xp2500 or xp2600?

enduser · 09-25-2003, 01:42 PM

I saw that there are new 2600 xp's out that run at 333 mhz with a larger cache. Which one is really better (faster). The new 2600 or the old 2500 Barton?

I've been wanting to get my new system put together but have been waiting on a refund from newegg for quite a while. I'm becoming concerned that my new system is just going to be a pipe dream.

igalan · 09-25-2003, 03:37 PM

AMD has made XP2600 based on both "old" Tbred and new Barton core. The XP2600 based on the new barton core runs at slower clock than the Tbred XP2600, but has double cache (512 MB vs 256 MB), so it shoud be as fast as the Tbred. And we know that usually Bartons overclock better... Of course the Barton XP2600 runs a bit faster than XP2500, too (same core, FSB and cache, but faster clock.)

BTW, both cores run at 166 MHz FSB 333 DDR.

Racer_Z · 10-05-2003, 11:26 AM

get a 2500+ and overclock it to 11x200= 2200 mhz = 3200+!!!!
After all, all the barton CPUs are basicaly the same, they all come from the same production line..........

igalan · 10-07-2003, 05:19 AM

Unfortunately they are not the same. Some users have reported XP2500s that run really hot, while others have the "regular" one that runs cooler. I don't know if this is because of the core, the package or what, but if you get the one that runs hotter, you won't be able to overclock much.

Prez · 10-09-2003, 04:41 PM

I have a similar dilemma but slightly different. I'm gonna buy one of these set-ups this week but indecision is killing me. The first has the faster processor but the MOBO is pretty bare, no Firewire, no RAID, no SATA, and at some stage I want a SATA hard drive. The second has a slower processor but the MOBO has all the features SATA, RAID, Firewre, 6 Channel Audio, Dual Bios, etc unfortunately I can't afford the best of both worlds, so which do you think I should go for, the prices are identical?

1.Gigabyte GA7-N400-L / plus AMD Athlon XP 2800 (Barton)

or

2.Gigabyte GA7-N400PRO2 / plus AMD Athlon XP 2600 (Thoroughbred)

any advice appreciated.

igalan · 10-09-2003, 05:18 PM

I would go for option 2. The reason is that upgrading the CPU is pretty simple, just unplug the old and plug the new one. Run the set up and you're done. Upgrading the mobo usually means reinstalling the OS.

Also the difference between XP2800 and XP2600 is small. Not worth the less advanced mobo in exchange, IMO.

BTW; welcome aboard

Prez · 10-09-2003, 06:52 PM

I was leaning towards the faster processor because I thought there would be a noticable difference, if you say the difference isn't that great maybe a re-think is in order, as I've said I definitely want to add a SATA hard drive sometime in the future, and the Pro board can handle that no problem. OK thanks for the advice and the welcome, will probably post back later next week asking which plug goes in which socket, newbie builder you understand.

RipperRoo · 10-09-2003, 10:42 PM

everyone has to start somewhere, so theres no shame in being a newb, im sure you will find it fairly simple to build your first pc, as it can be likened to an airfix kit (card a fits in slot b, memory stick c fits in slot d ect) the only tricky bits are setting up the bios and installing the operating system, but i guess you will find that out soon enough.

igalan · 10-10-2003, 03:58 AM

There is difference in speed between both processors, but not that much. A computer is built from many different components and they all have its importance. The motherboard is an important one, as is the system ram, disk drives, the videocard for gaming...

If you put the fastest processor in a low-end motherboard with low-end components you would get a lot more performace with a mid-end cpu and better components, probably for the same price. A balanced configuration is important to get the best of your computer

.

As other users have done, why don't you post which components are you going to get besides mobo and cpu? Also it's important to know the use of the computer (gaming, video edition, cad...) Maybe we can give you some suggestions.

Prez · 10-10-2003, 09:37 AM

Ok, here's my present set-up, It's quite old.

PC Chips Mobo / 750 Duron (will give this away)
256MB PC133 SD Ram (give this away too)
40 GB hard-drive (unknown brand will keep this 'till I can upgrade)
Nvidia G-Force 440MX (will keep this also 'till an upgrade)
Lite-On 52x24x52 CD burner (keeping it, luv it !)
Hercules Muse XL Sound card (dont laugh I love this old card It only cost me 10 quid (around $15) but will give this away also.
Creative Labs desktop speakers (stereo pair will keep these and upgrade later)
Dell 17" moniter (CRT) (keeping this)

from the above you can see that much needs to be improved and I figured to start with the MOBO, CPU, Memory, and a new case.
being a student and permanantly broke I can't afford to do all the things I want in one go and these 4 items seem like the best first step. I'm on a strict budget of £350 max (no idea what that is in $US but I can say that PC parts are way cheaper in the USA than over here)

So following Igalans advice here's what I intend to order.

