $300 or something processor for $100

that's the reason i got mine. mmm ..

Me too

 

[Dantzig]

The stock HSF is more effective if you replace the thermal pad with something like Arctic Silver. The heatsink is actually pretty decent, but the fan could be upgraded.

 

[ROcHE]

Maybe because mine is running at 2.2ghz on stock cooling?

 

[JustAnAverageGuy]

I got my Retail 2500+ for $89.

 

[Megatomic]

Originally posted by: zodder

Originally posted by: Sid59

Originally posted by: BaboonGuy
because there are TONS of us here on the forums who have a barton 2500+ running at 2.2GHz, which is basically getting a $300 or something processor for $100

that's the reason i got mine. mmm ..

Me too

Me three. I can't believe how much performance I've gotten from my 2500+. I paid $75 for it used several months ago (back in June) and it is a great chip.

About cooling, if you want to overclock, buy yourself a good aftermarket heatsink/fan combo. I went with an montser Alpha PAL 8045 and a Vantec Stealth 80mm. I get about 42C idle and 53C loaded using some standard Antec Reference thermal compound, I have some Arctic Silver Ceramique on the way, I'm counting on a few degrees less when I get it applied. And the Vantec fan is quiet, like 28dBA. It's a great combo.

 

[adams828]

Originally posted by: tomstevens26

Originally posted by: Jeff7181
XP3200's come with the same heatsink/fan that XP2500's come with, so it's not necessary to get a different heatsink to keep it cool. You can run it just fine at 2.2 Ghz with the retail heatsink as long as you don't start increasing the voltage.

I just built an XP2500+ w/ the A7N8X-E Deluxe Thursday. Put in 2 sticks of KVR PC3200, bumped the FSB to 200 and it's been running completely stable. Using the retail HSF has me a little concerned since I've seen the temps go up to 60C, but I played Call of Duty and UT2003 for HOURS (much longer than I care to admit )yesterday and never seemed to have any stability issues. No lockups, crashes...nothing but fun! Like I said, the high temp has me a little worried but from everything I've seen on here and the AMD forums I think I should be fine.

same setup for me here as well (retail hsf). after 8 hours of prime95 at 200fsb, cpu diode temp was 57C. not the best, but i'm pretty comfortable with that as a load temp