Hi all,after a buddy of mine recently upgraded his system to an Athlon XP 2800, I became curious as to how far I could upgrade my system. I got a 1st revision ASUS A7N8X main board which had been running on the 1.006 BIOS since last autumn, and so I checked the ASUS web site for this information. Now, I just saw I could go as far as to an Athlon XP 3200 with 400 MHz FSB, provided I had at least a version 1.04 PCB - which I have, since I couldn't have run my current XP 2500 without this - and 1.004 BIOS, which I also had. Just to be sure, I just flashed it to version 1.007 anyway.Now, what I'd like to know is whether I would actually see a significant performance boost if I were to swap my XP 2500 for a 3200. I'm asking since my memory is only good for 333 MHz - as is my CPU - , and I currently can't likely afford both a new CPU and memory.Looking forward to all opinions! :D

Even if you were to spend the money on a new CPU and memory the FSB of the 1.04 boards is still 333. So, going to the 3000 Barton (@400 Mhz) and PC3200, you'd still be stuck with the 333 Mhz FSB.If you bought that 2500 Barton before last fall chances are it is one manufactured to run like a scalded cat! A very good CPU. I recommend you overclock it to see what it can give you. You might have to invest in a top quality CPU cooler, but that will be alot cheaper that a new CPU and/or memory.Hope this helps,Greg

Indead upgrading from a 2500+ BARTON to a 3200+ BARTON is in every case useless. Then it

Greg:Hmm, the way I read the information from the ASUS site, the more recent BIOS versions actually enable 400 MHz FSB even on the 1st revision boards...so, basically, I could apparently go for all-400 MHz FSB equipment. However, I'm not sure whether 400 MHz FSB would give me that much of an edge over my current 333. Alternatively, I'm thinking I could also go for a XP 3000 with 333 MHz FSB, which could be more appropriate for my overall setup.As for OCing, I bought the XP 2500 almost exactly one year ago. Are you saying the ones manufactured at that time were somehow different from later ones?P

"...the more recent BIOS versions actually enable 400 MHz FSB even on the 1st revision boards..."Hmmm... I don't know about that. I'm not so sure that a BIOS change will offer an increased FSB. Easiest way to make sure (now that you've upgraded to the 1006 BIOS) is to check the BIOS itself. If it doesn't show a 200 Mhz FSB option then the new BIOS doesn't offer such an upgrade. I'd be surprised if it's possible, but if it is then you definately have more options."As for OCing, I bought the XP 2500 almost exactly one year ago. Are you saying the ones manufactured at that time were somehow different from later ones?"Yes, they were unlocked... and fly like rockets! That is a very good CPU you have there. Overclock it, watch what it can do for you, and listen to it giggle and snicker at 3000+ Barton's (which is the CPU I have on my Rev 2.0 board).If I were you I'd be looking seriously at that aftermarket CPU cooler solution. You have a gem of a CPU there... take care of it.Regards,Greg

Well Dominik, I stand corrected about the BIOS upgrade enabling a 400 Mhz FSB on your 1.04 board. I went here http://www.nforcershq.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=13 and studied the various BIOS options... seems the 400 FSB has been enabled for your board since BIOS 1004.Evenso, given the processor you now own I still recommend that you see what it can give you in overclocking before buying a new CPU. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised... maybe even shocked!Cheers,Greg

>Greg:>>Hmm, the way I read the information from the ASUS site, the>more recent BIOS versions actually enable 400 MHz FSB even on>the 1st revision boards...so, basically, I could apparently go>for all-400 MHz FSB equipment. However, I'm not sure whether>400 MHz FSB would give me that much of an edge over my current>333. Alternatively, I'm thinking I could also go for a XP 3000>with 333 MHz FSB, which could be more appropriate for my>overall setup.>>As for OCing, I bought the XP 2500 almost exactly one year>ago. Are you saying the ones manufactured at that time were>somehow different from later ones?>>>>P

Hmm, I just looked into the System Information section within 3DMark, and it shows me my CPU with an "Internal Clock Maximum" of 3 GHz :-eek . Is this what you were referring to?

"You may have the option to set the FSB to 200 but that mainboard is unlikely to be able to achieve it. The chipset itself isn

Right, thanks for this piece of advice. Guess this would be one of those gambles which work out better on some systems and worse on others?As for cooling, my current CPU fan (standard AMD model which came with the CPU) keeps the processor between roughly 40 to 45

"Could I try cranking up my CPU even with this particular fan and be on the safe side?"You could, but the overclock wouldn't yield as much.In order to get the CPU up into the range where it can probably operate (2.2-2.3Ghz) you'll need to increase the CPU voltage much higher than standard. Doing this will increase the heat and require better cooling.Give it a shot with the stock cooler and see what that puppy will do. Just keep in mind that you'll be able to achieve a higher overclock with a better cooling solution.GregP.S. I wouldn't allow the CPU to spend much time at 60C or above. They're tough, but there's little reason to run them at high temps when there are some really good aftermarket cooling options. Motherboard Monitor (freeware and easily found via Google)is the software of choice to keep track of temps (and many other things happening in your system). Don't use the ASUS Probe software... it can be wildly inaccuate (depending upon the BIOS and board).

Actually it

Greg,I just installed MBM 5, selected the included configuration for the A7N8X and found it will display three temp readings by default - Case, CPU Diode and CPU Socket. The readouts for each of these is 45, 52 and 30

Sorry for posting a separate reply, but I couldn't edit my previous posting anymore. Considering all that was mentioned in this thread until now, I found myself regressing to a plan I'd actually made some time ago, but which I had shelved for some reason or other. I've been suspecting that my old PC case might be another reason for my CPU getting rather warm, since it is rather small - even for a Midi-sized tower - and has no mounting place for additional cooling fans. Thus, I just ordered a new PC case along with a new CPU fan (the one from Zalman P

Good choice really. You are right about exactly everything you mention really. Just don