Keeps going and going and…
Written: Aug 19 '05 (Updated Dec 21 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Overclockable, Reliable, and Tough!
Cons: None...
The Bottom Line: It just keeps going and going and going...
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| vchand's Full Review: AMD Athlon™ XP 2500+, 1.83 GHz (AXDA2500DKV4D) O... |
The AMD Athlon XP 2500+ was the fastest processor I had until I upgraded to my new AMD Athlon 64 4000+ which is furious. I had used this processor in my first built system for about six to eight months and during that time I never had any problems with it. I will try my best to get all of the most helpful information on this review, but since it is my second about processors I may still leave some information out (using the same layout). Please forgive me for any mistakes and do advice me for improvements.
QUESTIONS I ASKED BEFORE MAKING THE PURCHASE :
These are the five most important questions I ask myself before I purchase processors or other parts for my computer:
1. How fast it is? (speed/frequency)
2. How much is it?
3. What else do I need with it? (motherboard/memory/etc)
4. What do the benchmarks say? (similar brands and models)
5. Where to purchase it from? (online/offline)
1. The speed is important because that is the 90 percent of the reason I would even consider purchasing it. I want to know how it will increase the performance of my computer and what kind of applications or games will take full advantage of it. I want to know what this processor is specially designed for; games or applications?
2. The price is the second thing I look for when deciding on purchasing a processor because I want to know that I can afford it before I invest any more time in researching about it. I want to look at the MSRP and the retail price for online and offline stores that I can trust.
3. Now if it is in my price range I will research and see if I need to replace my existing motherboard and memory sticks. I also want to know if it will be compatible with my operating system. I want to know if it will support my current hardware setup.
4. After research online and some google searches, I find some reliable benchmark results to see how the processor compares with other brands of the same class or even other models of the same brand. Just to see if I can get a lower model and still get what I want. It will never hurt to just find out.
5. The last of all is deciding where to purchase the processor from. I looked at tigerdirect.com, newegg.com, Circuitcity, CompUSA, and Frys Electronics and found that newegg.com was the cheapest and the most reliable store I would purchase from.
INSTALLATION :
The installation was easy even though it was my first time building my own system from scratch. I had read the instruction and other resources on how to safely install processors and I think that helped me a lot the first time. I purchased the Asus A7N8X motherboard to go with this processor since I only heard good things about Asus from one of my friends. The easy installation guide that is in the box comes in handy if you are doing this for the first time. The guide helps you get setup step-by-step on what to do to properly install you processor.
After installing the processor, you can either choose to install the stock (I did get the heatsink even though it was unboxed) heat sink (which is perfectly good if you do not plan to overclock) or one of you favorites that will keep you processor cool and performing at its best. One tip I would like to give you if you are planning to install it yourself; use Arctic Silver thermal grease when installing the heatsink. This will keep your processor performing at its best even if you overclock it.
Now when you boot-up for the first time with this processor, you would probably have to clear your CMOS to make sure you start out with a clean system, but that is not always the case. Just install your operating system of choice or if you already have an operating system installed, just boot up. One thing to keep in mind when booting for the first time is to keep an eye on the processor temperature (specially if you used a different heatsink or overclocked).
I did not have any problems installing or booting with this processor at all because everything was simple and easy. One thing I would like to mention is that the default speed set by AMD on this processor is 1100 MHz, so you have to go and change the CMOS settings to get it up to its recommended 1.8 GHz (1800 GHz) speed. Other than that I had no problems with installing this processor and using it right away. I did not have to install an operating system after installing because Windows XP had no problem working with this processor at all.
THE FEATURE I LIKE :
When I think about it, I only seem to like one feature the most about this processor. I like the way this processor overclocks and if you have ever used an AMD Athlon XP 2500+ (desktop or mobile), you will know that this processor is an overclockers dream come true. I know that overclocking can damage your processor, but it was only about $170 and I was willing to risk it. I was able to safely increase the speed from 1.8GHz to 2.22 GHz; that is an amazing 400 MHz increase in performance. This speed was equivalent to that of an AMD Athlon XP 3200+ (that is what my computer thought was installed).
MY EXPERIENCE :
I had used this processor for about six to eight months and it had notgiven me any problems. It did not overheat ever as I install my ThermalTake Silent Tower heatsink to keep it cool since I overclocked. Getting this processor was like getting a Corvette after driving a Carolla for years. The speed is exhilarating, exciting, and sometimes overwhelming.
I performed some benchmarks with 3DMark 03 and 3DMark 05. I got a score of 6573 for 3DMark 03 and 1678 on 3DMark 05 (actual data). These benchmarks are accurate as of September 10th, 2005.
My computer ran way faster than my old Pentium 133 MHz and provides me with a great deal of reliability. I was running Windows XP Pro SP2 and Fedora Linux on my computer and even with two operating system installations on one hard drive, this processor did not hesitate to perform at its best. Fedora Linux runs smooth and without any problems.
SOME SPECIFICATIONS :
Front Side Bus Speed: 333 MHz
Processor Type: Athlon XP
Socket Type: Socket A
Clock Speed: 1.833 GHz
Performance Index: 2500+
Core: Barton
L2 Cache Size: 512 KB
L1 Cache Size: 128 KB
Platform: PC
MY FINAL THOUGHTS :
I used to have an Intel Pentium based computer (my first computer) that my data bought back in 1998. It was fast (133MHz); at that time it was a state of the art computer. In 2003, I finally got tired of that old guy and decided it was time for me to upgrade to a much faster computer, so I built my very first system (2.2GHz); which also was fast in its time. The AMD Athlon XP 2500+ was one of the best overclockers out in the market; I think it still is one of the best. Even though I have upgraded from this processor, I only have good experiences to share.
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Copyright vchand 2005, All rights reserved.
Recommended:
Yes
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vchand
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Member: Vic
Location: San Francisco, CA
Reviews written: 170
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