Well, my 2500+ is up and running

[Juan Sanchez]

I installed windows XP and I told myself to let the system run at stock speeds for at least a week but I couldn't control myself. After the install I went into the BIOS and set the FSB to 200MHZ essentially making my 2500+ a 3200+. I ran 3DMark03 fine with the stock voltage. I ran a ton of stuff with stock voltage. Then I ran Command and Conquer Generals and it dumped me back to the desktop. No problem, I reset the system went into the Bios and upped the voltage to 1.7 (I heard the NF7-S undervolts anyway and at 1.7 in the BIOS I have Sandra telling me the Voltage is 1.68 which I guess is pretty low) Oh and the best part is that the TEMP after playing UT2K3, C&C:Generals, 3Dmark03 and 2001 and installing a bunch of software (nero, PowerDVD etc) is just 41C. When the system is idle the temp is 36C!!! I love this BARTON!!!!!Anyway Here are my system specs I'll post Pics of the system and of the temps and fps soon (btw in 3dmark 2001 many of the tests ran at 300fps which I have never seen before )

Athlon XP 2500+ @ 3200+
Abit NF7-S Motherboard
Kingston Hyper X PC3200 DDR-512 MB DUAL Channel
Vantec Aeroflow HSF
ATI Radeon 9500 Pro (to be replaced by 9800 XT-128MB)
Lite-On 16xDVD-ROM (Black)
Lite-On 52x32x52 CD-RW (Black)
Sony Floppy Drive
Seagate 120GB 7200 RPM Harddrive w/8MB cache
2xCoolermastet Blue front fans
1xAntec fan in the Rear
Antec Performance II case w/350watt psu

My only ish is that I heard alot of peeps w/simular systems to mine have it post as "Athlon XP 3200+" and I get Athlon XP 2200 MHZ, which I don't mind because I get the same performace Its just that peeps who know little will think that all I have is an Athlon XP 2200+ when infact it is MUCH MORE. Any If you read this thanks for taking the time, I'm just ecstatic that I basically got a $400 for only $90.

Peace out

[RamonGTP]

Hmmm, not sure about that 2200 display at post... Possibly something a BIOS flash may be able to fix?

[tgxiii]

How did you get all of that for $90?! The processor alone costs that much.

[Juan Sanchez]

Thats what I meant!!!! The processor cost me $90 not the whole system, after the 9800XT my system would of cost me about $950 not $90 lol, that would of been the deal of the century if I got this thing for $90

[Dj-Icer]

Is the shop open the next day?

[beppodmime]

Not to sure about that 2200MHz at post, either. I'm going to go with Ramon on this one, and suggest checking for a more recent BIOS. If it even bothers you enough to warrant flashing the BIOS. But, you could turn the multiplier up another notch, and see about getting 2300MHz out of it. Nothing like free MHz, though, is there? You might have to juice it up a bit more to get that stable, though, but if you have headroom with the heat, you may want to try, if not but for a little while.

Nice system, and nice overclock, too. Makes me wish sometimes that I went for the 2500+ instead of the more expensive 2800+, but I wanted to make sure it would do at least 2 GHz, and I bought mine when they were first released.

Also, I've never had experience with the Abit boards, how was yours to set up? Any quirks getting it going?

[Juan Sanchez]

No quirks at all. It's humming along nicely right now. I heard about issues from early NF7-S' when it came to OCing (any Rev. before 2.0 would have its BIOS die if you overclocked it but I guess Abit fixxed it for Rev. 2.0 and on). Also the HSF is very very solid, checking my temps now and it's at 32.5C. The case was easy to work with and the way I routed the cables would make Voodoo's systems look like an embarasment (I like Voodoo, just making my self sound good, can't wait to install the digital camera software)

[jmichna]

Originally posted by Juan Sanchez
...My only ish is that I heard alot of peeps w/simular systems to mine have it post as "Athlon XP 3200+" and I get Athlon XP 2200 MHZ, which I don't mind because I get the same performace Its just that peeps who know little will think that all I have is an Athlon XP 2200+ when infact it is MUCH MORE....

I too have just installed a Barton... in my EPoX 8K3A+ mobo.

The default multiplier for the 2500 is 11.0, so at FSB 200mHz x 11.0 = 2200mHz, which is what BIOS reports... this is expected.

A Barton "XP3200+" is the performance rating, not the CPU's actual speed. A Barton XP3200 is actually running at 2200mHz (200mHz fsb x 11.0).

Maybe your mobo has a BIOS update you can flash so you get that POST "eye candy" The latest BIOS for my mobo just says "2200mHz" sheesh

[Juan Sanchez]

I know that my friend, I just happen to like eye candy Glad to hear other peeps have the same "problem" as me...he he he... oh well, I hope this set up keeps me happy till the Athlon64 comes down to reasonable levels (as in $90 for the CPU and $120 for a Via KT800 based board) prolly this time next year, heres hoping.......