Socket A confusion

[drx9175l]

I've built dozens of Intel systems over the years, but only a few AMD rigs. My boss has asked me to help upgrade his PC. Currently he's running a MSI KT3 Ultra mobo with a 1.2GHz Athlon. The MSI website states this board will support 2200+ and up processors. A search on Newegg for Socket A CPU's turns up 35 results. With all the different cores and speeds to choose from it's hard to determine which is the top pick and which is the best bang for the buck.

 

[TheStu]

What kind of RAM is he running? In my opinion hte best bang for the buck would be between the Barton 2400, 2500, and 2600.

 

[Fern]

I've got a MSI KT3 Ultra, IIRC correctly it's a 166/333mhz mobo. But I've got an AMD 2000+ (133/266 FSB) in there an it runs pretty zippy for what it is.

If MSI says it run 2200+ and up, might wanna put a Barton in there, just get PC2700 or PC3200 ram for it. You can get a stick of Corsair Value Select PC 3200 512MB for about $85 IIRC


Should be a nice upgrade for the guy

Fern

 

[drx9175l]

Thanks for the replies.

He's already got a stick of PC2700 512MB of unknown brand. We're adding a pair of Kingston PC3200 512MB sticks. Still undecided if we should run the 1.5GB of ram at 2700 speed or ditch the slower module and run the new stuff at 3200. Opinions?

Also saw the Fry's ad today and they have the boxed Sempron 2500+ with ECS board for $60. Might just go this route. I'll hold on to his old 1.2GHz Athlon to use with the ECS board and then pair the new Sempron with his KT3 Ultra. Thoughts?

 

[Fern]

Originally posted by: drx9175l
Thanks for the replies.

He's already got a stick of PC2700 512MB of unknown brand. We're adding a pair of Kingston PC3200 512MB sticks. Still undecided if we should run the 1.5GB of ram at 2700 speed or ditch the slower module and run the new stuff at 3200. Opinions?
IF the cpu you get runs at 166/333, the pc3200 s/b run at 166/333 anyway (same speed as PC2700). You don't wanna run an AMD in asynch mode (different FSB for cpu and ram). Keep 'em the same. Anyway, I'm thinking 1.5gigs of ram is overkill for this guy. He couldn't have been doing anything intensive with that old 1.2GHz cpu.

Also saw the Fry's ad today and they have the boxed Sempron 2500+ with ECS board for $60. Might just go this route. I'll hold on to his old 1.2GHz Athlon to use with the ECS board and then pair the new Sempron with his KT3 Ultra. Thoughts?
I'm wary of cheap mobo's in my Biz pc's. Seem they're always the first thing to crap out. Don't know much about either the Sempy or the ESC board, though.

Fern

 

[drx9175l]

Originally posted by: Fern
IF the cpu you get runs at 166/333, the pc3200 s/b run at 166/333 anyway (same speed as PC2700). You don't wanna run an AMD in asynch mode (different FSB for cpu and ram). Keep 'em the same. Anyway, I'm thinking 1.5gigs of ram is overkill for this guy. He couldn't have been doing anything intensive with that old 1.2GHz cpu. I'm wary of cheap mobo's in my Biz pc's. Seem they're always the first thing to crap out. Don't know much about either the Sempy or the ESC board, though.

Thanks. I should have mentioned that this is his home system. Agreed that the 1.5 Gigs of RAM is a bit much for him. The upgrade came about when he found he couldn't play Far Cry. We already replaced his GF2 MX400 64MB with a ATi 9600XT 256MB, wiped the HDD and installed XP fresh. Big difference, but he's still after more power. The MSI board is solid and we've decided to keep it. I usually stay away from ECS boards also, but it'll be good enough for a budget box using his old Athlon and the 512 PC2700 stick.

Now- doesn't anyone know of a reason NOT to use the 2500+ Sempron?

 

[Zebo]

Buy a XP2100 for $50 and set bus to 166 He'll be smokin

 

[Dave72]

FWIW..

I have a KT3 Ultra2 with a xp2100+ Tbred"b" and 333ddr (cas2.5).

I did the "wire trick" in the cpu socket (single wire), which let me pick any multiplier.. but only in the low range (4.5 to 13). Since 133x13 didnt get me any faster than stock, I pushed the fsb up to 166 (and backed the mem down to SPD (166).

So now its 166x13 ( 2100 Mhz.) and posts as a xp2600+. CPUID et al report this also. The agp and pci dividers must autmatically step down ?

The Volcano7 cooler runs faster now, and I had to do some case mods to get the temp down, currently idles at 113F (cpu) and will run up to 120/125 in intense gaming.

If you guys want a giggle.. my "case" mod was this:

Put a 80mm fan into the vent hole at rear, so now all fans (psu and a slot cooler, plus this new fan) all blow outward. Then I cut a 4x10" hole in my side panel, between the drive bays and the floor. Put a 4x10" heating floor register (home heating part) in there and a filter element made for these. From the outside I think it looks a little cool.. and it works slick, and no more dust bunnies.


Cheers.

 

[bfonnes]

If you haven't already done the upgrade... Just FYI. I have this board, and I have a Barton 2500+ (unlocked version ) which is recognized as a 2800+ by the BIOS after a BIOS upgrade and a multiplier adjustment. Runs very nice, except for the sucky Geforce 2 MX 64/100/200, but all I play is Warcraft III so I don't care all that much. Really nice system. I really should go with a better vid card I know, but no pressing need to at the moment as I don't run Far Cry or Doom 3 or any of that fancy stuff.

bfonnes

 

[CraigRT]

verify with the MSI site if that board will take a Barton.. it's only a KT333 chipset, it's getting older now.... might want to check just to be sure.
it might take a Tbred, but maybe not a Barton... or it might require a BIOS flash.

 

[drx9175l]

Upgrade completed. The Sempron 2400+ is purring along with the MSI board and 9600XT video card. I found a stick of Kingston ValueRAM PC2700 512MB on sale at Staples and popped it in next to the module he already had. System is now very responsive. He's using a cheap 15" LCD set to 800x600x32 and Far Cry looks good, so he's happy.

I haven't yet assembled the budget rig from the left over ECS mobo, Athlon 1.2GHz and GF2 MX400, but expect little in the way of problems. Thanks to all those that took the time to contribute to this thread, it helped alot.

 

[PumpActionWalrus]

I love a happy ending