WANT TO UPGRADE CPU BUT NOT SURE

[SHAZAM64]

I OWN A ACER COMPUTER WITH A PII 266 AND I'M NOT SURE IF I'M RUNNING AT 66MGHZ OR 100. I WANT TO UPGRADE TO A PII 400 THAT RUNS AT 100 MGHZS. HOW DO I FIND OUT WHAT MY BUSS SPEED IS ALSO WHAT SPEED MY MEMORY IS? ANY HELP WOULD BE GRATEFUL.

[OuTpaTienT]

You have a 66mhz FSB. 100mhz FSB was only availible with PII/350 and higher.

[daverme]

Another way to know: 266 divided by 66 gives a whole number (266/66=4) while 266 divided by 100 is NOT a whole number (266/100=2.6). The FSB speed (the "frequency") multiplied by some whole number (the "multiplier") gives the CPU speed. Now, 400/66=6 ... can this CPU run with a FSB of 66?

[Barney]

The busspeed of your PII 266 is 66mhz. The busspeed of the PII 400 is 100mhz. Your memory is probably PC-66 (66mhz). Your mainboard might also be 66mhz. That means that you might have to buy a new mainboard and memory. In that case an upgrade to 400mhz wouldn't be interesting...

Do you have more info about your computer? When did you buy it? Did you buy it new? Do you know what mainboard you have by any chance?

Ronald

[daveleau]

I am in a similar boat with my girlfriend's system. hers is a Compaq PII 266. The RAM is PC66 and it has onboard vid and audio. I have contemplated getting her a Celeron 600 or so but would have to get a new mobo since hers only supports up to 300 PII and not much higher (333?) on Celerons. At least with Cel I would not have to buy new RAM.
Dave

[justy]

Another option is the spectra ( evergreen ) upgardes. I dont know how suitable these would be for you, and are relativly expensive.

I upgraded a p120 to an amdk62-400 using one of these recently, and the machine is working happily.

Although this is the only experience I have with these upgrades, I don't know if anyone else has had any problems with them?

All the best, Justy.

[SHAZAM64]

THANKS A BUNCH, I'M GONNA GO WITH A NEW MOBO AND CPU THEN. YOU GUYS WERE ALOT OF HELP THIS IS GREAT!!!

[cheapster]

A nice upgrade option for you would be a MSI-6309 motherboard and Celeron 600 CPU for $169 from www.mwave.com. (http://www.mwave.com.) If you order some PC-100 ram(or if your ram can do 100 MHz) it makes for a nice overclock to 900 MHZ. That was my last upgrade, runs fine with 250 watt PS.
Chuck

[zskillz]

you'll probably have to get new memory also!! but that's cheap right now, so it shouldn't be a problem...

you could also just buy a pretty cheap celeron 566 or something like that... it would be a cheap fix until you buy an entirely new system... that's what I would recommend.

-Z