Why isnt my amd xp 2000+ hitting over 1.6ghz!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jarvis1781]

I like the fact that my Intel will down clock itself to prevent it from smoldering...my AMD however, allowed itself to cook...now you decide which is better. As far as performance they both kick ass!! But I like the fact that one thinks of self preservation...ask Jeff Levy.

[Bondiablo]

I kinda feel just the opposite on that, I don't like the idea that the P4 is going to perform slower as it gets hotter. The chances of heat destroying your processor are pretty slim when you have temperature monitoring and the system is set to shut down if it gets to hot or the CPU fan fails.

[crahak]

Unless your HSF is not sufficient/installed properly, it shouldn't happen. Never seen it happen to anyone anyhow.

When I decided to upgrade 2 computers a year ago, I was looking at the 1600MHz range. Two XP1600+'es and 2 mobos costed me like 250$ a year ago. One mobo+P4 1.6 was more expensive than that. The choice didn't take a long time I tell ya... Never regretted.

[kitty]

I recommend modern mobos with heat monitoring. Intel boards have this and a monitor program that will alert you if 2 zones on the mb get too hot or the fan speed falls below a certain amount. There are probably comparable AMD mobos.

[DualXeonEncoder]

I went intel because dual processor boards for amd's were expensive and there wans't that many to choose from.

[vitualis]

I kinda feel just the opposite on that, I don't like the idea that the P4 is going to perform slower as it gets hotter. The chances of heat destroying your processor are pretty slim when you have temperature monitoring and the system is set to shut down if it gets to hot or the CPU fan fails.

Then you don't really understand the issues surrounding thermal protection. I don't think anyone would argue that the P4 has better thermal protection than the Athlon.

The P4 is not going to "slow down" in normal operation -- even if it is working on 100% for days on end. This is assuming, of course, that your heatsink and fan is working properly. The whole point of thermal protection is what happens when cooling fails.

Both P3 and P4s have thermal protection on the die which means it will save itself if it gets too hot. It isn't subject to the support of the mobo which may or may not be good.

The older Athlons had no thermal protection at all and the newer ones still depend on the mobo.

The reason why Intel chose to make the P4 clock down is so that for mission critical computers, you don't get data loss even if you loose heating (for example, fan failure). For the P3, it will save itself, but the computer will hang. Similarly for Athlons (newer).

However, it is the tests for catastrophic failure of cooling (i.e., no fan, no heatsink) that are most interesting.

The P4 clocks way down -- it maintains the system running so you can save any data you need before fixing the computer.

The P3 hangs -- you may get data loss, but at least you don't damage your equipment.

The Athlon self-destructs in less than a second.

You may think that catastrophic cooling failures don't happen, but they can. For example, with the huge and heavy heatsinks out now, moving the PC may cause it to dislodge (especially with the relatively poor clip mechanism for the Athlons). Alternatively, it happens when the PC is first build because the heatsink wasn't correctly put on in the first place.

I believe that the newer Athlons have some thermal protection on the die but it is still reliant on the mobo to actually protect it. Does anyone know iif the mechanism is actually fast enough to save the CPU from a catastrophic failure?

Regards.

[crahak]

Well, we can all come up with those eventualities, but in real life, I don't even know someone know knows another guy who had a friend to whom it happened type of deal. (Sure, there will be a P4 guy come here and say it happens to him twice a day...)

Besides, when I bought my two 1600+'es, It was so much cheaper, I could replace em both again and still have spent less than buying two P4's of equivalent speed...

If P4's were priced cheaper, I'd buy 'em. They're more expensive, and AMD's do the job just fine, so I'm mostly on AMD...

[vitualis]

Actually, Athlon thermal meltdown was a pretty common occurence about a year or so ago (when there was NO thermal protection for the CPU on the die or on the mobo). Usually, the result of a poorly fitted HS or some poor sod forgetting to put the HS on at all before switching on the power...

Since then, the AMD side has (thank goodness) lifted its game.

Regards.

[Sully]

Damn!!! This AMD - Intel shit always gets so way out of hand.

The actual question was pretty simple... the AMD 2000+ IS actually clocked at 1.67, that's why you get that reading, as you found out for yourself.

No matter what any website, magazine or whoever rates the CPU's it's up to the consumer (us) to decide which is better. As far as that goes (and the fact that on this forum all that matters is decoding time) what does it matter what a "benchmark" program says. Bottom line is, do you feel satisfied with the money you spent and the performance you are getting.

As far as decoding goes... I do happen to use an AMD 2000+ and usually encode around 1.3-1.4. That's fine with me.

[Sully]

Whoops, sorry, that's using CCE 2.50.

[Craig Tucker]

Well, we can all come up with those eventualities, but in real life, I don't even know someone know knows another guy who had a friend to whom it happened type of deal.

You do now.

http://www.vcdhelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=89652&highlight=flower

[Nelson37]

I have seen quite a number of cooked Athlons, typically immediate from incorrect installation. Have yet to fry one myself. Have had some in the field from fan failure, but only one or two.

If the MOBO has the TEMP set to shutdown fairly low it should be fast enough. Typically fan will slow down before complete failure of fan, followed VERY quickly by meltdown of chip. Shutdown on fan failure I don't think will be fast enough, but no field experience yet and no extra Athlons laying around to test with.

[Bondiablo]

before complete failure of fan, followed VERY quickly by meltdown of chip.

That depends on what you mean by VERY quickly. Sure if the heatsink isn't making contact the chip can fry in just a few seconds but with a properly installed heatsink the fan can totally shut down and it will be several minutes before the processor is damaged.

[vitualis]

If the heatsink is not a the chip, the Athlon fries in UNDER a second (spectacular video footage at THG) -- which is why I wonder whether the mobo based temperature sensor is fast enough... I have a feeling it isn't.

But you are right. On the newer mobos that have the temperature sensor, a fan failure shouldn't kill the CPU.

Regards.

[Ducatti20]

Being a glutton for punishment, and a bit of an idiot at times, I have an answer to the motherboard protection question. I just watched an Thunderbird 1200MHZ processor fry in about 6/10ths of a second with no fan/heat sink with motherboard temp protection (asus) turned on. Booted computer, let windows idle, verified motherboard heat monitoring of cpu, pulled fan/heatsink combo. POW!! Even smelled a little smoke... Good thing the CPU was too old for my use!!
Can't comment on the XP series, unwilling to be THAT dumb....
Well, maybe next week...