Changing Socket 7 to a BX6

[Risk]

I recently bought an AMD K6-2 400 system and I'm not happy with some of the 3D performance (although most games run very well). I am interested changing out my motherboard and processor with a BX6 and a Celeron 300a then overclock it to 450. I've never built a computer from scratch before and I had a couple questions...

1. Do I have to reinstall anything on my hard drive or can I simply unplug all my stuff on my current motherboard and plug it into the new one?

2. What would be the steps I need to take in order to change this out?

Please reply to me at hyrisk@aol.com and also post on the message board.

Thanks in advance,
Joe

[Roy]

Welcome to the neighborhood.

Before jumping into the OC world (which may be what you really want to do), let us know more about the video card in what looks like a very good system.

Perhaps the better answer for now is to get the 3D performance you want and carry the experience into the next system.

I have learned an important lesson. Don't jump to conclusions about what may be the problem and do not change more than one thing at a time to find the fix.

[Risk]

My system is as follows...
AMD K6-2 400, 128Meg Ram, 8.6Gig HD
16Meg TNT AGP and a 12Meg Voodoo II
Aureal 3D sound, 56k modem, DVD III
21" monitor

I'm very happy with the performance for what I paid for this thing. Quake II, Unreal, Half Life (offline), Shogo, Rogue Squadron all run and very good framerates (higher then 24). However, my favorite game of all time, Air Warrior 3, drops to about 15fps when there are lots of planes and objects. Other then that, it screams.

Yeah, changing mother boards might be extreme but if I can do it for under $200 and learn something about putting together a computer, why not? The cheap way out is to buy a Voodoo III for about $180. I read some bench marks on a K6-2 400 and it doubled the frame rates. I might do that and then wait for the K7 to come out.

Joe

[Roy]

With some really hot video chipsets emerging - TNT2, Voodoo III - I would wait.

Also consider overclocking your K6. You might well do better jacking up a 400 rather than stepping back to a 300 and stretching it to its absolute limit. There are many AMD fans who would not touch a Celeron.

You may find the performance problem is sloppy code in AW3 that can't be helped that much with better surroundings. Other users will have to answer that part.

To answer your original questions,
1. Very little has to be redone for the change you describe.

2. If your case already is ATX form factor (usually push-on/push-off power switch), then the mobo change will be a piece of cake.
Remove, replace, reconnect, reboot, run.

(You may be asked for the W98 disc on reboot and you will have to tell the BIOS SETUP a little about your system - mainly CPU. I find that my Kensington Mouse drivers are about the only thing I have to redo sometimes.)

[MrEd]

I'm a little late reading this, and I'm at work, so I don't have all the proper resources with me. From an article I read in Maximum PC, there seems to be some conflicts with Super Socket 7 Mobo's and Certain Video Manufacturers. Try getting on the web page of your Video card manufacturer and see if there is a downloadable driver. They may have somewhat of a workaround for you. If not, I hear that IBM makes really good video cards that are totally compatible with super socket 7 boards. Hope this helps.