Budget upgrade challenge

[Fushigi]

OK, here's the deal: My sister's PC is a somewhat outdated K6-3/400 on a GA5AX with 512MB SDRAM, 8MB Rage 128, etc. It's fine for general use but she needs to do web development & graphics editing. Her birthday is approaching, so I thought I'd upgrade her system.

What she has that doesn't need upgrading: ATX case, 300W PSU, CD, FDD, NIC, Kbd, mouse, monitor (Compaq Trinitron 17").

What is probably fine for the moment: HD, possibly the graphics card as the box is not used for gaming. The HD isn't that great but is adequate for now.

What is defintiely needed: mobo, CPU, HSF, RAM, USB.

Nice-to-haves: CD-RW, better 2D graphics, integrated stuff to replace PCI cards (NIC, etc.)

Don't care: Firewire, USB2, RAID, SCSI, SATA, audio (AC97 is fine), etc.

Since she will be doing graphics editing but running W98SE, 512MB RAM is my one absolute; no more, no less.

The budget is US $200, give or take a little.

I haven't really started pricechecking, but I was thinking an nForce based board, XP??00, 512MB PC??00. Any recommendations or improvements would be fantastic. Intel or AMD; either is fine (although I haven't bought Intel for years).

Thanks,

- Fushigi

 

[Mercutio]

That Asus thing people seem to like: $75 or so
Athlon 1700 - $50 or so. Duron 1.3 for $36.
Decent fan - call it $10 (or $14 for a microflow from another place that's right up the road).

As an alternative, EconoPC - just up the road from y'all - has a Biostar M7VKQ with the 1700 (onboard Savage4 & sound) - for $82 + insane Illinois taxes.

RAM will be $50 or close enough to it.

LiteOn CD-RW would be $50 as well.

Motherboard + RAM + CPU + CD-RW probably isn't going to happen with an nforce board, unless you go with a low-end CPU.

 

[Fushigi]

Mercutio, thanks for chiming in.

I forgot to mention: No Asus products. Since they burned me badly on my last mobo purchase, I've sworn off them. I don't believe they have any QC at all. (Sure, it's just 1 of 4 Asus products in my inventory and the other mobo & the 2 graphics cards have been just fine, but the flaw in the bad mobo would have been uncovered with any testing, rigorous or not. And it was never fixed despite several BIOS updates.)

Also, the CD burner is definitely an option & not a must. My newphew's box has a burner so she can always access it if needed. Or she can grab one herself the next time they can be had for $20AR.

Illinois tax is the same 5% that Indiana has. The problem is all the $%^*&($ county & city taxes thrown on top of it.

EconoPC; hadn't heard of them. Are they reputable? They have the combo you mentioned but at a higher price: $114.95. Funny how the price is the same for an XP 1500, 1600, and 1700. If the board had an AGP slot so the onboard vid could be decently upgraded it'd defintiely be a contender. But for $5 more, this Biostar M7VIP w/XP1600 looks even better. Any opinions on the Biostar M7VIP? Adding a stick of 512MB PC2700 @ $56 from NewEgg brings me to right around my budget once tax + shipping is included.

Any thoughts or alternatives?

- Fushigi

 

[Tea]

In Oz, I'd go with:

Gigabyte ... er .. 7 something or other. The one with the AMD 760 chipset. Costs about $AU130, say $US60. Add an Athlon XP 1800 (or similar) for maybe $US 50 to 60, and just use the standard fan you get in the box. They work fine if you don't want to overclock. 512MB of DDR and you are looking good.

Why not the ASUS board? Because you already have an excellent little video card, and seperate components are alwayz better.

Why the Gigabyte board? Because they are solid as you like, and very cheap. If you can't find one of those, then just about anything in a KT-266A will do. 266As are in end of model run-out mode now, so you should have no trouble at all finding one at the right price without having to trawl through the dregs of the industry, PC-Chips style. And provided you don't need USB2 or support for 2600+ and higher CPUs, they don't give anything away to the Nforce2s and KT-400s of this world.

