PLEASE ADVISE: Upgrading from Athlon?

  • Thread starter Thread starter J
  • Start date Start date
J

J

Hi-

I currently use the below setup:

Athlon 950
Asus A7V133 socket A motherboard 200/266 MHz FSB (JumperFree PC133/VC133)


512Mb Memory (PC100 if I remember correctly)


I want to upgrade to the highest rated processor possible, ideally at least
2GHz. I have a budget of about £100.

I would prefer to keep the motherboard if possible.




Need advice on the following:

how fast a processor can I fit on my current board (if I flashed the BIOS,
could I use a faster one?)

if i move to a newer board, will I also need new memory?

Thanks

Joel
 
J said:
Hi-

I currently use the below setup:

Athlon 950
Asus A7V133 socket A motherboard 200/266 MHz FSB (JumperFree PC133/VC133)


512Mb Memory (PC100 if I remember correctly)


I want to upgrade to the highest rated processor possible, ideally at least
2GHz. I have a budget of about £100.

I would prefer to keep the motherboard if possible.




Need advice on the following:

how fast a processor can I fit on my current board (if I flashed the BIOS,
could I use a faster one?)
Click to expand...

PCB v. 1.04 and older, Athlon 1400.
PCB v. 1.05 and newer, with 1007 or higher BIOS (you would likely have to
flash to this version), Athlon XP 2100+.
if i move to a newer board, will I also need new memory?
Click to expand...

Not necessarily, There are still boards made that support SDR RAM, but if
you want to go with anything higher than an XP 2100+ you're going to need a
new board, and I hate to break it to you ... but even an XP 2100+ would be
held back considerably by that PC100 RAM of yours. A LOT of the XP's
potential is wasted if you don't use high speed memory (i.e. DDR). The
highest you could go with a new board and still use your PC100 would be an
XP with 266 bus. I think that's going to stop you at 2600+, but it would
still be held back by your RAM.

In short, you can easily upgrade to the fastest processor your board will
support and stay under £100. But I doubt you will be happy with it for too
terribly long.


Drumguy
 
Thanks for the reply :)

So I need to get new motherboard, processor and memory. I found a listing
for 256Mb DDR memory for about £30. What is the best Athlon MB and processor
i can get for about £100?

thanks!

Joel
 
I upgraded a friends pc last week using an ASRock m/b (made by ASUS) ,256mb
pc2100 and an Athlon Xp1800+ (retail boxed with hsf) for just over £105.The
m/b takes ddr and sdr but not together and is good quality for the
money,it's pacakged very basically with just driver disk and floppy/ide
cables,for £28
Got them all from Scan
www.scan.co.uk
 
J said:
Thanks for the reply :)

So I need to get new motherboard, processor and memory. I found a
listing for 256Mb DDR memory for about £30. What is the best Athlon
MB and processor i can get for about £100?

thanks!

Joel
Click to expand...


Crucial PC3200 256MB CT3264Z40B £40
or TwinMOS 256MB PC3200 £37
Abit NF-7 ver2 £65
AMD 1800+ OEM £41

Total: £146 VAT in
http://www.overclockers.co.uk
 
J said:
Thanks for the reply :)

So I need to get new motherboard, processor and memory. I found a listing
for 256Mb DDR memory for about £30. What is the best Athlon MB and processor
i can get for about £100?

thanks!

Joel
Click to expand...

Not sure about GB suppliers (I live in the states), but I found this combo
for about US$160 (approx £100).

http://www.compubuzz.com/product_info.php?products_id=1036

As far as I know things may be quite more expensive over there though.

With a combo similar to this and some PC3200 RAM (DDR400) you should have
ample performance and expandability for the future ... at least for a few
more years, unless you really like to keep cutting edge.

You might drop these guys and e-mail and see if they can sell to you. The
shipping may be a bugger, but this is a good deal for the money. Other than
that, I don't know.

Sorry


Drumguy
 
PCB v. 1.04 and older, Athlon 1400.
PCB v. 1.05 and newer, with 1007 or higher BIOS (you would likely have to
flash to this version), Athlon XP 2100+.
Click to expand...

1.05.(dot) was the min board I needed. My 1.05 would not run a 2100+
no matter what.
_________________________
When your PC gives a little they give alot:
http://tinyurl.com/hhez
 
AJ said:
1.05.(dot) was the min board I needed. My 1.05 would not run a 2100+
no matter what.
Click to expand...

Ahh, I didn't realize there was a difference ... the only option on the Asus
website are "1.05." and "ALL". I assumed that they used a PCB revision
numbering system similar to other manufacturers, (1.04 being before 1.05,
etc) and I didn't realize that the dot at the end of the revision number
meant anything.

I don't own this board myself, nor have I ever owned an Asus board, so I
didn't know this.

Thanks for the correction!


Drumguy
 
Ahh, I didn't realize there was a difference ... the only option on the Asus
website are "1.05." and "ALL". I assumed that they used a PCB revision
numbering system similar to other manufacturers, (1.04 being before 1.05,
etc) and I didn't realize that the dot at the end of the revision number
meant anything.

I don't own this board myself, nor have I ever owned an Asus board, so I
didn't know this.

Thanks for the correction!


Drumguy
Click to expand...
Sure. It's said that instead of going to 1.06, they just added the dot
after 1.05. Which has caused nothing but confusion.
_________________________
When your PC gives a little they give alot:
http://tinyurl.com/hhez
 
Sure. It's said that instead of going to 1.06, they just added the dot
after 1.05. Which has caused nothing but confusion.
Click to expand...

Understandably so ... hopefully they won't continue with this very confusing
(and, IMO, stupid) naming structure.


Drumguy
 
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