Upgrade from 1.3 to 2500+? Worthwhile?

[RSI]

Hi. Haven't posted in here for god knows how long, but here's a question I hope someone can help me out with. I currently have the MSI KT4VL, Radeon 9000 128MB (not sure if it's pro or not but it works fine for me in all aspects), 2x512MB DDR333, AMD Tbird 1.3/266. So would it be well worthwhile to swap that processor for the 2500+/333? Will I 'notice' a difference? I'm guessing I will since I've been holding out upgrading the processor... I've changed the mobo, ram, video, etc - and kept the 1.3. I've had no need to upgrade it. But, I would like some things to speed up or be snappier, considering the specs of my system I don't think it's quite fast enough - so I guess a processor upgrade is finally in order.

I can probably get it under CAD$100 brand new next week - but is there anything else you would suggest? I'm not going to spend more than $100, that's for sure. Mobo/ram swaps out of the question. Don't want to have to update bios or anything.

So... what kind of a performance difference are we talking here? 1%? 15%? Thanks in advance!

 

[PCHPlayer]

If you go by AMD marketing numbers the 1.3 T-bird is about a PR1500. You are looking at a 2500, that's a 66% increase in CPU "performance". In addition you are going from 2100 memory speed to 2700, a 25% increase. You are also doubling your L2 cache. I would guess you would see at least a 20% increase in performance and much more in CPU/memory intensive apps (like games).
All this assumes your motherboards supports a 166FSB.

 

[EeyoreX]

I don't know about percentages, but, depending on what you are doing you would notice a difference. If you primarily do Word, email, web surfing, there probably won't be too much gain. Apps will load a little faster, but probably not much that you would really notice. If you do play the occasional game of do a little graphics work etc, you will notice a difference. So long as that motherboard supports the 333 MHz FSB, I'd say go for it.

\Dan

 

[RSI]

Originally posted by: PCHPlayer
If you go by AMD marketing numbers the 1.3 T-bird is about a PR1500. You are looking at a 2500, that's a 66% increase in CPU "performance". In addition you are going from 2100 memory speed to 2700, a 25% increase. You are also doubling your L2 cache. I would guess you would see at least a 20% increase in performance and much more in CPU/memory intensive apps (like games).
All this assumes your motherboards supports a 166FSB.

I mentioned that I have the MSI KT4VL motherboard and I've built several of them with 2500 processors so I think I should be ok with the 333. I believe the board even supports some DDR400, although I'm not gonna waste my money on that right now.

Thanks a lot for the info. I think I'll go for it, it's probably exactly the upgrade I need.

 

[dguy6789]

Originally posted by: PCHPlayer
If you go by AMD marketing numbers the 1.3 T-bird is about a PR1500. You are looking at a 2500, that's a 66% increase in CPU "performance". In addition you are going from 2100 memory speed to 2700, a 25% increase. You are also doubling your L2 cache. I would guess you would see at least a 20% increase in performance and much more in CPU/memory intensive apps (like games).
All this assumes your motherboards supports a 166FSB.

no, the PR numbers are based on Tbirds. a 1.3 tbird would be about 1300+ a 2500 is a good deal faster. Go for it.

 

[weeber]

Just last week I upgraded my KT133A board with PC133 memory and 1.4 T-bird to a 2500+. I didn't leave it at 2500+ for long though because the overclock to 3200+ speed was so easy. I can tell you that I noticed a big difference. To me it was a very worthwhile upgrade.

*EDIT*
Ooops, I just read your full post. Even if you can't change the motherboard, I think the processor would be a good deal faster. It definitely isn't going to hurt anything. Another plus is it will run cooler than that T-bird

 

[RSI]

Originally posted by: weeber
Just last week I upgraded my KT133A board with PC133 memory and 1.4 T-bird to a 2500+. I didn't leave it at 2500+ for long though because the overclock to 3200+ speed was so easy. I can tell you that I noticed a big difference. To me it was a very worthwhile upgrade.

*EDIT*
Ooops, I just read your full post. Even if you can't change the motherboard, I think the processor would be a good deal faster. It definitely isn't going to hurt anything. Another plus is it will run cooler than that T-bird

I'm not so sure about that one. Both processors should run at about 40-45C...

 

[chocoruacal]

Originally posted by: RSI
Will I 'notice' a difference?

That depends on what you're using it for, bro. Your 9000 is a bottleneck for games, so probably not much there. Won't make a difference for word processing, internet, etc. If you do any video encoding/CAD/etc, you'll see a HUGE difference. My XP2600 (t-bred) is 2x-3x faster than my P4 1.5ghz doing MPEG2/4 encoding.

