More questions about cpu upgrades

[grizz]

Hi all,

Some technical advice please.      

I would like to upgrade my cpu from a Celeron 300a (o/c to 450) to something a bit faster.I really can't afford a new board, cpu and memory at the moment. I have an Abit BH6 rev 1.01 slot 1 mainboard. According to the Abit site, the BH6 supports a chip up to Pentium III 700. Now, the questions.    

Is it a simple matter of changing the cpu and flashing the bios that supports the new chip?

Is there a noticable difference in performance between a Socket 370 cpu (with a slot 1 bridge) and a slot1 cpu? The socket 370 is quite a bit cheaper than the slot 1.

Does anyone have any experience with o/c the pentium III? Is it o/c with this board? (I won't do this right away....but perhaps in the near future?)    

I will have to stay with my pc 100 ram for a while... is it compatible?

I am thinking that for between $150 and $300 cdn I can get a 130% increase in my processor speed.

Current specs:

BH6
Celeron 300a
128 megs ram
CL TNT2 Ultra
CL Sound Blaster PCI 128
(as of writing this, I'm not sure of the power supply...my guess is 230W...and I may have to upgrade this as well)

Thanks in advance....any information is welcome    


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griz
THUNDERBIRDS



[This message has been edited by grizz (edited 08-31-2000).]

[Gunthr]

Hello Grizz,

You can squeeze another upgrade out of that board.

Personally, I would go with a slot 1 cpu configuration to avoid having to use an adapter like the Slotket. These adaptors are just another opportunity for something to go wrong. Some say that there is a performance loss using a 370 to slot one adapter, although I'm not sure if that is true. But you don't have to pay for a slotket if you buy a slot one processor, which will help offset the more expensive slot one cpu.

Your upgrade path is near an end. You've got maybe one more good shot at it. I would carefully flash to the latest bios before you buy the cpu. (Read up on it, ask questions and get help if you are not absolutely sure how to do it.)

After you successfully flash, buy the fastest slot one CPU that your BH6r1.01 can support. Keep on using the same ram.

The P-III is the way to go. If you buy the 100 mhz FSB version, these chips are easily overclockable by raising the Front side buss. I'm not familure with your board, but I bet that it can acomplish this quite easily.

If you have quality ram, you might be able to overclock some with it. If not, be happy with the new CPU, and maybe in the future, upgrade the ram. Again, you would buy the fastest ram you can afford, always keeping your upgrade path in mind...  

Gunthr

PS: You shouldn't need to upgrade your power supply if all you are doing is getting a faster CPU. If it's running ok, keep it.

[This message has been edited by Gunthr (edited 08-31-2000).]

[Pongo]

I had a 366 ocd to 450.
On my Asus P2B mother board I was able to upgrade to a 566 ocd to 700 with no probs. I did buy the 360 to slot 1 adapter though. And I had to upgrade the bios of my mother board. I was able to do that over the web though...increadable. The only problem was fitting the built up proccessor, orb fan and adapter under the powersupply in my case. I had to remove the heavy gage wire guard over the powersupply fan and rebuild the whole deal arround the installed processor. Works fine though. Just a warning to get a low profile adapter if ya can(Asus has one but I didnt know till after I had everything.)
Good luck

[bloom25]

Ah, a fellow squaddie looking for advise.  

1. There is NO performance difference between the slot 1 and PPGA socket 370s worth speaking about.

2.  Definately flash to the newest bios before upgrading.

3.  The BX boards are VERY popular with overclockers, because they can actually run at 133 MHz FSB without too much trouble.  The problem is that doing so runs the AGP bus at 89 Mhz, which is way above spec.  Not all video cards can handle this.  Personally I'd put in a 600E slot 1.  They give you the best bang for the buck IMO.  (They are also the easiest to overclock.)  You will need to read up on your motherboard to see if it supports the Coppermine version of the PIII, if not you will be stuck with the older (still good though) Katami version.  The difference lies in the cache setup and voltage requirements and the .18 process.  Coppermines only take 1.05 Volts and have the cache on-die, just like the celerons.  The older Katami used external cache ram chips runnning at 1/2 clock speed.  If you find you can only accept this style of PIII, the fastest available is 600 Mhz I believe.

PC 100 memory is fine (in fact the fastest the BX chipset OFFICIALLY supports) as long as you buy a 100 Mhz FSB version of the PIII.

Using the slockets though, you should be aware that you CANNOT flash the bios with them installed.  It just will not work.  You will need to put back in the old PII or whatever came in your system to upgrade the bios.  If this is impossible you can upgrade the bios through the recovery method I believe.

As for the power supply.  230 W SHOULD be ok, but it is pushing it.  (Coppermine PIIIs use less power than the Katamis did actually.)  To be same I would probably recommend picking up a 300W supply which should be no more than $60 US.  If you plan on overclocking this is a good idea.  Some extra fans are a good idea too, Katamis run pretty hot.

P.S. If you don't see me this weekend it's because I'm putting together a THUNDERBIRD 700 system (like the name   ).  You have a good enough board that I would recommend going with a PIII and living with it for a while longer.  Athlon systems are very picky about power supplies, ram, and the like.



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bloom25
THUNDERBIRDS

[-lynx-]

I wouldn't buy PC100 if you go for memory upgrade - the difference in price with PC133 is very small but you limiting yourself to 100MHz FSB so you kill "extending the life of yet another component into the next upgrade" thingy  .

Abit BX6 r2 here - solid as a rock at all frequencies between 100 and 133MHz... (600E) Nothing special on the cooler side - slightly larger than stock radiator with 1 fan. Board supports temperature monitoring so I have a temp read-out next to the time on the taskbar.

I also kept a standard 80 mm fan blowing along AGP and 1st 2 PCI slots from my V2 SLI days - helps to keep graphics card from melting.

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-lynx-
13 Sqn RAF

[This message has been edited by -lynx- (edited 09-01-2000).]

[grizz]

Thanks for the replies guys  

Gunther....I thought I could get one more upgrade out of my Motherboard too. If I can get to 600 mhz for a year or so I will be happy.    Will start saving for that next monster machine.  

Pongo....shouldn't be a problem with clearing the chassis fan....but I will watch for that when the time comes to switch.

Bloom.....I have been looking at the PIII 600 slot1 more than the socket 370. Looks like it will be the Katmai version.
Good luck with the Thunderbird.    

Lynx....I won't be buying Ram for a while...the cost of the cpu is about all I can budget right now. That's why I wanted to upgrade the cpu to the best I could for this board and the hardware I have. Although the 133 ram would be nice too    I'll wait till I build a new system then go all out.  



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griz
THUNDERBIRDS