AMD Sempron 2500+ and MSI K8MM-V

[The_YongGrand]

Okay - this is my first review - a Sempron 2500+ and the MSI K8MM-V.

Let's start with my MSI K8MM-V:

A month ago, I bought a set of Sempron 2500+ (SDA2500BXBOX) and a MSI K8MM-V in a shop. Great price for a budget system I think - around 100 dollars for all of them.

Back home, I ripped out the dusty old KM4M motherboard with my Athlon XP inside and put my K8MM-V into the casing - it fits perfectly! The layout and the size remains the same!

Then I finished assembling the system, and to my horrors the system won't boot up! After three hours of tinkering, I discovered that the manual book has an error - the reset CMOS jumper is printed wrongly. Finally I got it started flawlessly and the rest of them works perfectly. No glitch whatsoever - it's so good!

Well, the contents of the box is very good - they have included a CD full of drivers, and a SATA diskette incase one has a SATA HDD. On top of that, they include a SATA Cable, FDD Cable, an 80-wire HDD IDE Cable and a Molex to SATA power adapter. I can say that the contents of the box are very complete - great for people who want to build a first budget rig and gaining experience in system-building.

Also, this board supports a variety of Socket 754 processors - and including the Turion (I haven't tested this thing out - I bet it'll work) and for those who like to turn on the computer all day long without frying the processor or burning the electricity bills - good news - they have included the Cool 'n Quiet function as well. (C n Q function is only supported in AMD Sempron 3000+ and above)

The intergrated video processor is not as good as a Geforce 4 MX series, but for those who aren't into gaming the graphics performance is nothing to worry about - this thing can do a DVD perfectly.

The intergrated sound system is also good - however if you want more of it (like recording and stuff like that) you got to put a better soundcard. The only downside of the intergrated sound card is some minor static noise emitted when switched to 3D-sound system (in the VIA Audio control panel.)

Summary:
Pros:
1.) Contents of the package is very complete.
2.) Great value.
3.) Good and simple layout.
4.) Simple manual book - easy to follow.
5.) Support for Turion series.
6.) Support for Cool and Quiet capability.

Cons:
1.) Slight error in the manual book - please don't fiddle with the CMOS jumper upon setting up the motherboard.
2.) Two RAM slots - I was hoping to have at least three for more upgradability.
3.) No overclocking capability - only overvoltage can be done.

Overall Rating for MSI K8MM-V: 8/10

Now for the AMD Sempron 2500+ (SDA2500BXBOX):

This is the latest AMD Sempron processor - compared to the other Sempron series. This one has a 64-bit and comes with a complete set of instructions: SSE, SSE2, SSE3, 3dNow!(+), MMX(+) and a No-Execute bit (something like Intel's XD-Bit feature). The 64-bit feature is very interesting, it prepares you for the latest 64-bit operating systems.

The processor runs cool - around 29 degrees on startup and 45 degrees on full load. That processor runs stable even in stock cooling - that actually beats my Athlon XP in terms of thermal dissipation system.

I haven't tried overclocking the Sempron - this thing is a very good overclocker. Pair this thing up with a good nForce board and you will get a very fast processor without any further upgrading.

The performance is comparable to Celeron D - and what's even more surprising - the Sempron 2500+ only runs at 1.4GHz! The startup is even much quicker than my Celeron D 331 - less than two minutes compared to my Celeron which is almost 5 minutes with similar configurations.

If you want to get AMD Sempron processor, make sure you insist of the E6 core - or check the OPN number on the box.

Although it's not the fastest processor in the computing world, this processor is capable of doing most basic tasks (and office tasks) at home and even some gaming if you have some more RAM and a good graphics card.

Summary:
Pros:
1.) Cool processor. Works better than my Athlon XP in terms of stability.
2.) Great value and decent performance - can be comparable to a Celeron D even with such a low GHz value.
3.) Complete set of instructions - including SSE3 and 64bit function.
4.) A great overclocker.
5.) Heat-spreader on top of the CPU die - makes installation of heatsinks much easier. Nobody can crack the centre of the CPU when doing the heatsink install.

Cons:
1.) Cache size is small - I wish that thing has at least 512K, but this is a budget processor.
2.) No Cool and Quiet function - only available in 3000+ and higher versions.
3.) You must need a big screwdriver to push the clip in when securing the heatsink - or else it'll be a tedious task.

Overall Rating for AMD Sempron 2500+ : 7/10

[g-dogg]

I second that, sempron's are the shiznit lol, i have a sempron64 2600+ its clocked daily at 2.4ghz, but i got it working at 2.7ghz WITH STOCK COOLING. benching aganist an A64 3800+ its preformance is very close, and it only cost $60 what a deal .

[cadlewv]

I had a Sempron 2500+ (which runs at 1.75GHz by the way), and it ran very hot (mid-50s - low-60s).

[MaxRat]

On the rig I am on at the moment...

I have a ECS (yes ECS) K8T800-M with a Athlon64-2800 (non Sempron) and I can tell you this thing flies...for a 754 rig for a $100.00 I was quite impressed...It's also a Via chipset and run very cool 26c idle...33c loaded with stock cooler....if the board had a agp lock it might clock well...but....who needs a overclocked rig for a web-surfer...

[vanyatka]

Yeah, I have the same budget configuration, it was well worth the money until I tried to upgrade video card (because of wide-screen monitor, I wish internal S3 supported more display resolutions).
Does anybody have Radeon 9550 installed with this configuration? I have a problem that 3D games hang with it. All 2D applications and other features work great. The card is with the cooler , so I don't think it's something to do with overheating.

[glc]

This is a review forum - if you need help, please post in the appropriate forum. Thank you.