Need some CPU advice plz

i currently have an amd athlon xp 2600+, just for a quick fix until i save up for a new system... would it be worth finding a cheap 3200+ and gettin a decent cooler and OC'ing that???

im most likely going to be buying a 1950pro agp, and i know that my 2600 will bottleneck it, how far on average can u push a 3200+ with a good cooler?

i read a review on toms hardware about still buying AGP cards, and they said there is no problem, they compared using 2 older systems, one was using a XP 2500+ and the other was a Athlon 64 3400+ and there was a fair difference in total fps for cpu demanding games, would OC'ing a 3200 run close to a stock 64 3400?

thanks in advance

 

There'd still be a difference as the AthlonXP series is based on the K7 core and the Athlon64 series is based on the K8 core, which is faster and more advanced.
Add to that the fact that most of the AthlonXP's (especially the Barton cores) don't overclock all that well and I'd say you're better off keeping the 2500+ and keeping the money in your pocket to save up for a new system.

 

I'd save up your money and build a new system in three to six months. Intel is going to be releasing a new set of Core 2 Duo cpus and the ones currently on the market will be dropping in price. If you can wait, and pick up a C2D E6300, a decent motherboard, 2GB of DDR2 ram, and a PCIe graphics card you will be better off.

The performance increase from a 2600, to a 3200 isn't that great. And the 3200's don't overclock very well at all. I was able to get another 0.20Ghz out of mine with a very good cooler. Plus the 3400+ is a 64bit chip while the 3200+ isn't. That doesn't make much of a difference now if you don't have a 64bit operating system, but it will make a difference in the future.

 

:crap BS:crap
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The Barton core's are Excellent OCers, best of the socket A's, especially the mobile variants
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Lowies57 XP2600 should be able to run at XP3200 speeds with ease
I wouldnt buy an XP 3200:major OC the 2600

 

Asus has a point. IIRC the 2500+ was one of the best overclocking Barton chips. You should be able to overclock the 2600 a fair amount on air cooling.

 

and the right mobo... I got my 2500+ mobile barton (factory unlocked) to 2.93GHz on air on an ABIT NF7... it was quite amusing... still have the chip too.... looking to sell it...


I have plenty of parts stocked.... but if I were you, I'd save up about $600 and I can spec you a beast of a PC... (C2D, ect...)