Newbie question.... Need help please....

[WAZ]

Hi,

Thanks in advance to anyone who reads this and can offer some help. I appreciate it.

I have never been too much into technical specs of PC hardware until recently. About 2 years ago, I bought a Gateway PII-400, 128 MB RAM. I just upgraded my 12MB Voodoo2 (PCI) to a 32MB DDR GeForce2 GTS (AGP). But it does not seem that much faster than my old Voodoo2. It chugs along at times and doesn't even seem to outperform the V2 sometimes. This is where my lack of knowledge comes in.

I know that my GeF2 GTS runs at a 2X and 4X AGP. But since I have an old Pentium II (when they first introduced AGP technology), is my AGP slot only a 1X ? I can't find anywhere in my BIOS (or anywhere else) how to set my AGP slot to 2X or 4X. So is my new video card running only 1/2 or 1/4 as fast as it can? Is there any way to determine this, and/or speed it up?

If this is the case, do I need to upgrade to a new motherboard with 2X-4X AGP? And also (sorry if I sound like an idiot, but I'm just not informed on this stuff), how do I know what to look for in a motherboard? Slot 1, Slot A, 370, all that stuff... what do I need to upgrade to get my computer speed up, get a faster AGP (if that's the problem), and/or get a faster processor? How fast of a processor can I go up to in my Gateway PII case?

Sorry for all the questions, but I don't even know where to start in improving my computer. Again, thanks in advance for ANY help anyone can offer.

Thanks a lot,
WAZ

 

[jimmygates]

Judging by your specs, (PII 400) there is a very good chance the AGP is 1x or atmost 2x. Since your board does support PII 400mhz, I assume it's using Intel's 440BX board. (Don't think Gateway used any other chipset besides Intel's) If it is indeed a 440BX board, you might want to check to see if there is any BIOS updates for your board. A BIOS update might allow you a higher multiplier setting for your CPU.


If you want a new Intel motherboard then you would look for a Socket 370 board unless you want to fork over the cash for a P4 now

If your looking for an AMD motherboard then you would look for a Socket-A based board.

Slot 1/ Slot A = Will become the thing of the past


-Jimbo

 

[Nih]

If your board is an "LX" chipset (you can see a motherboard spec message at boot up) You are only running AGP 1x. Also if you don't have a AGP 2x enable/disable setting in the bios, that is another hint that you are running 1x.

For upgrading, If you want a new motherboard, but want to keep using your pII 400, A Bx board will suit your needs, and you'll be able to run at least at AGP2x.

But if your case will hold it , I would recommend a P3V4X . Then you can utilize AGP 4x for your new G-Force.

 

[hatboy]

Both the 440LX and 440BX chipsets support both 1X and 2X AGP. Since you have a PII 400, which runs on a 100mhz bus, you most certainly do not have an LX chipset board. It is highly probable that instead you have a BX chipset, which, as I said, supports 2X AGP. If you want to see what speed your AGP card is running at, download WCPUID. It will show you. You can get it here.

 

[Nih]

Hatboy , you are correct, the LX is indeed limited to a 66MHZ fsb. But i was correct in assuming that the LX can only do agp 1x, thanks for catching my error.

 

[hatboy]

Nih - I'm afraid I'm going to have to catch another error. The LX chipset is NOT limited to AGP 1x. Indeed, it can do both 1x and 2x. No implementation of AGP on any publicly available chipset has ever been limited to 1x. Version 1.0 of Intel's own AGP specification, which the LX chipset conforms to, calls for the support of 2x operation. If you don't believe me, check out the specifications for this 440LX board, which was made by Intel themselves: link.

 

[Nih]

Bastard... j/k. I guess you learn something new everyday, tyvm

 

[WAZ]

Thanks a lot for your help, everyone.

I called Gateway and also ran WCPIUD, and came up with my definite system info.

I am indeed running a Slot-1 Intel 440BX (PII-400), and my AGP slot is doing 2X. My Gateway case is ATX.

Now, to my knowledge, I can upgrade my motherboard and processor to ANYTHING that's ATX, right? I could get a Socket A, a Slot 1, a Socket 370, anything, and it will fit in my Gateway case? I know that if I get a Socket A, it has to be an AMD processor, and a Slot 1 has to be Intel. I just want to make sure I can legitimately remove my Intel 440BX motherboard and Intel PII processor (SLot 1), and replace it with a Socket A ASUS A7V or Abit KT133 motherboard (or whichever is best) with an AMD Athlon processor. And all my other hardware will run just fine on it, no problems?

Sorry again if my questions sound stupid. I'm getting more knowledgable on this stuff as I go!

Thanks for all your help-
WAZ

 

[TELeast]

The difference between AGP 2x and 4x is minimal if you are just playing games. You see more improvement when you are doing hardcore 3D rendoring using professional softwares.

My point is that the AGP 2x is not the bottleneck issue here as you claim there is little difference in speed when you play games between the GeForce2 and the Voodoo2.

IMHO, the main bottleneck would be the CPU. There is not much a PII400 can do with a GeForce2 it couldn't do with Voodoo2 in terms of frame rates. Even an overclocked Celeron300A running at 450Mhz would out pace your PII400 by at least 10Mhz in terms of FPU speed.

So your best bet is to get a new motherboard and CPU. For a BANG for your BUCK system, get the AMD Duron and KT133 board. Being an ABIT fan, I'd suggest the KT7A-100 RAID. If you really want to fully utilize that GeForceGTS you have, get the ThuderBird.

 

[WAZ]

Thanks for the advice! I was talking to a friend of mine who works for AMD in Texas, and he told me the same thing. So, after much review and comparing and advice, I've decided to tear out my Intel motherboard and PII and go for a new KT133 ASUS or ABIT mobo and an Athlon. For only a few hundred bucks, i think it will be well worth it.

Now I just have to decide between the ASUS A7V and the ABIT KT7 (maybe RAID). The debate over those two seem to be split, and i think i'd be happy with either of them, as I've heard nothing but good things about both. The Softmenu BIOS tweaking on the Abit looks pretty tempting. Anyway, whatever I decide, thanks to everyone for all your help and advice. It really helped me out in upgrading my computer (and hopefully getting that Gf2 GTS to fly like I hear it can).

Thanks again-
WAZ