Author Topic: Upgrading CPU or vidcard?  (Read 340 times)

Offline Rompa

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Upgrading CPU or vidcard?
« on: August 15, 2002, 01:15:39 PM »
Im thinking about upgrading my CPU to get this old comp new life for maybe 6 month ;)

Current comp specs:
Mobo MSI 6340
CPU AMD Duron 800Mhz
Geforce2 MX 400 32MB
384 MB Ram 133Mhz

I was told to oc the CPU so i checked the BIOS and yes there was a setting CPU Host/PCI clock it was at 100/33 +0,5%

The next setting on CPUHost/PCI clock was 102/34

so I tryed that and ......the bloody thing dont even start its stone dead , nothing!!

So I had to remove jumper to reset CMOS memory to restart comp

In other words my first attempt to o/c did not go well :rolleyes:

Okay im looking at a new CPU instead for now and it looks like my mobo can handle up to 1,2Ghz CPU and the 1,2 Duron is selling at 60€ its what I can afford right now!

But then question pops in my head will I notice any boost in performance if I dont buy a new vidcard with that CPU or is the GeForce2 my bottle neck??

Offline bloom25

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Upgrading CPU or vidcard?
« Reply #1 on: August 15, 2002, 05:40:56 PM »
You need to know that there are 4 different Athlon/Duron versions.

I do not know your exact motherboard specs, if I did I could tell you for certain which CPUs you could use.   What board do you have?

The first and original Athlon was a Slot, rather than a socket.  No Durons were ever made using Slot A, so this is not what you have.

The second version used Socket A and had a FSB of 100 MHz DDR (200 MHz equivilant).  Your Duron is of this type.  If this is the only type of Athlon/Duron you can use you are limited to a 1.4 GHz 200 MHz FSB  Athlon model, or likely with a bios upgrade, any Duron.  This version of the Athlon used the Thunderbird core and the Durons at 950 MHz and below used the Spitfire core.  Durons above 1 GHz use the Morgan core.  

(There are 200 MHz and 266 MHz FSB Athlons at 1200 MHz to 1400 MHz.  All Athlons above 1400 MHz are Athlon XPs)

The next Athlons ran at 1200 MHz, 1333 MHz, and 1400 MHz with a 266 MHz FSB.  These were the 'C' version of the Athlon.  It's possible you could use these, but I need to know what board you have to tell you that for certain.  These Athlons were also based on the Thunderbird core.

The most recent Athlons are the Athlon XP series of CPUs, which start at the model 1500+ and currently run up to 2200+.  (True clockspeeds of 1333 MHz up to 1800 MHz.)   Your board *might* be able to take these, but again I'd need to know what your exact motherboard is.  The model 1500 up to 2100 use the Palomino core, and the newest Athlons (2200+ is the only one currently) use the new Thoroughbred core.

_____________________________ ______________________

Judging by your current CPU, I know that with a bios upgrade you could probably use up to a 1400 MHz 200 MHz FSB Athlon.  Without a bios upgrade you are probably limited to a 1200 MHz 200 MHz FSB Athlon.

Regardless of what you do, your gaming performance will be limited by your video card with a > 1GHz CPU, but your overall system will be significantly faster.

Offline bloom25

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Upgrading CPU or vidcard?
« Reply #2 on: August 15, 2002, 05:53:21 PM »
LOL, I'm blind, you had your MB model right in your post.

That board uses the VIA KT133 chipset, which can use 200 MHz FSB CPUs only.

MSIs support site indicates that only revision 3 boards have support for Palomino core CPUs, which means that to use a Duron above 950 MHz you will need to be sure your board is revision 3 or newer.

This is not the best option for you though:

A 1200 MHz 200 FSB Athlon will be significantly faster than a 1200 MHz Duron.  It's also worth noting that only if you have a revision 3 board or newer can you use a Duron 1 Ghz or higher.

I'd try to find a 1200 MHz 200 Mhz FSB Athlon.

Offline bockko

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Upgrading CPU or vidcard?
« Reply #3 on: August 15, 2002, 05:58:09 PM »
typically you see some linear improvement when you plunk in a new cpu, that is until you max out your memory bandwidth or vid card. I suspect a 1.2 will give you noticeably better performance than the 800 mhz. I too had the gforce 2 mx running on my new 1.8 p4. I did ok, but my frame rate dropped into choppy mode around smokey fields. I replaced it with a gforce 3 ti 200, which has much more bandwidth than the mx card. Now my frame rate stays playable in all situations. In short, for a few buck, the 1.2 is gonna help, if you can squeeze in a non-mx geforce, you will be even better off. Are you running in 16 or 32 bit color? and what res?

good luck!

