configuration prob

[rubel 0]

 

as i have decided to build a new system with amd processor i've found some problems on it... what is the difference between AMD ATHLON XP and AMD SEMPRON ? what should i buy amd athlon xp 2200+ or amd athlon sempron 2200+ ?

 

mother board: asus A7V8X-X via KT400 chipset...

[blackpage 0]

Howdy rubel

 

What CPU you might be better off depends on what you plan to do with your box. Semprons are the "castrated" version AMDs regular desktop-CPUs which means their cache size is reduced. As a general formula you can say that the larger the caches are, the better the processor performs. If you plan to only do word-processing, a bit of OO-calc and the like, you will be fine with a Sempron.

 

If you plan to play games or do something that requires CPU-power (GIMP-filters, audio-processing, and everything that is "3D", like Blender) then the Sempron is a lame duck. In more detail ...

 

XP vs. SEMPRON

In your case we have the following situation:

 

Cache size

Though the cache on the Sempron 2200 you suggest is reduced, it is still just as large as the cache on the (very) old Athlon XP 2200+. Both models are in access of 256kB secondary cache. So in this discipline botch CPUs score likewise.

 

CPU core

As I said, the Athlon 2200+ is quite an old piece of technology that - these days - comes in two versions: one with the "Thorton"-core and one with the "Thoroughbred A"-core. The Sempron 2200 has the newer "Thoroughbred-B"-core. A clear plus for the Sempron.

 

Front Side Bus (FSB)

The XP 2200 is only capable of running with an FSB of 133MHz (this is the frequency the motherboard applies to the CPU; as the data-transfers between bus and CPU run in "double data rate"-mode the FSB speed is normally doubled for marketing reasons. In our case the FSB would be specified as "266MHz").

 

The Sempron 2200 is capable of running at 166MHz ("333"MHz) which is consequently a lot faster. In this round the Sempron again outscores the XP2200+ again.

 

Motherboard <-> CPU interlink

The mobo you name has the old KT400 chipset and is therefore from a "different era" when "Sempron" probably wasn't even registered as trademark. Though the Sempron hasn't any one of the newer AMD technologies (as AMD has disabled or left out all the fancy things like on-chip-memory controller or HyperTransport), I would not swear that the KT400 and a Sempron work together in an optimal way. Though chances ain't bad they actually do.

 

Summary

The XP2200+ is not to be considered "contemporary" anymore. It's a reliable, but old cpu that misses quite some features and processing power.

 

The Sempron is a new CPU, but still, the lack of good cache-sizes reduces the spectrum of tasks it can do well quite significantly.

 

My suggestion

If it's anyhow possible, get yourself at least a modern processor and maybe a modern mobo too. If you want a real "powerhouse", I'd recommend the Athlon XP3000+ with "Barton" core which has twice as much cache (512kB) as the Sempron, runs at up to 200MHz ("400"MHz) FSB and computes circles around any Sempron. Disadvantage: more expensive (~$130). If you are lucky (you need to check that) you can still use this CPU in your KT400-mobo if you choose the 166/333FSB-version of the XP3000.

 

hope that sorted a few things out