Sempron of Duron?

GuardianAsher · Post by **GuardianAsher** » Mon Aug 01, 2005 12:31 am

I'm building a very strict budget computer for a client. I'm wanting to know which of these two processors is better.

AMD Duron Applebred 1.8GHz for $43 w/o Fan or Heatsink, add decent fan/heatsink for $13
AMD Sempron Thunderbird-B 2200+ at 1.5GHz for $67 w/ Fan and Heatsink

Both processors are running on Socket A. I don't want this computer to be very fast, because I know I won't get much speed from either of these two processors, but I also would like to know which of these is really better. That being said, I wouldn't appreciate anyone suggesting any other processors to me, as these two are my solid choices, since they are cheaper.

Thank you.

eGoCeNTRoNiX · Post by **eGoCeNTRoNiX** » Mon Aug 01, 2005 12:36 am

The Sempron has a larger cache than the Duron and will outperform it because of that. So I would go with the Sempron..

eGo

GuardianAsher · Post by **GuardianAsher** » Mon Aug 01, 2005 12:40 am

So even at the lower clock speed, it will still outperform the Duron?
I know that clock speed doesn't mean everything to a processor. AMD and Intel have shown me that XD
But I don't really know all that much about the way a processor runs or what's inside of it, and I'm relatively new to AMD. I have a XP3000 rig that outperforms any Pentium 4 I ever had. Cheaper too

impuresoul2k3 · Post by **impuresoul2k3** » Mon Aug 01, 2005 7:58 am

Welcome to PCA

300mhz isn't going to make that much of a difference, if it's even noticable. Just take a look at the Pentium 4 and a Celeron of equal or greater speed, because of it's large cache the Pentium 4 will out perform the Celeron by a huge amount. The Celeron is Pentiums "budget" processor, and the Duron is AMD's "budget" model

GuardianAsher · Post by **GuardianAsher** » Mon Aug 01, 2005 9:04 am

Thanks for the welcome! Since I, myself, am a game enthusiast, I will be using these boards a lot more.

So, the Sempron should outperform the Duron, correct? Since it has a larger cache? And for a couple of extra bucks, it would be so bad. I mean, the girl I'm building it for will most likely only, at peak, run a low end game or something or other. But I'd rather it be a little more up to the challenge, say, if I want to use it XD

BillyGoat · Post by **BillyGoat** » Mon Aug 01, 2005 9:09 am

Yes the smpron is better, and if you buy a dent board for it, its a nice path to the a64

GuardianAsher · Post by **GuardianAsher** » Mon Aug 01, 2005 9:15 am

Except for the fact that this is a Socket A board, as mentioned above, and a budget system

ZYFER · Post by **ZYFER** » Mon Aug 01, 2005 1:01 pm

The cache size will definetely be more noticeable then the speed difference,

From what I see you are looking at Newegg's prices, if you step it up to 2500+ Sempron which is $76 which if you can get the extra $9 it would be worth it.

Also to note, the FSB speed of the Sempron will be faster then the Duron, which will also increase performance.

GuardianAsher · Post by **GuardianAsher** » Tue Aug 02, 2005 12:25 am

Hmm... amazingly, the Sempron 2600+ 754 slot is cheaper than the earlier mentioned Sempron 2200+ socket A... Cept the motherboard's more expensive, but it makes me think. Okay, differences between these two.

Sempron 2200+ Socket A, FSB 333MHz
64 bit Support: No
Cooling Device: Heatsink and Fan
Hyper-Transport Support: No
L1 Cache: 64KB+64KB
L2 Cache: 256KB
Multimedia Instruction: MMX, SSE, 3DNOW! Professional
Operating Frequency: 1.5GHz
Process Type: 0.13 µm
Series: Sempron
Voltage: 1.6V

Sempron 2600+ Socket 754 FSB 800MHz
64 bit Support: No
Cooling Device: Heatsink and Fan
Hyper-Transport Support: Yes
L1 Cache: 64KB+64KB
L2 Cache: 128KB
Multimedia Instruction: MMX, SSE, SSE2, 3DNOW! Professional
Operating Frequency: 1.6GHz
Process Type: 90 nm
Series: Sempron
Voltage: 1.4V

Yet there are two downfalls to this.
Cheapest mobo with integrated vid is about $10 more than the Socket A one, and the RAM can be a bit more expensive as well, since it seems this mobo only takes DDR400, and I was planning on using DDR333. Yet, if I use the better Sempron 754, as BillyGoat mentioned, it could lead to a 64bit build later in life, a little more future proof. Any suggestions?

impuresoul2k3 · Post by **impuresoul2k3** » Tue Aug 02, 2005 10:24 am

Although the 754 is no longer supported is it? I think only 939 will be developed for in the future, 754 is limited to what's available now, no more upgrades. Correct me if I'm wrong guys.

travis · Post by **travis** » Tue Aug 02, 2005 12:29 pm

I bought a socket 754 for my sempron 3000+ Palermo core, so if I ever felt the need to upgrade to an A64. Now I kind of think that was stupid, and that I should have gotten a socket A Athlon XP 2800+ because it has 4 times the amount of L2 cache, and 64 bit isnt really that mainstream yet.

RubberDuckie · Post by **RubberDuckie** » Sun Aug 14, 2005 2:03 am

Slaton !!!

Coolio welcome to PCA... Im in Lubbock