Need suggestions on Upgrading my ASUS P2B based PC

[VJA]

Now that I put together my new Athalon XP 2000+ system I am considering upgrading my old PC which is based around the trusty ASUS P2B Mobo running an overclocked Celeron 300 chip. Since I am really not familiar with Intel Slot 1 CPUs which are compatible with this motherboard I was hoping that someone here could provide a good advice on which chip upgrade would provide the biggest bang for the buck. By the way, other components included in this system are 384 MB of fast PC100 SDRAM, Adaptec Ultra-Wide SCSI card to which two Seagate Ultra-Wide SCSI drives are connected. In the video card department, I have a Diamond Viper V550 installed on that system, which I presume I should also consider upgrading, so any suggestions in that department would also be welcomed.
Anyway, since this is not my primary PC, I would obviously like to keep this upgrade relatively painless and cost effective. A such any suggestions in regards to CPUs and video cards I should consider would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Flyboy]

I just upgraded my P2B-F recently. I went with a PIII 750Mhz and a GeForce 2Mx400. I looked for a 1000Mhz PIII that will run on a 100Mhz bus and they seem to be rare. Make sure you don't purchase a CPU that runs on the 133Mhz bus or you will be underclocking!

100Mhz Slot 1 CPU's are rare so you may have to do what I did and get it from Ebay. You might be able to get a Slot1 to Socket 370 adapter...I don't know. They are pretty pricy though too because they are hard to get.

I know what you mean about "trusty P2B". It's been the most stable kick-arse system I've ever used!

 

[Crashman]

Most P2B boards will run a 133MHz FSB, giving them superior performance to the 100MHz FSB setting. Some early revisions won't. Here's your <A HREF="http://www.compgeeks.com/details.asp?invtid=PIII1000S1-2N" target="_new">Slot 1 1000E</A>, since you claim you can't run 133FSB!

What's the frequency, Kenneth?

 

[Matisaro]

Wowo, that chip crash suggested is 184$

Since you said painless, I suppose a mobo+cpu replacement is out of the question.

Hey crash, is there a slotket adapter he can use to make it a tad cheaper?

"The Cash Left In My Pocket,The BEST Benchmark"
No Overclock+stock hsf=GOOD!

 

[Crashman]

The easiest upgrades involve 100MHz FSB PIII processors. Check your motherboard revision, as you may be able to run 133MHz FSB CPU's as well. Or look at the "FS" jumpers, if you have all four of them (FS0, FS1, FS2, FS3), you have the 133 setting.
For 100MHz FSB, the cheapest Slot 1 1000E I can find is $184. But the <A HREF="http://www.compgeeks.com/details.asp?invtid=PIII1000FC100-N" target="_new">FC-PGA version is only $132</A>, and a good Slotket is only $10.

Moving on to better things-if you have the 133MHz FSB setting, you can use the 1000EB, a much better performer. Using this requires you to have PC133 ram, and a video card that can support the overclocked AGP port. Any GeForce2 or Radeon will work.

For your jumper settings, download the sheet from <A HREF="http://cgi.asus.com.tw/cgi-bin/dl.asp?filename=mb/slot1/440bx/p2b/p2b-pins.pdf" target="_new">http://cgi.asus.com.tw/cgi-bin/dl.asp?filename=mb/slot1/440bx/p2b/p2b-pins.pdf</A>


What's the frequency, Kenneth?

 

[Crashman]

I'd go with the 1000EB for better performance, on a slotket, with PC133 and a new video card, since he said he wanted a new video card anyway! As for PC133, 256MB is about $25 at ABC Warehouse. I'd buy his old memory for that.
Of coarse he could be stuck at 100 (112 max) depending on his board revision, in which case the FC-PGA 1000E on a slotket would suffice for about 15% less performance (very rough estimate).

What's the frequency, Kenneth?

 

[VJA]

Thanks to all who responded; I appreciate all the great advice. I did check and my P2B Mobo does indeed support 133MHz setting although in the manual there is a warning stating: "Frequencies above 100MHz exceed specifications for onboard Intel Chipset and are not guaranteed to be stable." As such, has anyone experienced any problems running this board at 133MHz? Also are there any drawbacks to running a slotket mounted chip and anyone know of a place in the US that sells slotket converters.
Thanks again for all the help.

