Barton 2500+ AQZFA SPMW - Buy or not??

This is my first post in an AMD forum, I have always used Intel, and I want to switch.

My local CompUSA has this processor in a retail box.
I've been there 2 times, and both times I have walked away from it.

It's a AQZFA 0340 SPMW $149.99.
I'm hoping to price match for $119.99 from MicroCenter. According to the first page of that long a$$ thread it's an unlocked processor... If anyone has this processor can you verify that it is indeed UNLOCKED??

Even if it is locked, I should be able to reach 3200+ speeds right??
I'm going to be using this on an Abit NF7-S, with Kingston HyperX PC3500 @ PC3200, and a ThermalTake Silent Boost HSF.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

-Alm

running 3200+ speed,should be easy,but,are amd´s that expensive in US?

Go for it! With an ABIT NF7-S it is really irrelevant whether it is locked or not (and it looks like that one might not be), as you will be able to get a FSB of around 210 average, easy with PC 3500 RAM.

That processor would do 3200+ speeds with ease, probably on stock Vcore as well.

One piece of very important advice: Don't let Thermaltake your money!! Thermaltake makes inferior heatsinks that are really hard to get on and off, and which do not perform for the price. Go for good ol' full copper SLK air, an SLK-800A, an SLK-900U, or a SLK-947U will do the trick wonderfully. www.SVC.com has great prices on them if you live in the states. Buy yourself a SUNON 80mm 40 cfm fan from SVC to go with your heatsink and you are all set to clock like the devil .

Have fun, and

WELCOME TO THE FORUMS!

Unfortunately Yes, that's the price. Unless I order online @ Newegg... but there's no guarentee as to what stepping I'll get.

In all honesty, I just want to run @ 3200+ speeds without any obstacles. I figured an unlocked processor would give me the best chance, but after reading so much, I'm dizzy.

I'm hoping this AQZFA 0340 SPMW is unlocked, and will allow me to run 3200+ without any issues.

Thanks

-Alm

for just running 3200+,you dont need an unlocked proc...like feli said,you should be able,without changing the modifier,to hit 210+ fsb...

Thanks felinusz, very useful information on heatsinks, and also thanks for the HUGE WELCOME to the forums.

One last question for you.. should I just order one from Newegg, and save myself the 60.00 (CompUSA is 149.99, and might not even price match)

Like I said, I just want to run @ 3200+ speeds. I dont mind upping the vcore a bit, (say to 1.75) but I dont want to run into a problem where the processor needs like 1.85v to run @ 200FSB... that's a headache I dont wanna deal with.

Thanks again

-Alm

save the bucks,if you dont want to do something like running 230+fsb,with a multi from 9,5-10,5
upping the vcore,over 1,65 should only be necessary,if your motherboard undervolts...
look for nf7-s 2.0 it has offizial 200 MHz fsb support,so you at last dont loose waranty on your mainboard

One of the local stores here in town had unlocked AQXEA 0331 Retail 2500s for $105.00+ tax.

If they are open tomorrow, I could run there and pick one up for you, otherwise Saturday. I could ship it to you USPS priority on Monday. Another local shop had two unlocked retail 2600s AQZFA 0337 for $114. Ditto on that offer.

I'm not trying to start Hoots Barton Service, just "paying forward" some gracious treatment I recently received from a few members here. I'm in a gracious mood, for the moment.

Hoot

Overvolting your Vcore increases processor stability, making it essential when overclocking past certain limits made inherant by a stock Vcore.

You need to raise the Vcore more to run a higher overclock stably. For instance, my Thorougbred is running at 2532 MHz, it is only stable at this high of an overclock with a 1.85 Vcore. You should be able to run your processor at 2200-2300 MHz with a Vcore around 1.6-1.7 .

I don't know much of anything about intel CPUs, which I assume you are fairly familier with, but with AMD CPU's a 2 Ghz plus overclock is usually obtainable without even adjusting the Vcore.

The processor will almost certainly not have *any* difficulty reaching a 200 MHz FSB at stock (1.6) Vcore voltages.

You usually only have to start overvolting your Vcore by really large percentages (around +20% is considered high) when you begin to stray north of ~2300 MHz, which you will almost definetely be tempted to do once you see how great your new processor/motherboard/heatsink combo performs .

Try to have some fun with your processor, take it up slowly and test it's limits at stock Vcore before moving it up to the next level. At first it is a good idea to overclock by stepping slowly, in "steps" (As opposed to "hopping" where you just jump to, say, 2500 Mhz and then try to get it a little higher, or overvolt it towards true 24H stability right off the bat ), raising the FSB and/or multiplier slowly, untill your overclock is no longer stable with the current Vcore, and needs another, higher, Vcore step.

You can test stability with prime95 (a simple google search will net it for you) torture testing. 24 hours of non-stop testing is, in my books, true stability, and a 1/2 hour test is a good reference to use when overclocking in steps.

If I were you I would just buy from newegg, and save money. Chances are you will get a locked processor - but with your board and RAM it is no big deal at all, 2200 MHz+ is practically guaranteed for you!

EDIT: Scrap newegg, buy from Hoot instead; great price, guarateed stepping! Hoot, you da' man! I might be in contact with you about one of those myself...

My AQZFA 0340 SPMW is unlocked. Doing 11x220 (2.42ghz) w/ 2.0 Vcore. Prime stable @10 priority, large FFT for 12+ hrs. Picked it up locally in Michigan for $106 (retail version) plus tax. PM me if you would like to know where.

90% chance you'll need 1.7 for stable 2200MHz...i can't get mine (locked aqzfa 0342tpmw) to run P95 for more than 2 hrs at anything under 1.7V for 2200...

Seadog, That seems pretty high (vcore) to reach 2.42Ghz. What are your temps like? You must be using some pretty good cooling!

I thought so too. Remember, stability means different things to different people. I can run any app. I choose - games, 3dMark, SuperPi, etc. at a lower Vcore, but Prime torture test at highest priority (as suggested by Hoot - check here) crashes in ~4 hrs or so at anything under 2.0v.

It also seems to take more Vcore to run at a higher fsb for a given clock speed - say 11x220 vs. 11.5x211.

Temps are 40-41c at idle and 49-51c after 12hrs prime95 - ambient @21-22c. Cooling is in my sig. Been thinking about getting a 92mm Tornado but not sure about the noise - my box already sounds like a vacuum cleaner.

As long as you are happy Seadog, which sounds like you are.
I'm pretty convinced to get an SLK HeatSink, they seem to have some of the best around (after reading more). Not sure exactly what fan to put on top, but I'll figure it out. I see people recommending Vantec, Panaflo, Sunon, and TT.

I'm going to take my chances and order from Newegg... If I get an unlocked.. great, if not.. no biggy, I just want to be able to run @ 200FSB for 3200+ speeds (2.2Ghz).

Finding Buffalo memory with old BH5 Chips is pretty hard, so I'm going to just get some Hyper-X 3500, so I can run at more agressive speeds than what you'd get with standard PC3200.

Thanks again guys for all the help, you've been great!

Yes, overall I'm pleased. I will probably try and lower the Vcore after the chip has been running for a few weeks and the AS has had a chance to "settle in". The chip will actually boot into Windows @ 2.53ghz, but I need a lot better cooling to even think about stability.

Good luck .