Buying a new cpu! (finally)

[NiceSocks]

So I've decided its about time to upgrade. Now, i've put it off this long because I dont feel its been that important since I dont play games much blah blah.
Anyway, I'd like your opinions on AMD cpus. My budget is about 250 CDN for motherboard+CPU. I'd say that puts XP chips out of the question. But should i go with t-bird over duron? say maybe for the REV-C chips with the faster bus? Is that 66mhz bus increase worth the price? Also what board would be best for performance but budget in my case? I've been advised on the K7S5A since it will also let me use my old SDRAM until i can afford to upgrade that.
Right now I'm thinking:

Duron 1ghz $85 CDN ($54 USD)
K7S5A AMD K7/S462, DDR, PC266, 2xDDR/2SD, ATA100, 4PCI/AGP, AC97 sound, 10/100LAN $100 CDN ($63 USD)

Sound good? any suggestions? That duron is OEM so i'd have to get a fan, maybe the Volcano 2..

 

[Jerboy]

<< So I've decided its about time to upgrade. Now, i've put it off this long because I dont feel its been that important since I dont play games much blah blah.
Anyway, I'd like your opinions on AMD cpus. My budget is about 250 CDN for motherboard+CPU. I'd say that puts XP chips out of the question. But should i go with t-bird over duron? say maybe for the REV-C chips with the faster bus? Is that 66mhz bus increase worth the price? Also what board would be best for performance but budget in my case? I've been advised on the K7S5A since it will also let me use my old SDRAM until i can afford to upgrade that.
Right now I'm thinking:

Duron 1ghz $85 CDN ($54 USD)
K7S5A AMD K7/S462, DDR, PC266, 2xDDR/2SD, ATA100, 4PCI/AGP, AC97 sound, 10/100LAN $100 CDN ($63 USD)

Sound good? any suggestions? That duron is OEM so i'd have to get a fan, maybe the Volcano 2.. >>



I don't particularly like K7S5A. Had too much problems with it

 

[NiceSocks]

toms hardware rates it pretty good... what did you have problems with? i've always avoided onboard sound etc in the past myself...

 

[mrzed]

I'm sure you've thought of this, but a retail celeron 900 (good chance to make it to 1200), plop it into your BH6 with nothing other than a possible BIOS flash.

I'm sure the difference in performance between that and a Duron would not be huge, and it's really touch and go if the K7S5A will see you through another processor. If you've made it this far with what you've got, why not drag it out for another cheap and easy upgrade?

 

[NiceSocks]

Actually i haven't thought of that, i had no idea a 900 would work..
wouldn't it be a bit risky? Mines like the first bh6 board that came out i think.. I dont know if i could return the chip after of it would be stable... i think it'd be best to go with new mobo and the duron

 

[mrzed]

I don't own a BH6, and the official word is that the very first version does not support coppermine, but others say different.

This might help: BH6 FAQ

You would also need a coppermine compatible slocket, and they are getting a little scarce, but if you call around, some shop in your area (assuming you live in a city) should have one.