Bottleneck? Next piece to upgrade suggestions

[thien_vu]

Here is my current setup and I'm trying to figure out what piece of my system I should upgrade.

I'm mainly looking to increase my framerates in games like CS because after playing for like 20minutes, there is stuttering. I was thinking about either a Celeron 800, or Geforce2 MX.

When I have vsync turned off and no advanced options on, it'll start at 70fps and after sometime, it will drop to like <25fps and the stuttering begins.

Thanks in advance.

Motherboard: Abit BX6-2
CPU: Intel Celeron 566 (won't do 850)
Memory: 320MB PC133 memory
Video: Elsa GeForce 256 SDR
SCSI: Adaptec 39160
Network: Intel Pro/100+ Management
Tuner: Hauppauge WinTV PCI
Sound: Aureal Vortex2 SuperQuad
Hard Disk: Seagate 4.5G
IBM Deskstar 10G
DVD-ROM: Samsung 12/40 DVD/CD-ROM
CD-ROM: Plextor UltraPlex 32X
CD-R: Yamaha 8424sz (internal scsi)
Monitor: KDS AV-195TF
Speakers: Cambridge Soundworks 4point surround

 

[Wah]

i'd go for a new cpu.

edit: with that mobo, i think you could do better than a cel 800.

 

[Dreadogg]

To bad you cant get that processor up to 850 my cel. pushes that easy!!!!

 

[thien_vu]

yeah, i tried upping the voltage to like 1.85 but no go. I didn't want to try exotic cooling because it would cost more than the cpu.

regarding only a celeron 800, what cpu would you recommend? I was looking for an upgrade ~$80-100, but I'm always open to suggestions.

 

[Wah]

i guess in that price range you don't have too many options. I was thinkin' an oc'd p3-700 for about $140.

 

[thien_vu]

thanks for the link. the cel 633 @ 1Ghz is looking really sweet right now.

 

[Duvie]

For 140 you can get a duron 850-900 and a cheap kt133 mobo...spend a few more bucks on the mobo and you try to clock the fsb up to 133 (for 266) and drop the multiplier a bit but should reach near 1 gig easy.

A celeron isn't even a comparison to a duron and a p3 is just a bit faster do to the larger cache.

 

[thien_vu]

Hmm... I guess I'm beginning to open up to more suggestions. More generally what would be the best bang for my buck upgrade?

I've been toying around with duron stuff, and I'm looking at:

Abit KT7A (Refurb): $80
Duron 750: $32
Cooler Master EP5-6i11: $11

All from NewEgg - Total = $135 (shipped)

What do you think?

 

[Duvie]

get the duron 800 at www.tcwo.com w/ their HSF combo (better then coolermaster)and get 1 year warranty on the oem chip. they have the 750 as well

d800 = 39.00 + 9.00 (hsf) + 7.00 (sh) = 55.00

d750 = 31.00 + 9.00 (hsf) + 7.00 (sh) = 47.00

I am not a good source on the abit mobos, but make sure you have multiplier controls and you should be able to get these 750 - 800's up there as they are good little ocers.

maybe check boards out at tcwo.com since the shipping is a flat 6.95 up to the 150lbs...ups ground though...

http://www.tcwo.com/cgi-bin/webc.cgi/st_main.html?catid=200&amp;sid=1gi2Ty0GcHS02Jf

check this out and the msi turbo board...includes the hsf and 1 year warranty as mentioned above just add the 7.00 sh...

I have one of the fans on my tbird 1100mhz chip at default voltage 1.75v my temps are 36c idle 43c load. So it should give you some room to oc a bit.

 

[thien_vu]

If I go with a Duron, I'm gonna get this MB because its rated pretty well on the KT133A roundup @ Anandtech. And shipping is free. For a new board its ~105+s/h. So $80 shipped is good.

I haven't found a good place with good cpu/fan prices (shipped) so any suggestions would help.

 

[Helznicht]

I suggest a P3 Upgrade also, Just plug and go (well maybe a MB Flash).

But if you do get the Duron/new MB Im very interested in the BX6 you got....

 

[Duvie]

go with the abit board then as I believe it offers support up to 1.5ghz tbird (which there should be a 1.466 tbird to come) chips which will give you plenty of room for upgrade in the future...unlike the p3 possibility.

Look at www.tcwo.com for cpu prices and warranty...they are usually listed on the first page of each category at pricewatch and then their sh beats the top ones.

 

[thien_vu]

<< I suggest a P3 Upgrade also, Just plug and go (well maybe a MB Flash).

But if you do get the Duron/new MB Im very interested in the BX6 you got.... >>



I would definitely be going with a duron if I can find a buyer for my bx6-2. reply here or email me @ thien_vu@hotmail.com

 

[duragezic]

I'd either get a P3 upgrade (an o/c one from Compuwiz) or a Duron/mb upgrade. I wouldn't get the abit board though. I don't think it did that good on the AT roundup. The IWill KK266, Epox, and ASUS A7V133 I know off the top of my head did better.

And if you get a new video card, don't get the MX. Get the Radeon LE or Kyro 2 or if you can afford it, the GF2 Pro or Radeon 64.

 

[DaejangNim]

get that combo, the epox doesnt perform to well, in actual gaming performance the kt7a did the best out of these boards here http://www.tomshardware.com/mainboard/01q1/010122/kt133a-12.html but the iwill was not in that test.

 

[duragezic]

The Epox is a little slower but only by a few fps at most. I'd much rather take a few fps loss (which may be increased with BIOS updates like the MSI) for a much more stable and overall better board.

