Mobile Barton 2500 - owners and wannabe owners...

wumpus · Post by **wumpus** » Fri Feb 27, 2004 8:25 am

for what it's worth, Tech Report got 2.4ghz stable out of the XP-M 2500+ just like me-- 2.5ghz was not workable.

http://www.tech-report.com/reviews/2004 ... dex.x?pg=1

2.4ghz is still pretty good for a 1.8 chip, I'm not knocking that, but I think 3ghz is a little crazy, and 2.7ghz is a long shot.

kie · Post by **kie** » Fri Feb 27, 2004 9:15 am

first of all a good reference page for the amd cpu's can be found here:
http://myplc.com/sony/docs/amd_processor_reference.html

my system is prime95 stable (for several hours at least)
haven't tried memtest because I don't have a floppy drive installed and prime95 does a good job of checking the memory anyway.

the stepping of mine is
AXMH2500FQQ4C
AQZFA 0340VPAW

The most I've seen with good air cooling is 2.7GHz, however with extreme phase cooling people manage 3GHz regularly - which I admit is quite crazy from a 1.8GHz chip

wumpus · Post by **wumpus** » Fri Feb 27, 2004 8:36 pm

Yeah, prime95 is pretty much all I use. I don't know if you've looked at the latest versions but they let you choose from several new "Torture Test" modes, some of which stress the memory more.

The great thing about prime95 is you find out as quickly as possible if the cpu/mem is stable. 8 hour burn in is always best, but when trying to settle on what is workable, I want a quick yes/no on stability..

Seal · Post by **Seal** » Mon Mar 01, 2004 4:06 am

Yeah im very interested in buying one of these chips if they are availiable in the uk!!!

According to amd specs the chip is rated at 1.25v although i think the reason why you guys say minimum is 1.45 is because desktop motherboards arent designed to supply cpu voltages as low as 1.25, their minumum is often 1.45v.

Also on a laptop, the voltage supplied to the cpu is variable on load so im assuming 1.25 is at idle.

This threads been mostly based around overclocks, how does it perform temperature/silencing wise? Does the chip run quite cool?

kie · Post by **kie** » Mon Mar 01, 2004 4:25 am

there are a number of XP-M chips with different rated voltages.
check out my link in the post above

the 1.25V ones are not available to buy atm afaik
the 1.45V ones are though, from http://cpucity.co.uk

I can overclock the chip at 1.85V, low 50's at full load, with just a L1A on my thermalright heatsink. So you can obviously run at 1.45V or lower (remember these chips are selected for their low voltage performance) at very low temps - or with a L1A at 5V at normal temps.

PhilgB · Post by **PhilgB** » Mon Mar 01, 2004 7:58 am

After following kie's link, I noticed there are a few different types of mobile bartons. But their FSB is 266 compared to 333 of the desktop kind. Im not sure what the default multiplier is on these, but how successful have ppl been on running these at the same speed as the desktop model? (11X166) and at what voltage?

Also, is there any difference in the amount of cache on the mobile versions compared to the desktop version?

Thanks.

kie · Post by **kie** » Mon Mar 01, 2004 8:17 am

PhilgB wrote:After following kie's link, I noticed there are a few different types of mobile bartons. But their FSB is 266 compared to 333 of the desktop kind.

I think you're getting Front Side Bus (frequency) and Bus Frequency mixed up.
The XP-M 2500 runs at 133MHz FSB
The Barton 2500 runs at 166Mhz FSB

Im not sure what the default multiplier is on these, but how successful have ppl been on running these at the same speed as the desktop model? (11X166) and at what voltage?

The default multiplier on the XP-M 2500 is 14.
The XP-M 2500 will easily do 11X166 (they happily run at 12x200 and beyond)
Mine does 11.5x200 at 1.65V

Also, is there any difference in the amount of cache on the mobile versions compared to the desktop version?.

No

wumpus · Post by **wumpus** » Mon Mar 01, 2004 9:20 am

My 2500+ XP-M chip stabilized somewhat at 1.85v @ 2400mhz. Looks like 2.4ghz at ~1.8v is "typical", but not outstanding

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php? ... genumber=1

My chip still runs rather hot, using AX-7 and 3200rpm 80mm fan (moderate noise), I get 55c idle and 65c load.

Seal · Post by **Seal** » Mon Mar 01, 2004 10:28 am

hmmm, when would the 1.25v of the chip be out in uk? id be more interested in that one for silencing and temperatures rather than higher oc.