Gigabyte GA7-N400 PRO2 motherboard
XP2600 (thoroughbred) CPU + Fan (3 year warranty)
2 x 256mb PC2700 SD DDR memory (Crucial brand 512MB total)
Zorro case with 450W dual fan power supply (Thermaltake copy, I think in the US it's called the Raidmax Scorpio, not exactly my taste it's too loud and in yer face, but it's part of the bundle )
No hard drive included
Assembly and delivery total price = £317
(leaving around $50 from my original budget.)

So, basically when this arrives , I just have to install the Nvidia card, Lite-on burner, and hard drive. I'll use the Gigabytes onboard sound. The nvidia card is useless for the latest games so that will be my first future upgrade, followed by a SATA hard drive because the prices on those are falling rapidly right now over here, and that's about it coz by then I shall be impoverished.

igalan · 10-10-2003, 11:24 AM

So this would be your configuration:

Quote:

Gigabyte GA7-N400 PRO2 motherboard
XP2600 (thoroughbred) CPU + Fan (3 year warranty)
2 x 256mb PC2700 SD DDR memory (Crucial brand 512MB total)
40 GB hard-drive
Nvidia G-Force 440MX
Lite-On 52x24x52 CD burner
Zorro case with 450W dual fan power supply

Assembly and delivery total price = £317
(leaving around $50 from my original budget.)

I'll use the Gigabytes onboard sound. The nvidia card is useless for the latest games so that will be my first future upgrade, followed by a SATA hard drive because the prices on those are falling rapidly right now over here[...]

One important thing. There are two different Tbred XP2600, one has 133 Mhz (266 DDR) FSB and the other has 166 MHz (333 DDR) FSB. You want the last one to run at 333 DDR paired with PC2700 RAM (333 DDR, too.)

This configuration looks good to me, very good. The video card is not that bad, I'm using this same (Aopen GeForce 4 MX440) on my second computer and most modern games run very well if you don't max out detail level. The SoundStorm integrated audio has really good features, so there's no need for another solution; however I have read that some people has "cracking" sound with it (not me with my Asus A7N8X Deluxe).

In my opinion it's a good set up very upgradable (S-ATA, FireWire, 400 MHz FSB...) But don't take my word as "law", it's my opinion

others may think different.

LPDad · 10-10-2003, 02:49 PM

Prez, Listen to IGs...You will be much better off going with the BETTER MOBO. You can always add better components later, as you can afford them. If you short yourself and get a lesser mobo, you will be severly limiting your future expandability.

There is really not that much NOTICABLE difference between the processors- the XP2600 and the XP2800 (and in a few months the XP 3200 will probably be less than $120...won't it be nice to be able to simply be able to add that to your system without having to also upgrade your mobo??

I have, to date, built/put-together 15 computers, and I ALWAYS start with the Best MOBO. Everything else is easy to swap out and upgrade...the mobo, while being physically easy to replace, is a lot more hassle upgrade--- you must usually reload your OS, among other things.

Prez · 10-10-2003, 03:22 PM

Thanks for the Info regarding the T/bred 2600 I didn't know about this, I will confirm it's a 333 Mhz FSB with the retailer before ordering, good job you told me. Also decided to skip the assembly and save myself around $35 which I can put towards the video card, will assemble it myself and if I don't mess up I should have a pretty decent system ....thanks again. Point taken regarding the mobo I'm going for the best board I can afford, thanks guys.

igalan · 10-10-2003, 04:36 PM

Thanks for the back up LPDad, it's good to know that you share this criterion

(you can't never say that you know everything, so it's good to hear what others think

.)

ABOU · 10-21-2003, 04:32 PM

ok i had a long look at this thread there is so much writing form u lot

well from my point of view as IG you know im upgrading so prez i have chopped and changed thanks to advice form people so here is my setup ready to be odered as it stands

GA-7N400 Pro is the supreme platform for latest AMD Athlon XP 400MHz FSB processor - board top spec i can afford

(flashing board better performance)

athlon xp 2800+ (barton) + colermaster fan and sink

Radeon 9600 pro

1 gb DDR RAM ( 2x 512mb branded RAM)

total 463.85

you go for lower spec processor less RAM and it would bring the price right down as for a case why not use the one you have ATM ??

i think the RAM and graphics card are biting me in the ass here but its worth it + 64 bit processors will be highly priced in the UK for a while i think most non web based companys dont even stock em

09-25-2003, 01:42 PM	#1 (permalink)
enduser Registered User Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 50	xp2500 or xp2600? I saw that there are new 2600 xp's out that run at 333 mhz with a larger cache. Which one is really better (faster). The new 2600 or the old 2500 Barton? I've been wanting to get my new system put together but have been waiting on a refund from newegg for quite a while. I'm becoming concerned that my new system is just going to be a pipe dream.