 

[Wah]

i would go with the P3 upgrade over a duron. much easier (just switch out the cpu) and your current mobo is a good one. Personally, I wouldn't worry about future upgrades. By the time you would change you cpu again, you could probably go with a newer mobo/cpu/memory setup anyway.

well, thats just what I'd do...

good luck.

 

[thien_vu]

I don't mind taking out the MB and stuff like that (my case is generic, but sweet so its easy --> MB is on tray that slides out), but money wise I'd like to get the most return on my investment.

 

[Duvie]

most p3's are far more expensive then some of the high end 266fsb ddr tbirds...

Many people will update theit cpu on same platform, more so when it is ppl that got a duron at first and wait for the 1.3 and 1.4 tbirds to come down then snap them up. It is reasonable to believe next time you upgrade it may be a socket a cpu that is still capable of fitting on your current platform. And for like 40 BUCKS for the cpu it makes it easier to swallow.

 

[thien_vu]

Duvie,

Thats the same logic I was thinking.

For about the ~$140 - do I want to invest in &quot;old&quot; technology, or doing I want to get low end technology that has a future.

The Duron performance should be incredible, and when the T-birds go down, I'll be able to pop one in.

 

[Brian23]

I was having the same problem. I was running a Celery 366 that could only do 75MHz FSB. (The chip COULD go to 100, but the crapy Soyo board couldn't handle more than 75MHz FSB) I was gonna get a Fic AZ11 and a Duron 750 for about $90 total, but I looked at the cost of upgrading versus building a new PC. I ended up with an awesome PC for about $275. I did upgrade some of the parts from my Celery, but I had older parts laying around to replace them. Here's what I did:


OLD Celery 366:
Soyo 6BB mobo
128MB PC133 CL3
TNT2 ULTRA
winmodem
ISA 3com network
Sound Blaster Live MP3+
50X CD
2X CDR
15 Gig primary HD and 13 Gig secondary HD
Floppy
17 inch monitor


NEW $275 PC:
Fic AZ11 (~$50)
256MB Crucial PC133 CL2 (~$60)
Athlon 850 (~$80)
Case (~$50)
Netgear network card (~$10)
Heatsink/Fan (~$8)
TNT2 ULTRA (pull from old 366)
Sound Blaster Live MP3+ (pull from old 366)
Winmodem (free, was colecting dust on my shelf)
17 inch monitor (upgrade from old 366)
12X DVD (~$30)
15Gig HD (pull from old 366)


NEW Celeron 366 PC:
Soyo 6BB mobo
128MB PC133 CL3
S3 Savage video (free, was colecting dust on my shelf)
winmodem
ISA 3com network
ISA sound card (free, was colecting dust on my shelf)
50X CD
2X CDR
13 Gig HD
Floppy
14 inch monitor (free, was colecting dust in basement)


So far I like what I did. I haven't had any problems yet. The only thing I'd change is I'd get a 1.1GHz Athlon b/c they're a lot cheaper now. (I'm not overclocking the Athlon btw.) I don't know if you can match this deal, cause I don't know how many extra parts you have laying around, and I got some of the parts on special deals. I hope you can figure out what to do. Goodluck!

 

[thien_vu]

I thought about building a second machine too, but I really don't have a need for it.

Right now, I have my current machine (listed before). I also have a Celeron 300A, 192MB RAM, 10+40GB hd used for a server. Old Pentium 90, 64MB EDO RAM, 2x1GB HD that is collecting dust.

My mom already has a machine, and I don't know anyone that needs another one, so I was hoping to sell any of the parts that I have extra lying around.

 

[Pederv]

If your still considering the video or cpu upgrade, I'd go for the video. It'll cost a little more, but you'll see a bigger improvement. I saw a larger improvement overclocking my ASUS GForce 256 SDR than I did going from a TBird@900MHz to a TBird@1200MHz. The biggest improvement per clock cycle was in adjusting the GForce memory.

 

[thien_vu]

<< If your still considering the video or cpu upgrade, I'd go for the video. It'll cost a little more, but you'll see a bigger improvement. I saw a larger improvement overclocking my ASUS GForce 256 SDR than I did going from a TBird@900MHz to a TBird@1200MHz. The biggest improvement per clock cycle was in adjusting the GForce memory. >>



The thing is that I'm not sure where I should upgrade. I'm having a feeling that the CPU and 66Mhz bus is holding up the system, so a CPU/MB upgrade would be good.

 

[nortexoid]

a video card upgrade would give u ZERO returns on that system for CS...for almost anything really...

personally, if u can find a cheap pIII at speeds 700+, i'd go for it...
but that's the end of the line for that...

or...

ditch your board and proc and get a few pennies for it by selling it, and buy a cheap socket a mobo and duron 800...

the FIC AZ11 can be had for pennies (maybe less)...it's only a kt133 chipset, but if u really can't afford the few extra bucks, it's probbly the cheapest available board.
otherwise, get something like an msi k7t turbo or soyo k7vta-pro...they're dirt cheap kt133a boards w/ all overclocking options...

oh yeah, the volcano III is cheap and cools well, even if u wanna overclock your duron to 1ghz+...and, the heatsink is actually decent, so if u wanted to later, u could slap a better fan on it...it costs no more than the cooler master hsf and is definitely better..the heatsink at least...i've seen stores on pricewatch selling volcano IIs (better than the IIIs) for 7 bucks...