CPU Upgrade Question

[Dabappa]

My current system:

ECS K7S5A Motherboard w/ latest Honey X bios (now w/ chipset cooling mod)
512 MB Crucial PC2100 DDR (2 x 256)
Athlon XP 1600+ (Retail HSF)
PNY GeForce3
IBM 40 GB 7200 RPM
Enlight 300 Watt PSU
Enlight Mid Tower
Floppy
ECS 6 in 1 Card Reader
16X10X40 CDRW
Two 80mm case fans (1 front & 1 back)

My current upgrade dillema is whether to purchase a XP 2400+ (Thorton) at $67 or XP 2600+ Mobile at $99. I plan on getting a Speeze "FalconRock" HSF to cool either of these.

Both have a stock speed of 2 GHz (15 x 133), and I might overclock to 2.2 GHz (15 x 148/150) wich is pretty much the limit for this motherboard.

The only advantage to the Mobile is the 512K L2 cache, but I was wondering how much of a performance boost this will actually give, and if it is worth the extra $$. The possible downside is complications of getting this to work with my motherboard, but my research seems to indicate it should not be a problem.

The main purpose of the upgrade is to play the next generation of games: FarCry, Stalker, Half-Life 2. I plan on upgrading the video card to at least a 9800 Pro when the prices fall a bit.

Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated.


Thanks,

 

[butch84]

well, getting a moble chip most likely isnt worth it, becase ECS mobos are not good for overclocking. If you went for the mobile because it has 266 fsb and more cache, i guess that would be one reason, but im not sure how much that would help you. MOst likely around 10-15% at the most. Sooo, if 10% is worth $33 to you, go for the mobile chip. Just dont expect it to overclock on that mobo.

good luck

 

[akseli]

Originally posted by: Dabappa
My current system:

ECS K7S5A Motherboard w/ latest Honey X bios
512 MB Crucial PC2100 SDRAM (2 x 256)
Athlon XP 1600+ (Retail HSF)
PNY GeForce3
IBM 40 GB 7200 RPM
Enlight 300 Watt PSU
Enlight Mid Tower
Floppy
ECS 6 in 1 Card Reader
16X10X40 CDRW
Two 80mm case fans (1 front & 1 back)

My current upgrade dillema is whether to purchase a XP 2400+ (Thorton) at $67 or XP 2600+ Mobile at $99. I plan on getting a Speeze "FalconRock" HSF to cool either of these.

Both have a stock speed of 2 GHz (15 x 133), and I might overclock to 2.2 GHz (15 x 148/150) wich is pretty much the limit for this motherboard.

The only advantage to the Mobile is the 512K L2 cache, but I was wondering how much of a performance boost this will actually give, and if it is worth the extra $$. The possible downside is complications of getting this to work with my motherboard, but my research seems to indicate it should not be a problem.

The main purpose of the upgrade is to play the next generation of games: FarCry, Stalker, Half-Life 2. I plan on upgrading the video card to at least a 9800 Pro when the prices fall a bit.

Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated.


Thanks,

My Athlon XP 2400+ (normal) will overclock with a ~3ºc increase to XP2600+ levels. I can go higher because my motherboard won't lock AGP and PCI :'( with my thermoregulated smartfan 2 (Volcano 11+) the temperature doesn't rise, the fan just run ~ 200-400 rpm higher (load)

 

[Dabappa]

I have tried overclocking via FSB from Windows with CPU Cool.

I can run stable at 1.5 GHz (10.5 x 146.6), but Windows locks up at 150 MHz FSB.

I don't know if it is the CPU, RAM, or something elese.

Anyway, I was hoping that a new CPU and maybe the chipset cooling mod might let me hit 150, which would get the PCI/AGP busses back to their normal speeds. Although, it probably will not be worth the bother until I upgrade the video card anyway.

 

[Dabappa]

I just finished the Chipset Mod on my K7S5A.

Twisted off the chipset heat sink, cleaned off all of the thermal tape, masked the corners, applied Arctic Alumina compound, unmasked the corners, applied super glue, and replaced the heatsink. I also threw on a 40 x 40 x 20 mm fan, scavanged from a 5.25" drive bay cooler, for good measure.

Strangely, FSB will still not work at 150 MHz, but 166 MHz seems to work now (using CPU cool).

[Edit] It won't run very long at 166; the BSOD shows up quickly.