NEED HELP ON NEW PROCESSOR AND MB

[Static911]

which is better? I'm still a newbie computer person (but wanna learn more)

Slot 1, FCPGA or Slot A? Also, the compatibility of heatsinks + fans? Is there converters to one or another?

Also, is Coppermine chip any good? Seems there is only 256 L2 cache, yet it is 2x faster to bring it back to par of 512 Kb L2 cache.

Thank-you!!

Static911

 

[JimMc]

Right now most people are opting for a Socket A with a KT133 (AMD Athlon or TBird flipchips) or a slot1/socket 370 with an 815 or BX (Celeron II or PIII flipchips). The FCPGA has pretty much taken over.

Heatsinks pretty much always come with a fan though a few people do switch them out for quiter or more powerful ones.

Yes the coppermine is a good chip, the TBird is probably a better all round chip for the money; the PIII is still a good gaming solution. The 256 cache is on die, full speed.

 

[kengsim]

Nowadays, the Socket boards are the most popular. There are Slot 1 to Socket 370 converters for the intel chips, but you won't find SlotA to Socket A ones. You can't convert the other way round (i.e. put a Slot CPU into a socket mobo). Most heatsinks are designed for both Socket 370 and Socket A. But make sure that you find out its compatibility. In all cases, be very careful when installing or removing them. You can crack the core if you're not careful.

The faster L2 cache makes a lot of difference in the P3's case. But IMHO, the AMD chips give better value for money.

One question though : how come you're a Senior Member here, but are a oc newbie?

 

[toph99]

<< Seems there is only 256 L2 cache, yet it is 2x faster to bring it back to par of 512 Kb L2 cache. >>



the difference is that on the slot1 Katami's(older PIII's, 450-600mhz) was that it had 512kb of L2 running at half of the core clock speed. so on a 500mhz PIII, the cache would run at 250mhz. on the 'new' Coppermine's, the cache is on-die(which is why it fits on the socket instead of in a slot) and it's 256k of L2, runs at full clock speed. right now, it's best to go with a socket 370 or socket A based motherboard, as slots are being phased out.

hope this helps some