I want to buy a new processor to upgrade my AMD 1900+. My mobo supports up to 400mhz FSB so I was thinking of gettign a Barton 2700 but on new egg they have the 2500 for alot cheaper. Is there a big difference between the 2500 and the 2700? I do not plan to overclock.

Not much difference, get the 2500+.

You may want to check over at the overclocking forum about this, but AMD usually ships their fastest chips unlocked. If your MB supports 400 and has lots of options for settings and the chip is unlocked I think you can run at 400 and run DDR3200 at full speed. Not really overclocking.

The 2500+ is considered to be the best bang for the buck. It will, locked or unlocked, easily clock to a 2700+.

SkipCox I'm not much for overclocking so I don't stay on the leading edge, so tell me if you know, wouldn't an unlocked chip be able to run at 400FSB if the multiplier were set correctly? I don't think there is anything inherently different except the way AMD sets up the bridges. That is what I was referring to. I was just thinking jimdevleer might be able to take full advantage of the MB capabilities.

Sure, I was just saying that the equivalent of a 2700+ is an easy overclock. Something around 200Mhz with a locked 2500+ is also quite likely as long as the motherboard and memory will run there. I'd just keep cranking the 2500+ up until I found the last stable setting. There's a good chance he'll end up with a 3200+ or therebouts. He'll also save some pretty good money in the process. Even at 190Mhz he'll have a 2800+ and save 60 bucks. As the overclock approaches 200Mhz, the savings hit $115 - $126 at current newegg prices. Skip

The thing is with 400FSB you can run DDR3200 syncronously. Ideal situaltion would be to get an unlocked 2500. That is why I suggested he check at the OC forum. They may be able to tell him more about availability of unlock processors.