The most significant difference between the Bartons and the TBreds is the 256k extra cache they have on chip (total 512k)... which is pretty usefull for a workstation/server.... That's why I'd suggest you take a good long look at those... (EDIT: Barton XP/MPs should work in at least the MSI MP board as the 2800 is listed in their supported CPU list)
While I tend to like gigabyte boards, I'd reevaluate on their MP board as it seems that they havent released a bios update to make their boards compatible with the Barton CPUs - They might have in their Tbred update, but no mention is made and they dont appear to have a supported CPU list for their workstation/server boards.
Another thing I can say in favour of the MSI MP board.... is that it's rather popular.
EDIT2: Forgot to mention, as it was kind of implied... the 2800MP (Barton) runs at 266mhz, while the XP Bartons run at 333mhz. So if you get an XP you have to unlock/change the multiplier to get equivalent 2500/2800 performance. The linked L5 article goes into this.
Last edited by ymboc; 06-24-2003 at 08:26 AM.
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