Best bang for the buck Barton core , hands down!
Written: Feb 27 '04 (Updated Mar 08 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Lowest multiplier in the Barton family; good for OC'ing.
Cons: Only has 333MHz FSB stock. Starts out at 1.65 vcore.
The Bottom Line: Great overclocker; gets 3200 performance easily with a little additional vcore! I personally still like the p4's with 800MHz FSB.
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| ivplay's Full Review: AMD Athlon XP 2500+, 1.83 GHz (AXDA2500BOX) Retail... |
Overall
I bought this for a PC that I built for myself to play around with and then sell. I had this for a little over a month and had ample time to determine if I really liked it or not, and I have to say that for the price, this is a great processor to base a gaming system on. I personally like the Intel P4’s with the higher FSB for the broader bandwidth, but they also cost significantly more for the complete system. I would recommend this for someone who wants bang for the buck, and if you are set on an AMD system and do not have the cash for the 64 bit CPU’s this is the one for you.
Why did I buy this processor?
I had built my P4 system to as high as my budget would allow, and had never built an AMD system to that point. I wanted to try one out and see if I was completely satisfied with what I had in the P4 system. I figured after it was all said and done, I would either part it out or sell it outright. It just so happened that about the time I was going to part it out, one of my co-workers had a motherboard fry on him. We discussed replacing the motherboard, but his son wanted to play some of the newer games such as Battlefield 1942 and Need 4 Speed 2. I brought this system out to let him play around with, and he was hooked! Considering it was being compared to a P III system, it is no wonder that this system knocked their socks off! I sold the system as a whole, but not before I had a little under a month to play around with it.
Specifications
This will not go into the great depth that the AMD website can take you to. It will, however, explain the specifications that I feel are important to know and understand prior to making a purchase of a processor.
The AMD processor I purchased is based on the Barton core, and is the bottom GHz performer for this line. It came packed with 64kb+64kb of L1 cache, 512kb of L2 ATC cache, 333 MHz Front Side Bus (FSB), and a built in multiplier of 11. I will briefly discuss each below.
Cache
From the review I wrote on the Pentium 2.66GHz processor by Intel, “Think of cache as a waiting room. The processor accepts data from the graphics card, Random Access Memory (RAM) and hard drive and performs calculations and spits back more data. There are often times where the flow of data is too high for the processor to get through all at one time, so there can is the potential for a traffic jam, or a system hang. The L1 and L2 cache is on-die memory that provides a waiting room of sorts for the data from the system as well as the intermediate data that will be used in later calculations. The larger the cache, the larger the amount of data that can be stored. Make sense?”
This AMD processor matches the L2 cache of the P4 Northwood and Prescott chips, but it has 64kb of L1 cache as opposed to 8kb on the P4’s. The additional L1 cache combined with the shorter integer pipeline are the reason that the AMD processors ‘act’ like a higher GHz processor from Intel. Thus the reason that the 2500 is rated as an equivalent to a 2500 MHz Intel chip even though it runs only at 1.83GHz.
333MHz FSB
The 333MHz that comes on this processor is actually double pumped, meaning that the clock frequency of the chip is 166. This is important when you get into the memory specifications for the different processors. If the FSB is 166 and you have DDR, the DDR of choice is then 166 * 2 = 333MHz, or PC2700 specification. If you could overclock the clock to 200MHz, your FSB is now 400 as well as your DDR frequency, which means you should purchase PC3200 memory, if you want to run synchronously. The clock on the P4 processors can run anywhere from 100 to 200, depending on the processor family. The P4’s are quad pumped from the clock to FSB, so they have FSB’s of 400 to 800. The higher the FSB, the faster the memory you can install. The faster the memory, the higher the bandwidth from the RAM to the processor, which is your main data transfer system for the computer. Theoretically you can achieve data transfer rates of 6.4GB/s with dual channel memory controllers and two sticks of 400MHz (PC3200) memory!
