Why I Like Lousy Hardware

[Hlafordlaes]

I upgraded my main machine to Core2 in 2007.

Prior to that I was running a dual socket 370 board (Abit VP6) that let's face it, could run anything on XP just fine except modern games. I spent mega-hours tweaking the chipset with H.Oda's utility and an old program from George Breese that I got to work fine on XP. With lapped coolers I had a modest OC that was pretty good for a 133MHz FSB (147). I adjusted my running services and progs, got Rivatuner to do its stuff, and had Oblivion running pretty nicely @1280x1024 on my trusty 6800GT (modded to Ultra speeds). I even found a great IDE tweak hidden in the chipset datasheets that got my drives to deliver better speeds than those same drives on a much more modern Core2 chipset.

It was a heck of a lot of fun! I had to chart a lot of territory, especially since I got the dual 370 in... 2006!... way much later than the heyday of the VP6, so there were a lot of broken links when searching the net.

My new board, now old by AT standards, has been fun but it has been a question of adjusting bios settings and, well, that's about it! Boring!

So I have built a second PC, this time an Abit VH6HT, single-socket 370 with a nice, cool Tualatin 1.4Ghz that I can overclock very nicely. Hooked both machines up to a KVM and... I now spend more time with my superhacked Win98SE socket 370 playing legacy games than I do on the Core2.

I enjoy the suffering of endless tweaking than I do simply buying performance. Anyone else as weird as I am?

 

[AndreGeek]

I see the appeal of doing a lot of work yourself. It's satisfying and builds great memories like the ones you shared above.

 

[rogue1979]

I like to tweak "budget stuff". It gives me more satisfaction to buy lower or midrange hardware and tweak it to outperform top of the line stuff.

For my next project I'm gonna grab a couple of e5200's since they are now below $80.
Put them on a $45 Biostar G31-M7 with the 1066 bsel mod and see if I can get 4GHz for $125.

 

[Hlafordlaes]

Originally posted by: rogue1979
I like to tweak "budget stuff". It gives me more satisfaction to buy lower or midrange hardware and tweak it to outperform top of the line stuff.

For my next project I'm gonna grab a couple of e5200's since they are now below $80.
Put them on a $45 Biostar G31-M7 with the 1066 bsel mod and see if I can get 4GHz for $125.

Yeah, my kinda tweakin'! Did a volt mod on my e4500 and kinda messed up ~ not enough silver ink, so over the summer it melted enough to go crazy and then settle back to default. Still haven't pulled it, but will be doing the bsel and redoing the volt when lethargy permits.

Cheap rules!

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: Hlafordlaes
Anyone else as weird as I am?

Depends on your definition of weird...

I generally am a "budget overclocker." BITD I did tweak a lot of crappy hardware, but more because I couldn't afford anything better. For instance, I had a Matrox G200 that I managed to triple my Quake 3 framerates. Someone had a utility that could change anything and everything on the card including memory latencies.

These days I spend a lot more money on hardware, but I still enjoy bang-for-buck. My most recent CPU was an E5200 (just got it Friday).

As for having old hardware... I still have a bunch of socket 370 chips and boards (all chips work, boards are mostly dead or dying). At least you have some Tualatins, which run circles around my VIA C3 chips. :laugh:

 

[Hlafordlaes]

@Zap,

Nice pic!

Drools...

 

[Gillbot]

My favorite OC of all time is still my PIII933 that ran 1164 on my Asus P3V4X. The FSB topped on that mobo at 166 and I know that chip would have gone more had the FSB been there to run it.

 

[smb]

when I worked IT, I was always rummaging thru the old stuff and building systems to tweak and overclock.

 

[Hlafordlaes]

Originally posted by: Gillbot
My favorite OC of all time is still my PIII933 that ran 1164 on my Asus P3V4X. The FSB topped on that mobo at 166 and I know that chip would have gone more had the FSB been there to run it.

Wow, 166 is great! I just picked up 768MB of old Corsair 160MHz SDRAM off eBay. Sadly, at least one stick is bad, so still testing. Hope to get 2 sticks going for 512MB @160+ on the VH6T if I'm lucky. And yes, the PIIIs seem to have been more limited by the DRAM than the CPU for OC in my experience so far.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: Hlafordlaes
@Zap,

Nice pic!

Drools...

You want any of it? Really cheap! LOL. The bulk of the cost would be shipping.

Gillbot, I have fond memories of my first dedicated gaming rig (as in a separate machine from my daily use one). Asus P3B-F with a P3-550 Cu overclocked to 825MHz using the maximum FSB the board had, 150MHz. It was a BX chipset and the AGP was running way out of spec at 100MHz so I had to use a PCI Voodoo 3 2000 (overclocked to 3500 levels).

I also had a P3V4X and tried it with the same CPU, but for some reason I couldn't clock it as high.

 

[Hlafordlaes]

@Zap, I would, but I have a nasty closet-of-nostalgia of my own with some PIIIs and PIII-S's, Socket 370 to Tualatin CPU Adapters, PIII boards... and a coupla HP150 Touchscreens (with engineering manuals, SW, etc). I have run out of excuses with the missus, sadly.

 

[Gillbot]

I was given the P3V4X and CPU to torcher and prove the VIA chip set could compete with the (almighty at the time) BX chipset. After beating the suppliers FSB record, I was sold and they were not too happy I took their record from them. That was one combo I should have never sold. It should have been hung on the wall and saved for the memories.

 

[rogue1979]

Hey Zap,

Did you get the 1066 mod on the e5200 yet?

 

[killster1]

how long would it take to encode a dvd compared to my q9450 @ 4ghz or my e8600 @ 5ghz.. and using windows 98se wow well that just seems to much fun for me.. some people have lots of time to burn some people have lots of money to burn i just have a little of both so i buy as fast as i can afford to break and overclock the shit out of it..

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: rogue1979
Hey Zap,

Did you get the 1066 mod on the e5200 yet?

No time yet, CPU is still sealed in retail box. Should be as easy as the other CPUs I did, only question is whether it will work at the higher speed w/o extra voltage... and if it will work on my MSI 945GC chipset board.

 

[rogue1979]

Let us know how it works out!

Gonna try a couple of these on an Asrock Conroe1333 and a Biostar G31 M-7.
The Biostar has cpu voltage adjustments, but I'll have to paint some dots for the Asrock.

 

[rogue1979]

Zap,

You reminded me of the beginning of my budget overclocking. Back in the day I also couldn't afford expensive hardware and was always looking for a mod or tweak to improve things.

Nowadays I can pretty much get any computer hardware that suits my fancy, but seldom buy expensive stuff. It's still just more fun to take on a challenge and make something
not so fast kick some butt.

I am humbled by the memories.