One tip: make sure that the board has BIOS support for the 0.13u Athlons. Many won't have it right out of the box, but make it a condition of the sale that it can be flashed to recognise the 0.13u Athlon. No flash, no deal.

(You don't want one that runs but says "unknown CPU type" on boot - it ain't just cosmetic. If she ever wants to run XP, it will refuse to enable the SSE unless the BIOS recognises the chip.)

 

[Mercutio]

I've bought low-end motherboards from econopc a time or two. Get their best pricing through pricewatch. It's usually substantially cheap.

The hairy one is right that Gigabyte's AMD760 boards are good quality as well, but I know the biostar to be a solid if unremarkable choice. Shuttle's AK32L would be another good one, since it's cheap and utterly non-integrated.

I have a feeling that econopc's Athlons are palaminos, given that they're still selling 1400s - 1600s as well.

 

[CougTek]

Too bad you have decided to boycott Asus. Their A7N266-VM would have made it possible to stay below your 200$ limit.

Others already gave a few suggestions not involving the graphic card (I don't believe that the integrate Savage 4 of the Biostar would be appropriated for image editing of any sort). So I'll be the one who always pops up in those kind of threads to say "but if you would only spend a little bit more..."

• Athlon XP Thoroughbred B 1700+ (Newegg, AFAIK, only sells T'bred B at 1700+ now) .....50$ at NewEgg.com
  Soltek SL-75MRN-L (nForce2 with IGP) .....103$ shipped at GoogleGear.com
  2 x 256MB PC2700 Cas2 Kingston Cas 2.5 ....36$ each at NewEgg.com
  Spire MicroFlow II heatsink .....14$ at KDcomputers.com
  ________________________________________________________________
  Total : 239$ shipped.

Swapping the Cas 2.5 Kingston RAM by Cas 2.0 Hyper-X modules, also from Kingston, would add 19$ for a total of 258$.


Cost-cutting options :

- Put a single 512MB PC2700 module at approxiamtely 65$ for a good brand. Reduces performances a bit on the nForce2, but still better than anything based on an AMD760 or VIA pre-KT333 (like the KM266-based Biostar).

- Screw the integrated GeFarce 4MX graphics and buy a FIC AU13 (nForce2 with the newest SPP revision supporting 400MHz FSB) at 90$ shipped from Newegg.com. If she's not happy with her ATI card, then let her upgrade it herself, at least she'd have a good platform to put it into. Better VRM design than the Soltek in bonus. The old 300W PSU might be the most sensible point for voltage regulation though.


BTW, 2D quality shouldn't be an issue on a 17" monitor and a modern graphic card. Anything, or almost, can produce very good 2D on 1280x960 or less. And 1280x960 is the uttermost definition anyone sane (ie - not Pradeep) would use on a 17" CRT. Most would use 1024x768. For instance, I use 1280x960 on my 19" Sony G400 (Trinitron) and I wouldn't dare to venture anywhere higher. I will add that I have a relatively good eyesight too.

So have no worry about the clarity of an integrated GeFarce 4MX or even a GeFarce 2MX (like the Asus you don't want). Especially compared to an aging ATI 8MB PCI card, which isn't bad, but doesn't feature a very high-bandwidth RAMDAC either.

 

[Tea]

1280x960 is the uttermost definition anyone sane (ie - not Pradeep) would use on a 17" CRT.