Why should you care what the transfer rate is? RAM and the processor use the bus to transfer memory, and it is at the speed of the bus’s bandwidth as long as you are running your memory synchronously, or without a stepdown multiplier. Therefore, as the bandwidth goes up, your speed of data transfer between the RAM and the processor is sped up significantly as well! Wider bandwidth speeds up the computing experience!
Multiplier of 11
The multiplier is an internally set number which allows the processor to multiply the clock speed to achieve higher GHz. For the AMD 2500 at stock multiplier and FSB, you have 11 * 166 clock = 1826MHz, or 1.83GHz. If you can raise the multiplier internal to the processor, you can achieve an overclock without having to buy higher rated memory. (You didn’t change the clock, which is double pumped for DDR) Additionally, if you lower the internal multiplier, you can raise the FSB even higher for the same clock speed and get a higher bandwidth. Sadly, AMD has locked the multiplier on the 2500 processor after the 39th week of 2003, so if your processor was produced after this date, you now have to change the FSB to overclock, which also requires higher rated memory.(higher cost)
Fear not though, as this is not all bad. Other than the fact that you have to buy higher rated memory, keep in mind that by raising the FSB you are also raising the bandwidth of the RAM to CPU bridge, which increases performance on gaming applications significantly.
The processor I bought was constructed in the 49th week of 2003, so it is locked.
Another reason multiplier is important is the total bandwidth you can achieve with an overclock. The Barton cores of processors all have 333MHz FSB multiplied by different multipliers. The core processor itself though has heat limitations as to how high you can take your overclock. Within a family of processors they should overclock to about the same speeds given aftermarket cooling techniques, and therefore the lowest starting multiplier, the higher bandwidth you can achieve. Also, the lower multiplier leads to a lower starting clock speed, which manufacturers rate at lower prices.
To make a long story short, the lower the multiplier the higher the possible bandwidth, given the same overclock. Since bandwidth equals performance, it goes that the lower the multiplier the higher the potential performance, but only if you overclock. If you do not plan to overclock, you may just want to spend the extra money and buy the higher multiplier and therefore higher speed and higher priced processors! However, if you are going to overclock, the best bang for the buck is in the lowest rated processor, i.e. 2500 for Barton cores, 2.4c for Northwood cores, and 2.8e for the new Prescott cores.
Purchase/Install
I compared prices for the 2500 at several computer sites and found that Newegg.com once again had the best overall price. It was shipped in two days with Free Super Saver Fed Ex service with tracking.
Several items arrived on the same day, including this processor. It is an easy processor to install, requiring no force whatsoever to insert it into the slot. I then attached the stock Heat Sink and Fan combination after removing the thermal tape that accompanies the HSF and gooping on some Arctic 3 thermal grease for better heat transfer. After installing all of the other components, I loaded windows XP home onto the drive and started the system up.
I immediately noticed a difference in load speeds. The P4 system takes quite a bit longer to load and start windows than the AMD. I am not sure if this strictly due to the additional L1 cache and shorter integer pipeline, as I know it is not the bandwidth. (I have higher bandwidth with the P4 system)
I ran the computer for a few days at stock speed, and as I stated above, I really noticed the difference. I would recommend this CPU at stock speeds to anyone who wants a fast processor at a great price. However, I wanted more speed!
Overclocking
To make a long story short, I was able to achieve a FSB overclock of 200. This equates out to the performance of the 3200 , which is a much more costly processor to buy than the 2500 , as explained below. This also matched my memory to the processor, as the memory was PC3200, capable of running at 400MHz double data rate. With dual channel enabled on the motherboard, this should give a theoretical speed of 800MHz, or a bandwidth of 6.4GB/s. I never achieved these values, though.
