Mobile XP 2600 vs. XP 3000...

[purist]

... 266 FSB and 400 FSB respectively

 

So, I know that the 2500 and 2600 mobile XP chips are better overclockers than the 3000 and 3200 XP chips.

 

What I don't know is this. Assuming all else was equal if you have both the 3000 XP and the mobile 2500 XP clocked at the same processor speed are they going to perform the same?

 

I'm thinkin' I should change out my 3000 XP 400fsb for a mobile 2500 or 2600, simply because I'll get a higher overclock out of them. Am i going to lose any performance doing this assuming I'm going to overclock both setups and most likely get a faster processor speed out of the 2500/2600.

 

this is confusing to me because they run at 400 FSB and 266 FSB respectively, so i'm failing to see why the 3000 XP isn't a better performer even with the processor speed being faster on the 2500/2600 (assuming it has been overclocked - not at stock settings of course).

 

Maybe a little CPU 101 is in order to explain this to me. Use lamens terms if you must, I don't mind. I'm a novice to this so I'm all ears. This is all very interesting stuff to me and I'd love to learn more.

 

I'm a new poster here on the forum as well so if I didn't get my sig 100% correct I appologize. let me know what I should do to get it up to speed.

 

FYI, I am currently running at stock speeds even though my sig shows overclocked settings. Those were the best I could achieve while under load with my 3000 XP. It seems 2.35 is an unobtainable limit, but that is a topic for another thread!

 

Thanks so much in advance.

 

Chris

[Angry_Games]

I'm thinkin' I should change out my 3000 XP 400fsb for a mobile 2500 or 2600, simply because I'll get a higher overclock out of them. Am i going to lose any performance doing this assuming I'm going to overclock both setups and most likely get a faster processor speed out of the 2500/2600.

 

the mobile will serve you better as it is much more capable of much higher overclocks than a 3000+ is. 3000+ is 1 step from its top-end, and there's very little room for overclocking beyond that =/

 

mobiles will do 2500Mhz or better for the most part, and you can get a good 250FSB with the right RAM (250x10 = better than 200x15!)

 

this is confusing to me because they run at 400 FSB and 266 FSB respectively, so i'm failing to see why the 3000 XP isn't a better performer even with the processor speed being faster on the 2500/2600 (assuming it has been overclocked - not at stock settings of course).

 

@ stock speeds, the 3000+ is going to be the better performer. Simply because of its higher default clock speed coupled with the higher default FSB and higher L2 cache (unless the mobiles are coming with 512k L2)

 

its the overclock ability of hte mobile again that makes it a better cpu.

 

a 3000+, assuming it isn't locked, might get you 2500Mhz...but most desktop cpu's are hardlocked and that means you are stuck with a multiplier you cannot change.

 

3000+ 200FSB cpu = 200x10.5, 2100Mhz

 

like i said, its hit or miss on these cpu's, and if your 3000+ is locked (most likely) then 10.5 multiplier is what you are stuck with forever. You can only raise FSB and you wont get too far if its like most top-end desktop AthlonXP's.

 

Mobiles on the other hand are fully multiplier unlocked (they have to be to use AMD's PowerNow! function). Its no real hard thing to get 200x12 out of it...which is slightly faster than default 3000+

 

but its also no hard feat to get 240x10 or better..you got a good board, good RAM, a good mobile cpu is all you need heh.

 

It seems 2.35 is an unobtainable limit

 

possibly...your limited skill (or are you a moderate clocker? expert? let us know but from your post I'll assume that you are beginner which isn't a bad thing...cuz we can teach you the Hofinity way haha) might be limiting you though...but my thought is that those cpu's are just not going to clock well.

 

a mobile on the other hand...ive yet to see one that WONT do 2400Mhz, whether through FSB adjustment, multiplier increases etc.

 

as for cpu101...google is your friend...not that we dont want to help you...but there's simply too much already on the web on the basics of cpu and overclocking...and from many different sources so you get a lot of different ideas about it

[purist]

Thanks for the reply. You and RGone oughta' be dubbed "The Terminators of DFI-Street.com" because it seems as if you guys won't stop until all overclocking issues have been solved. RGone responded to question I had on a Friday night and now you on a Saturday night. What service!

 

So, let me see if I understand this correctly. The 2500/2600 is going to start off at 133 FSB, but will be (in all likelyhood) able to reach a final FSB of 250 give or take a few. If that is true, that's incredible.

 

So, the lack of 512 MB L2 cache on the 2500/2600 is really not as big of an issues as the underclockability of the 3000. Is that correct as well?

