processor

[Haddy]

hmm im debating what processor i should get...i have a 1600+xp but the corner is chipped and it doesnt like to be cooled, so for my new wc rig im gona buy a new chip.....what would u think the best chip for ocing (basicly what steeping on the chip). i might just get the 2200+ just cause its the fastest xp chip.....(no time to wait till tbreds)

[EMC2]

I've seen several instances of people with the latest steppings of XP1600s getting into the 1900Mhz range

A for example, Chainbolt has a newer XP1600 stepping that he got into that range on air. It was a AGOIA stepping, date code 0206. He could run it at 1974Mhz for 4 to 5 mins and do a couple of Sandra benches on before it got too hot and he had to shutdown do to temps (he was using 2.24V Vcore). Another guy with the same stepping and date code is running at 1910Mhz @1.85V vcore and watercooling stable (no heat problems).

So you might want to save your $$

[Haddy]

well as i explained i cant get this chip to run under 45c....as where it used t run about 40c idle..so i need a new chip for my wc system which will be done here soon...anybody know how a 2100+ ocs or even a 2200+

[Brad]

just go for a high end agoia, 2000+ or 2100+ doesn't seem to matter. 2200+'s aren't really out yet

[Haddy]

Originally posted by Brad
just go for a high end agoia, 2000+ or 2100+ doesn't seem to matter. 2200+'s aren't really out yet

yea i know but itll be a few weeks till i buy

[cristoff]

if your in a hardcore bind get the new 1600's if not wait till the new tbred come out and the prices drop...

[EMC2]

Haddy - I understand your current XP1600 won't because of the chipped die. What I meant is rather then shelling out $$$ for an XP2100, just go get yourself a new XP1600 of the stepping/date code I gave and save yourself a hundred or two

[Haddy]

c but i cant find a site that is selling the chips by stepping....even if i didnt care about stepping Newegg has a 1600+ for $162.00 and the 2000+ for $193.00 not much diff for 270more mhz

[Brad]

ring them up, say you are doing a dual cpu rig. your current one is an agoia, and you want to get the same stepping to ensure it works.

fools them every time

[Haddy]

Originally posted by Brad
ring them up, say you are doing a dual cpu rig. your current one is an agoia, and you want to get the same stepping to ensure it works.

fools them every time

hehe bastards will probably charge me like 30 bucks to go looking threw all those cpus but shoud be worth it....so they make the 2000+ in agoia? just so i dont sound like a moron on the phone

[Brad]

i built a system with one today

[EMC2]

Haddy - you must be buying retail CPUs.

As far as steppings - the entire range of speed grades are available in the same steppings in this case. They all come from the same wafer. Then they are sorted into speed grades - to a point.

It usually works like this with ICs:

Market demand is such that they think they will sell (these figures are just examples - I don't know what AMD's current market mix is)

5% XP2100s
10% XP2000s
15% XP1900s
20% XP1800s
20% XP1700s
30% XP1600s

Then, they look at their current process and see that say all the die will reach at least XP1800 speeds (slightly above mid-point once a process is stable is the usual minimum yield - at later points in the life of a design, this shifts upward towards the 80 percentile point or higher - I suspect they are close to that point now).

So what they do is take a wafer and begin testing them and label them according to how fast they run. Once they have found 5% that meet XP2100 speeds, they shift their test limit to XP2000, once they have 10% that meet that point, they shift to XP1900s. Once they fill that quota and knowing the rest should be in at least the XP1800 range, they simply mark the rest of the processors according to the percentages they need and go to functional testing at the expected yield frequency. Using the example figures above, this would mean about 55% of the die would be simply labelled according to needs without being speed screened at a higher speed.

Out of that 55%, a decent percent even though marked XP1600 will actually reach the same speeds as the XP2100 marked die.

The better they get the process down, the larger percentage will reach a higher speed - having nothing to do with how they are marked.

A way to get an idea at what points on the curve they are yielding, you can usually look at pricing on the OEM parts. You'll notice a tight clump at the bottom with only say a 10% delta in pricing. Then as the yield at a certain speed grade goes down, you will start seeing a rapid ramp up on the price.

[EMC2]

Oh - one other thing. For someone that has a high stock turnover rate, they usually only have 1, maybe 2, steppings in stock at any given time. (they may have a range of date codes, but the steppings will be usually be the same) The longer a particular stepping has been available, the higher the likelyhood they'll all be the same.

[Haddy]

Originally posted by EMC2
Haddy - you must be buying retail CPUs.

y must i be buying retail?

[EMC2]

Your earlier comment

1600+ for $162.00

is why I said that. OEM XP1600s are in the $98 range

ps. Just checked NewEgg, the $162 you quoted is for an MP1600, not an XP1600

[Haddy]

Originally posted by EMC2
Your earlier comment is why I said that. OEM XP1600s are in the $98 range

oppsy ur right....wth wuz i thinking oh i c they sell 1.4 tbirds with AYHJA steeping for 101 dollars...

[Brad]

emc2, you've got the right idea with the yeilds, but for pricing, compare intel to amd prices and speeds. amd are just placing themselves in the middle of the pricing intel has for their higher end cpu's, then for the lower end they are just under cutting intel big time

[EMC2]

Brad, I can agree with you as concerns the absolute pricing they scheme they have, but the "cut throat" price point is still a good indicator of their minimum frequency yield point I think (notice past a certain frequency they are all bunched within a small range on the AMD side).

[Brad]

yeah, if amd's yeilds were better then they would have the 2100+ competing with 1900's on price, instead of 2100+'s competing with 2000-A's