Socket A processor choosing

[truffles]

ello ello, =/

I recently bought a new motherboard ... the motherboard i bought is the famous ECS K7S5A with the cool SIS 735 chipset.
It is a socket A motherboard . . . and i was wondering what processor should i go along and buy. I hope to buy soon . . . because each day it becomes harder and harder to find . . . I really am really short on money because i spent most on other parts already. I am 11 years old . . . i really don't need the power you expect me to have. I am concidering on the AMD Athlon TB 950 mhz processor . . . i checked the manual for my m/b and it supports it. It would be an OEM cpu . . . and i will buy a thermatake CPU CHROME ORB.

Any comments on my decision . . . i know this question has popped up millions of times . . . each is different . . . depending on situations . . . well ? i really don't want to go wrong !!!

Thanks,

Truffles

 

[Ravellidar]

Duron consideration

Great processor, but for merely 8 more dollars(US) you could get a Duron 1.1Ghz and get better performance than you would than with the T-bird 950. Check out these links for info.

http://www.pricewatch.com

http://www.athlonmb.com/article-display.php?ArticleID=44

http://www.hardocp.com/articles/amd/ciwsdvstbird1.html

http://www.tech-report.com/reviews/2000q4/athlon-vs-duron/

 

[PanicX]

Basically, for an AMD chip, get the best you can afford, for the most part, their priced in order of performance, for what I've seen.

However, be sure to get a quality heatsink and thermal grease. You may want to reconcider the Chrome Orb as I believe their not the greatest for an AMD system. And as for thermal grease, currently Artic Silver III is the favorite among enthusiasts.

 

[uncleel]

ELITEGROUP ECS K7S5A rev 1.1 rev. 3.0 010921
will support an Athy XP. I'd save up for that. L2 Cache means everything.
Reasonably priced
http://www.3dspotlight.com/prices.shtml
Palomino Athlon XP 1700+ (1.47Ghz, 256KB, 266Mhz, Socket A) - AXP1700OEM $112.00

AMD Thermal Solutions
AMD Thermal Solutions

Cooler wise, I'd suggest the Thermaltake Volcano 7
& Artic SilverII thermal compound http://www.arcticsilver.com/

 

[Supra]

I agree with uncleel. You should just save up and get an Athlon XP. Its well worth it since you have a mobo to support it.

-------------------------------------------------------
Duron 750@1000, Epox 8KTA3, 256Mb PC133, 30Gb WD HDD, GeForce2 Pro 200/400

 

[Rick]

If I remember correctly, Truffles is a young lad who's really short on cash and doesn't do a massive amount of gaming. There's no reason to splurge on an XP if you don't need it.

I would suggest getting that 1.1Ghz Duron because of a few reasons. It's plenty fast for whatever you will do for it for a long time and it will generate less heat per/Mhz so you can save on your heatsink and fan too.

I recommend a good heatsink/fan in any case, but if you are on a tight budget as always, you might be able to cut some corners and get something adequate without breaking the wallet open with a sledgehammer.

Try a search engine like www.google.com and type in something like, "CPU cooler roundup" so you can find some comparisons. I know www.anandtech.com , www.dansdata.com and this site have some exhaustive articles on heatsink comparisons. You should check them out.

 

[young&wild]

Originally posted by Rick
1.1Ghz Duron

I 'm sure you will be pleased with it once you are using it, its good value!!!!

 

[paulla]

Duron = Cheap & OK Performance

Old Athlon = Not so cheap & Better Perfomance

Athlon XP = Moderate Price & Excellent Performance

However if you've not got good DDR memory, graphics card, hard drive, etc. you're going to limit any advantages of the faster processors.

Watch out for the BSOD if you're running WindowsXP and a Geforce and use the latest AGP update for the K7S5A (1.09) and Detonator 27.42 or you'll be watching that fatal error screen a lot (trust me I've been there!).

Paul

Athon 950, A7V-E, 512MB PC133, 30GB 75GXP, Geforce 2 GTS PRO 64MB, SB Live.

 

[Th3M1ghtyD8]

I would go for a Duron 1Ghz+, as I have just built a 1Ghz Duron PC for a friend and was impressed with the performance of such a cheap chip.

 

[truffles]

ello ello, =)

How are you all ?

I just came back . . . sorry i have been a little busy doing a little school work . . . school is getting harder =( . . . and im only in grade 5 . . . haha this is not good . . .


well . . . i came back from my local retailer pc shop . . . i bought an oem duron @ 1.2 ghz . . . w/ coolmaster fan that supports up to 1.8 . . . i believe its plenty . . . i had to ask my mom for some extra money . . . but she was not very angry . . .

i can't believe . . . but it is the slowest speed available . . . ERR !!!

store keeper = "Sorry, too slow . . . way to slow"

I believe what i want is pretty speedy already . . . geesh . ..

i haven't installed it yet . . . and i hope i can . . . or else i have to ask for help . . . =/ and pay =(

RICK ~~> wow . . . good memory . . . !!

thats about it . . . thanks thanks

TRUFFLES

 

[ldogg]

Installing a processor isn't too hard, just make sure that you get good thermal grease like arctic silver, and if the heatsink has a thermal pad on it already or something like that don't use it becuase they are terrible. The way you grease up your processor thermally is very important for heat transfer, and Artic Silver explains how to do it very clearly here: http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions.htm

Personally I would not pay anyone to put together anything in my computer, because there are so many people that don't know what they're are doing, and you can't be sure anythings done right unless you do it yourself.

 

[eddy05]

A friend who uses K7S5A

My friend uses AMD and I used Intel (We are heads on)

On his ECS K7S5A, he had an Athlon XP 1700+ (1.47ghz) installed. He was happy like anything. He had upgrading his computer from a K6-2 350mhz PC, guess thats why he's darn impressed. I heard that it is a very good motherboard - even better than the KT266A, so I guess compatibility shouldn't be any problems. I've attached a picture on his computer's specs, you can take a look at it.