I know, I'm killin' this subject!

[vagabond]

Anyone out there own and is currently running an ECS K7S5A w/ Athlon XP 2600+? I PMed ECS and they said it'll run the 2600+. I'm asking here because I'm planning on upgrading again soon. Any problems with the setup? In the beginning, this particular board had problems. I must have been lucky 'cause I've stuck everything in it from Duron to AthlonB to Duron(Morgan) to AthlonC no problems. I've ran PC 133 SDRAM in different arrays an no problems. No names didn't bother it. No name DDR works fine also although I can't set the latencies too fast.

Thinking about the Athlon XP 2600+, Radeon 9700 Pro (after the 9900 comes out) and two 512 MB DDR PC2100 Infineon sticks. Think my 300W PSU can handle the upgrade? Or should I be looking into 400 or maybe 450?

Thanks everyone!
<font color=blue><b>VAGABOND</b><font color=blue>

<b><font color=blue>veni,vidi, and ended up in THGC<font color=blue></b>

 

[Quetzacoatl]

Uhm, that kind of level is doubtful, the Radeon 9700 draws a lot of power, and at 300 watter for a Tbred B athlon is probably not a great idea. Soooo......you might want to consider getting a higher rated one, especially if you are using multiple Cdrom drives and Hard drives.

Instead of Rdram, why not just merge 4 Sdram channels...

 

[vagabond]

So... before I consider the upgrade, I should first boost the PSU rating? What would be a good minimum? 400, 420, 450, 500??? I'm not really too sure. I don't want however to have to worry about my next electric bill! LOL Then again, I don't want to have to worry about Power issues especially with the Radeon being power hungry and more than likele it'll hold true of the Athlon XP and the twin PC2100 DDR RAM. Ok I'll keep that in mind when I do upgrade.

Thanks Q,
<font color=blue><b>VAGABOND</b><font color=blue>

<b><font color=blue>veni,vidi, and ended up in THGC<font color=blue></b>

 

[Bahumut]

I've seen some psu'd rated at around 430. Get one of those.

Pain is the realization of your own weakness.

 

[vagabond]

Thanks for the suggestion Bahumut.

<font color=blue><b>VAGABOND</b><font color=blue>

<b><font color=blue>veni,vidi, and ended up in THGC<font color=blue></b>

 

[paulj]

Get Antec or Enermax 430W psu and that is more than enough power. Don't get a cheap brand. It may not have any more power than a 350W cheap psu. I would recommend the Antec True Power 380W or higher. I like how they performa and they run quiet. But you can't go wrong with Enermax.

I would also recommend 2700 DDR SDRAM rather than the 2100. You will probably better off with 512MB of 2700 rather than 1024MB of 2100 if you are trying to save money. It depends on what you do with your computer.

<font color=red>The solution may be obvious, but I can't see it for the smoke coming off my processor.</font color=red>

 

[vagabond]

Hey paulj, I already had an Enermax targeted.

I do have a question on the RAM though. Why 512MB of PC2700 RAM? This board can only deal with PC2100. It's got a max of 1024PC2100 or 1024PC133. I currently have an AthlonC T-bird 1GB, 512 PC133 on a slot and a GeForce2MX/MX400 64SDRAM.
I know that RAM is backwards compatible but I'm not too sure if it'll run on this particular board. It's had issues. Not my board but I've read enough negative reviews of this board to be a bit wary in what I upgrade it to.

This computer is my main box and right now it's running 98SE. As soon as I have the upgrade components, I plan to either install 2000 or XP. I've also read that the 2000 has compatibility problems with some games and I've never tried installing a game under 2000.

I use this computer for normal surfing, downloading and online gaming. Particularly Counter-Strike. That's why I'm opting for the Radeon 9700Pro when the 9900 comes out.

