Need advise on upgrading my current system

[paopao]

Guys, I am really in need of your suggestions here.

I am currently using a Celeron 300A @ 450 with ABIT BX6 motherboard. 196 MB PC100 RAM. Running Windows 2000 Professional.

Do I go with the Celeron 533A or PIII 700 cb0?

My concern is I don't want to change my motherboard, and I really don't know if it's gonna work.

I tried to beat the 300A to 504, and it failed.

Where is a good place to get the Celeron 533A? How can I verify it's a 533"A"?

THANKS!!!

 

[Coki]

There is an awesome deal from Onvia.com for the PIII 700E cB0 stepping they most likely will do 933 with a little voltage boost. They are under $200 after the pointclick rebate.

You just can't beat the horsepower of those things.

Get that CPU while the deal is still going on.

 

[Ulysses]

You can't be sure whether the Cele 533A will get to 800/100 (although there is a good chance of that), and even if it does it will barely equal the non-overclocked P3 600E. The 600E in cB0 stepping has a good chance of being o'clocked to a level that will outperform any Cele, and they cost only a little more. The Abit site at
http://www.abit-usa.com/english/download/bios-bx6.htm does not indicate to me that your board will support anything faster than a 600E P3 or a 533 Cele, and you may have to upgrade your BIOS for that.

Personally I think the Cele's today are outdated. I'd recommend the P3 600E in cB0 stepping in FC-PGA format with an Abit Slotket (rev 0.82) for use with your Slot 1 board. The FC-PGA is more versatile over the long term if you later upgrade your board.

To get a 533A or a 600E just insist on an 'A' or 'E,' respectively, when ordering.

Check prices at:
http:// [url]http://www.pricewatch.com/ [/url]
or
http:// [url]http://ibuyer.net/ [/url]

Check vendors at:
http:// [url]http://www.resellerratings.com/ [/url]

 

[Phatswalla]

If you want to keep your motherboard, you probably want to upgrade to something with a lower original fsb speed, thus the celeron. That way you can overclock to a 100fsb speed which allows your agp/pci and memory to all run in specs.

 

[Nick Stone]

Factors to consider when choosing between CII 533 or 566 and PIII 600/650/700 cBO. Check the existing hardware that you probably don't want to replace. BTW BX6 works fine for CII (I'm using one)
1. Video card; Check Anand's recent video card review (2 weeks old) It tells which cards run at 89 mhz FSB (or higher) which is necessary to go the PIII path. With CII you can run at 66 - 75 mhz FSB.
2. Ram; Will yours do 133 mhz FSB, probably at cas 2? If not then again, CII requires 100 - 112 FSB -- usually normal PC100 will do.

 

[paopao]

Does anyone succeded CII-566 @ 850 using the Abit BX6 (original) mobo?
I do have the latest BIOS for the mobo, and is currently using C300A @ 450.

BTW: I have ordered PIII700 and ACUS CUBX mobo by your suggestions.

I still have some buget left, and I would like to beef up my old C450.

Thanks.

 

[Nick Stone]

paopao
Yes, CII 566@952 on original BX6.

 

[crab's better half]

Just thought I would add my 2 cents worth: We bought CII 566 FC-PGA'S OEM (two) and 2 MSI MS-6905 Master (Ver 2) Slotkets and 2 Alpha Pep66 Slotket Coolers from http://www.cpusforless.com/. Just checked and they are out of their CII 533A and CII 566's. We got them to overclock at 952, just as Nick Stone wrote.