Upgrade RAM also?

[smooth sa'Ling]

I upgraded to a new motherboard(PC CHIPS M848LU) and cpu(ATHLON XP 2600), but did not upgrade RAM.

Will there be a bottleneck at my RAM? I have 2 sticks of PC2100 DDR 256 RAM. Should I upgrad to PC2700 or higher?


Also, Should I just throw away my MSI KT3 Ultra motherboard and Duron 1.2 ghz chip and geforce 2mmx 64 mb? Could I get a few bucks for these or is it more of a hassle to sell?

Also, I am thinking about selling my Geforce FX 5200 video card and want to upgrade but don't wanna spend more that 115 bucks, and suggestions?

Also, What is a good website for tweakin bios settings?

thanks for any response

[rangeral]

If its running okay I'd leave it alone, wait a little longer let the price go down, other system you could sell to somebody that just needs internet and word processing plenty of users like that.

This site has good info before you do decide on faster ram

http://www.rojakpot.com/

[BipolarBill]

If you get lockups, it's probably the PC2100 RAM. A 166MHz Athlon needs PC2700 to run comfortably.

Sell that working rig for $75-100.

[smooth sa'Ling]

Thanks for the suggestion on the RAM and that website has great information.

I have many more questions regarding some gaming, but will wait until I'm off work! :0)

thanks again!

[Bigjakkstaffa]

I wouldnt go from PC2100 to PC2700, id go for a bigger jump up to PC3200, that way your getting a reasonable perforamnce potential jump for your money.

As for the vid card, you wont get anything decent for around the 100 mark, as a general rule i alwys say 150 quid is what you want spending on a vid card if you expect it to last, so, if i were you, i would wait and save your money until your in a position to spend a bit extra.

As for the odl machien, you might get a bit for it, i personally would keep it as a second machine for a backup/hobby/LAN gaming/Kid's machine, but if you have no real usage for it it might be an idea to see what you can get for it

--Jakk:t

[smooth sa'Ling]

I canceled my order on the new mobo and cpu. What would you guys suggest for an upgrade on mobo and cpu with a budget of about 155.00?

[BipolarBill]

Epox 8RDA+ and whatever the remainder will buy in an Athlon - probably a 2100+.

Your PC2100 will work in it. Keep in mind that a very good power supply is recommended.

[smooth sa'Ling]

I want the fastest gaming system i can build.... and i originally was going to get a pcchip m848lu with an athlon2600.... and that was 150..... that is not better than the epox with the athlon 2100?

[BipolarBill]

The Epox unlocks the multiplier on the Athlon. The 2100+ will run at 2600+ all day. The 2500+ will run at 3200+ all day.

The key is not the CPU - it's the platform. The PCChips is a bone-stock, non-overclockable board. The Epox also has Firewire and Soundstorm audio.

Fast, fast, fast. That's all anyone seems to think about. A top fuel dragster is fast, but you can't drive one to work. :p

[RamonGTP]

There are two variants of the 2600+. One that runs at 133 fsb, and the other that runs at 166... If you have the 166, then upgrading your memory to PC2700 would be a good move, if you have the 133 your PC2100 will be fine. I'll second BPB's suggestion on the EPoX... I own one, great board.

Send your old system to me, i'll throw it away for you :D

[Bigjakkstaffa]

Another 'here here' for the Epox 8rda+ from another of the resident Epox lovers as well as the Tbred B XP2100+, if you upgrade your RAM to faster stuff later then your lookign at a potential of anywhere up to 2.4Ghz out of that CPU....which is nice

--Jakk:t

[smooth sa'Ling]

Thanks a bunch guys. Im as new as they get and appreciate the info. I am sold on the board and maybe will splurge a little more for the PC3200 RAM, or should I upgrade the chip to a 2600 instead of a 2100? Which will give the me best performance rating for like CS or unreal tourn?

also what sites do you guys like for purchasing this stuff? newegg?

[BipolarBill]

Originally posted by smooth sa'Ling
Which will give the me best performance rating What's more important - a rating or the gaming experience? The games will play just fine on anything over a 1700+. The video card is 70% of the equation. You ain't gonna win a benchmarking contest anyway. Get what you can afford now and upgrade later if you need to.

Yep - Newegg is the place to go.

[smooth sa'Ling]

AMD Athlon XP 2100+/266 FSB Thoroughbred Processor CPU 2100+/ 1.73GHz -Retail..... This is it right?

Epox Motherboard for AMD Athlon/Athlon XP/Duron Processors, Model# EP-8RDA+.... Right?

Is there any additional cooling i need to get?

[BipolarBill]

No - just get the retail CPU with cooler.

[smooth sa'Ling]

ok I bought what you suggested and it came to 154 pluse shipping 27.00

Can you please let me know how to set my bios for a safe overclocked speed with the retail fan? btw- I have 2 sticks of 256 mb pc2100..... Is there a difference between getting 2 sticks of ram to equal 512 or one stick?

[BipolarBill]

Can we wait until you get the board for overclocking? I can tell you that you can only boost the multiplier with that RAM. Set it to 15.0 and try increments of .5 until you get instability - then back up .5. The 2100+ is rated for a 13.0 multiplier.

Yes - two sticks of 256MB are better than 1 stick of 512MB in a dual-DDR board.

[smooth sa'Ling]

At the beginning of this thread I mentioned what I own now. How much of a difference will the new chip and board make on my gaming?

Will I not see a big difference until I fork up the money for new RAM?

[BipolarBill]

The difference will be huge - even without new RAM. I upgraded my brother's PC from a GF2 GTS to a Ti4200 and I didn't see any difference. When I upgraded him from the P3 1000 to an Athlon 1700+, the card just took off! I have since boosted him to a 2100+ and there was no great difference there.

Everyone who used the PC noticed the change too - it wasn't just the nerd (me). ;)

[smooth sa'Ling]

heh heh.... and I thought we only had geeks left.

Thanks. One question. Can you tell me what the best overclocking bios settings would be for my current system for great performance.

MSI Ultra3 mobo
Duron 1.2 ghz
2 DDR PC2100
geforce FX 5200

thanks for the info!

[BipolarBill]

No I won't. I'm not the expert at that. We have a forum for Overclocking.

BTW - there's no such thing as an Ultra3.

[smooth sa'Ling]

Oops you right.... I looked at the manual and its a KT3 Ultra.

Thanks. I will go to the other forum.