10-09-2003, 06:52 PM	#7 (permalink)
Prez Registered User Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 13	I was leaning towards the faster processor because I thought there would be a noticable difference, if you say the difference isn't that great maybe a re-think is in order, as I've said I definitely want to add a SATA hard drive sometime in the future, and the Pro board can handle that no problem. OK thanks for the advice and the welcome, will probably post back later next week asking which plug goes in which socket, newbie builder you understand. Last edited by Prez; 10-10-2003 at 09:20 PM.

10-09-2003, 10:42 PM	#8 (permalink)
RipperRoo AdMiN oF RoCk! Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: uk Posts: 2,080	everyone has to start somewhere, so theres no shame in being a newb, im sure you will find it fairly simple to build your first pc, as it can be likened to an airfix kit (card a fits in slot b, memory stick c fits in slot d ect) the only tricky bits are setting up the bios and installing the operating system, but i guess you will find that out soon enough. __________________ PcTechtalk.com Admin A7V8X xp2600 Barton SLK 97U, GeForce FX 5700, 1GB 2700DDR Ram Sony DVD -R/+R/RW, SB Live 5.1 Digital, 1 x 30gb 3 x 200GB 2x120GB 1 x 250GB HDD'S, 19" TFT Epson R265 HP NX6125 Laptop 1gb memory http://www.minotaur-computers.co.uk/

10-10-2003, 09:37 AM	#10 (permalink)
Prez Registered User Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 13	Ok, here's my present set-up, It's quite old. PC Chips Mobo / 750 Duron (will give this away) 256MB PC133 SD Ram (give this away too) 40 GB hard-drive (unknown brand will keep this 'till I can upgrade) Nvidia G-Force 440MX (will keep this also 'till an upgrade) Lite-On 52x24x52 CD burner (keeping it, luv it !) Hercules Muse XL Sound card (dont laugh I love this old card It only cost me 10 quid (around $15) but will give this away also. Creative Labs desktop speakers (stereo pair will keep these and upgrade later) Dell 17" moniter (CRT) (keeping this) from the above you can see that much needs to be improved and I figured to start with the MOBO, CPU, Memory, and a new case. being a student and permanantly broke I can't afford to do all the things I want in one go and these 4 items seem like the best first step. I'm on a strict budget of £350 max (no idea what that is in $US but I can say that PC parts are way cheaper in the USA than over here) So following Igalans advice here's what I intend to order. Gigabyte GA7-N400 PRO2 motherboard XP2600 (thoroughbred) CPU + Fan (3 year warranty) 2 x 256mb PC2700 SD DDR memory (Crucial brand 512MB total) Zorro case with 450W dual fan power supply (Thermaltake copy, I think in the US it's called the Raidmax Scorpio, not exactly my taste it's too loud and in yer face, but it's part of the bundle ) No hard drive included Assembly and delivery total price = £317 (leaving around $50 from my original budget.) So, basically when this arrives , I just have to install the Nvidia card, Lite-on burner, and hard drive. I'll use the Gigabytes onboard sound. The nvidia card is useless for the latest games so that will be my first future upgrade, followed by a SATA hard drive because the prices on those are falling rapidly right now over here, and that's about it coz by then I shall be impoverished. Last edited by Prez; 10-10-2003 at 09:22 PM.

10-10-2003, 02:49 PM	#12 (permalink)
LPDad Admin & "Fixer" Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Costa Mesa, CA Posts: 2,293	Prez, Listen to IGs...You will be much better off going with the BETTER MOBO. You can always add better components later, as you can afford them. If you short yourself and get a lesser mobo, you will be severly limiting your future expandability. There is really not that much NOTICABLE difference between the processors- the XP2600 and the XP2800 (and in a few months the XP 3200 will probably be less than $120...won't it be nice to be able to simply be able to add that to your system without having to also upgrade your mobo?? I have, to date, built/put-together 15 computers, and I ALWAYS start with the Best MOBO. Everything else is easy to swap out and upgrade...the mobo, while being physically easy to replace, is a lot more hassle upgrade--- you must usually reload your OS, among other things. __________________ We don't need no stink'n TechSupport We ARE TechSupport. *LPDad* Administrator

09-25-2003, 03:37 PM	#2 (permalink)
igalan PCTT Articles Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Barcelona, SPAIN Posts: 1,018	AMD has made XP2600 based on both "old" Tbred and new Barton core. The XP2600 based on the new barton core runs at slower clock than the Tbred XP2600, but has double cache (512 MB vs 256 MB), so it shoud be as fast as the Tbred. And we know that usually Bartons overclock better... Of course the Barton XP2600 runs a bit faster than XP2500, too (same core, FSB and cache, but faster clock.) BTW, both cores run at 166 MHz FSB 333 DDR.

