Question on Abit BH6, FC-PGA, 133Mhz

[WarDancer]

Hi,

I was going to wait to buy a new computer all together when dual t-birds would be available, but my current computer is just driving me crazy. So I'm checking to upgrade my current setup instead (and maybe delaying the next one). Right now I have (I don't think the rest of the setup matters):

Abit BH6
Celeron 300a oc to 450
128 MB PC-100 RAM
G400 Max (I watch movies a lot and pretty much play games on consoles now)
PCI cards are: Sound blaster live, Asus PCI-SC875 (scsi controller), and a D-Link network card for my dsl.

I want 2 things
-128mb more ram
-a faster processor

I was first going to buy something like a p3 800Mhz slot 1 version but I realized that getting a FC-PGA version with a FC-PGA to Slot 1 adapter would be less expensive. Do these affect stability and/or performance?

The other thing I considered doing was buying some ram, but since pc-133 is now the same price or lower than pc-100 I could maybe buy 256 mb of pc-133 and sell my 128 pc-100 to a friend (he's also looking for some more ram). I will avoid getting a single 256 module since I read that older motherboards may have problems with high density ram. But since I would now have PC-133 ram, could I then buy a P3 800EB instead an run it at 133Mhz (I think I would need a 133Mhz adapter, please correct if I'm wrong)? Or would some of my current components not run correctly at that speed?

I would appreciate any comments or suggestions to my upgrade path.

 

[bozack]

you can buy 256megs of pc133 however you should buy 2 128 sticks of pc 133 since 256 sticks are not guaranteed to work all the time.


A 133 cpu however will most definately not work, and if it happens to work your other devices will be totally out of whack because the bh6 does not have the proper divider to support 133mhz bus speeds.

I had a similar setup as you do and upgraded to 256 megs pc133 (2x128 sticks)

a p3 650 cpu

and a

radeon 32ddr

the radeon was the biggest performance boost of the three however I am working towards a tbird 850 purchase.


good luck in your quest

 

[WarDancer]

Thanks for the response, I will indeed go with 2 * 128 PC-133 sticks. I want to keep my g400 max thought, the picture quality when watching movies with the DVDMax option is simply superb (with my tv at least).

So I'll take a 100 FSB P3. Can anyone give me their input on the PGA to Slot 1 adapters? If I can save a few bucks by getting a fc-pga + adapter instead of a slot 1 version it would be great.

 

[Jeff H]

WarDancer, I did nearly exactly what you want to do, w/ my BH6 rev1.02 board. FYI my setup includes the following: iP!!!-650 cB0 stepping, Abit Slotket!!!, 256MB PC133 Samsung SDRAM (2 x 128MB modules), Thermaltake Golden Orb HSF, Arctic Silver HS paste.

Your idea to go w/ an FC-PGA processor, rather than a Slot1, is good, in that the FC-PGA processor will have more life to it, due to the fact that nearly all new boards are Socket370, not Slot1. The slotkets you'll want to consider include Abit, Asus, MSI, and IWill.

The reason you'll want to avoid an EB processor, i.e. one w/ a 133FSB, is that it's unlikely you'll get your BH6 to run, w/ all the other components, @ 133MHz FSB. And, because the 440BS chipset does not have a 1/4 multiplier for AGP, you'll be pushing your video card @ 89MHz.

Be sure you flash the BIOS to the latest version: SS for rev1.0x boards, SP for rev1.1 boards.

 

[oldfart]

On the BH6, there were two versions. I believe the 1.0 version does not have a 1/4 PCI divider. If you ran 133 FSB, your PCI would be @ 44 MHz, which is a no-no. The later versions may have the 1/4 setting, but I'm not sure. Be sure to look into this before you choose a processor. I upgraded a friends PC with a BH6 1.0 from a C 450A to a PIII 800e. Worked out very well.

 

[Auric]

The lack of a 1/4 divider is a limitation of the BX chipset. Definitely go with the Slotket adapter and the FC your wallet can manage. For maximum benefit at lowest cost use the PC133 RAM with an o'erclockable CPU and aim for an FSB of 112 or 124 if you are lucky. That ol' BH6 still has life in it.

