Overclocking Buyer's Guide - September 2004

CPU and Motherboard: VALUE OC Alternatives

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 Sempron 3100+ Retail
Motherboard: 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 2^nd 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.