 

[Sunner]

Originally posted by: dguy6789

Originally posted by: PCHPlayer
If you go by AMD marketing numbers the 1.3 T-bird is about a PR1500. You are looking at a 2500, that's a 66% increase in CPU "performance". In addition you are going from 2100 memory speed to 2700, a 25% increase. You are also doubling your L2 cache. I would guess you would see at least a 20% increase in performance and much more in CPU/memory intensive apps (like games).
All this assumes your motherboards supports a 166FSB.

no, the PR numbers are based on Tbirds. a 1.3 tbird would be about 1300+ a 2500 is a good deal faster. Go for it.

Well, yeah, according to some AMD statements from a long time ago, I think both AMD, as well as every enthusiast out there have long since realized it's just BS.
The model numbers are not comparable to TBird clocks, that is, a 1400+ is not equal to a 1.4 GHz Tbird, etc etc.

In either case, I'd say go for it, a 2500+ Barton will be a very noticeable upgrade.

 

[NTB]

Another "go for it!" response here. You probably will notice an increase if you do anything that is memory and/or CPU intensive. I did something similar earlier this summer but, since I built the new rig for my girlfriend, I still have the old system to compare to. To see the full specs, check out the Bebop and Viper rigs in my signature. Here's a quick rundown:

Bebop:

Epox 8k5a2+ VIA KT333 chipset
AMD 1600+ @ 1400MHz (stock)
512MB PC2100 DDR

Viper:
Epox 8RGA+ nforce 2 IGP
AMD 1700+ @ 1833MHz (~2200+ PR, 11x166)
512MB PC2700 DDR

We both run SETI@Home whenever the computers are on, and her computer averages 2hrs 45mins per work unit. Mine, on the other hand, averages just over 4hrs. Since you're going to an even faster processor (and a larger cache to boot), the difference should be even larger.

EDIT: oops, forgot that the Bartons are slower @ a given PR than the older Athlons. The clockspeed is the same for both an XP 2200+ and a Barton 2500+ - 1833MHz

Nate

 

[billandopus]

Originally posted by: RSI


I can probably get it under CAD$100 brand new next week

You can? From a Canadian store? A 2500+ Barton?

 

[JBT]

It will be easlty justified once you start using it.

 

[Boonesmi]

i think it would be "worthwhile"

 

[magomago]

btw...you'd als benefit from programs that use SSE extensions

 

[Johnbear007]

Originally posted by: RSI
Hi. Haven't posted in here for god knows how long, but here's a question I hope someone can help me out with. I currently have the MSI KT4VL, Radeon 9000 128MB (not sure if it's pro or not but it works fine for me in all aspects), 2x512MB DDR333, AMD Tbird 1.3/266. So would it be well worthwhile to swap that processor for the 2500+/333? Will I 'notice' a difference? I'm guessing I will since I've been holding out upgrading the processor... I've changed the mobo, ram, video, etc - and kept the 1.3. I've had no need to upgrade it. But, I would like some things to speed up or be snappier, considering the specs of my system I don't think it's quite fast enough - so I guess a processor upgrade is finally in order.

I can probably get it under CAD$100 brand new next week - but is there anything else you would suggest? I'm not going to spend more than $100, that's for sure. Mobo/ram swaps out of the question. Don't want to have to update bios or anything.

So... what kind of a performance difference are we talking here? 1%? 15%? Thanks in advance!

If you dont have pc 3200 ram I think its a waste

If you had pc3200 ram you get set the FSB to 400MHZ and get a 3200+

fast

 

[littlebitstrouds]

Originally posted by: bill_n_opus

Originally posted by: RSI


I can probably get it under CAD$100 brand new next week

You can? From a Canadian store? A 2500+ Barton?

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?featureitem=1&description=19-103-379&DEPA=0
it's called newegg.com

My advice... in a nutshell I just did what you're thinking about doing, only I switched out my 1.33 T-bird with a 1700+B chip. Even running at stock speeds of 1.47ghz (266fsb) was even noticably faster than the T-bird.

Since then I've oc'd it to 2.3ghz and I've got one screaming machine on my hands. But at 1.8ghz or even a multiplyer change to 2.0ghz and you will bring forth an incredible improvement (I barely game seriously, I'm talking about real world change).

Take it strait from me I did my upgrading in the same order you did.

PS
It gives you yet another reason to reformat your hard drive and do a clean install of windows, always a smooth new computer feeling.

