"Driekes" said:
See my earlier post. I can't get the Sempron 2400+ work good in an
A7N8X-VM/400.. Seems to be a bios problem, but no one seems to now anything
about it...:-((
http://www.google.de/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=sempron+barton+thoroughbred&btnG=Suche&meta=lr=lang_en
If you look at the AMD pricelist here:
http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/ProductInformation/0,,30_118_609,00.html?redir=CPT301
the low end Bartons are being eliminated. The high end Bartons
are still there, but they are pricy. The AthlonXP-M (mobile)
processors still appear in the price list. The XP-M is particularly
nice for the A7N8X Deluxe family, as it overclocks. For example, I
just got a 2600+ XP-M, and at stock voltage it does 3200+ (10x200)
with no effort at all. (I haven't pushed it further yet. Too
busy trying to prep a system disk for it.)
The A7N8X-VM/400 has comparitively poor BIOS support, both in
terms of the feature set inside the BIOS, and also in terms of
the rate that new BIOS are issued. A person using one of them
is generally forced to buy certain components, to make the board
work well. If you are building a hundred computers based on the
board, having to buy a variety of components to get the first
one running, can be amortized over the whole build. For an
individual DIY builder, doing a single computer, the BIOS is
a roadblock to an enjoyable build. If you stick a Mobile into
the -VM/400, it will run at 6x133=800MHz, and be cool as can
be (and you won't be able to adjust the FSB or the multiplier).
For the time being, buy any 2500+ Bartons you can still find,
or if your BIOS has enough adjustments, the Mobiles are
a good investment. As I'm in Canada, I had to pay more than I
should have for my Mobile, but people in the USA can probably
get a good deal on one from Newegg.
Also, when you look at the price list, the pricing of the
Semprons and the Bartons, is designed to dovetail into a
price/performance continuum. Notice that the Sempron comes
in a 3100+, which is cheaper than a Barton 2800+. But that
Sempron will likely not perform as well as the 3100+. The
price should be the best indication of the relative performance,
as AMD wouldn't want to create any "sweet spots" like it did
with the 2500+ overclockable to 3200+.
As long as there are still Mobile processors available, there
is still an opportunity for remarkers to modify a Mobile to make
a regular (expensive) Barton from it. Until the Mobiles disappear,
there are still opportunities for fraud. But at least the easy
change from Barton 2500+ to 3200+ will cease.
HTH,
Paul
