Overclocking Buyer's Guide - September 2004
by Wesley Fink on September 17, 2004 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Guides
CPU and Motherboard: VALUE OC Alternatives
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 Sempron 3100+ RetailMotherboard: Chaintech VNF3-250
Price: CPU - $123 shipped (OEM). Motherboard - $80 shipped
There is a lot to be said for the overclocking value of an Athlon 64 2800+ or 3000+ combined with a 2nd Generation 754 board. However, a $140 to $175 processor is still more than some want to invest in a processor. This is why the Athlon XP continues to be top sellers. However, the new Sempron 3100+ for socket 754 changes that economics equation enough to shift our Alternative recommendation.
When AMD recently introduced the Sempron line of value processors, there was a little surprise hidden in the new Sempron line. The Sempron 3100+ was a Socket 754 CPU based on the Athlon 64 core. While it did not support 64-bit code and had half the cache of the popular 2800+, the Sempron 3100+ established a new low price of entry for the Athlon 64 architecture. It still has the defining on-chip memory controller and all the other great features of Athlon 64.
Please do not be confused by the silly number that AMD gave the Sempron. It is a 3100+ only compared to Celeron. The real performance is a notch below the Athlon 64 2800+. It runs at the same 1.8Ghz and has 256k of cache instead of the 512k of the 2800+. However, we have found the Sempron 3100+ to be a dynamite overclocker. On 3 different 754 boards, we reached 255 to 260 CPU settings at the stock multiplier of 9. A little quick math shows that the Sempron reached 2340MHz with ease at stock voltage. That means that it will run almost as fast as the top FX53/3800+/3700+, which operate at 2.4GHz. We're certain that more creative overclockers will reach even further with the 754 Sempron. At a price of $123, this certainly qualifies as a value overclocker!
If 64-bit capabilities and/or double the cache are important to you, then spend $20 more and buy the 2800+. The 2800+ has also developed quite a reputation as an excellent overclocker and you will find the $20 to be very well spent - returning great value for your additional investment.
You need a cheap Socket 754 board to house your Sempron 3100+, and it's nice that there's a cheap 754 board available that doesn't know that it is cheap. The Chaintech VNF3-250 is one of those rare boards that can be had for very little money, but behaves like it costs a lot of money. Put another way, the Chaintech VNF3-250 is based on the latest nVidia nForc3-250 family chipset. It uses the cheaper 250 member of the family, but it brings the really important features to the table. Most important, the overclocking controls are exemplary - as good as you will find on any 754 board except maybe the DFI LANParty UT. In our book, this combination spells overclocking value. The Chaintech has the stuff to squeeze whatever performance that your Sempron or 2800+ has waiting to be realized, and it will deliver that performance at a price that is kind to your budget.
We have recommended the Chaintech VNF3-250 in many Guides where we were looking for top performance at a low price. That's the reason it earned our Silver Editors Choice in a larger Socket 754 roundup.
For more information on the outstanding features and overclocking options available on the Chaintech, please take a closer look at our review of the Chaintech VNF3-250.
If you cannot find the lowest prices on the products that we've recommended on this page, it's because we don't list some of them in our RealTime pricing engine. Until we do, we suggest that you do an independent search online at the various vendors' web sites. Just pick and choose where you want to buy your products by looking for a vendor located under the "Vendor" heading.
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jeeptrkr - Friday, December 10, 2004 - link
Perfect timing and very infomative article. I'm looking to buy a MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum w/ an AMD 64 FX-55 cpu.How would Crucial Ballistix PC4000 2.5-4-4-8 compare to PC3200 2-2-2-5 on the MSI mb? Faster bandwidth ver tighter timings?
decptt - Thursday, September 30, 2004 - link
Thank you, Fink.I ran Athlon64 Mobile 3200 2.0@2.55 Vcore 1.8
I will drop to 10x250 vcore1.7 for safer :>
Ballistix run@ 1:1 2.5-4-4-8 (I don't want to set 2.5-3-3-5 like the review for make sure that it works fine)
I'll tell the testing result again.