PhilgB · Post by **PhilgB** » Mon Mar 01, 2004 12:06 pm

Anyone in canada still able to find these? I only found one place and theres a waiting line for ordering as well as soaring prices... ($160CAD)
Is AMD going to continue making them? Why are they so scarce?

aston · Post by **aston** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 1:15 am

PhilgB, these are the places I know that have them, or at least used to have them:

www.ncix.com
www.vibecomputers.com
www.bigfootcomputers.com

All very reputable stores.

I bought a IQZFA stepping from NCIX. It's holding stable at 12x200MHz at 1.775v in the BIOS (which, according to MBM, is actually 1.73v, so go figure. I have an Abit NF7-S motherboard).

My load temps were 63C at first, but I reseated the Zalman 7000A heatsink and temps dropped to 59C. Resting the case on its side drops the temps to 57C, for some weird, weird reason. This was a few days ago... now it's at 54C. I can only guess that the thermal paste is settling, or the chip is being burned in, or something.

kie · Post by **kie** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 2:25 am

the abit nf7-s is known to undervolt the VCore compared to the bios settting - so you're seeinbg what every nf7-s owner sees.

it also overvolts the memory slightly

you can see the real voltages in mb monitor

aston · Post by **aston** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 2:29 am

Yeah, I suspected as much. I saw someone else mention this in the Mobile Barton thread at ocforums.

Good to know that I have a relatively decent chip... 2.4GHz @ 1.73v isn't too bad.

I wish it wasn't so damn hot, though... I have this feeling my chip is hotter than most.

[edit]2.2GHz should be 2.4GHz[/edit]

kie · Post by **kie** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 2:39 am

which week have you got ? or do you know the full stepping code?
the humbers so the year and week, e.g. 0343 = 2003, week 43

I'm surprised you need so much voltage to 2.3 though, mine is happy doing 2.3 @ 1.65V and I don't have a very good stepping

aston · Post by **aston** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 2:43 am

IQZFA, 0349.

And sorry, that 2.2GHz I posted earlier should read 2.4GHz. It might go a bit higher, but I haven't tested... I just jumped up to 2.5GHz, but it wasn't stable even at 1.93v (BIOS setting). Maybe it'll play nice at 2.5GHz now that it's had some time to burn in.... Of course, I probably won't run it at that high a voltage. It's gotta be silent, after all.

kie · Post by **kie** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 2:49 am

lol - ok that's much better

You have one of the nice steppings, with the right cooling I'd imagine you'd be able to go to 2.7 on air!

spacey · Post by **spacey** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 7:34 am

i got my xp-m 2500+ from bigfootcomputers.com its an IQZFA 0349, being cooled by a zalman cnps7000a-cu @ 5v with artic silver 5. i'm currently running it at 218 x 11 = 2.4 ghz @ 1.75v.

its been running like this for a few days, pretty stable. temps are 50 deg idle and 58 load or so. if i want to go any faster, i need to increase the voltage by quite a bit, which makes things go into the mid 60s which i think is unncessary. i think the speed/temp/noise levels are optimized now.

PhilgB · Post by **PhilgB** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 8:24 am

How long ago did you get it spacey? It just went up another $15

I just sold my 2200 because I thought I was going to get one of these

I think Im going to have to live with this temp duron800 for a little longer...

dukla2000 · Post by **dukla2000** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 9:01 am

kie wrote:my system is prime95 stable (for several hours at least)
haven't tried memtest because I don't have a floppy drive installed and prime95 does a good job of checking the memory anyway.

Folks - can I strongly recommend the first test you do on any AMD processor is Memtest86 (v3.0), test 5. This test hammers the on chip L1 & L2 cache and if you have too much clock and/or too little VCore (and/or dismal cooling) it will show up in 3 minutes. An error in this test is 99.99% likely a problem with the cache/CPU and not the RAM. I am just RMAing an XP2500 that fails this test at stock settings (11*166 @ 1.65V) - the damn thing needed 1.70V to pass the test. Have a nasty suspicion it was a remarked XP2400 Thornton but lets see how the RMA progresses before I slag the vendor.

ISO images for memtest can be downloaded here so you can boot and run from CD. After you boot hit "c" to get config options, and select test 5. If you run 10 passes without error then worry about Prime stable.

And I will be really interested to see how the XP2500-M cope with this: my suspicion is that even 2.2G on air at 1.65V may be dodgy but I hope you'all prove me cynical!

NikoN · Post by **NikoN** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 11:57 am

Another vote for Memtest86, test 5. I also found it very sensitive to indicate heat/stability issues (especially with AMD Palominos).

aston · Post by **aston** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 12:27 pm

kie wrote:lol - ok that's much better

You have one of the nice steppings, with the right cooling I'd imagine you'd be able to go to 2.7 on air!