:lol: :wink:

 

[Fushigi]

Thinking about CougTek's post and sticking to brands, I came up with the following:

Speeze CPU Fan Model 5F263B1M3 for AMD/Intel Socket A/370 $7
KINGSTON KVR333X64C25/256 256MB 32x64 PC2700 DDR RAM (better than 2100 2400) Qty 2 @ $37 = $74
**FIC Motherboard for AMD Processors, nForce2 Model AU13 ** $85
AMD Athlon XP 1700+ Thoroughbred /266 FSB Processor CPU 1700+/ 1.47GHz -OEM $50

All from NewEgg w/$10 shipping for a grand total of $226. Moving to 1 stick of Kingston PC2700 only saves $3. The less expensive brands of RAM they list are:

SimpleTech (Simple Technologies) 512MB DDR PC2700 Major Brand Chip - OEM $63
Apacer 512MB DDR PC2700 RAM 32X64 Infineon Chipset CL=2.5 - OEM $63
All Components. 512MB PC-2700 DDR333 Memory module. 16-chip, 184-pin, CL=2.5 -OEM $65
Dane-Elec DDR 512MB 64MBx64 Major Chip PC2700 RAM - OEM $66
Dane-Elec Elixer 512MB PC2700 RAM 64X64 CL=2.5 - OEM $66

I've seen SimpleTech around but haven't heard of the others. Any comments regarding using the SimpleTech or the others instead of Kingston? The box won't be overclocked.

The $226 is at the high end of what I'm willing to spend but is still acceptable. But if I could shave the $11 by switching RAM brands I'd do it.

Realisitically, I'm not sure the Rage card she's got will go beyond 1024x768. My personal preference for a 17" is 1280x1024 but will tone it down in favor of a good refresh rate or higher color depth. Still, as mentioned the Rage will suffice until she can afford a more modern card or I feel generous again.

Funny, if I get this for her she'll have a faster CPU & (more & faster) RAM than I have.

- Fushigi

 

[Tea]

The Apacer would be OK. That's Acer's RAM division, IIRC. I've used it before. But I never like to skimp on RAM. If you buy good RAM you can get away with a lot of other shortcuts.

 

[blakerwry]

yes, i've heard of apacer... but I still only buy top quality DDR. Since I've never used Apacer personally, I'll just tell you that i've heard it's decent.

 

[Buck]

I have used Apacer PC-100 and PC-133 memory without any issues.

 

[Fushigi]

Thanks everyone. I'll try the Apacer RAM. The order has been placed.

For my personal system I'm going to try a different budget case, the Raidmax 879P. At $27 I'll just toss it out if I don't like it. I also ordered a couple of Pabst 8412NGL fans from Directron. They don't move a lot of air but it should be sufficient overall. Of late I've been less satisfied with the loudness of my home system. It's a combination of case vibration & fan noise on top of the X15. The changes will hopefully quiet things down a little bit. I'm sure I'll take other steps later (quieter CPU fan, silent PSU)but this is an inexpensive start.

- Fushigi

 

[CougTek]

For my personal system I'm going to try a different budget case, the Raidmax 879P. At $27 I'll just toss it out if I don't like it.

Looks like some of the cheaper Enermax enclosures sold at twice that price. If you want to increase your chances to like it, cut holes (usually with a dremel) where the fan spots are and put grills instead. The too tiny holes won't allow appropriate air flow and will cause an increase of the amount of noise your system will make. Otherwise, it looks like a decent budget case.

 

[Fushigi]

Looks like some of the cheaper Enermax enclosures sold at twice that price. If you want to increase your chances to like it, cut holes (usually with a dremel) where the fan spots are and put grills instead. The too tiny holes won't allow appropriate air flow and will cause an increase of the amount of noise your system will make. Otherwise, it looks like a decent budget case.

Yeah, I was planning on just removing the whole area covering the front fan and doing something to increase the hole size in the back. I don't have a Dremel or equivalent but can rig something I'm sure. At less than $30 I don't care if I trash it while experimenting.

My thinking was to use the bottom internal bay for my WD ATA drive, put my X15 above it (probably skipping a slot), and have one of the Pabst fans front-mounted to blow across them. No grills or anything on that fan. Then use the other fan in the rear. That'll be the one where cosmetics and safety count in addition to air flow. Safety wouldn't even count but I do have a cat & dog.

- Fushigi

 

[blakerwry]

If you use a dremel or other such grinder, be sure to vacuum and wipe out any metal filings. Personally, for the task of cutting out fan vents, I prefer a pair of good sharp snips to the dremel.