 

[tenoc]

Why would anyone think they need to reformat and reinstall for a cpu swap?

 

[Boonesmi]

Originally posted by: tenoc
Why would anyone think they need to reformat and reinstall for a cpu swap?

ive never needed to reinstalled an OS when upgrading the cpu

 

[Johnbear007]

I reinstall whenever I do a major upgrade. It just feels cleaner

 

[billandopus]

Originally posted by: littlebitstrouds

Originally posted by: bill_n_opus

Originally posted by: RSI


I can probably get it under CAD$100 brand new next week

You can? From a Canadian store? A 2500+ Barton?

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?featureitem=1&description=19-103-379&DEPA=0
it's called newegg.com

Yes, I know about Newegg.

He mentioned "under 100 CAD" which leads me to believe that he's sourcing from a Canadian shop.

If you didn't know - Newegg doesn't ship to Canada or take Canadian credit cards so Newegg's out of the picture unless he has an Amerifriend.

 

[RSI]

Originally posted by: bill_n_opus

Originally posted by: littlebitstrouds

Originally posted by: bill_n_opus

Originally posted by: RSI


I can probably get it under CAD$100 brand new next week

You can? From a Canadian store? A 2500+ Barton?

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?featureitem=1&description=19-103-379&DEPA=0
it's called newegg.com

Yes, I know about Newegg.

He mentioned "under 100 CAD" which leads me to believe that he's sourcing from a Canadian shop.

If you didn't know - Newegg doesn't ship to Canada or take Canadian credit cards so Newegg's out of the picture unless he has an Amerifriend.

Well they're going for about CDN$130 right now at my local shops and they're expected to drop another $30 pretty soon. Even if I can get it at $115 I'll probably still bite.

Thanks for all the replies and no I will not be overclocking. AMD CPUs always tend to run at 40-60 degrees celsius, and I don't feel like screwing around with cooling - so I'll be running stock, it's plenty fast enough anyway. Intel seems to cool pretty well though with those bigass rtb fans. I've seen 1.8-2.4 chips barely break 25 degrees! This is assuming all other factors are equal comparing both systems.

Anyhow thanks again for all the great replies. Hopefully by next week or the week after I'll be running a 2500+!
I try not to spend much money on my computer anymore, since my last upgrades costed me a lot... $145 for one 80GB, $155 for another 80GB, $109 x 2 for 512x2 memory, $129 for the KT4VL.. that's already well over $600 with taxes. Prices obviously were at the time of purchase when they were newer (they're a lot cheaper now, $89 for the KT4VL, $99 for 80GB, memory is the same actually..)

I probably won't reinstall when I swap the CPU. There is no point. The only time you really need a reinstall is if you're changing the motherboard anyway. From the looks of it I'll see a nice difference just swapping the CPU anyway. It's just what I'm looking for. After this I'm saving my money for a nice 17" LCD and better speakers (crappy 2.1 setup right now).

Thanks again.

 

[Johnbear007]

Originally posted by: RSI

Originally posted by: bill_n_opus

Originally posted by: littlebitstrouds

Originally posted by: bill_n_opus

Originally posted by: RSI


I can probably get it under CAD$100 brand new next week

You can? From a Canadian store? A 2500+ Barton?

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?featureitem=1&description=19-103-379&DEPA=0
it's called newegg.com

Yes, I know about Newegg.

He mentioned "under 100 CAD" which leads me to believe that he's sourcing from a Canadian shop.

If you didn't know - Newegg doesn't ship to Canada or take Canadian credit cards so Newegg's out of the picture unless he has an Amerifriend.

Well they're going for about CDN$130 right now at my local shops and they're expected to drop another $30 pretty soon. Even if I can get it at $115 I'll probably still bite.

Thanks for all the replies and no I will not be overclocking. AMD CPUs always tend to run at 40-60 degrees celsius, and I don't feel like screwing around with cooling - so I'll be running stock, it's plenty fast enough anyway. Intel seems to cool pretty well though with those bigass rtb fans. I've seen 1.8-2.4 chips barely break 25 degrees! This is assuming all other factors are equal comparing both systems.

Anyhow thanks again for all the great replies. Hopefully by next week or the week after I'll be running a 2500+!
I try not to spend much money on my computer anymore, since my last upgrades costed me a lot... $145 for one 80GB, $155 for another 80GB, $109 x 2 for 512x2 memory, $129 for the KT4VL.. that's already well over $600 with taxes. Prices obviously were at the time of purchase when they were newer (they're a lot cheaper now, $89 for the KT4VL, $99 for 80GB, memory is the same actually..)