Thanks,
<font color=blue><b>VAGABOND</b><font color=blue>

<b><font color=blue>veni,vidi, and ended up in THGC<font color=blue></b>

 

[ad_rach]

You sound like you are planning to spend a fair amount of money on upgrades so you really should upgrade your motherboard-your components would be wasted on a platform like that.

no matter how hard you try, you can't polish a turd. :]

 

[vagabond]

I know that this mobo is not the best for an upgrade but I got it for free. I've never had a problem with it like others have with this board. I can't dish out for a new mobo and be stuck with the GeForce2MX GPU. I want to upgrade that. I'm still running PC133 SDRAM. I want to taste DDR speed. I'm still on a Thunderbird. I want to experience Thoroughbred or Palomino. This board gives me that option.

Thanks for the input though.
<font color=blue><b>VAGABOND</b><font color=blue>

<b><font color=blue>veni,vidi, and ended up in THGC<font color=blue></b>

 

[paulj]

Sorry I misread what mobo you have. Yea stick with the 2100 unless a bios upgrade would allow better memory.

Actually you could get the 9700 non pro version and a new mobo. That is an option you should consider. You will get good performance from a non pro 9700 also.

<font color=red>The solution may be obvious, but I can't see it for the smoke coming off my processor.</font color=red>

 

[vagabond]

I'm limited as far as funding goes. I can only upgrade those three components in the near future. What would you recommend for a mobo? How much difference is the non Pro version of the 9700 and how much of a performance difference will it have?

<b><font color=blue>veni,vidi, and ended up in THGC<font color=blue></b>

 

[paulj]

You can save about $60 (YMMV) going with a 9700nonpro versus the 9700Pro. If you get 512MB 2700 RAM instead of 1024 2100 you should save $48(Kingston) - $75(Corsair). That should still be enough to perform well (let me know what software you use). That would save you at least $108. You could get a new nForce2 board for that. Here is a pricing below of a well balanced system. It doesn't have any glaring weak points. Let me know how it compares to what you were planning to spend.

KINGSTON KVR333X64C25/512 512MB PC2700 333MHZ CL2.5 DDR DIMM Detail Specs
$66.82

EPOX EP-8RDA+ NVIDIA nFORCE2 CHIPSET ULTRA ATA133 ATX FORM FACTOR 1xAGP(8X)/6xPCI/3xDDR W/LAN, 1394, USB 2.0 & AUDIO Detail Specs (CPU TYPE:AMD DURON, ATHLON)
$99.64

POWER COLOR/ATI RADEON 9700 128MB DDR 8XAGP W/TV&DVI-W/games & DVI adapter Detail Specs
$242.00

AMD ATHLON XP 2600+ 2.13GHZ (AXDA2600BOX) 333MHZ RETAIL BOXED W/COOLING FAN (3 YEARS WARRANTY)
$257.73

Sub Total
$666.19

I don't know alot about the Power Color video card. You would have to research that yourself. There are other 9700 nonpro options out there also.

The rest of the options, while not the top end items, are only a few steps from the top end. I think that will give you a better system that the top video card with a slower mobo. Or a lot of RAM but at 2100 speeds rather than 2700.

Hope that doesn't muddy the water too much.

<font color=red>The solution may be obvious, but I can't see it for the smoke coming off my processor.</font color=red>

 

[TileGeek]

Yo V,

Just get the PC2700. It will run CAS 2.0 with aggro timings that much better at 266mhz, & it is not that much more money vs. the stock PC2100.

Peace Out...............tg

I'm a man in a Box

 

[vagabond]

Hey paulj,

Thanks for listing the items out.

This is what I'm thinking; Athlon 2400XP+ for 179Euros;
512 DDR333 PC2700 Infineon 99,90Euros; Radeon 9700Pro 128DDR w/TV and DVI 289Euros w/ my current board. Total 568Euros.

That amount is more in my financial ballpark. What I'll probably do is set the timings faster on the RAM if this board can handle it. If not I'll still be happy with 2.5

The mobo you suggested is good especially the price but I have to buy it here in Germany and there's no way it will be that cheap. Even if I could get it here that cheap, I just don't have the extra 100Euro to buy it unless I sell my daughter's computer and I don't want to do that.

Thanks paulj and thanks TileGeek.

<font color=blue><b>VAGABOND</b></font color=blue>

<b><font color=blue>veni,vidi, and ended up in THGC<font color=blue></b>