 

[Pradeep]

1280x960 is the uttermost definition anyone sane (ie - not Pradeep) would use on a 17" CRT.

:lol: :wink:

LOL. I would have to agree with you Coug, overdriving a CRT display will result in a blurry mess. But an LCD running at native resolution with perfect per pixel mapping is another thing altogether. That's not to say that sites such as SR and SF are easy to read at UXGA on a 15". I tried upping the DPI setting in Display properties to 150 (133dpi). Whilst this did make some things easier to read, it really screws up several Windows dialog boxes (certain options you just can't see, and you can't stretch the windows either), so I took it back down to the standard Large Size (120dpi). Can't wait for a version of Windows that really is resolution independent, and scales everything acceptably.

*goes back to dreaming about WUXGA on 15"......*

 

[time]

... Decent fan - call it $10 (or $14 for a microflow from another place that's right up the road).

Now if you had read the Fans thread, you would know that the Athlon XP1700 already comes with a decent fan, that is in fact quieter than the Microflow.

I also ordered a couple of Pabst 8412NGL fans from Directron.

I'm keen on Papst, but they're very expensive, and much of their noise reduction comes from lower rpm. Like I said, the AVC fan supplied with the XP1700 Thoroughbred B is already very quiet.

 

[time]

Sorry Fushigi, misread your post - internet access was down here yesterday (Arstel Big Pong), and I skimmed the thread to try to catch up.

I agree with CougTek - removing those stupid grills with tiny punched holes helps noise as well as airflow - so go for it - assuming you can't get a case like this:

That's a 120mm fan mount, BTW. :wink:

 

[time]

I forgot to mention: No Asus products. Since they burned me badly on my last mobo purchase, I've sworn off them. I don't believe they have any QC at all. (Sure, it's just 1 of 4 Asus products in my inventory and the other mobo & the 2 graphics cards have been just fine, but the flaw in the bad mobo would have been uncovered with any testing, rigorous or not. And it was never fixed despite several BIOS updates.)

Well, there's not really much alternative to the A7N266-VM if you need a cheap AIO board that doesn't suck.

Just to back up your experience however, about a month ago I made a warranty claim on an old Asus A7VL-VM. The replacement finally arrived last week and I fitted it; it seemed to POST okay, and I left it for later. The customer came to pick it up Friday, and to my horror it hung straight after POST. Disconnected everything; no change. I could walk around in the BIOS setup, it detected the drives, but it wouldn't load a bloody OS - just complete the POST.

When I called the distributor Monday, the guy was wary when I said I'd received a bad replacement Asus board. We've had a few in the last shipment, he said. When I told him the model, he cried "That's the one!", and explained that out of six replacements, four had been found bad. Mine was the fifth.

So when you say, "I don't believe they have any QC at all." ...

It's not going to stop me buying the A7N266-VM, but only until there's a decent alternative.

 

[Fushigi]

If you use a dremel or other such grinder, be sure to vacuum and wipe out any metal filings. Personally, for the task of cutting out fan vents, I prefer a pair of good sharp snips to the dremel.

For the front grill, snips are the tool of choice. Fast. Safety and aesthetics are of no importance since it'll be covered by the front of the case.

For the rear. Dunno. Maybe I'll just buy a Dremel or a generic 'rotary tool' and use that. I told the wife I'll only buy power tools when I need them for a project. Well, if I need it for this project...

- Fushigi

 

[Fushigi]

Now if you had read the Fans thread, you would know that the Athlon XP1700 already comes with a decent fan, that is in fact quieter than the Microflow.

Well, the only reason I grabbed the Speeze was because it was an OEM CPU .. no HSF included. Otherwise, for my sister I am less concerned about a few extra db.

I'm keen on Papst, but they're very expensive, and much of their noise reduction comes from lower rpm. Like I said, the AVC fan supplied with the XP1700 Thoroughbred B is already very quiet.