I probably won't reinstall when I swap the CPU. There is no point. The only time you really need a reinstall is if you're changing the motherboard anyway. From the looks of it I'll see a nice difference just swapping the CPU anyway. It's just what I'm looking for. After this I'm saving my money for a nice 17" LCD and better speakers (crappy 2.1 setup right now).

Thanks again.

Just because you said that you have not been around for awhile I would like to point something out:

The 2500+ Barton Overclocks on Stock cooling and stays very cool. There is really no reason not to OC the thing, the value you get out of it is spectacular. you get a 400$ processor for 90$

 

[RSI]

Originally posted by: Johnbear007

Originally posted by: RSI

Originally posted by: bill_n_opus

Originally posted by: littlebitstrouds

Originally posted by: bill_n_opus

Originally posted by: RSI


I can probably get it under CAD$100 brand new next week

You can? From a Canadian store? A 2500+ Barton?

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?featureitem=1&description=19-103-379&DEPA=0
it's called newegg.com

Yes, I know about Newegg.

He mentioned "under 100 CAD" which leads me to believe that he's sourcing from a Canadian shop.

If you didn't know - Newegg doesn't ship to Canada or take Canadian credit cards so Newegg's out of the picture unless he has an Amerifriend.

Well they're going for about CDN$130 right now at my local shops and they're expected to drop another $30 pretty soon. Even if I can get it at $115 I'll probably still bite.

Thanks for all the replies and no I will not be overclocking. AMD CPUs always tend to run at 40-60 degrees celsius, and I don't feel like screwing around with cooling - so I'll be running stock, it's plenty fast enough anyway. Intel seems to cool pretty well though with those bigass rtb fans. I've seen 1.8-2.4 chips barely break 25 degrees! This is assuming all other factors are equal comparing both systems.

Anyhow thanks again for all the great replies. Hopefully by next week or the week after I'll be running a 2500+!
I try not to spend much money on my computer anymore, since my last upgrades costed me a lot... $145 for one 80GB, $155 for another 80GB, $109 x 2 for 512x2 memory, $129 for the KT4VL.. that's already well over $600 with taxes. Prices obviously were at the time of purchase when they were newer (they're a lot cheaper now, $89 for the KT4VL, $99 for 80GB, memory is the same actually..)

I probably won't reinstall when I swap the CPU. There is no point. The only time you really need a reinstall is if you're changing the motherboard anyway. From the looks of it I'll see a nice difference just swapping the CPU anyway. It's just what I'm looking for. After this I'm saving my money for a nice 17" LCD and better speakers (crappy 2.1 setup right now).

Thanks again.

Just because you said that you have not been around for awhile I would like to point something out:

The 2500+ Barton Overclocks on Stock cooling and stays very cool. There is really no reason not to OC the thing, the value you get out of it is spectacular. you get a 400$ processor for 90$

lol. What I meant is that I haven't been on AT for a while. I've been in the loop with the hardware as I work with it on a daily basis.

Maybe I will give it a shot for OCing but I really don't see a point. I'll probably just try it once to see how it does, check the temp, performance, etc.

 

[SkaarjMaster]

Hey guys, I know you've been here longer than me, but is there really a need to quote the whole post each time especially if it's the next post?

Anyway, yes the video card will be your bottleneck once you upgrade, but you will notice a huge difference in CPU-intensive video games. Once again another vote for the upgrade!

 

[billandopus]

Originally posted by: SkaarjMaster
Hey guys, I know you've been here longer than me, but is there really a need to quote the whole post each time especially if it's the next post?

Anyway, yes the video card will be your bottleneck once you upgrade, but you will notice a huge difference in CPU-intensive video games. Once again another vote for the upgrade!

Sure! (sometimes you want to quote to make sure there's no confusion to whom you are responding to/want to direct your comment to) Even though it does make threads hard to read sometimes.

Additionally, RSI last time I was checking around for Barton 2500+ pricing the lowest I saw it from a reputable dealer was 123.95 at various places.

www.anitec.ca
www.ncix.com will pricematch
www.a-power.com will pricematch

and other various Vancouver-area stores (since i'm in the GVA).

The Register did say that AMD is dropping prices very soon so that will make it a good deal better for a 2500+.

BTW, NCIX has the 1800+ which by some reports has been T-Bred b's which may/may not overclock like mad. For a substantial price differential and if you're willing to overclock then this may be a great processor to pick up for cheap (in Canadian pesos).