Socket A: Athlon Thoroughbred 2600+

[Fozzer]

Hello Chums...

Gigabyte Socket A Motherboard: GA-7N400S-L
AMD Athlon Thoroughbred Socket A (462 pin) Processor: 2600+ (The fastest in the "Thoroughbred" range!)



At present my Bus speed defaults to 166MHz (in BIOS) which give me a processor speed of approx 2.1 GHz
Can I safely increase my Bus speed to 200MHz, in BIOS.
(Note the photo on the right)

...and if so, what would be my resulting Processor speed..?

I don't want to risk damaging it, because they are almost irreplaceable now, and like gold-dust!

Any suggestions?......!

Cheers all...!!

Paul...Socket to me Baby!... ...!

[ctjoyce]

Well Fozz, this all depends on what memory and cooling you have. You could push that baby to 3Ghz under correct circumstances, however with a FSB of 200, you could get 12.5

Cheers
Cameron

[Fozzer]

Well Fozz, this all depends on what memory and cooling you have. You could push that baby to 3Ghz under correct circumstances, however with a FSB of 200, you could get 12.5

Cheers
Cameron

...well here you are Cameron....

Memory details:
184 pin, DDR 400 MHz, PC3200....>>>>



So...What do you reckon...Is my Processor suitable for reliably running on a 200 MHz FSB speed, instead of 166 MHz?
In other words, was it designed to run on a 200 MHZ FSB, reliably..?

I don't want to over-clock it past the Manufacturers recommended speed!!

Maybe I am actually running it SLOWER than it's recommended speed..??

Cheers...!!

Paul.... 8-)...!

[ctjoyce]

You could probably do a 180Mhz FSB and still be safe.

Cheers
Cameron

[ATI_7500]

Erm...AFAIK my old 2700+ was also a T-Bred. And the 2800+ was as well...

[Fozzer]

..... ....

No one has come up with the answer yet, as to whether the AMD Thoroughbred 2600+ was designed to run as standard, on either a 133 or 166 or 200 MHz Bus speed, in BIOS, with the resulting differences in Processor output speed...?

...anyone...?

Paul...Socket A Rules.... ...!

P.S. Out of interest, over a number of years and a couple of Gigabyte Socket "A" mother board upgrades, I am still using my original OEM Socket "A", AMD 2600+ Processor with no problems whatsoever.....runs fast and cool... 8-)...!

I have only had to upgrade my AGP Graphics Cards to cope with the more demanding Games,etc...

...my present one being the last of the AGP Cards, the  Leadtek Winfast nVidia G-Force 7800GS...

...after that its a total, expensive, complete change over to a AMD/PCIe set-up... ... ... ...!

[ATI_7500]

Wikipedia is your best friend...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amd_athlon ... 8T-Bred.29


As Cameron said, if your cooling is good enough, you can overclock it.
Check your temperatures. If your CPU is below 55

[richardd43]

The 2600 will run just fine at 200 FSB. That was the standard OC when most of us were still running socket A, but it does require some extra cooling.

[congo]

Cooling was the problem alright, those babies get to 58-60*C and they don't like it higher in my experience.

I don't think it will hurt to try Fozzer, all my socket a cpu's wouldn't reach 200mhz stable, but I was on stock cooling and didn't know what I was doing properly then, and my bios's were weak.

The 3200+ was the only socket A designed for 200mhz. (there was apparently a mythical 3000+ as well with a 200mhz fsb, but I never located one in the flesh.)

My 2600+ Thoroughbred was a real hottie, it would crash at 63*C - 65*C, I had more success with the 2800+ Bartons.

[Brett_Henderson]

Fozz is peeking in at the dark side.....

[GunnerMan]

On a side note Congo what is your max clock on the sandie and what stepping?

[congo]

Thanks Brett

[Rifleman]

I know how you feel Paul, with not wanting to kill what seems to be a "rare" processor now........by my specs you can see that I'm in the same boat as you are ('cept I run Socket 754). I have been running about a 5% overclock for the past 6 months now ....temps are very good under load with stock cooling.......mine normally runs 2.4 gHz and has been fine at 2511-2515 with normal idle temps of 38.5C while online as I write this note now. While not as good as the 90 micron technology in the Socket 939, I feel the improvement of the speed by overclocking is OK, considering I have less info paths on the 754 and limited by the 130 micron tech.  I could go for more, but I have no idea where I'd be able to get another Athlon 64 3700+ ?

[Fozzer]

I know how you feel Paul, with not wanting to kill what seems to be a "rare" processor now........by my specs you can see that I'm in the same boat as you are ('cept I run Socket 754). I have been running about a 5% overclock for the past 6 months now ....temps are very good under load with stock cooling.......mine normally runs 2.4 gHz and has been fine at 2511-2515 with normal idle temps of 38.5C while online as I write this note now. While not as good as the 90 micron technology in the Socket 939, I feel the improvement of the speed by overclocking is OK, considering I have less info paths on the 754 and limited by the 130 micron tech.  I could go for more, but I have no idea where I'd be able to get another Athlon 64 3700+ ?

Hello Ken....!

Like you I am quite proud of my little processor.... ... ... ....

...My Socket A, AMD 2600 XP Thoroughbred!....... ...!!

It automatically defaults to run at a 166 MHz Bus speed to give me about 2.1 GHz...

Increasing the 166 FSB in BIOS slightly, to speed it up a bit, sometimes causes a lock-up, and a successful re-boot involves clocking the Motherboard back to 100MHZ again.... ...!

At the mo' my processor is running a 64*C (145*F) just working my 2D desktop....
...goodness knows what it's temperature is when a running a complex 3D Game (Stalker)... ...!

I recheck my thermal compound every now and again to make sure it is applied correctly but it has no effect in reducing the temperature...My heat sink is a large Copper block, with large aluminium fins, and a variable speed fan.
None of my local stores stock Arctic Silver 5 thermal compound, which I wanted to try out to reduce the temperature.
Quite what a difference a few "speed cycles" more would make to the overall performance, I don't know, but I really don't want to risk destroying the 2600....'cos there are no more left in the World... ...!

LOL... ...!

Paul....getting all hot and bothered... ...!

P.S. My room temperature averages 68-72*F.....
...if I sit very still... ...!

[ATI_7500]

At the mo' my processor is running a 64*C (145*F) just working my 2D desktop....

Uh-oh...

Time for a good cleaning and/or a new CPU cooler.