The question now becomes one of whether or not the system is stable and how high can I take it? I ran Prime95, a torture test designed to push your RAM and CPU to the limit by running loop calculations designed to find prime numbers. I ran one instance of Prime95 with a looping 3dMark2003 running in the background and was able to run this way for over 18 hours until I turned it off. Very stable at 2.2GHz, or 3200 speeds!
I then bumped the FSB up a little at a time, and was only able to get to 205 before it was unstable. (I found out later this was due to the memory, as I ran with a set of PC4000 sticks to 223. More on that in my review of the memory forthcoming!)
Is this the best processor out there for me?
Short answer is no. I get better performance out of my P4 2.6c with 800MHz FSB connected to two sticks of PC4000 in Dual Channel mode. This is obvious, as your bandwidth is higher with an overclock of 250MHz clock speed. This system does cost more, so it may not be the best bang for the buck, as you will see below.
Is this the best out there for you?
If you are a fan of AMD and cannot afford the newer 64 bit processors and motherboards out, this is the processor for you. It is the lowest multiplier in the Barton family, and therefore gives the highest potential for maximum bandwidth if paired up with the correct memory. This will run any application you throw at it, and will do some tasks better than the P4 due to its shorter integer pipeline and built in code.
The processors in the Barton core family at 333MHz FSB currently price out on Newegg.com at:
2500 $75
2600 $83
2700 $99
2800 $113
3000 $158
3200 $207
The only important thing to keep in mind is that the 3200 has a 400MHz FSB, so we are not comparing true apples to apples, but at 200MHz FSB on the 2500 , you have the performance of a $207 processor in a $75 purchase! I have seen the 2500 as low as $59 at sites like Tigerdirect.com in recent weeks, as they are trying to sell off the Bartons and get people to buy the 64 bit processors. Same with the Northwood core of Intel; it is also on sale to try and push the Prescott core. You can find some good deals if you look around.
Conclusion
After reading this, I think you will agree that for the best bang for the buck you should go with the 2500 AMD processor,as long as you were going to stay within the Barton family anyway. One thing to keep in mind is that if you can find a processor manufactured before the 39th week of 2003, you would have an unlocked multiplier. This is added fun for overclocking, so go ahead and pick it up!
Benchmarks, for those that are interested
Interested in knowing how your CPU stacks up in benchmarks? Here are some links to benchmarks I use:
Pifast: Pi Fast is a program that tests your CPU by loading it. It will calculate the value of Pi to as many digits as you want and then report to you the time it takes to do so. The lower the better. My current best score is 43 seconds to calculate to 10,000,000 digits.
http://numbers.computation.free.fr/Constants/PiProgram/pifast.html
3dMark benchmarks: There are four, to be exact, that I use from 3dMark. 3dMark2001SE and 3d2003 are graphics engine benchmarks, while PCMark2002 and PCMark2004 are benchmarks for the CPU, Memory and Harddrive.
http://www.futuremark.com/
Aquamark: This is simply one that will benchmark your graphics engine.
http://www.aquamark3.com/
UT2003: Unreal Tournament 2003 is a graphics engine test as well. It is also a fee downloadable game that is pretty awesome.
http://www.unrealtournament.com/
Finally, Prime95: Prime 95 is not a benchmark, but a test for stability of your system. You run this program for an extended period of time, and it will torture your CPU and RAM. If you are at all unstable, this will find it before anything else.
http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft.htm
Other reviews of interest
I run my P4 system in the following configuration:
Pentium 4 system
Abit IS7-E mobo
P4 2.6c processor
Corsair PC4000 TwinX XMS 1024MB DDR memory
eVGA.com 5900SE
Western Digital 80GB SE Harddrive
Seagate 120GB Harddrive
AMD System that I have since sold
Abit NF7-M motherboard
AMD 2500 processor
Corsair PC3200 TwinX 512MB DDR memory
ATI Radeon 9600XT video card
Western Digital 160GB hard drive
You can find reviews by clicking on the components above, and watch for the reviews of the other parts in the near future.
Recommended:
Yes
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