 

One more thing. It appears as if the multiplier is not locked on my 3000 as I am able to change it in the BIOS and windows recognizes different clock speed when I do this. This probably sounds silly, but is that a sure fire way of knowing that the multiplier is unlocked?

 

Thanks again for your help. This is very informative.

 

Chris

 

P.S. This :angel: is one crazy emoticon.

[king of nothing]

Originally posted by purist

So, the lack of 512 MB L2 cache on the 2500/2600 is really not as big of an issues as the underclockability of the 3000. Is that correct as well?

 

One more thing. It appears as if the multiplier is not locked on my 3000 as I am able to change it in the BIOS and windows recognizes different clock speed when I do this. This probably sounds silly, but is that a sure fire way of knowing that the multiplier is unlocked?

I'm pretty sure the Mobiles and your XP3000+ have the same amount of L2 cache.

 

..... and the simplest way to tell if your cpu is unlocked is to change the multi in the bios and then run CPU-Z and see if it changes there also. If you change it in the BIOS and CPU-Z doesn't change..... then it's locked.

[stowenrat]

So, the lack of 512 MB L2 cache on the 2500/2600

 

The mobiles have 512 cache.

[purist]

Well then I ought to check the CPU-Z setting. Not sure where to find it, but I'm sure I will. Any help there is appreciated, but I'll be adventurous at the same time.

 

So, the only difference then between a 3000 and a 2500/2600 is merely their clock and FSB. Otherwise they are identical? If that is the case then it is an even stronger argument for the 2500/2600.

 

Thanks again. Great response times here!

 

Chris

[king of nothing]

download CPU-Z here

[purist]

I think that before I go with a 2500/2600 I'd like to push my existing 3000 to its limit.

 

I have found through CPU-Z (thanks king of nothing) that the multiplier is not locked on my CPU. In fact i tinkered with it a little bit, lowering it in hopes that I would be able to achieve a higher FSB from it. Every time I make an adjustment I've been running Prime95, but instead of it finding errors my machine soft/hard locks after about 30 - 60 minutes. No errors register with Prime 95.

 

I think at this point I should try to get a grasp on what it is that needs tweaking to improve stability. I know that raising the voltage to the RAM, CPU, and Chipset will raise stability. I also know that loosening my RAM timings a bit will raise stability. I've done both of these and had some success, but at the faster FSB settings I get hardlocking.

 

Any and all suggestions are completely appreciated here. I wanna' push my RAM and CPU as much as I can - if for no other reason then to prove to me that the mobile chip(s) would be a worth while investment. It may turn out that better RAM (my RAM is BH6) is also something worth looking into.

 

Thanks for all of your help thus far. It's been great.

 

Chris

[Angry_Games]

bh6 = usually good results with lots of voltage (3.3v wont harm it...its bh5 that couldnt do PC3200 @ 2.5v...but did it at 2.6v or 2.7v)

 

i had a tremendous unlocked Barton 2500 desktop cpu...i loved it. it overclocked awesome.

 

best to max out your 3000 first...drop multi to 9x and start cranking your FSB.

 

but i still think you will get better results with the mobile

[purist]

So, what is CPC? I see people saying that by turning it off they get more FSB. Is this something I should be concerned with? What does it do and what are the pros and cons of turning it off/leaving it on?

 

Also, should I leave my AGP voltage alone if I have the FSB locked at 66? Should the FSB be slightly increased to improve stability? I know that the AGP FSB can't be increased much without causing problems, but I'm just wondering if there is any stability to be gained there (AGP FSB and/or voltage).

 

I'd like to learn more about voltages in general. I see that the BH6 should be completely fine at 3.3 so I'm gonna' go for it (the highest I've tried is 3.2). However what is a safe voltage on the CPU and the chipset? I've tried 1.9 and 1.7 respectively on them. That seems to me like it should have been enough, but I may be wrong. What do y'all think?

 

Thanks again.

 

Chris

[purist]

Two more quick questions. Is Dual Channel Mode hurting my RAM overclock? Is the Pencil RAM volt mod something I ought to consider?

 

Well, shoot. I guess it is three questions because now that I'm at 3.3volts on my RAM I assume things are gonna' get pretty hot for them. Are the stock heat spreaders gonna' be good enough or should I consider some form of new passive cooling?

 

Really, thanks so much guys. It's been educational... and fun too. I really enjoy learning all this stuff.

 

Chris

[Tayler]

not my thead but:

Angry wrote:

a mobile on the other hand...ive yet to see one that WONT do 2400Mhz, whether through FSB adjustment, multiplier increases etc.

 

hmm..... i make something wrong, although im currently primestable @ sig.