Via C3 Processor

[doanster]

Its a C3, 900MHz with the 100MHz FSB

How does it compare to a Pentium III?
Probably runs cooler? Quieter with a low-speed fan?
Overclocking???

I am building a system with some spare parts. Here's the rough specs:
Tekram P6B40-A4X mobo
900MHz Via C3
256-448MB of PC100 and/or PC133 RAM
old 20-30gig hard drive
some old vid card... maybe Geforce2 or somethin, not sure yet

suggestions?
what kinda performance should i expect?
wat can i do on it? play games? watch DVDs? turn it into a PVR in the living room?

thx for help!

 

[AnitaPeterson]

I *think* it doesn't actually require a fan... a nice big passive heatsink should be enough, but maybe I'm mistaken, so let's see what other people say.

As for performance, it should be similar to a P3-650 or so... definitely you can do a lot of things with it, but don't expect a speed demon.

 

[CreativeTom]

I have had a few machines with that CPU in it before, I would recomend a PIII over that. I doubt you have any luck getting an overclock out of it, but you can try, it does run cooler then a PIII, but for some reason they just don't seem up to par with the Intel chips of the same speed.

 

[doanster]

hmm... any suggestions as to what i can do with it?
how about what OS should I use? Thinking of using Windows ME cuz i hav a copy of that lying around... dont want to run winXP on that thing... mite dual boot with linux tho... nvr really had time to use Linux so this mite be a good place to start... decisions decisions....

 

[DaveSimmons]

Speed is maybe half of P3 speed, comparable to a Celeron 466 MHz. It will probably play DVDs but not divx/mpeg4.

I'd probably get a real P3 or Celeron to use with your parts in the FS/FT forum and sell or landfill the C3.

 

[doanster]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Speed is maybe half of P3 speed, comparable to a Celeron 466 MHz. It will probably play DVDs but not divx/mpeg4.

I'd probably get a real P3 or Celeron to use with your parts in the FS/FT forum and sell or landfill the C3.

hmm... y not divx/mpeg4? i remember still being able to play divx on my 400MHz K6-2...
it cant be THAT slow can it?

 

[DaveSimmons]

320x240 might be OK, but yes the C3 really is a broken-legged turtle dipped in molasses.

 

[formulav8]

If you look at the Sandra benches the 1ghz C3 is worse than, or equal to a 450mhz-500mhz K6 cpu. So yes, the C3 IS THAT bad in the performance department. Even a Celeron at 466mhz would be better to have it seems.


Jason

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: doanster

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Speed is maybe half of P3 speed, comparable to a Celeron 466 MHz. It will probably play DVDs but not divx/mpeg4.

I'd probably get a real P3 or Celeron to use with your parts in the FS/FT forum and sell or landfill the C3.

hmm... y not divx/mpeg4? i remember still being able to play divx on my 400MHz K6-2...
it cant be THAT slow can it?

Yeah, low-res MPEG-4, it might handle. Full res can be tough on a 2GHz proc. Playing a file I ripped myself, 854x358 pixels, my 2.1GHz Athlon XP-M is running at near 60% to decode the video, and that's with post processing disabled. With post processing, it gets close to 90%.

 

[doanster]

hmm... so it mite not actually be worth the upgrade from my 400MHz K6-2 then?
*sigh*...

 

[formulav8]

I do have a K6/2+ 550mhz cpu that runs perfectly fine at 600mhz. It would be a nice upgrade to that regular K6/2. This cpu has on-chip full speed L2 Cache. So, it would have full speed L1, full speed L2, and the onboard mobo L3 Cache at fsb speeds.

Of course, your mobo would need to support it. I am not positive I am going to get rid of it yet. But you never know I guess. These + series cpu's are hard to find.


Jason

 

[Brazen]

Originally posted by: doanster
hmm... so it mite not actually be worth the upgrade from my 400MHz K6-2 then?
*sigh*...

If this is a machine that runs 24/7 and you are looking to save some money on the electric bill, then this may be worth it. I myself am thinking of setting up a linux firewall/snort/proxy/vpn/router at home and plan on getting a C3 for it. When I get time though, I'm going to see how this does on a Pentium 450mhz system at my disposal.

I would also like to set up a mysql server, a mythtv server, and a file server. At $200 for a complete C3 based system, that would only be $800 for hardware. For these latter three servers though, it may actually use LESS power to build one AMD system for $800 to house all three.