 

[Flyboy]

Crashman, the P2B only supports 100Mhz FSB because their is no way to set the AGP bus speed to 1/2! THe only options are 2/3 and 1/1.

 

[Flyboy]

I'm telling you dude, you won't be able to run that board at 133Mhz unless you find a way to overclock you AGP bus speed by:

133x2/3 = 88.7Mhz

Also the PCI bus speed will be overclocked:

133x1/3 = 44.3Mhz

If you can manage this then by all means get the 133Mhz FSB Pentium, but I really don't think your going to be able to do it.

Just read the manual on page 15 (at least for P2B-F) for the AGP Frequency Selection (AGPFS jumper). You will notice only 2:3 and 1:1 options.

I've wondered if I can manually solder some resistors onto the mobo in order to get 1/2. You guys think this is possible?<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Flyboy on 02/02/02 03:30 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Crashman]

Borscht! The 2/3 AGP divider works fine for most cards, giving you 89MHz AGP, well within the capabilities of ALL GeForce2 (even the crappy MX200) and Radeon cards as well as many others! The only factor left, once you have an adequate card, is whether or not you have the FS3 jumper!

What's the frequency, Kenneth?

 

[Flyboy]

That's true, but he's going to have to take the chance and buy the PIII for 133Mhz bus, and it may not work. Then he's stuck with a underclocked PIII unless he can return it.

Also, even if his card can do 89Mhz, the PCI devices are probably not going to be able to handle it. I guess it may depend what PCI cards he has.

Also, if I recall Asus says that the 440BX chipset is not rated for 133Mhz speeds.

 

[Crashman]

BAD advice, TERRIBLE LIES! The PCI bus can be set to 33MHz at 133FSB!

What's the frequency, Kenneth?

 

[Crashman]

I've been building them for over a year now. I personally OWNED a BX system with a PIII@933 (133FSB), which I sold to a nice quadropolegic power user, and he hasn't had a problem either!

What's the frequency, Kenneth?

 

[Flyboy]

Dude, I'm not lying. I may be wrong but I doubt it. I own a P2B-F and I think the PCI bus speeds can only be divided by 1/2 (if 66Mhz FSB) or 1/3 (if 100Mhz FSB).

Please, Mr. Gigolo if I'm wrong then show me because I'd love to get a Pentium with a 133mhz FSB. I even have PC133SDRAM! I can even overclock past 112Mhz. My guess is the PCI bus is the limitation. As you mentioned, I have the GeF2 MX400 and I believe is capable of 89Mhz.

 

[Flyboy]

How did you change the PCI bus speed? (I'm looking in manual now)

 

[Flyboy]

<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.html?i=34" target="_new">http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.html?i=34</A>

Hmm...I stand corrected! It appears that the PCI bus does have a 1/4 setting. D**N! I should have got the Pentium 1000E !!!! (crying now)

I guess I'm just not up to "Gigolo" standards yet! LoL Gimme another year. I can't believe that. I could be running a Pentium1000 with my FSB set to 133! S**T....now I'm stuck with this crapper 100Mhz PIII 750.

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Flyboy on 02/02/02 03:50 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Crashman]

OK, here's the full story, to ease your mind. The BX was designed for 100MHz FSB processors. Extensive testing has shown this chipset is stable up to 150MHz FSB!!! But then you have to consider cards:

Because some early PCI cards were made to run at 25MHz instead of 33MHz (a carry over from 486 days), Intel graced the BX with a 1/4 PCI divider, as well as the normal 1/3 and 1/2 divider. The jumper settings I told you to download show how to get 33MHz PCI with the 133 setting. Flyboy should download that as well!

So all your left with being overclocked is the AGP card. Now I sold a system to a nice quad a few months ago, and even his old ATI All-In-Wonder 128 worked at 89MHz. I also tested a TNT2 card in his system and it worked fine. I also ran a GeForce2 GTS, MX200, MX, and RadeonLE card in the system when I was using it, without problems! Which leads me to believe that Flyboy is simply the nevous type, you know, the kind that drives 55 on the freeway!

You might need a BIOS update to support ANY coppermine (even the Celeron II), but that's it concerning the motherboard. You DO need PC133 SDRAM.

What's the frequency, