Need some upgrading opinions please

[jcwagers]

Hey everyone! I'm in a slight dilemma as to what to do. I currently have 2 rigs. This rig that I'm on right now is a K6-2 450 with a Voodoo 3 2000 AGP. My other rig is a classic Athlon 700 with a 32 meg TNT2(non-Ultra). I would like to upgrade this computer(the K6-2 450) for not too much money. I already have the ram and some case fans for the case that I'll be reusing. I'm thinking about going with a Duron and a KT7A motherboard and using a GW FOP32-1 heatsink. I've never had an overclocked rig and since the Durons are cheap, I thought I might like to try it out! I also want to bump up my power supply to a 300 watt (probably get another PP303X). I would consider the Asus A7V133 BUT....this computer has a ISA modem and I don't actually want to have to buy another modem due to the Asus board's lack of an ISA slot. My hard drive is small (8.4 gig 5400rpm) but it does fine for what I need out of this rig. My question is, which Duron would you recommend? I've heard that the 700 overclocks well(as do all of the rest of them basically). The only major concern I have is that I want something that will be fast but that if I decide to overclock will probably overclock to around 900 or maybe even 1 gig. Whether or not I overclock it will probably depend on the performance that I get out of it at stock speed. I don't want to overshadow my Athlon 700 TOO much.
I'm planning on keeping the V3 2000 for now and probably overclocking it to 166. I may invest in another video card later. I might go with a GF2MX for this rig, if the V3 doesn't do the job ok. Now, this summer I'd also like to upgrade my Athlon 700 rig(which I'm partial to) to a 1.2 266 fsb and an Asus A7V133. I don't want to get rid of the Athlon 700 OR the K6-2 450 so....I'm debated as to WHAT to do with them? Server perhaps for the K6-2 450? Another consideration is that I could switch the cases and put the Athlon 700 in my slower rig and then put the duron in as my fastest rig. I might get a Radeon LE. I'm really not sure what to do right now. I have so many ideas floating around in my head and I only seem to come up with MORE! *LOL* Any opinions about what I've mentioned? I'd be happy to have any and all opinions! Thanks!

jcwagers

BTW....if I upgrade to a duron 700, KT7A, GW FOP 32-1, and a PP303X ps, it'll run about $250-260.

 

[digi187]

700 is good... Heck if it overshadows your athalon classic, what the heck

What are you using this rig for?

 

[jcwagers]

Probably all-in-one stuff. Gaming, web-surfing, etc....
The K6-2 450 gives me an average of about 32-34 fps on UT at 640x480 with the V3. I'd like to have it a *little* higher. Might wait a little while and try a GF2MX on it....as that would help performance as well. If I don't end up upgrading the 700 Athlon, I would like to try a new video card for it. Looking at either a Radeon LE or maybe a Radeon 64 VIVO(never had video in or out but it might be cool to have for something in the future). If not that, I've been kinda interested in the New Kyro 2 from Hercules.

jcwagers

 

[GrInNer]

I can't help with the system (I don't overclock so picking a good system for it would be like deciphering Greek) but I can tell you that the VIVO may not be the way you go. I used the Rage Fury Pro VIVO (when it was new) and the card would not work with any of the VIVO functions enabled, but that?s not the bad part... When I went to ATI to get some help, their tech guy basically told me to go piss up a rope and fix the damned thing myself. After several fresh installs of OS's from win98se to win2k with no VIVO I wound up bagging the card (sold it for 50 bucks) and going with a Matrox G400. Now, I know that the Radeon is the latest greatest, but I wholly doubt that ATI has improved its tech support. The drivers are also very flighty, and never timely. I had similar problems with tech support dealing with an ATI AIW Pro128 card that was causing random system lockups. They told me to install a "special purpose" driver, and when I called back they told me that they would not give me tech support if I was using the driver because it was not supported... imagine that. I have given up on ATI, at least until I hear that they have started providing better support. With my current cards, I have never come across a problem that couldn?t be dealt with myself, or that wasn?t completely explained in an FAQ.

Good luck

 

[lilstevo]

if overclocking is wat you're looking for duron 600 & 650 are the best overclockers i believe. they are harder to find now though. I guess than the 700 is pretty good as well. I had one duron 700 go at 950 just fine.

 

[jcwagers]

I think I'm just gonna invest in a higher end upgrade. That seems to make more sense to me. If I do a lot of upgrading to my smaller rig and then upgrade the top rig...I'll be out a LOT of cash. Think I'd just be better off switching part of my other rig to this one after I get it upgraded. I think it would save me some money. I'd like to try a duron....but....I guess I'll stick with a T-bird......now....if I only had enough money......

jcwagers

 

[GrInNer]

There is always someone out there with less of a system than the one you are upgrading. Sell off some of your parts to kick to the cost of your new system. I know I hate seeing that cash cap come into play when there are so many good toys out there.

 

[Pers]

my system is worse than the one your upgrading..

anyways...i have seen a 700mhz duron oc to 1284 so they are good at ocing..