My use is purely to push a little air across my drives & to help exhaust it out the back of the box. Despite having an X15 and a Tbird CPU, I don't think the heat geneartion will really require that much circulation. And if it does I'll replace the rear fan with something beefier later.

Other than adding a new CD burner a few months ago, my PC really hasn't needed any upgrades/changes in a long time. This is my first tinkering project that might improve my daily usage experience by reducing the ambient noise level in my den.

On the cost of the fans, yeah, they are a bit pricey. But we just refinanced the house and my monthly payment was reduced nearly 10%. So there's a few extra $ to spend here & there.

- Fushigi

 

[double bit CRC error]

If the retail HSF that came with my Duron 1.3 is any indication, then I would say the speeze is almost certainly quieter than the retail... maybe not in a dB way of measurement, but in overall pitch and listenability the speeze is much easier to get along with.

 

[time]

I'm a big fan of Spire (which BTW is the name under which they have AMD approvals and what www.fanner.com redirects to; I have no idea why they also have the Speeze brand with slightly different models).

But the AVC cooler that appears to now come bundled with XP1700s is quiet and effective enough for that CPU, and even for faster ones. Trust me - it's in a different class to the cheap rubbish they included with most Durons.

But then they can afford to use a slow fan on a 1466MHz Tbred B - it probably dissipates less power than a Duron 1300 anyway.

 

[CityK]

But then they can afford to use a slow fan on a 1466MHz Tbred B - it probably dissipates less power than a Duron 1300 anyway

It does, (max @ stock values) 49.4W vs. the Duron's 60W.

CK

 

[blakerwry]

Ah, i was thinking of Palomino 1700 (which is basically the heating equivalent of the 1.3 duron)

 

[Fushigi]

OK, I guess this is bad news for my sister. I'm keeping new mobo & XP1700+ and will send her my 'aging' T-bird 1.4 in it's place. It's still quite a step up from her K6/III-400 so it'll be worthwhile.

I had to buy a new PSU to get the stinkin' 4 pin plug the mobo demanded. Wouldn't boot without it. Grrr...

The Athlon XP1700+ normally runs an 11X multiplier. Right now it's running 15X without breaking much of a sweat. That places it right around a 2400+. Now, the secondary stamping indicates (as noted in the Unlocking a t-bred thread) it could go as high as 2600+. I'll do some more tests once this has burned in a little. I'm not OCing the RAM at all.

And my goal of a quieter PC has been realized as well. The system is easily much quiter than the old case + fans. I may even, once the CPU speed has settled down, try disabling one of the case fans to see if it has a dramatic affect on temps.

The case, cheapie that it was, comes with a front LCD panel that's hooked up to a temp probe. For now the temp probe is hanging just above my X15. At operating temp with F@H running it's hovering around 97F.

MBM5 doesn't report any temps. Any suggestions for an nForce2 monitor util?

- Fushigi

 

[blakerwry]

And my goal of a quieter PC has been realized as well. The system is easily much quiter than the old case + fans. I may even, once the CPU speed has settled down, try disabling one of the case fans to see if it has a dramatic affect on temps.

The case, cheapie that it was, comes with a front LCD panel that's hooked up to a temp probe. For now the temp probe is hanging just above my X15. At operating temp with F@H running it's hovering around 97F.

MBM5 doesn't report any temps. Any suggestions for an nForce2 monitor util?

- Fushigi

It's no surprise that it's cooler/quieter. The t-bird 1.4 is the hottest chip ever prduced for a PC (that I know of). Even the fastest t-breds and bartons are not as hot running.

MBM needs to be told what sensors are what... This can be uncomfortable if you're new to the program, but it should really bequite easy (there should be nforce support in the newer version of MBM5) so you're going to have to start mbm and then goto the temp section and select "sensor 1" and then tell it what sensor on the motherboard corresponds to "sensor 1"

go through the mbm sensors until you've covered all the sensors that are included on the motherboard. Then you can go back and label the mbm sensors with friendlier names like CPU, case, IBM 180gxp, etc, etc.

