CPU upgrade/overclock advice for a BX6-2 (slot1) plz?

[MadAd]

Currently running a P3 @ 600 on a Slot1 Abit BX6-2, I would like to upgrade to nearer a gig, but I dont know what will drop in my slot1 6-2 mobo and overclock on it. The highest I can go is 133fsb stable - however some threads I read on o/c has some at ridiculous fsbs above 133 - im hearing about new ram dividers, is this the only way to use 100/133 ram at higher fsb?? Also switching to a PPGA board will mean a CPU and Mobo upgrade together, *sigh* more expense .... what do i do??

 

[MadAd]

anyone??? slotkets?? ram dividers?? big upgrade bucks??

 

[Jamey]

Honestly, you're not going to see a big difference in computing speed going from 600 to 933 (p3 700 OC'ed). I went from a 450 celeron to 1 ghz P3 and didn't see that much improvement. Where it will make the most difference is in processor intensive tasks which aren't very rare, but aren't as common as in the past.

What do you intend to do with the extra speed? If it is 3D you're planning on, get a faster graphics card. That will make more of an improvement. If it's general windows use with multiple programs consider more memory if you have less or even as much as 128 megs.

With all that said, if you still intend to upgrade your processor, then the best bang for the buck is a 566 retail celeron overclocked to 850. That's not guaranteed, but it is almost reliable that you can get one to go that high. That processor uses an 8.5 clock multiplier so you wouldn't be running your fsb much over 100 even if you can get one to go past 850. In order to use this chip you will need to get a slotket. Abit makes one that will work in your board, but there are several recommended on the forum here that will work just as well. So just search for them.

If 850 isn't enough speed, you can get a p3 700 and overclock it to 933 by jumping from a 100 mhz fsb to 133. You would most likely use the same slotket to do either, although there are some that aren't supposed to work with the p3's I think. Again, do a search in the forums to pick the right slotket for your situation.

If overclocking isn't for you, then you can get a chip close to or at 1 ghz that will run at a 133 mhz fsb default. This would be my last option because of the expense of 1ghz processors on the parket now. Slotkets can be found for around $15 shipped, and the two processors I mentioned can be found for under $100 and $200 respectively. I purchased my P3 from Onvia using deals not available now, but they shipped fast and free.

 

[MadAd]

hey!! thx for the reply, i intend to overclock since a >1gb is too expensive

Im actually compiling an upgrade list, and dont want to push the balance into deficit since given a free choice id upgrade most of it - current targets are a faster HD array (+ RAID) and a Vid upgrade, but also 600mhz to 900 by the numbers is a third more power, benchmarks seem to show a relative 25% increase.

Current aging system:

P3 450 @ 600 (3-3-3 & 2.2v)
Slot1 Abit BX6-2
256mb (Microns, 1x pc100 1x pc133)
IBM 5400rpm 8.5gb IDE HD
G100(2d) + SLI Voodoo2's(3d)

[irrelevant bits]
[3com cmx cablemodem]
[Etherlink XL NIC]
[3c509TPO ISA NIC]
[SB Live full]
[4x4x2 CDRW]
[44x CDROM]
[W98SE]


I also use the machine to network & serve my g/f's amd200 machine for net access via win ICS, I am into my net gaming spending many hours on TF and UT with g/f also playing on-line (non FPS) games.

RAID 0 striping sounds good to me, will cut down win boot and TF loading, and will allow greater server power and it seemed sensible if i had to u/g the mobo then an Abit 133raid would be the way to go, (why buy controller when I can get a new mobo with raid at little more cost and have the 6-2 and P3 spare for rebuilding my g/f machine) but i see that the promise controller is the one people are saying is far better than abits on-board one - no point if it doesnt give real world speed increases - so im stuck with the 6-2 for now.

The top of the urgency list is a V5500 as far as vid cards go - will allow me to ditch the 3 cards i have for 1 agp card (and g/f will be happy replacing her rage pro for something to play FPS games above 12fps).

Second is the HD upgrade, 8.5 is just too small for all my games and apps nowadays, and the cost of 2x 7200 (or 10,000) around 15gig each + a Raid controller is more affordable than going scsi.

And 3rd is a new CPU to overclock the hell out of - its more to bring it up to todays standard with the V5 + raid array since the lower end CPUs are getting cheap.

So it seems im getting the V5, + a promise + 2x unknown HD's (WDigi, IBM or maxtor) but still havent figured the CPU value for overclock point yet.

thanks for reading - any advice will be welcome

 

[MadAd]

top!!

anyone???

 

[Truro]

700e at 133=933

slot1 or good slocket with fcpga. With your ram timings that slow, some apps might be faster at a lower cpu speed and getting your ram timings up some. 3-2-2 at 124, etc.