Offline Rompa

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Upgrading CPU or vidcard?
« Reply #4 on: August 16, 2002, 09:10:46 AM »
It says MS6340 ver 1.0 on the motherboard
so I guess I am stuck with a max 950 mhz right?

Thanks Bloom25 you are the tech guru of AH ;)

I am running AH at 1024X768 in 16 bit , I usally get around 40 fps but on the snapshot this sunday when attacking formations of boston bombers I was having a slide show :mad:  

I usally dont get any stuttering in furballs or in smoke its just that the comp have been untouched for too long now, I feel the need to screw it up some :rolleyes:

Offline bockko

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Upgrading CPU or vidcard?
« Reply #5 on: August 16, 2002, 10:22:28 AM »
:)  i know what you mean about needing to screw it up! my company kindly spotted us new pc's recently, which was way cool. but I am now i need a fix (being an upgrade junkie you know!), but there really isn't anything to upgrade! WAAA. So I settled for a new 19" monitor :D . Just for benchmark purposes, I went from the mx card to the gforce3. I ran the mx in 16 bit, 1024 res i think; after the gforce I went to 32 bit 1280x1024...you may try a gforce 3, if it doesnt help, return it.  Anyway, good luck!

Offline FT_Animal

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Re: Upgrading CPU or vidcard?
« Reply #6 on: August 19, 2002, 07:13:02 AM »
Why anyone would Overclock any CPU thats over 600 or 800 is beyond me. Streaming line the way windows works gets almost, if not better, results then OC. Most people don't even touch Windows core settings, which should be done before OC.

I run a PIII 450, NOT OCed, with a Viper II 770 (standard) Just streamlined core settings,  FPS average 31-63 worst case intensive art,... 23 FPS. Nothing on this machine is OCed.

You will get better results from a CPU that runs cool, OC wil make it run hot.

<<< Don't beleive in it OC on anything larger then 600. If a CPU of 800 is coughing blood chances are it's something else that needs to be tweaked.

Just my 2 cents ;-)

~A



Quote
Originally posted by Rompa
Im thinking about upgrading my CPU to get this old comp new life for maybe 6 month ;)

Current comp specs:
Mobo MSI 6340
CPU AMD Duron 800Mhz
Geforce2 MX 400 32MB
384 MB Ram 133Mhz

I was told to oc the CPU so i checked the BIOS and yes there was a setting CPU Host/PCI clock it was at 100/33 +0,5%

The next setting on CPUHost/PCI clock was 102/34

so I tryed that and ......the bloody thing dont even start its stone dead , nothing!!

So I had to remove jumper to reset CMOS memory to restart comp

In other words my first attempt to o/c did not go well :rolleyes:

Okay im looking at a new CPU instead for now and it looks like my mobo can handle up to 1,2Ghz CPU and the 1,2 Duron is selling at 60€ its what I can afford right now!

But then question pops in my head will I notice any boost in performance if I dont buy a new vidcard with that CPU or is the GeForce2 my bottle neck??

Offline bloom25

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Upgrading CPU or vidcard?
« Reply #7 on: August 19, 2002, 12:00:53 PM »
You should still be able to use an Athlon 1200 200 MHz fsb model.  You just can't use a Duron above 950 MHz.

Offline Ripsnort

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Upgrading CPU or vidcard?
« Reply #8 on: August 19, 2002, 12:12:57 PM »
Almost same system as original poster, I upgraded from the Geforce 2 Pro to the Geforce 3 128 meg and only increased 2 FPS.  So, the CPU is my bottle neck definately.

Offline Animal

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Upgrading CPU or vidcard?
« Reply #9 on: August 19, 2002, 03:49:48 PM »
Quote
Originally posted by Ripsnort
Almost same system as original poster, I upgraded from the Geforce 2 Pro to the Geforce 3 128 meg and only increased 2 FPS.  So, the CPU is my bottle neck definately.


In that case, raise the resolution and add some anti aliasing.

Offline Hussein

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Upgrading CPU or vidcard?
« Reply #10 on: August 19, 2002, 04:49:16 PM »
Interesting findings in the Radeon 9700 review at http://www.hardocp.com

The 1.5ghz axp with radeon 9700 easily outperformed a geforce4600ti and parhelia equipped P4 2.5Ghz at all resolutions, fsaa and af modes...

So it seems that for $400 you can get at least double the present game performance out of your box.