Replacing some parts...whats ur suggestions?

[pcchipsficaopen]

I may be getting a computer overhaul for Christmas, but I'll be getting what i need the most. i've figured it down to case, processor, motherboard, memory. everything else is good. here is what i have now

BAT case(2 5.25/3 3.5) w/ 230 or 250 power supply
FIC VA-503+
AMD K6-2 500Mhz(on 100Mhz FSB)
128MB 100Mhz SDRAM

what does everyone recommend to replace all of these. note that i will need an AGP slot, and at least 3 PCI slots. of course, USB AND serial/parallel ports would be nice. i need a new case cuz i want to move to an ATX MB.

so what does everyone think?(yeah, i get to choose my christmas present! :p) does none of this sound clear? lol

Doug

[brad]

It is definately time for you to jump up a notch because there is little left to improve on what you have.

You didn't say what make/model hard disk you have however and that becomes more and more important as cpu speed increases. It has a huge impact on overall system performance and if it is not a modern 7200 rpm drive with a 2 meg buffer then you can rest assured that it is a performance impediment now and will be much more so in any new system that you'll consider building.

If you are an AMD fan or fanatic like me, I'd recommend a MSI or Asus socket-a motherboard and put in a 900 Mhz Duron cpu for starters. You can swap the Duron for a top-end Athlon-XP later if you choose the right mobo.

With that and the fact that VIA chipsets still dominate the socket-a motherboard market, you'll have to make a choice. That is going with an older but thouroughly proven KT133A based board or the latest KT266A based models. The KT133A based boards like the MSI K7T Turbo or Asus A7V133 can be had pretty cheap here in the states and both have superb reputations. They offer you the advantage of letting you use your PC100 DIMMS but you will gain a little performance by upgrading to PC133 sticks.

The KT266A boards are still pretty new and cost more but are still reasonable in the states. They use DDR SDRAM sticks however so you can't use your PC100 DIMMS in it.

Other than that, all ya have to do now is choose a video card. If your a gamer then a GeForce based AGP card is probably the best choice. But, if you're more into video and/or photographic stuff where display quality is more important than speed then Matrox and ATI would be better choices. I'm noit saying the gaming oriented cards don't look good. I am saying that you will very likely appreciate if not prefer the better quality that Matrox and ATI provide at high resolutions and refresh rates.

If you're an Intel guy (a bit rare around here) then we'll hope one of them jumps in to help guide you.

If all you can handle doing now is getting a new mobo and cpu, then the previously mentioned KT133A based boards are the way to go because you can use your current memory sticks and just about everything else. You will most likely have to upgrade to a 300 watt or better power supply before long but what ya have now will probably do for a 900 Duron.

Hope that helps, well at least a little.

Brad

[nsu]

Originally posted by brad
You didn't say what make/model hard disk you have however and that becomes more and more important as cpu speed increases. It has a huge impact on overall system performance and if it is not a modern 7200 rpm drive with a 2 meg buffer then you can rest assured that it is a performance impediment now and will be much more so in any new system that you'll consider building.

Brad

I have been preaching along the same line as Brad regarding the hard drive.

The CPU speed has been doubled so many times in the last few years. Yet the hard drive is still hanging at 7200RPM for IDE users. It certainly is a weakest link now. Unless you are crunching numbers such as SETI, a fast CPU does not really help in speed. I think this is one of reason that the PC industry is slowing down as the way it is. Eg. a company upgraded to Celeron 800 box last year, it is not going to need to upgrade to run any new software for that sake at the moment.:)

[pcchipsficaopen]

thanks for the replies

ur info really helped me. note: the video card is fine(its actually underpowered cuz the 503+ has only a 2X AGP port). its an ATI Allinwonder 128 Pro. not the best for gaming, but still pretty powerful.

and the hard drive is good too. its an Western Digital 20GB 7200RPM(i dunno the buffer size. is there a way to find this out?)

Doug

[brad]

If your WD hard drive is a WD200BB then it has a 2 meg buffer and you are all set. Your video card will do fine as well.

Your PC100 memory will do just fine on a KT133A based mobo but you'll need quality PC2100 SDRAM for a KT266A board.

You'll need at least a mid-tower ATX case with 300 watt psu for athlon/duron up to 1 gig, perhaps 1.2 gig.

A 350 watt or better psu and full-tower case is strongly recommended for a 1.2 Ghz or faster cpu, the larger case is usually needed for efficient ventilation and cooling.

Brad

[pcchipsficaopen]

I'll check the model whenever i get my case off next time.

for the memory, r u sure its SD RAM(2100)? or DDR?

speaking of cooling, how many fans should i need?

1) processor
2) case

would that be enough for the 900 Mhz Duron?

and while im talking about processors, what are all the current AMD processors? I've heard of all of them, etc, etc, but I've never really looked into which one is which(More powerful, cheaper, etc). i'd appreciate it if someone would break down the current AMD processors

thanks again
Doug

[brad]

Yes, pc2100 is DDR SDRAM.

For a 900 duron, and assuming an AMD approved HSF: the fan in the psu and the cpu cooler are enough in a mid-tower case if the room temp doesn't get much above 80F or so and the case is otherwise well ventilated, meaning free and unrestricted airflow in the front of the case and out the rear. Above 80-90F ambient, an extra case fan drawing air in the front will likely be necessary

On processors: the duron is AMD's entry level chip but gives up little in performance to athlon t-bird B and C chips of equal clock speeds. The primary difference is that the duron has a smaller on-die L2 cache than a t-bird. Wether or not you see the difference depends on the apps being run.

The standard athlon t-bird is not AMD's top of the line cpu any more, however. That title now belongs to the new Athlon-XP. Most (but not all) of the later KT133A based boards support the XP chips as well as durons and athlon t-bird B and C chips.

As a personal observation, I don't SEE a huge difference in performance between a 1.3 t-bird on a KT133A board and a XP1800 on a KT266A board in most windows apps. Its mostly benchmark fodder but a KT133A board will limit the performance of an Athlon-1900XP so if it is in your plans now or later, then go with a KT266A based mobo.

With your original theme of this being a bargain upgrade in mind, I'd recommend a 1 Ghz duron on a KT133A based board. That will will give you a thrill and a little room for growth, but not for long. If you want something that can grow significantly more, then an XP chip on a KT266A board is it.

As always, the opinions of others may vary!! <g>

Brad

[pcchipsficaopen]

does anyone know where i can get the best prices on any of mobo's using these chipsets?(KT266A, KT133A) , CPUs(ANY AMD from Durons to Athlons XP 1900+), DDR memory(so if I decide on a KT266A-based MB).

cases arent that big of a deal

Doug

[brad]

I don't buy stuff online but I know a lot of people who do and one of the outfits they like a lot is www.newegg.com

Prices look very good, especially for mobos, substantially less than my main local supplier.

Brad

[pcchipsficaopen]

thanx for the site

im also just testing my new signature