Whats the best bang for buck chip for my nf7?

[tryingagain]

I currently have a pally 2000+ in it and thats running great, except the highest i can go is 1800 on the core. So I would like a 1700 or maybe a 1800 t-bred that i will be able to oc. But i've also heard some good things about the 2100. Any ideas?

 

[johan851]

Yes, if you can find a 1700+ or 1800+ hand-picked T-Bred, it would be a great chip. You might also try to find an unlocked Barton 2500+, which is another very good option.

 

[tryingagain]

how do i know if the 1700/1800 is a DLT3C or not?

 

[Net-trix]

If the 1700 is a DLT3c..then you will have a very capable chip on your hands! I have one and it easily runs over 2Ghz on air! However, I also have an unlocked 2500 (increasingly harder to find as AMD is multi locking them) which also is a good overclocker (I enjoy the added cache too....ever ounce of performance counts!)

 

[johan851]

It'll physically say so on the processor stepping code, which is located on the chip itself. Basically, you won't know until you get it. That's why I recommend you try to find a site with "hand picked" chips - that is, they guarantee that it's a DLT3C.

 

[Net-trix]

I got mine from Bigfoot Computers in Canada. I don't know if they have any left, but you can check it out. They usually provide the stepping codes for the CPUs they have on sale on their site.

www.bigfootcomputers.com

 

[Chris]

how do i know if the 1700/1800 is a DLT3C or not?

Like its already been said with Tbreds there is a little sticker on the ceramic of the chip its self, you can see this in the picture below. As you can see the chip in the picture is of stepping "AIRCA" you can also see next to it it says "0215" witch mean it was made in the year 2002 and week 15.

A lot of people have been getting there chips from www.excaliberpc.com for a guranteed stepping, although I just checked and they dont seem to be selling them any more! You may want to look around local shops and see if they have any although i'm pretty sure AMD stopped manufacturng the 1700/1800+ chips a little while ago so unless you can find one in the classifiends you will be stuck. The only other option is the Barton 2500+ witch does have some good steppings also but most of them now have locked multis.

 

[Hoot]

With the NF7-S and some decent memory, it's hard to beat a locked Barton PR2500. Almost all of them easily do PR3200 (11x200) at stock voltage (1.65). At $83 shipped, that's a lot of processing power for the money.

Hoot

 

[johan851]

Yeah, hoot's right. If you can't find a hand-picked 1700+/1800+, then a Barton is probably your best bet.

 

[Net-trix]

I would personally go for the Barton....the extra cache is always nice to have