upgrading old Gateway.. need info on duron

[madmanbmw]

I am currently running a Gateway G-266 PII with 64 mb of ram. The system is mainly used for business and accounting and not much gaming. I would like to upgrade the system because my software if really lagging, and I would like to do it for less than $300. I was wondering about adding a 850 mhz duron with a new giga byte mobo and PC100 128 mb of RAM. Would this be sufficient for the money or do I need more power? How easy would it be to overclock this system to 1 ghz and what type of cooling system would I need? Are durons good buys or would you suggest that I go with a low speed athlong with a 266 mhz fsb for future upgradability? I am planning on using my old video card, 4mb AGP and gateway sound card. I also plan on keeping the 9gb of harddrive space wich in almost four years I still have 4gb free. I priced adding an 850 mhz duron, giga byte mobo, and 128mb of ram at about $210 dollars. Without going over $300 what else would give me the greatest bennefits for bussiness aps? Any help is greatly appreciated. Also any info on overclocking the Duron would be helpful. BTW what is a good motherboard buy for this chip and for overclocking?

Thanks for your time

madison
mmcmajor@apex.net

 

[ledzepp98]

i think the future is DDR so anything less will be subject to future upgrades. that being siad, i would go for the duron if i were you. as far as mobo, gigabyte is a good board, but not for overclocking. if you want to overclock, i have had good experience with the epox ep-8kta+ (the + version allows for overclocking) or an msi (not sure exactly which model). as far as clock speed, you can save yourself about $25-$30 by getting a 750mhz instead of the 850mhz. get a good hsf for overclocking like the fop-32 or a good taisol (742092?). also, it is worth it to get good cas2 pc133 ram instead of the pc100 (unless you already have it). anyway here's what i would get, based on pricewatch prices (includes approximate shippign charges):
epox ep-8kta+ --- $90
duron 750mhz --- $60
128mb pc-133 --- $55 (www.crucial.com good memory)
hsf (fop-32) --- $25

so far you are at about $230, well under your $300 budget. personally, i think it would be worth it to take that extra $70 and get a better video card. a geforce2 mx can be bought for around $75. any questions...

 

[madmanbmw]

If I was to buy a good $25 hsf how much would I be able to overclock a 750mhz duron? How about an 850mhz duron? I want to make sure I stay about 30-60 mhz under the max for overclocking.. just to stay safe!

madison
mmcmajor@apex.net

 

[ledzepp98]

as with all overclocking there i of course no gyarantees. with that said, i would think both chips will reach around 1ghz. i think they both have roughly the same potential and the $30 is better spent elsewhere. even though i recommended the epox board (and i still do), you might want to look into a board with the kt133a chipset this way you can do more fsb overclocking, since this will yield the greatest performance gain

 

[madmanbmw]

OK here is what I am planning... maybe...

SOYO K7ADA (ALi ALiMAGiK1(1647/1535D+) chipset $130
AMD Duron 750 mhz $50
Along with an MWAVE ORB COOLING FAN FOR AMD THUNDERBIRD, DURON & INTEL PENTIUM III FCPGA PROCESSOR W/3 PIN CONNECTOR (SUPPORT UP TO 1.0GHZ) can be seen at http://direct.mwave.com/mwave/doc/A11753.gif $12.00

128 mb pc2100 crucial $60

This should match my budget but a few questions. How are this motherboard and chipset rated? Will it be easy to overclock to 1ghz with this motherboard? Will I need any tools to do so? Alos will this fan cool my cpu enough or do I need a more powerfull hsf? Where can I order a good hsf? Also all of this, except the RAM, is coming from mwave.com they seem to have the best prices. Let me know if you have any ideas. btw, will a 200 watt powersupply be enough with this motherboard and processor?

Thanks

Madison
mmcmajor@apex.net

 

[ledzepp98]

wow, looking at my last post i can tell that i need to lay off the alcohol... anyway, i see you are looking into DDR. from the reviews i have read, the alimagik1 chipset so far has sub-par performance. the amd760 chipset seems to be the best with the kt266 running neck and neck. if you want DDR, i would personally suggest that you wait a month or two (i know, the upgrade bug has cought you) and let the kt266 chipset mature a bit (and perhaps drop in price). amd isn't really in the chipset market...they seem to introduce a chipset and then let other companies perfect it, like via. the msi k7t pro266 (with the kt266 chipset) and the asus a7m266 have received good reviews so far. the last few msi boards with the kt133 and kt133a chipset have proven themselves to be winners and asus has had a long standing reputation for making quality motherboards. if i were going to buy a DDR mobo (and i might soon) i think i would go with the msi (even though it is a bit more money than the soyo you mentioned). ok, next topic...you ask if the duron 750 would be "easy to overclock to 1ghz..." and the answer is...do you feel lucky? as i have said earlier, there is no guarantee or "easy" when it comes to overclocking. as an educated guess i would say that the duron 750 will "easily" reach 900mhz on a board that allows for overclocking. furthermore, i would bet that you can reach 1ghz...but don't hold me responsible if you don't get my point? now for cooling...in my experience the orb's aren't very good. i would go with an fop-32 (the fop-38 has a better fan but is MUCH louder) or a good taisol, like the CGK series (i like taisol personally). remember, a good socket-a hsf will carry you through future socket-a upgrades and overclocking adventures. the same holds true for your question about the power supply...i would NOT get less than a good brand 250 watt power supply. a good 300 watt is definately recommended though.

i almost forgot to mention this!!!!!!!...
if you buy a DDR motherboard with pc2100 ram, you are going to want to run your duron at a 133mhz fsb (which is effectively 266mhz because of the athlon/duron ddr fsb). there are no duron's that are sold to run at a 133mhz fsb (only the athlon "C") therefore you are going to have to try to run your duron at at least 6x133 or 798mhz. now, it will probably work but i can't stress enough that there are no guarantees!

ok, i'm surprised you are still reading...your choice of crucial ram is a good one and 128megs should do for now (i suggest a total of 256megs if you can afford it).

as for your last question, i have never ordered from mwave but i have only heard good things about them so i can't say anything bad.

i wouldn't be surprised if i confused you more than helped you but i did my best to answer your questions...if you have more questions, ask again and i will try to help if i can

 

[Haros]

Hi, I got an msi *k7t pro 2 a* with a duron 700@900, 1.77 vcore voltage, with a thermaltake fan, chrome orb, running UT 3 hours at 41 degrees celsius, idle 37. I did the overclocking through the mobo's bios (100 x 9), upgraded version (not the one they suggest to overclockers at their site). Just cross with a pencil the L1 bridges and you are ready to go....The system haven't crashed yet.