 

[CougTek]

The t-bird 1.4 is the hottest chip ever prduced for a PC (that I know of).

Most higher-end Pentium 4 currently selling can swallow significantly more power than the old Thunderbird 1.4Ghz ever was able to. Intel prefers to advertize the typical power dissipation of their CPUs, but their maximal power dissipation is much higher. I don't remember the exact number, but the Pentium 4 3Gagahertz can disspate up to ~100W. The 1.4GHz Thunderbird was rated at ~70W IIRC.

 

[Howell]

Intel prefers to advertize the typical power dissipation of their CPUs, but their maximal power dissipation is much higher. I don't remember the exact number, but the Pentium 4 3Gagahertz can disspate up to ~100W. The 1.4GHz Thunderbird was rated at ~70W IIRC.

You remember incorrectly. The 1.4G Tbird is rated for 72W. The P4 2G Est. max power dissipation is ~100W. Incidently, the 3000+ Barton is rated for 74W. Additionally,

Intel states: "The [Thermal Design Power] numbers ... reflect Intel's recommended design point and are not indicative of the maximum power the processor can dissipate under worst case conditions."

Interestingly, many of the P4 based celerons are rated for more than 74W and quite a few of the Xeons are rated for more than 75W. Depending on how much L3 cache is on board(2M/4M), the Itanium is rated for 116/130W. All of the Itanium2s are rated for 130W.

One thing is for sure, cooling is going to get harder. jtr, get your case cooler ready.

 

[double bit CRC error]

Intel prefers to advertize the typical power dissipation of their CPUs, but their maximal power dissipation is much higher. I don't remember the exact number, but the Pentium 4 3Gagahertz can disspate up to ~100W. The 1.4GHz Thunderbird was rated at ~70W IIRC.

You remember incorrectly. The 1.4G Tbird is rated for 72W. The P4 2G Est. max power dissipation is ~100W. Incidently, the 3000+ Barton is rated for 74W. Additionally,

Intel states: "The [Thermal Design Power] numbers ... reflect Intel's recommended design point and are not indicative of the maximum power the processor can dissipate under worst case conditions."

Interestingly, many of the P4 based celerons are rated for more than 74W and quite a few of the Xeons are rated for more than 75W. Depending on how much L3 cache is on board(2M/4M), the Itanium is rated for 116/130W. All of the Itanium2s are rated for 130W.

One thing is for sure, cooling is going to get harder. jtr, get your case cooler ready.

Remember that the power draw and total thermal output of a CPU does not necessarily correspond directly to the temperature that the CPU will run at. Intel's heat spreaders and AMD's newer chips' larger die sizes mean that they will run cooler than the t-bird given the same thermal output.

 

[Howell]

Remember that the power draw and total thermal output of a CPU does not necessarily correspond directly to the temperature that the CPU will run at. Intel's heat spreaders and AMD's newer chips' larger die sizes mean that they will run cooler than the t-bird given the same thermal output.

And... heat transfer rate is a function of area. The surface area has already been taken into account. Aren't you in engineering school?

Besides that, Which of the chips I meantioned run at the same thermal output as the 1.4G T-bird?

 

[double bit CRC error]

And... heat transfer rate is a function of area. The surface area has already been taken into account. Aren't you in engineering school?

What exactly are you arguing? My post just explained that the t-bird ran hotter because it had a small transfer surface compared to the newer chips that have similar power draw and overall thermal output. (Where exactly did you take this into account as you mention in your post)

Besides that, Which of the chips I meantioned run at the same thermal output as the 1.4G T-bird?

Geee... lets see, you mentioned 2 chips that run within a few percent of the t-birds thermal specs

 

[Fushigi]

Running stable @ 16X multiplier (2141MHz), temp is 56C. That's a steady temp at 100% CPU utilization via F@H and no adjustments to RAM timings or anything else.

Nearly a 50% CPU overclock without doing anything but adjusting the multiplier. Sweet.

