Found a really great deal, what can I do with it?

Okay guys, before you start yellin at this noob for not searching Google, I did already and there were so much conflicting info it just ended up confusing me more. Okay now on to what this post is really about.

Yesterday I was at a local mom and pops computer store that is going out of business (because Best Buy just moved in, damn those corporations!). I found on their shelves this Combo.

Processor: AMD 2500+ Barton Retail with Heatsink and Fan
Mobo: Abit NF7-S Rev 2
RAM: 1GB (2x512mb) Dual Channel Crucial PC-3200

Okay that being said. I looked for the price tag and I couldn't find one so I asked the lady behind the counter how much do you want for this she said how much are you willing to pay so I kindly offered $250. She replies with "$250!!! No way sweetie, I'll give it to you for $199" upon hearing this I grabbed it up and sprinted for the door after paying for it of course. Well now I've got it home and I mean yeah its a decent system but have always wanted to get into overclocking. I am not an idiot I ususally figure things out pretty fast. But basically what I want to ask is, if you found this setup for that price, what would you do to it in the way of overclocking and how would you do it. I'm open to any and all suggestions, but please remember I haven't oced before and I have all stock cooling options, not to say that I wouldn't upgrade the cooling to get some more speed if I need to. If you need more info please ask I would be more than willing to provide any further info.

First step... read the stickies on overclocking.

Second step... determine if your barton is locked or unlocked.

What kind/size of power supply are you running?

If unlocked, you'll want to lower your cpu multiplier signficantly (just for the time being) and push your fsb - testing with memtest86.. if locked, you'll want to do the samething, but you'll have to test with prime95 as well for every change. Usually 8 hours is a good indication of prime95 stability, and imho 5-10 passings of memtest is fine. When you hit a point where you lose stability after you've overclocked - you increase your cpu voltages to regain stability. If you manage to have an unlocked chip and you are able to push past 200 fsb, you'll have to push your fsb to the limits your new ram can go... loosing ram timings and increasing vdimm (ram voltage) can help maintain stability at speeds higher then 200 fsb.

The important part is taking it slowly and doing it right. I'd highly suggest investing in some better cooling for the system if you plan on overclocking - thermalright makes GOOD products. You need to spend a couple hours and read through a good deal of the overclocking FAQ's or other discussions to ensure you don't rush into something blindly. Also might want to think about flashing a newer or custom bios onto your board - can help overclock further.

Okay well I have spent numerous hours reading posts and things.

How would I determine if it is locked or not? I have read about steppings and stuff but still need some clarification. Where do I find the stepping numbers on my proc, and what list should I use to determine if it is locked or unlocked.

I have a 400watt Antec Power Supply and will prolly upgrade to a 500w sometime soon, any reccommendations on a good 500w power supply?

As far as cooling goes I have been contemplating Water Cooling for some time now, but one of my friends who seems to know more than me about overclocking and cooling says I should go with "Vapor Cooling?". I have also looked at a Thermalright SP-97 and a Vantec Tornado Fan, which I have read is the best air cooling setup you can buy in numerous places. Any suggestions or comments about a good cooling method would be appreciated.

One last thing you mentioned flashing a custom bios into my mobo. Where can I find these custom bioses and what one should I get. Keep in mind I have an Abit NF7-S Rev 2.

Thanks for all you help you have cleared up most of my questions just with that one post.

You have the same motherboard as I do. Go into the Abit AMD Motherboards section and do a search in there for custom bios or just bios - You'll get a couple threads that I've posted in or others have, that have links to several of the "storage sites" where the different bios'es are catagorized and listed.

As for locked or not locked. Two ways - read me the stepping off the chip... or simply go into bios and attempt to change the cpu multiplier... I forget the stock for a 2500 barton - I believe 12x.. or 12.5x... either way try changing it to 11. If it boots up - it's unlocked, if it doesn't boot up - it's locked, simply clear the cmos and it will revert back to it's "stock" setting.

