Which of these should I get?

[z3r0]

Specs in sig. I will also be Overclocking.

Which of these should I get?

Another stick of Kingston 512mb HyperX PC2700

or

Should I get the:

AMD Athlon XP 2500 Barton - $86

AMD Athlon XP 2700 - $113

AMD Athlon XP 2800 Barton - $136


Or, (insert chip here). I am not looking to spend over $150. I have the Asus A7N8X Deluxe Retail mobo.

 

[c627627]

Any unlocked Barton is better than 2700+ T-Bred (which BTW OCs similar to 2100+ T-Bred.)

 

[z3r0]

The 2500 Barton is already unlocked right?

 

[z3r0]

^^^

 

[c627627]

Depends on when it was made, before week 39? Almost certainly.
Week 39 to 42? Maybe.
Week 43 and later no.
Click here:
http://forum.oc-forums.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=244237

 

[z3r0]

2500 Barton at Newegg I am wanting - $86


That is the chip I want to get. How do I know if its made before Week 39? Can someone please find me a 2500 Barton that is unlocked, or is there a way for me to tell by myself? Like the code or something that is has.

 

[c627627]

Web sites usually do not list codes z3r0. If they do, they tend to charge a premium for it. Ordering from most stores is shot in the dark.

The only way to buy a chip that you know for sure is unlocked is if you buy it from a corner computer shop so you can see the code on it before you buy it.

Or to pay extra & get a CPU from web sites that post codes. I know excaliberpc.com posts codes, but would you belive it, the code they used to post for 2500+ was actually a code for a locked Barton (!).

Or to maybe get a 2100+ at newegg, I believe there are no locked 2100+ and newegg used to guarantee then being T-Bred B's. They're $62, good overclockers but only have 1/2 the cache Barton has but they do 2.3 GHz so...
those are your options.

 

[The Coolest]

c627627 why don't you ever recommend the XP 1800+? It will do at least 2.3, with a minor voltage boost and can max out at 2.4-2.5GHz with the right cooling, and is still a few bucks less than the XP2100+.

 

[c627627]

1800+ DLT3C B (not A) will overclock further than 2100+ B absolutely.

However, 1800+ DUT3C usually will not, 1800+ come in locked week 39s, (I think they stopped making 2100+s before week 39 so 2100+s are always unlocked as far as I know) plus here in the US, if we wanted to buy a T-Bred B from newegg.com, they guaranteed 2100+ to be B's, they did not guarantee 1800+s.

Most importantly lower range (12.5 and under) multipliers vs. higher range (12 and up) multipliers: 2100+ is 13x (higher range) and it posts all multipliers (lower and higher range).

However, 1800+ will only post lower range multis on nForce2 mobos such as Epox 8RDA+ and many others so if you have PC2100 RAM, and you really need those 14 and 15 multis, you can only get that with 2100+ T-Bred B without modding the chip.

2100+ do 2.3, even on slightly below average setups whereas lower rated DUT3C CPUs did 2.2 on those setups.

1. Unlocked 2500+ Barton.
2. 1700+ or 1800+ DLT3C B (not A).
3. 2100+ B.
4. Other DUT3C Thoroughbred B's.