10-05-2003, 11:26 AM	#3 (permalink)
Racer_Z Registered User Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 22	get a 2500+ and overclock it to 11x200= 2200 mhz = 3200+!!!! After all, all the barton CPUs are basicaly the same, they all come from the same production line..........

10-07-2003, 05:19 AM	#4 (permalink)
igalan PCTT Articles Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Barcelona, SPAIN Posts: 1,018	Unfortunately they are not the same. Some users have reported XP2500s that run really hot, while others have the "regular" one that runs cooler. I don't know if this is because of the core, the package or what, but if you get the one that runs hotter, you won't be able to overclock much.

10-09-2003, 04:41 PM	#5 (permalink)
Prez Registered User Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 13	I have a similar dilemma but slightly different. I'm gonna buy one of these set-ups this week but indecision is killing me. The first has the faster processor but the MOBO is pretty bare, no Firewire, no RAID, no SATA, and at some stage I want a SATA hard drive. The second has a slower processor but the MOBO has all the features SATA, RAID, Firewre, 6 Channel Audio, Dual Bios, etc unfortunately I can't afford the best of both worlds, so which do you think I should go for, the prices are identical? 1.Gigabyte GA7-N400-L / plus AMD Athlon XP 2800 (Barton) or 2.Gigabyte GA7-N400PRO2 / plus AMD Athlon XP 2600 (Thoroughbred) any advice appreciated.

10-09-2003, 05:18 PM	#6 (permalink)
igalan PCTT Articles Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Barcelona, SPAIN Posts: 1,018	I would go for option 2. The reason is that upgrading the CPU is pretty simple, just unplug the old and plug the new one. Run the set up and you're done. Upgrading the mobo usually means reinstalling the OS. Also the difference between XP2800 and XP2600 is small. Not worth the less advanced mobo in exchange, IMO. BTW; welcome aboard

10-10-2003, 03:58 AM	#9 (permalink)
igalan PCTT Articles Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Barcelona, SPAIN Posts: 1,018	There is difference in speed between both processors, but not that much. A computer is built from many different components and they all have its importance. The motherboard is an important one, as is the system ram, disk drives, the videocard for gaming... If you put the fastest processor in a low-end motherboard with low-end components you would get a lot more performace with a mid-end cpu and better components, probably for the same price. A balanced configuration is important to get the best of your computer . As other users have done, why don't you post which components are you going to get besides mobo and cpu? Also it's important to know the use of the computer (gaming, video edition, cad...) Maybe we can give you some suggestions.

10-10-2003, 03:22 PM	#13 (permalink)
Prez Registered User Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 13	Thanks for the Info regarding the T/bred 2600 I didn't know about this, I will confirm it's a 333 Mhz FSB with the retailer before ordering, good job you told me. Also decided to skip the assembly and save myself around $35 which I can put towards the video card, will assemble it myself and if I don't mess up I should have a pretty decent system ....thanks again. Point taken regarding the mobo I'm going for the best board I can afford, thanks guys. Last edited by Prez; 10-10-2003 at 09:21 PM.

10-10-2003, 04:36 PM	#14 (permalink)
igalan PCTT Articles Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Barcelona, SPAIN Posts: 1,018	Thanks for the back up LPDad, it's good to know that you share this criterion (you can't never say that you know everything, so it's good to hear what others think .)

10-21-2003, 04:32 PM	#15 (permalink)
ABOU Registered User Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: NORTHERN IRELAND Posts: 460	ok i had a long look at this thread there is so much writing form u lot well from my point of view as IG you know im upgrading so prez i have chopped and changed thanks to advice form people so here is my setup ready to be odered as it stands GA-7N400 Pro is the supreme platform for latest AMD Athlon XP 400MHz FSB processor - board top spec i can afford (flashing board better performance) athlon xp 2800+ (barton) + colermaster fan and sink Radeon 9600 pro 1 gb DDR RAM ( 2x 512mb branded RAM) total 463.85 you go for lower spec processor less RAM and it would bring the price right down as for a case why not use the one you have ATM ?? i think the RAM and graphics card are biting me in the ass here but its worth it + 64 bit processors will be highly priced in the UK for a while i think most non web based companys dont even stock em

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