XP2600 Tbred V XP2500 Barton

[JWK]

I have a Gigabyte GA7DXR Mobo. The highest CPU it supports is,according to Gigabyte, an AthlonXP 2600+(.13u) 266.

The two options therefore are:

XP2600+ Thoroughbred (2133MHz, 266fsb) £78.67
XP2500+ Barton (2167MHz, 266fsb) £65.74

I suppose there is an XP2600+ Barton out there. I believe the difference is that the Barton has double the L2 cache.

Why is the XP2600 more expensive when the basic MHz is lower & the L2 cache is less? I have a 1.4Tbird at the moment. Will these chips run as hot? I have a Silverado Noise Control CPU fan.

I've read the Barton was easier to overclock, but has now been locked. I'd be grateful if someone would explain the difference & which one would be the best option.

Thanks,

Ape


<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by jwk on 01/23/04 09:44 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Flinx]

Double check your Bus speeds. I feel some part of your story is not completely correct.

<A HREF="http://www.thedigerati.us/info/amdcpuchart.html" target="_new">http://www.thedigerati.us/info/amdcpuchart.html</A>I haven't checked your motherboard but you should verify that it is 266 or 333. As you said they made 2600's in both Barton and Athlon configurations (confusing but true so be careful) Check the clicky!!

The loving are the daring!<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Flinx on 01/23/04 10:24 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Unseen]

I don't think there is anything like a "XP2500+ Barton (2167MHz, 266fsb)" you mentioned. Barton xp are at 1.83 ghz with 333 FSB ONLY last i looked. Go check out the specs. I think your MB can only support 266 FSB, so you can only go with the 2600 XP TB unless you want a new MB

 

[JWK]

Hi, thanks for the replies.

Here is the CPU support list for my board:

http://tw.giga-byte.com/Motherboard/Support/CPUSupportList/CPUSupportList_GA-7DXR.htm

It shows my mobo doesn't support 333fsb, only 266 fsb. The best CPU I can use is AthlonXP 2600+(.13u).

It seems I was wrong with the MHz i quoted. I got them from here, but looking at other places, there is definately a mistake.

http://www.computerprices.co.uk/hardware/pricebrowser.asp?categoryid=CPU&testcatid=CPU&manufacturerid=AMD&textdesc=AMD&sortby=desc21&startpoint=61


It was that site I saw the 266 Barton chips. According to Athlon, there is no 266 Barton, well, I can't see one on this spreadsheet, can you?

http://www.amd.com/us-en/assets/content_type/DownloadableAssets/K7_Electrical_Specification_Rev07_ENG.pdf

Well, looks like I may be stuck with an XP2600T'Bred 266FSB. Do you think it's worth it, from a 1.4Thunderbird. I'm not gonna change the mobo, this was just going to be an interim upgrade.

Thanks for your help,

Ape

Gigabyte GA-7DXR (F9 Bios)
AMD 1.4 266 Thunderbird
512 PC2100 DDR RAM
Seagate 60g Barracuda 4
Creative GeForce 2 GTS (4.4.0.3 Nvidia Drivers)
Creative Audigy DE
Plextor 40x12x40 CDR
Toshiba DVD/CD
LS120 Drive
Motorola 4100 Cable modem (V2.1 Drivers)
Network card (disabled)
Win XP Home
<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by jwk on 01/24/04 01:52 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[endyen]

Pricewise it isn't worth that much more than an xp2400+. That would be a good upgrade, and well worth the money.

 

[JWK]

Sorry, are you saying you would go for a XP2400+ instead? If so why?

Thanks,

Ape

 

[endyen]

The xp2400+ is a good upgrade. It will give you a very noticeable performance boost. The difference between the 2400+ and the 2600+ is marginal. That is not worth the huge difference in price.

The xp2400 will reach 2200mhz+ if your board supports that kind of speed.
<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by endyen on 01/24/04 03:23 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Spitfire_x86]

Get a 2400+

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[JWK]

Ok, so it seems the opinion is to get an XP2400. The price is pretty close between the 2400 & 2600 though.

I've just noticed that a 'Thorton' is available. What is a Thorton & how does it compare to a Thoroughbred?

Thanks for your help so far,

Ape

 

[JWK]

Apparently, a Thorton is a Barton with half of it's cache disabled. Therefore , the same as a Thoroughbred.

Thanks all for your help,

Ape

 

[endyen]

What do you mean by the price is pretty close?
The 266 fsb xp2600+ is a discontinued part. It is the fastest chip that can run on a lot of boards. There is usually a large premium attatched to the 266/2600. The performance gain over an xp2400+(stock speed) is only 8% yet the asking price is 25% or more. They bothe oc equally, so no point to pay the premium. If on the other hand the 2600+ is only 10% more money, and you do not want to oc, get the 2600+.

 

[JWK]

Well, I'm in the UK. The prices are as follows:

XP2600+ is £78.67
XP2400+ is £62.22

So only £16.45 difference. This is about $30.

Funny how the 333Mhz version of the 2600 is cheaper than the 266Mhz. As you say, a marketing ploy.

I did hear the Thorton version of the 2600 runs very slightly cooler. This will be welcome after my 1.4Tbird. Does anyone know how to unlock the extra 256k of L2 cache?

Ape

 

[Snorkius]

You have to cut(connect?) some bridges. It's not that hard, but it does not always work...

<b>wooooow <font color=red> Killer Klowns </font color=red> ... from <font color=blue>outer space</font color=blue>... HOLY SH¡T!</b>

 

[JWK]

If you try it & it doesn't work, is the chip still useable or is it trash?

 

[ChipDeath]

I haven't looked into it, but if it's simply a matter of cutting or connecting a bridge, it should be possible to reverse the changes if it doesn't work.

If it didn't work, it would be due to some defective cache, so the chip would keep giving errors all the time & would probably be unusable in that state.

These are just educated guesses mind, I've not read anything about unlocking the cache on the Thorton.

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