If you're looking at watercooling - check out the watercooling forum if you're interested in building your own system. If your looking for a kit I highly suggest koolance kit over any other kits avaliable. By far best performing pre-built. But nothing can beat your own custom kit (suggestions can be found in the forum).

I highly recommend anything made by Antec when it comes to power supplies. A 400 watt supply should actually be perfect for you. I've overclocked with one of the 420 watt truepowers and it worked just great. Hold up on a new power supply until you buy cooling.

I haven't heard much about that particular heatsink - you'll have to get a section opinion on that, only recent heatsink I've installed and tested was the SLK-900A, which came with a stock fan. Generally performed rather well, but it was rather loud with the stock fan - it was my parents computer though, and they don't really care about the noise. Any of the 3200+ rated thermalright heatsinks with a good fan should be a good heatsink to use.

I love water cooling though.

Vapor cooling is refrigeration, more properly known as phase change.

You can build your own with a lot of time and a lot of tools in the $200 range.
Or, you can pay $600 for a premade unit- a little pricey for what you are doin.

For now, I would pick up a nice big heatsink from thermalright.
If you are feeling ambitious, watercool.
Seems like there is a nice kit for about $100 on the overclockers front page.

To find out if it is locked, change the multiplier. If it works, its unlocked If not, clear the bios and sigh.
Overall, you got a pretty decent deal on that. Good find.

i would recommend the Fortron 530 PSU. its cheap and gets very good reviews/testimonials

you could always sell the barton at a pretty good price and spring a few extra dollars for a mobile. you will end up paying $235 or so for an NF7-S, Mobile Barton, and 1GB RAM...pretty good deal if you ask me...

The stock multi for a 2500 barton is 11, just to clarify, not 12. and by the way, nice find! Your a lucky boy. I'd kill for that setup!

Try and work with what you have (2500 barton) before you go and buy something else (like the mobile chips).

You have a big enough power supply for the time being at a 400 watt antec...

matttaylor said:

The stock multi for a 2500 barton is 11, just to clarify, not 12.

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Thanks matt - so yeah try lowering your multi to 9 or 10.

just use the stock cooler, you won't notice any difference in performance with overclocking anyway

Surfeit00 said:

just use the stock cooler, you won't notice any difference in performance with overclocking anyway

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uhh. I don't know what you're refering to, but using a stock 2500 barton cooler and increasing the volt core will result in disgustingly high temperatures. I've seen it first hand.

Overclocking can give great performance increases...

Surfeit00 does not know what he is talking about. First, we need to find out how much you want to spend. You can overclock an athlon xp to pretty decent speeds with hardly any problems as long as you do it right. The thermalright sp97 is the best cooler out there. You can get a panaflo 92mm fan that flows as much air for about $8. It would be near silent when running. I have one on my sp97 and love it.You can expect to get around 2.4 or 2.5 with an athlon xp desktop cpu under ideal conditions. You will be able to change all you settings in the bios. Get a case and start crackin....

Where are you located?

Prodigal-Ninja said:

How would I determine if it is locked or not? I have read about steppings and stuff but still need some clarification. Where do I find the stepping numbers on my proc, and what list should I use to determine if it is locked or unlocked..

Click to expand...

Surfeit00 said:

just use the stock cooler, you won't notice any difference in performance with overclocking anyway

Click to expand...

sigged

Ell Oh Ell. That is all I have to say about that.

LOL dippy_skoodlez that's the BEST picture of an AMD chip I've EVER seen.

That's one mighty happy core and one fabulous explaination of what exactly the 4 black foam bumpers are.

Making a personal note: Black thingy

Docta_Z said:

LOL dippy_skoodlez that's the BEST picture of an AMD chip I've EVER seen.

That's one mighty happy core and one fabulous explaination of what exactly the 4 black foam bumpers are.

Click to expand...

lol I made it for a friend to explain what the stuff was, so I have just saved it from then. Everytime anyone asks what something is on the CPU, I just link em that one =D

Gottta love meh 1337 paint sk1llz.

I shoulda used photoshop like I usually do.. =P