Geeky1University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
edited November 2003
The 2500s are UNlocked, for the most part.
UNlocked chips (anything not listed is locked)***
- All Thoroughbred-core chips**
- All Barton-core chips**
- 1.4GHz Thunderbird
- Mobile chips
*** - This list may not be accurate; it's just what I remember. If Thrax/Leishi or someone else posts something different, I'd probably go with what they say...
Wouldnt it be worth the few extra bucks to get a guaranteed unlocked chip? I dont want to do any cpu modding when I can get one unlocked for an extra $14.
Fudgam: mtgoat just picked up a Barton 2600+ and it was unlocked. I think (but do not know) that all Barton 2600s are unlocked. As for the 2500s I am not sure but I think chips prior to week 32 (or thereabouts) are unlocked.
TBred-B chips used to be unlocked . . . not sure about the ones coming off the line w/in the last 2 months or so.
There isnt anyway to see what week the cpu was made, is there? Ive never seen anything like that on the descriptions online.
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Geeky1University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
edited November 2003
So? It's a perfectly valid statement. If something is true, it's true, except when it's false. Got it?
To answer the question, I have no idea. That's why someone like Thrax, who knows far more about these things than is healthy for one person to know, can answer the original question better than I can.
I plan on getting new components for christmas, then buying the rest afterwards(I don't have anything yet). I plan on getting an NF7-S. And I dont want to get a T-Bbred, as I've heard the bartons are "better".
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Geeky1University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
edited November 2003
If you're buying new components in december/january, skip the athlon xp alltogether. Wait for the socket change and get an Athlon 64/FX/Opteron.
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Mt_GoatHead Cheezy KnobPflugerville (north of Austin)Icrontian
edited November 2003
As mentioned the 2600 Barton I picked up this past week was unlocked and it was a week 11 chip. I also picked up a 2500 barton for a project I was working on for someone else and it was locked as it was a week 41 chip. I didn't ake a pic of the 2500 and don't remeber the stepping for sure but I got them bot h at Fry's here in Austin. My thinking is that most peeps who want to OC are going with the least expensive chip in a class so the stocks are run through faster. Everyone and his brother wants to OC a 2500. My 2600 Barton was only $4.00 more than the 2500's. I am willing to bet that NE is experiencing the same thing with their stocks. People just go with the cheapsest and the next in line doesn't sell.
There are a whole bunch of posts about this over at overclockers.com. Starting in week 39, AMD started locking the multi's on the Barton procs. There's even been a report or 2 or late made Tbred's being locked(after week 39). Between week 39 and week 42, it is just a crapshoot whether your proc is unlocked or not, with the Bartons. After week 43, it looks like all the lower speed Bartons might be locked. That's a basic breakdown, in a nutshell.
BTW fudgam, I'll show you how to check the week your proc was made. Here's the OPN off my mobile 2400 I have sitting in front of me:
AXMH2400FQQ4C 9819984260835
IQXEA 0330VPMW
Do you see the numbers right after the stepping code(IQXEA)? The 0330 stands for made in 2003, week 30.
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Geeky1University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
edited November 2003
The opteron is an outstanding chip for gaming (the Athlon FX-51 is an opteron 140-series chip).
And, I'm anticipating that they'll come way down in price early next year, especially after the socket change.
You'll see things like "DLT3C 0310XPMW" and that means it's default voltage is 1.5v (much better than a DUT3C) which has a default voltage of 1.6 or 1.65v (don't recall which off hand). 0310 is the date. 03 stands for 2003, 10 stands for the week. So, the CPU was made in March. XPMW stands for something but I don't recall. (This information is for a TBred-B 1700+. The DLT3C/DUT3C information would not necessarily apply to a 2800+ or a Barton. Each digit has meaning. I don't recall what D stands for. L/U stands for the voltage. T stands for something I don't recall. 3 stands for something I don't recall. C stands for something I don't recall. One of them stands for the default FSB of the chip and one stands for the L2 cache size.)
It's used, and they don't have the greatest reviews in the world on resellerratings, and it's as much as a new 1800, but the P/N indicates a DLT3C chip, which should be good for at least 2.3GHz.
The 1800 costs less, and can be tuned to go faster than a 2600 ever would if you purchased, or will purchase, the equipment we have been suggestimg to you for about 3 weeks.
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Geeky1University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
edited November 2003
Uh... since the 1800 overclocks higher, why does it matter?
Wouldnt something at a higher clock at stock, overclock higher than something at a lower clock at stock? But, if that wasnt true then I guess it would be good for marketing.
Geeky, how high can you get the fsb on that 1800+? Cause it only has 266 stock.
So, are you saying that a 1.4 opteron is as good, if not better for gaming as a 1.83 xp?
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Mt_GoatHead Cheezy KnobPflugerville (north of Austin)Icrontian
edited November 2003
fudgam had this to say Wouldnt something at a higher clock at stock, overclock higher than something at a lower clock at stock? But, if that wasnt true then I guess it would be good for marketing.
Since Chip makers don't necessarily endorse or condone overclocking the overcloclkability of any particular chip has nothing to do with marketing and vise versa. In an effort to keep operating costs down the manufacturers don't have a separate line for each chip. Instead they sort through them in a quality control fashion and if it passes for the highest the core goes to that chip,and so on down the line. So with this method it is not only conceivable but does happen that some of the high end cores end up as bottom of the line chips. My last XP2100 was a 133 fsb (266) part but I ran it at 200 fsb (400) and more all the time.
fudgam had this to say Wouldnt something at a higher clock at stock, overclock higher than something at a lower clock at stock? But, if that wasnt true then I guess it would be good for marketing.
