Geeky computer questions
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From: Defiance
Computer mayhem...I'm upgrading my pc and have a couple questions. 
I'm going to keep my motherboard and just add a better processor and graphics card.
Currently I'm using a Asus p2b motherboard (100mhz fsb, 1x AGP, specs- http://www.asus.com.tw/Products/Motherboar.../P2b/spec.html)
and a p2-450. I want to use the best p3 that I can get with 100mhz fsb. A Elsa 64 meg Geforce2 card should be a good replacemnt for my old voodoo2 stuff methinks.
Well I know I need a slot1 adaptor thingy and a bios flash and a few dip changes on the motherboard.
My questions:
1)What is currently the best p3 w/100mhz fsb?
2)Do I flash the bios before or after I install the processor.
3)If I overclock the the front side bus(say to 112)will it cook my ram...I'm kind of fond of the 256megs (corsair/pc100) I have, so I don't want to kill it.
Know cars,no computers
Thanx!
I'm going to keep my motherboard and just add a better processor and graphics card.
Currently I'm using a Asus p2b motherboard (100mhz fsb, 1x AGP, specs- http://www.asus.com.tw/Products/Motherboar.../P2b/spec.html)
and a p2-450. I want to use the best p3 that I can get with 100mhz fsb. A Elsa 64 meg Geforce2 card should be a good replacemnt for my old voodoo2 stuff methinks.
Well I know I need a slot1 adaptor thingy and a bios flash and a few dip changes on the motherboard.
My questions:
1)What is currently the best p3 w/100mhz fsb?
2)Do I flash the bios before or after I install the processor.
3)If I overclock the the front side bus(say to 112)will it cook my ram...I'm kind of fond of the 256megs (corsair/pc100) I have, so I don't want to kill it.
Know cars,no computers
Thanx!
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From: Knoxville
What kind of drive are you running? You could go to all that effort and not see much improvement if you are running an ata/66 5400rpm drive. Personally, I would go with an Asus v7 with an ata/100 7200rpm drive with 256mb ram, 866 PIII and not worry about overclocking. I guess its just a matter of opinion, but I don't overclock anymore. The last time I did was with a celeron pIII 300a I had running at 700. The proc died after about 4 months.
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From: Seattle, WA
1) I forget...just look it up in some catalog
2) Assuming that the new bios is to support P3's - before the P3 (with a P2)
3) You won't cook 'em...they'll either work or won't..well...sometimes they'll seem like they do, but will freeze up and crash once in awhile, you just gotta try it out.
make sure you have good cooling in your system...if the whole system refuses to boot, and you don't see a bios post screen (all that junk that comes up first when you boot), you're gonna hafta reset the bios by hand. this is usually a jumper on the mobo somewhere. if you can't find it, take the battery out and leave it out for a bit...should work. if you want to tryt a lil harder, up the core voltage on the processor...but be very careful, only raise it a little bit, making sure to check how hot it gets every time.
email me if you need help...
2) Assuming that the new bios is to support P3's - before the P3 (with a P2)
3) You won't cook 'em...they'll either work or won't..well...sometimes they'll seem like they do, but will freeze up and crash once in awhile, you just gotta try it out.
make sure you have good cooling in your system...if the whole system refuses to boot, and you don't see a bios post screen (all that junk that comes up first when you boot), you're gonna hafta reset the bios by hand. this is usually a jumper on the mobo somewhere. if you can't find it, take the battery out and leave it out for a bit...should work. if you want to tryt a lil harder, up the core voltage on the processor...but be very careful, only raise it a little bit, making sure to check how hot it gets every time.
email me if you need help...
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 9,210
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From: WA
Originally posted by cthree:
Tyan VIA KT133 Motherboard $140
Athlon 1.1Ghz CPU 200Mhz FSB $420
Elsa Gladiac 64MB GeForce2 4xAGP $500
In short, The faster PIII's will need the i840 chipset and thus RAMBUS RAM. The GeForce card needs UltraAGP (4x) so you will need that too. The VIA chipset on the Tyan board supports PC100 and PC133 SDRAM and DDR SDRAM. You can save $100 if you go with a 1Ghz CPU instead.
The Athlon has 3 integer units not 2 like the P3. It has 384K of on-chip cache not 256K like the coppermine P3. It also has a 200Mhz FSB, not 133 like the P3. The system above will beat the bejesus out of any comparable equiped Intel setup and for less money.
Tyan VIA KT133 Motherboard $140
Athlon 1.1Ghz CPU 200Mhz FSB $420
Elsa Gladiac 64MB GeForce2 4xAGP $500
In short, The faster PIII's will need the i840 chipset and thus RAMBUS RAM. The GeForce card needs UltraAGP (4x) so you will need that too. The VIA chipset on the Tyan board supports PC100 and PC133 SDRAM and DDR SDRAM. You can save $100 if you go with a 1Ghz CPU instead.
The Athlon has 3 integer units not 2 like the P3. It has 384K of on-chip cache not 256K like the coppermine P3. It also has a 200Mhz FSB, not 133 like the P3. The system above will beat the bejesus out of any comparable equiped Intel setup and for less money.
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From: Defiance
Thanks for all the advice.
I realize there is much better stuff out there but I don't want to do a major overhaul just yet. Hopefully the only pricey item will be the graphics card and I can continue using that when I do go for the big upgrade.
Humm...to put things in perspective, I'm still using dialup overhere...
Besides I have S2000 parts to buy...
I realize there is much better stuff out there but I don't want to do a major overhaul just yet. Hopefully the only pricey item will be the graphics card and I can continue using that when I do go for the big upgrade.
Humm...to put things in perspective, I'm still using dialup overhere...
Besides I have S2000 parts to buy...
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From: Defiance
Cthree,
After seeing the prices for the AMD gear, you've got me almost ready to jump ship.
I have a 300w power supply and good cooling so I guess I could use a Athlon as long as the lights in my house don't start to dim.
After seeing the prices for the AMD gear, you've got me almost ready to jump ship.
I have a 300w power supply and good cooling so I guess I could use a Athlon as long as the lights in my house don't start to dim.