- Fushigi

 

[Howell]

And... heat transfer rate is a function of area. The surface area has already been taken into account. Aren't you in engineering school?

What exactly are you arguing? My post just explained that the t-bird ran hotter because it had a small transfer surface compared to the newer chips that have similar power draw and overall thermal output. (Where exactly did you take this into account as you mention in your post).

I'm not trying to be antagonistic. What I'm saying is that you are right in your thinking, a smaller surface will not be able to transfer as much heat energy as a larger surface for the same temperature differential.

But the Intel and AMD specification for "Maximum Power Dissipation" is measured in Watts which takes into account surface area under Fourier's law of heat conduction. And so, this specification can be compared directly across different chips and different manufacturers.

 

[Howell]

Running stable @ 16X multiplier (2141MHz), temp is 56C. That's a steady temp at 100% CPU utilization via F@H and no adjustments to RAM timings or anything else.

Nearly a 50% CPU overclock without doing anything but adjusting the multiplier. Sweet.

- Fushigi

Congrats, Fushigi. What are yo using for cooling and is it still quiet?

 

[mubs]

And, before you reply, Fushigi, please, just quickly list your m/b, ram brand/model nos. as well. I know they're in this thread somewhere, but please?

 

[Fushigi]

From Newegg:

11-156-014 CASE RAIDMAX 879P BG MID RET 1 $27.00 $27.00
13-133-005 MB FIC|AU13 NFCE2 U2/LAN/AGP R 1 $85.00 $85.00
19-103-351 CPU AMD|1700+ 1.4 ATHLONXP TBRED% 1 $50.00 $50.00
20-200-017 DDRAM 512MB|PC-2700CL2.5 APACE INF% 1 $63.00 $63.00
35-150-010 CPU FAN SPEEZE |5F263B1M3 P3/AMD 1 $7.00 $7.00

The Pabst fans are from Directron.

Quiet is a relative thing. Some would still complain about the noise, but it is much qieter than the old setup. Now there are Pabst 12CFM fans in the front & back, the GPU fan (GeForce2GTS), a case side-fan, and 2 fans in the Antec PSU -- the regular rear fan & a downward-firing fan powered by the mobo. The PSU fan is supposed to only run when the temps are high. There's also an original X-15 and a WD 160GB 7200 HD.

I may experiment with disabling one or more of the fans, but I want to see how far the CPU will go with stock voltage & cooling before I mess with that.

- Fushigi

 

[Newtun]

If I'm reading right, you're running your XP at 133 MHz FSB, but your memory is capable of 166 (333 DDR).

Are you actually running the memory at 333 DDR? What memory settings?

Have you considered/tried upping the FSB to 166 and lowering the multiplier to 12.5 or 13, and sync-ing with memory?

I'm thinking about getting the AU13 with 2 PC3200 Kingston HyperX modules, and running at 200 MHz FSB sync'ed with memory. I haven't seen too much info about the possibility for that combo. Seems like it has real good potential, though. I'm also thinking about getting the XP 2100 at Newegg, for an assured Rev B.

±?

 

[Fushigi]

If I'm reading right, you're running your XP at 133 MHz FSB, but your memory is capable of 166 (333 DDR).

Are you actually running the memory at 333 DDR? What memory settings?

Have you considered/tried upping the FSB to 166 and lowering the multiplier to 12.5 or 13, and sync-ing with memory?

The memory settings are at BIOS defaults, so it's more than likely "By SPD". I will check later on, but am at work now and will be busy tonight.

Once I find the ceiling on 133MHz FSB operation, I might try the 166 to see how well it handles that. Not urgent, though, as I'm already quite happy with the results I'm getting.

BTW, I forgot to mention in my above posts, I'm using the thermal gunk that came with the Speeze; I did not replace it with Arctic Silver.

- Fushigi

 

[Newtun]

Thanks for the quick response. I'm hoping that this motherboard is another classic, like the VA-503+.