P.S. I had reached to 10x260 V1.8, windows works but Prime95 doens't work stable.
southernpac - Sunday, September 19, 2004 - link
Wesley,If Raid 1 is used (mirrowing), is the slow down negligble for a simulations gamer - or would it be noticable? Would the same be the case with 7,200 rpm SATA's?
I also notice that you listed the eVGA 6800, but the July High-End Guide listed the Gigabyte 6800 (Ultra). Have you noticed performance or manufacturing differences between the 6800 vendors?
The photo of the Crucial Ballistik PC3200 512 memory has a CL113V.X1 part number on it. I can't find that part number listed on the Crucial web site. ? Bill Mackay
thebluesgnr - Saturday, September 18, 2004 - link
This is one interesting article, but I wish it had the same idea of a "Value" system as other AT articles. The Value system of this guide is too much for me, here's what I came up with:AMD Athlon XP Mobile 2400+ 45W $77
ASRock K7V88 Raid $44
512MB (1 X 512MB) Corsair Value Select DDR400 CAS2.5 $79
128MB GeCube Radeon 9550XT $99
Antec SLK3700-BQE Black ATX Midtower w/ 350W PSU $90
Seagate 80GB 7200RPM SATA (8Mb Cache) – ST380013AS $71
HSF not included, total of $460.
One could change that system to a Chaintech VNF3-250 + Sempron 3100+, but I would rather upgrade the video card first.
PrinceGaz - Saturday, September 18, 2004 - link
#25 Wesley Fink- its great to hear a Value RAM roundup is being planned, listening to and where necessary addressing your readers comments is one of the main reasons AT is such a valuable website.Gholam - Saturday, September 18, 2004 - link
You have a mistake on page 13 - you list CM Stacker as an all-aluminium case, while it definitely isn't. It has aluminium panels, but the chassis frame is made of steel. It also weighs 14.9kg... ouch. On the other hand, there is no other case where ducting the PSU is as easy...Wesley Fink - Saturday, September 18, 2004 - link
#24 - I mentioned in the Value conclusion that you can cut $300 by choosing a cheaper case and an ATI 9800 PRO instead. Perhaps I should make those recommendations part of the Value OC chart in the future.#22 - I recommended one 512MB stick of Crucial Ballistix to get the cost down on the lowest priced system and still have great overclocking. We do plan a Value RAM roundup in the future.
cnq - Saturday, September 18, 2004 - link
Wesley,Keep up the good work!
Only nit is that like last time, you "forgot" (maybe it was intentional) to present a value video card. The price of the video card stuck out like a sore thumb in the summary pricing table for the value system!
The power requirements are ugly, but consider putting the 9800pro in the summary table for the value system next time. Until the X700XT and 6600GT's come out (and in AGP), you can't do better for $190. [Or at least you could have downshifted from a 6800GT to a 6800 to save a hundred bucks on the value system.]
ksherman - Friday, September 17, 2004 - link
you know what would kick arse? doing comparison tests! Compare all the different rigs you guys reccomend and see who the winners are. i.e. Performance OC vs your high end setup etc.PrinceGaz - Friday, September 17, 2004 - link
I really don't know why anyone here is so keen on the Sempron 3100+. You'd be a fool to buy one when the A64 2800+ is available at only a slightly higher cost, has twice the L2 cache, and most importantly 64-bit support. Anyone who buys a Sempron 3100+ today will regret it in a year or two when x86-64 Windows is supported.If you only keep a CPU for a year or so though, it makes even less sense getting something like the Sempron 3100+ with hopes of high overclocks unless you like always having an overclocked substandard processor.
The non-high end memory issue is important and really needs to be covered, CAS 2.5 modules form the likes of Corsair are available at very competitive prices compared to CAS 2 modules. We need an article that looks at CAS 2.5 and also CAS 3 PC3200 modules from the major manufacturers so we can see how far they overclock, and at what voltages and timings. Most people don't buy CAS2 modules unless they're getting a top of the range CPU (2.4 GHz A64 or 3.2+ GHz Prescott), so if you look at an A64 3200+, you need to look at the memory most people will use with it.