Athlon 2500 or 3200?

[Tophinator]

Im gonna be building a PC soon and Im not sure if I should go with the 2500XP or the 3200XP. I plan on doing some gaming(3D FPS and strategy) and some CAD work(AutoCAD, SolidWorks). I hear people say that there isnt much of a difference between the 2500 and the 3200. I want something that will run pretty quik and wont be slow a few years from now and I dont plan on OCing it either. If I get the 3200 ill be running it with a 400mhz FSB. Is it worth the money to go with the 3200 over the 2500?

[oddjob]

Save yourself some $$ and go with the 2500+. NewEgg retail prices: 2500+ @ $80, 3200+ @ $215. Also consider the 2500+ mobile ($92 @ NewEgg) and overclock it a bit.

[aZnf0B89]

3200+....$215

2500+ $80
and
SLK900...$40

thats $95 saved towards something more useful, like a better video card

[jimmyrules712]

get the 2500 mobile (then u can OC ifu want). The 3200 in my opinion isnt worth the extra price, take that extra moeny and put it in ram or video card or somethng.

[Sean Alexander]

The 3200 is NOT worth the extra, I'm pretty sure that the 3200 is practically the same processor as the 2500, just oc'ed by AMD with minor changes, I've never heard anything but good news from people who OC 2500s, whereas my 3200 goes no higher than 2400 ghz without freaking out.

Conclusion: Same processor, as you can oc the 2500 to a much higher percentage than with the 3200.

[Tophinator]

Ok Ill go with the 2500 then. Thanx for the help and the quik response.

[Brown Hornet]

are you getting the 2500+ or the 2500 mobile,i would say get the mobile cpu.i am happy with mine.

[Cricket]

For what you want to do, I'd go with the 3200+ and enjoy the performance without having to overclock (which may cause data corruption and mess up your AutoCAD drawings).

Cricket

[glc]

I dont plan on OCing it either.

Yep, if you do not want to overclock, go for the 3200+. The increase in the FSB from 266 or 333 to 400 will be quite noticeable. Just because someone CAN overclock does not mean they HAVE to or even WANT to.

Just because we do discuss overclocking in this forum does not mean that everyone that posts a question should be encouraged to do so. I won't even overclock a customer's machine if asked without voiding any and all warranties.

Not only that, the stock CPU fan is nice and quiet. The SLK900 sure isn't.

[Tophinator]

Oh ok maybe ill rethink this then. Im not to sure if the Mobo im planning on getting is going to run the 3200 well tho. Its one of these: http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduc...123-208&depa=0

[glc]

According to the latest CPU compatibility list at Epox, the 8RDA3I will run the 3200+ with the 12/11/03 bios. I don't see a problem, and running that at stock speed with compatible PC3200 ram should be as stable as anything.