 

[RickH]

I upgraded a BH6 C300A@450 to a C566@850 afew months ago. It was a cheap ungrade compared to a PIII 800 at the time. It works great in most applications. A boxed Celeron, with stock Intell fan and a cheap adapter. The cost of a PIII 700 0r 750 is still about 2 times the Celeron with about the same performance. The PIII 800 or 850 is better than the Celery, but you have consider it costs 3 times as much for 10-15% performance difference. Also how long are you keeping the MB?? It's already 3 year old technology. Maybe you should throw a $75 Celeron into the BH6 and save the rest for a new board that supports faster bus speeds, faster hard drives, etc. But remember not all processors will overclock. I have had luck with 4 out of 4. R.

 

[vailr]

Currently running BH6 version 1.01 with SS bios, Abit Slocket!!! and FCPGA 800/100 FSB @ 8x112=896 MHZ. Have also seen reports of other's running 10x100 with a 1 GHZ FCPGA. If you were to attempt using 133 FSB, your video card would be running at 2/3 of FSB, or 88 MHZ. (Selectable FSB ratio of 1 or 2/3 in bios). Some video cards will not function that far above the normal 66 MHZ speed of AGP specification. Have also read (on usenet) of success running 3 x 256 = 768MB memory on the BH6.
Quote from usenet: "Crucial 256 meg PC133 works fine on my BH6."

 

[oldfart]

A clarification: Many (Most) BX mobos DO have a 1/4 PCI setting. Some early ones didn't. The lack of a 1/2 AGP setting is there on all BX mobos, however.

 

[Auric]

Ah so. It's been a year since I did the C300A/450MHz to C533A/825MHz thang. Good to hear the 256MB sticks work. I was thinking about adding s'more RAM and thought I was limited to a final 128MB. Can they be mix 'n' matched (128 and 256)?

 

[RedShirt]

Hi,
I had a BH6 Rev. 1.0 and Ran a Pentium III 500 @ 667 with a 133 mhz bus fine.

Geforce Videocards are really nice about running way out of spec. And it did support a 1/4 PCI divider.

I don't know about G400's... They may not like being ran out of spec.

 

[oldfart]

Hmm. You may be right. I think I mixed that up the BH6 and BX6. I know for sure the BX6 rev 1 didn't have the 1/4 PCI, but the BX6 rev 2 did.

 

[Nack]

Actually, my BH6 1.01 flashed to SS bios DOES have a 1/4 PCI divider at 133MHz. It is reported as 1/3 in the bios, but it OPERATES at 1/4. I have tested extensively, and I am quite certain that all of my PCI peripherals are happily running at spec. As for the AGP bus, THAT will be quite overclocked. Nothing you can do about that. Luckily my Radeon AIW likes 89MHz just fine.

I have come to the conclusion that there are actually 3 functionally different flavors of the BH6. The 1.01 is a different board than the 1.0, and can support such features as a 1/4 PCI divider at 133MHz, even though Abit will tell you otherwise, and the bios continues to report a 1/3 divider. The 1.1 is a different board yet.

About the adapter question, the BH6 is designed for SLOT-1 chips. You need a FC-PGA to Slot-1 adapter that is rated for coppermines and 133MHz operation.

Nack

 

[Drifter]

>I'm running BH-6 ( Version 1.06 ) Flashed to SS. FC-PGA P3 700E @ 935 (Stock HSF) W/ IWill Socket 2 @ 1.75Volts. 2pc's of 128 MB MUSHKIN Infineon PC133 Cas 222

>System's running Rock-Solid @ 133 FSB. Wished it went higher.(It's never high enough..lol ) Play alot of GL Quake on gamespy and SOF Gold

>Would RECOMMEND a Geforce/Geforce 2 Video Card @ 133 FSB

>Check out My System Rig. Good luck

 

[WarDancer]

Thank you for all the input. I'll stay clear from buying a 133Mhz version. I'll buy a fc-pga p3 and see what kind of fc-pga to slot 1 converter I can find here.

Thanks for all your input

 

[Diesel21]

<< The lack of a 1/4 divider is a limitation of the BX chipset >>



This is not true. The BX chipset has a 1/4 divider for the PCI. The only problem in running 133 mhz with a BX board is the 89 mhz AGP.

I have a celeron 566@850(100fsb) mhz on a P2B-F and a PIII 450@600(133fsb) mhz on a P3B-F.

both are running great. My next upgrade will probably be in the 2+GHZ department