Upgrade (thinking of it anyways)

[vagabond]

Hey folks,

Got an old DFI AK 74-ES, 900 Athlon with a GF2MX400 64MBSDRAM

Is it worth upgrading the GPU and if so, which one?
Say 100$ tops.

Or would it be better getting the maximum CPU this board can handle? Already running 384MB SDRAM

Thanks for the input!

Vagabond

PS: Y'all may laugh but I use it also for online gaming.

You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink it!

 

[MeTaLrOcKeR]

Well, this all depends on whether or not u plan on upgrading the PC anyways in a little while....

my recomendation....Overclock ur CPU and buy a new Video card........something like a ATI Radeon 8500LE or a GeFoce 3 Ti 200 or even 500......

<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?id=13597" target="_new">-MeTaL RoCkEr</A>

 

[vagabond]

Hey Rock,

Thanks for the input but that means having to unlock the L1 bridges and I don't have the patience to undertake that kind of work.

What I'll probably do is go ahead and buy the Radeon and maybe boost my RAM another 512MB.

Vagabond

You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink it!

 

[vagabond]

BTW,

Which of the GPUs you mentioned is cheaper? The Radeon?
And which one of the Geforce cards is better?

You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink it!

 

[MeTaLrOcKeR]

Ok..first off...unlockign the L1 bridges on a T-Bird doesnt take patience...its VERY easy......4 simple little pencil lines......thats it......i sugegst u get soem patience and do it..its worth it trust me =)

as far as video cards....the Radeon is cheaper.....

as for the GeForce cards i mentioned...the GF3 Ti 500 is the best.....but the GF3 Ti200 is the cheapest...and u can OC the video card to almost Ti500 speeds.....

<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?id=13597" target="_new">-MeTaL RoCkEr</A>

 

[vagabond]

OK, say I manage to unlock the L1 bridges. How high can I even OC the CPU on this Mobo successfully. I've read into overclocking a bit and it does interest me. I don't want you getting the wrong idea when I said I don't have the patience. There are other things to consider namely Athlon builds serious amounts of heat when it's OC'd. Not to mention my CPU is the B version. The Mobo has the options for OC'ing. Temp Prot and Hardware Monitor and VCore adjust and Multiplicator settings in the BIOS.

Know what, I'll try it out. I've seen THG's video on how they do it with silver paint. But that's time intensive. I'll try it out first with the pencil.

Thanks,
Vagabond



You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink it!

 

[vagabond]

BTW,

What's the difference between the Radeon 8500 and the LE version?

Thanks

Vagabond

You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink it!

 

[Conehead]

The LE is the light edition...its clocked a little lower than the regular R8500, but the LE can normal be OC'd to R8500 speeds.

"If there's grass on the field...play ball!!"

 

[MeTaLrOcKeR]

yes...the LE is clocked a tad slower than the Regular 8500...

as for the paint...thats difference...thats for the Athlon XP......u dont need paint for ur chip.......pencil it in and its done...as for heat...thats a myth..seeing how P4's generate as much if not more heat than an Athlon......if ur temperature is way up then ur cooler is mediocre...therefore id suggest if ur worried about heat, get a TT Volcano 7......overkill for ur CPU....but hey ur the one that said theres lots of heat....oh, and as far as how fast u can go...all depends.....every chip is differet....but i can see u hitting 1.1GHz.....maybe even more.....

<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?id=13597" target="_new">-MeTaL RoCkEr</A>

 

[cakecake]

The thunderbird actually is the hottest CPU when measured in clock speed vs. thermal output. This doesn't really affect its overclocking, however.

1° of separation between my monopoly and yours. That's business with .NET

 

[MeTaLrOcKeR]

yes and no.....

the die is small on the T-Bird....not a huge contact area....no IHS liek on P4.......therefore i agree with u on that....there still not HOT running....

<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?id=13597" target="_new">-MeTaL RoCkEr</A>

 

[vagabond]

Conehead, Rock and Cake,

Thanks very much for your input on this. Rock my CPU is running @30C ambient and 33C CPU according to my Hardware Monitor. Just checked in my BIOS TEMP and it coincides with the HM. Of course I'm running at night right now in Germany and it tends to cool down here. Normal surfing I get maybe 43C - 45C on the CPU and a couple of degrees cooler ambient.

Are there any safety precautions on the unlocking of the L1 bridges? BTW, I've got Tt's Super Twin Orb as a HSF. Sounds like a plane getting ready to take off but that's okay. During gaming I don't hear it anymore.

1.1Ghz sounds nice but I'll have to see.

Thanks,

Vagabond

You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink it!

 

[Willamette_sucks]

u would not have to unlock ur bridges, thats for changing the multiplier, u can oc by changing the fsb too. but why dont u want to unlock it? on your processor its so easy, u can just do the pencil trick (connect the bridges with a graphite pencil and seal it with tape).

The first LAN party I went to was at a PETA convention. They booted me when I shot a crab in HL!