Chips are designed and manufactured to work at a certain range, not a specific speed.
When AMD sets out to make a chip they basically just whip up a batch of them, then test them to see how high they will stably run. Most overclockers actually prefer chips at a lower speed, everything else being equal.
For example, if the Barton core is capable of running from 2500 to 3200, it is likely that the 3200 chips are already pretty much maxxed out. The 2500 is identical in specs, but might need a little help (like extra cooling & voltage) to run faster. $366 will buy a LOT of extra cooling (see pic).
It has even been found that AMD will sometimes sell a faster chip at a lower speed, merely because ALL of the chips from the recent batches turned out to be blazing fast. (They need some of the lower-speed chips to sell). It would be like Ford sticking an Escort nameplate on a Lincoln Navigator, just so they'd have some "Escorts" on the lot to sell.
Yeah, I know how you feel.
Soaking money into something that is obsolete in 3 months is a much better feeling than stepping into my truck that, while depreciating in value daily, is not obsolete in 3 years, much less 3 months.
profdlp had this to say
Thrax had this to say If only it were like that..
Go to buy a Geo and it turns into a Ferrari when you pull it into the driveway.
My experience with automobiles has usually turned out the other way around: The more I pay for, the less I get...
That's why I feel MUCH better when spending my money on computer parts.
Well, if the fsb only goes to 218, wouldnt it be worth it to buy a 2600+ at 333 that I can overclock farther to maybe 390(I have no idea how I can get it)? I don't plan on using a 1700+ or 1800+ in a backup rig. I will want it for my main gaming rig(resolutions and textures maxed out), and I would get better performance from a higher barton at 333.
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Geeky1University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
edited November 2003
that's 218 pre-ddr...
DDR FSB is marketing hype, nothing more, IMO.
If you insist on measuring things like that, the actual FSB is 436MHz...
Comments
UNlocked chips (anything not listed is locked)***
- All Thoroughbred-core chips**
- All Barton-core chips**
- 1.4GHz Thunderbird
- Mobile chips
*** - This list may not be accurate; it's just what I remember. If Thrax/Leishi or someone else posts something different, I'd probably go with what they say...
** - The newer chips may be locked
All Thoroughbreds are unlocked, except for the ones that are locked.
All Bartons are unlocked, except for the ones that are locked.
(Yeah, I see the **, but it just is kinda odd. What is "newer" Week 30? week 32? week 36?)
TBred-B chips used to be unlocked . . . not sure about the ones coming off the line w/in the last 2 months or so.
What motherboard do you have?
To answer the question, I have no idea. That's why someone like Thrax, who knows far more about these things than is healthy for one person to know, can answer the original question better than I can.
BTW fudgam, I'll show you how to check the week your proc was made. Here's the OPN off my mobile 2400 I have sitting in front of me:
AXMH2400FQQ4C 9819984260835
IQXEA 0330VPMW
Do you see the numbers right after the stepping code(IQXEA)? The 0330 stands for made in 2003, week 30.
And, I'm anticipating that they'll come way down in price early next year, especially after the socket change.
You'll see things like "DLT3C 0310XPMW" and that means it's default voltage is 1.5v (much better than a DUT3C) which has a default voltage of 1.6 or 1.65v (don't recall which off hand). 0310 is the date. 03 stands for 2003, 10 stands for the week. So, the CPU was made in March. XPMW stands for something but I don't recall.
Also look at this:
http://www.compgeeks.com/details.asp?invtid=AXDA1800DLT3C
It's used, and they don't have the greatest reviews in the world on resellerratings, and it's as much as a new 1800, but the P/N indicates a DLT3C chip, which should be good for at least 2.3GHz.
The 1800 costs less, and can be tuned to go faster than a 2600 ever would if you purchased, or will purchase, the equipment we have been suggestimg to you for about 3 weeks.
So, are you saying that a 1.4 opteron is as good, if not better for gaming as a 1.83 xp?
I run an Athlon XP 1700 at 2.3GHz with a 230MHz FSB.
When AMD sets out to make a chip they basically just whip up a batch of them, then test them to see how high they will stably run. Most overclockers actually prefer chips at a lower speed, everything else being equal.
For example, if the Barton core is capable of running from 2500 to 3200, it is likely that the 3200 chips are already pretty much maxxed out. The 2500 is identical in specs, but might need a little help (like extra cooling & voltage) to run faster. $366 will buy a LOT of extra cooling (see pic).
It has even been found that AMD will sometimes sell a faster chip at a lower speed, merely because ALL of the chips from the recent batches turned out to be blazing fast. (They need some of the lower-speed chips to sell). It would be like Ford sticking an Escort nameplate on a Lincoln Navigator, just so they'd have some "Escorts" on the lot to sell.
Go to buy a Geo and it turns into a Ferrari when you pull it into the driveway.
That's why I feel MUCH better when spending my money on computer parts.
Soaking money into something that is obsolete in 3 months is a much better feeling than stepping into my truck that, while depreciating in value daily, is not obsolete in 3 years, much less 3 months.
DDR FSB is marketing hype, nothing more, IMO.
If you insist on measuring things like that, the actual FSB is 436MHz...