You think? From what (little) I've read over at ocforums, the IQYxx stepping (usually week 43) seems to do better.

I'm not really interested in feeding more than 1.75v to the chip... and I'd have to go substantially higher than that if I want to overclock it even a little bit more. I'm sure my Zalman 7000A-AlCu is capable of cooling it sufficiently, but even at 5v it's too loud for me... I'm loathe to run the fan any faster.

kie · Post by **kie** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 1:18 pm

just for the hell of it I had a play with memtest - my system is stable by memtest and pitest

However I found that a memtest stable system won't necessarily boot into windows...

------------------

aston - it's the week that matters most from what I've read, and it seems the week43 and later are all doing well.

2.4GHz at 1.75 is better than mine, which needs 1.8V to do 2.4GHz stable

marc999 · Post by **marc999** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 1:29 pm

I've just got a 2600+ mobile and I'm trying to figure out it's potential. I've decided to start at 2200 Mhz (11 x 200). I started at 1.575V (the lowest on my A7N8X-X) and have worked my way up. So far I can't get Prime 95 (Priority 10 in the program, and High in Task Manager) to pass 24 hrs and I'm at 1.675V now!! Temperatures are close or higher than my locked Barton at 1.725V. So things are not looking good so far. The only thing I can think of is that I'm running my RAM at 2-2-2-5, but that passed Memtest on my locked Barton. I hear the CPU can affect RAM timings etc. so maybe that's it. Cooling is an SP-97 with L1A Panaflow @~9V. I'll keep you guys posted.

P.S. - the guys at OC Forums seem to disaprove of OC'ed processors going above 50C at full load. Are you guys sure you're not running them too hot?

aston · Post by **aston** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 1:41 pm

marc999 wrote:P.S. - the guys at OC Forums seem to disaprove of OC'ed processors going above 50C at full load. Are you guys sure you're not running them too hot?

Overclocked processors are more sensitive to heat -- i.e. a CPU that runs stable at 65C at stock settings might not be stable at that temp if overclocked.

As long as your CPU is stable, I don't think going over 50C really matters.

kie · Post by **kie** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 1:56 pm

well I reckon it's a matter of personal choice

the XP-M2500 has a max temp of 100C according to AMD

At full load i'm at low 50's and thats below my working limit of 60C so I'm happy

wumpus · Post by **wumpus** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 2:30 pm

Overclocked processors are more sensitive to heat -- i.e. a CPU that runs stable at 65C at stock settings might not be stable at that temp if overclocked.

As long as your CPU is stable, I don't think going over 50C really matters.

Totally agree, this is 100% consistent with all my overclocking experiences.. if it's stable at max temp in Prime95, it's stable forever, as long as you're comfortable with that number.

wowy · Post by **wowy** » Tue Mar 02, 2004 11:10 pm

I got my XP-M 2400+ a few days ago, and my new heatsink just arrived today. So far I've gotten it to run at 2.5 GHz @ 1.9V without any problems (really about 1.87V, as my Abit NF7-S undervolts as stated previously on this forum). 2.6 GHz at 2.03 seemed ok, but I was a little worried with that high a voltage. Maybe after a few days at 2.5 I'll try again. With temps topping out at 50c after hours at full load, I'm really not that concerned at the moment. For $86 US from NewEgg.com, I think this has been one of my best purchases yet.

Wowy

PhilgB · Post by **PhilgB** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 4:14 am

If I dont plan on overclocking, will I be just as satisfied with the XP-M 2400? Its a few bucks cheaper and might be easier to get...

kie · Post by **kie** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 5:29 am

if you're getting a XP-M 2400, just make sure it's one with a barton core (not a thoroughbred)

also when you say not overclocking, do you mean that you want a cool/low voltage chip? what are your priorities exactly?

marc999 · Post by **marc999** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 9:11 am

Hmm, so maybe I won't worry if it climbs above 50, as long as it's Prime stable. Even if the processor only lasts two years, that's fine with me. It'll be time to upgrade by then anyway (now the question is, can I last two years without an upgrade?).

Anyway, I think my processor may not be as crappy as I thought. After failing last night at 1.725V (2200Mhz) I figured my chip can't be that bad unless it's defective. So I decided, even though my old chip passed Memtest at 2-2-2-5 200Mhz FSB, maybe this chip can't (you wouldn't think it would not be CPU dependent, only RAM and chipset). Anyway, I relaxed the timings and this morning it was still Priming (well it bloody well should with an SP-97 and L1A at 12V with 1.725V!!!!).

Like I said, I will keep ya'll posted.