help me with a celeron/pentium III choice...

[beatniks3]

hi everyone,
i was just looking for some input about which processor i should buy. i am thinking of getting the blaster pc barebones kit that comes with the built in soundblaster live 5.1 that i saw in the hot deals thread. i was looking at pricewatch today and these are some of the processors i am looking at.
CELERON 733 ~$90 with shipping
CELERON 766 ~$113 with shipping
CELERON 800 ~$125 with shipping
or the pentium route.
Pentium® III 650MHz ~$120 with shipping
Pentium® III 700MHz ~$132 with shipping
Pentium® III 750MHz ~$142 with shipping

my thoughts are that i can use this system for the next 6-8 months and then buy a better system after all the new technology comes out. i was assuming that the pentium III would offer better preformance with the added cache. am i correct in thinking this? also, it looks like i will need a slot key for this setup. is this correct? is there a difference between brands? thanks for any advice you may have to offer. beatniks3

 

[Killrose]

PIII all the way. If that board will support the PIII at 133MHz better yet. Get the PIII 700E and try for the 133MHz overclock which most will do. But I would deffinately look into what kind of specs that motherboard has. Does it have an AGP slot, or is it an i810 based with on board video, ect.

 

[jamesbond007]

I'd say Pentium III 700Mhz. They have the better overclockability and many people can get them to around 1Ghz, too. Don't go Celeron, for you will be very disappointed in the near future. Run 700Mhz for now and OC to 950-1000Mhz when you feel it's too slow.

 

[beatniks3]

thanks for the help. i was thinking pentium III as well. anyone else have anything to add? beatniks3

 

[max105]

yea, i'd cast another vote for the 700. anything above 750 usually doesn't overclock as well. with the 700...you have a good chance of overclocking, possibly further than the 750. I don't think 50mhz of cpu speed will make much of a difference between the stock 700 and 750.

 

[commemoratives]

FYI, mine arrived yesterday. I am also selecting a CPU. Had a couple of questions for the techincal support folks and here was the response (questions while unit was in transit).



<< I apologize for the delay in responding to your request. Unfortunately, the front side bus on this motherboard is hardware limited to 100MHz and so a flash will not update this. Same holds true for the low voltage processor. Motherboard voltages are controlled by voltage regulators which are at fixed voltages. The only sure way to use a processor like that is to get a motherboard built to support it. It should also be noted that overclocking any component voids any warranty you may have. >>



Now, there are jumper setting for higher FSB setting, but then the AGP slot is overclocked so you need to be careful in card selection there. There also seems to be some potential for upping the core voltage on the motherboard, but I can't find that thread right now...

It is a nice kit and all of the components are good quality. I have no regrets.

 

[lifeguard1999]

Skip Pricewatch. Instead go to the For Sale/Trade forum and buy a pretested CPU from compuwiz1. I bought a 700E @ 933 for $160 from him. He is a great guy (500+ positive heatware evals!) and you can't beat the price/deal.