dilemma

Dom · Feb 17, 2003, 07:22 AM

Okay. I'm going to be getting an Asus A7N8X Deluxe mobo & and Thermaltake Volcano 9. That said, here's the question. I can only afford to pay $300USD for a CPU & RAM. What should I do?

1.
CPU: Athlon XP 2500+ (Barton) 333 FSB, 512 cache
RAM: 2x256Mb Crucial PC2700 DDR-RAM

or

2.
CPU: Athlon XP 2200+ (T-Bred) 266 FSB, 256 cache
RAM: 2x256Mb Crosair PC3200 DDR-RAM

Any input would be most appreciated.

Thanks in advance, Dom.

ToshiroOC · Feb 17, 2003, 07:31 AM

I would say #1 - that Crucial will still overclock pretty well, and the Barton will scale better with OCing...

Vampyromaniac · Feb 17, 2003, 08:54 AM

I'd say #2

I just don't have much faith in the Barton; it seems from the reviews that the extra cache doesn't help a whole lot.

If I could suggest another option . . . assuming the 2500 costs more than the 2400 . . .
I'd suggest the Crucial PC2700 with an xp2400, I'm betting this CPU would overclock far better than the 2500.
I've heard the xp2400 can do 2200MHz with little effort, and I saw THG was able to get the xp2500 only to 2250MHz . . . .

But any of the choices would be good

Necrosis · Feb 17, 2003, 04:42 PM

Either option looks good but just remember your ram has to be in sync with your processor if your going to run it in Dual DDR mode. If you read reviews you will see running in a dual setup OC'ing doesn't work as well per say as it would with one stick. So If you are going to overclock make sure you have some beefy ram that can do the job. The downside to the nforce2 boards is they do not like cheap ram. You are probably better off buying good ram and a bit cheaper processor. You can always run the piss out of the processor and get a better Barton higher clocked processor later.

digitalwanderer · Feb 17, 2003, 05:19 PM

I'll always fall on the side of better ram over a faster CPU. Your CPU may/probably will get upgraded down the road, but you're gonna be using that ram for life.

Dom · Feb 18, 2003, 08:41 AM

I decided to go for number 2, thanks for all your input.

Feb 17, 2003, 08:54 AM	#3
Vampyromaniac confutatis maledictis Join Date: May 2002 Location: somewhere dark Posts: 5,974 Rep Power: 77 System Specs	I'd say #2 I just don't have much faith in the Barton; it seems from the reviews that the extra cache doesn't help a whole lot. If I could suggest another option . . . assuming the 2500 costs more than the 2400 . . . I'd suggest the Crucial PC2700 with an xp2400, I'm betting this CPU would overclock far better than the 2500. I've heard the xp2400 can do 2200MHz with little effort, and I saw THG was able to get the xp2500 only to 2250MHz . . . . But any of the choices would be good __________________ *Digitalis 3.3* Athlon 64 3000 // ASUS K8V SE Deluxe // 1024MB PC3200 (2-2-2-10 1T) ATI All-In-Wonder 9700 Pro // 20" Dell 2005FPW (DVI) M-Audio Revo 7.1 + Philips Acoustic Edge // Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 320/16 Western Digital WD3200KS + 120/8 Seagate 7200.7 NEC ND-3550A 16x DVD±RW + Lite-On 52x24x CD-RW Antec Sonata case // 480W Antec TruePower personal bests \|\| Aq'3: 46796 \| 3D'01: 20461 \| 3D'03: 6336 \| 3D'05: 2677 \| PC'04: 4605 \| PC'02: 7691,9092,1250

Feb 17, 2003, 05:19 PM	#5
digitalwanderer Colour Commentator Join Date: May 2002 Location: Highland, IN USA Posts: 5,619 Rep Power: 0	Go with the better ram! I'll always fall on the side of better ram over a faster CPU. Your CPU may/probably will get upgraded down the road, but you're gonna be using that ram for life. __________________ WTF is up with the sigs?

Feb 17, 2003, 07:22 AM	#1
Dom DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 12,940 Rep Power: 0	dilemma Okay. I'm going to be getting an Asus A7N8X Deluxe mobo & and Thermaltake Volcano 9. That said, here's the question. I can only afford to pay $300USD for a CPU & RAM. What should I do? 1. CPU: Athlon XP 2500+ (Barton) 333 FSB, 512 cache RAM: 2x256Mb Crucial PC2700 DDR-RAM or 2. CPU: Athlon XP 2200+ (T-Bred) 266 FSB, 256 cache RAM: 2x256Mb Crosair PC3200 DDR-RAM Any input would be most appreciated. Thanks in advance, Dom.

Feb 17, 2003, 07:31 AM	#2
ToshiroOC Unbiased. Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 4,812 Rep Power: 0	I would say #1 - that Crucial will still overclock pretty well, and the Barton will scale better with OCing... __________________ [img][/img] [color=White]Peace be with you, Joe.[/color] Driverheaven Staff Member (Supermoderator)

Feb 17, 2003, 04:42 PM	#4
Necrosis HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Ohio Posts: 8,838 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	Either option looks good but just remember your ram has to be in sync with your processor if your going to run it in Dual DDR mode. If you read reviews you will see running in a dual setup OC'ing doesn't work as well per say as it would with one stick. So If you are going to overclock make sure you have some beefy ram that can do the job. The downside to the nforce2 boards is they do not like cheap ram. You are probably better off buying good ram and a bit cheaper processor. You can always run the piss out of the processor and get a better Barton higher clocked processor later.

Feb 18, 2003, 08:41 AM	Thread Starter #6
Dom DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 12,940 Rep Power: 0	I decided to go for number 2, thanks for all your input.