I'm confused? How do I know which chipset to use?

[I_Know_Nothing]

Maybe I just can't google very well, but I am having a hard time trying to figure out which chipsets are compatible with an Athlon 2600 XP, let alone which one would be best?

Any info would be appreciated.

[caperjack]

The million dollar ? Is it a athlon2600 xp you have or are you thinking of getting one .

[I_Know_Nothing]

I don't have an Athlon XP 2600 yet, but unless I hear any advice otherwise, I'm pretty sure that's what I'm going to have in my posission whenever I figure out all this compatability stuff.

[TallCool1]

I don't have an Athlon XP 2600 yet, but unless I hear any advice otherwise, I'm pretty sure that's what I'm going to have in my posission whenever I figure out all this compatibility stuff.

Personally, I prefer AMD over Intel, so I'll stick to that aspect.

It mostly depends on what you want to do with it and your preference in motherboard manufacturers. Overall, the best chipset for that series of AMD processors (pre-Barton high end) is the nVidia nForce2 chipset (or chipset-and-a-half, depending on how you look at it). With the nForce2, there are a broad range of options; you can get boards with or without integrated graphics support, with or without on-board real-time Dolby encoding, with single-channel or dual-channel RAM busses, and with one or two network interface ports.

The other alternative is the VIA KT400 chipset, but unless you are strongly opposed to nVidia it comes out a poor second.

The best-known brands for nForce2 are MSI, ASUS, Abit, and Gigabye (in no particular order).

Hope this helps!

[I_Know_Nothing]

Personally, I prefer AMD over Intel, so I'll stick to that aspect.

It mostly depends on what you want to do with it and your preference in motherboard manufacturers. Overall, the best chipset for that series of AMD processors (pre-Barton high end) is the nVidia nForce2 chipset

Since you mentioned it, I believe some Athlon XP 2600's are made with the Thoroughbred core. If so, which one should I go with. Are Barton cores hands down, 100% always better than Thoroughbreds or are there different benefits for each? If I find one with a Barton core would that change your chipset recommendation?

(or chipset-and-a-half, depending on how you look at it).

How is the nVidia nForce2 a 'chipset and a half'?

The other alternative is the VIA KT400 chipset, but unless you are strongly opposed to nVidia it comes out a poor second.

I don't know enough about the chipsets to really have a bias, but since you mention it, is there any reason one would be opposed to the nVida nForce2?

Also, I am assuming 'nVidia nForce2' is the name of the chipset and not a brand name. Is that right?

Hope this helps!

Definitely. Thanks alot!

If you know of any website off the top of your head that explains chipsets and their CPU compatability I'd also appreciate it. I can't seem to find much.