K6-2 500 Advice

[rcraig]

I am looking to upgrade a P133 system for a friend (who doesn't have much money)and am looking at the Powerleap adapter for the K6-2 400. While looking, I noticed you can buy the adapter without a processor, then buy a K6-2 500 separately for $30 less than the adapter/processor combo from Powerleap. My question about the K6-2 500 is is it multiplier locked? I want to underclock this to 400 mHz but I don't remember if these were locked or not. Anyone try this?
Thanks.

 

[jcwagers]

No, none of the K6-2's are multiplier locked. You should be fine although if it'll run it, leave the processor at 500. There will be a difference in performance between a K6-2 400 and a 500......but it won't be a drastic difference. I had a K6-2 300 and went to a K6-2 450 on my budget rig and it IS faster.....but it's not a drastic improvement.....especially in games. Good luck! I'm sure it'll be a big improvement over your friend's P133 though.

jcwagers

 

[force26]

Despite the performance difference between a K6-2/400 and 500, you may still want to run the processor at 400Mhz or even less. Many of voltage regulators on older motherboards can not handle the current of the modern processors. If you have any system stability problems at 500Mhz, you may want to underclock the processor as you first suggested.

Geoff

 

[Tominator]

I'd spend the $$ on a motherboard that supports the k6-2. A Soyo 503+ comes to mind....better yet find a Slot1 board and a celery that can be OCd.

 

[Fardringle]

Or, if you end up buying a new motherboard and CPU, go with a Duron system. The combo will cost you less than a Celeron setup at the same clock speed and be MUCH faster..

 

[kengsim]

Yeah, the Durons are now so cheap that i would spend any more money upgrading any K6/2 system. Personally, I've not tried the KM133 chipset, so I can't say anything about the onboard video. But unless you're really on a tight budget, go for the KT133.

 

[Pederv]

What I've noticed about most systems that are running P233 or lower is that they can't support the voltage for the K6-2's. If the cost of the Powerleap adaptor plus the cpu is close to what a new motherboard and new processor would cost, I'd go with the new setup. Most non-teckies don't want to spend more that a $100 or so on a upgrade, which will limit your choices, unless you can talk them into another $50 or so.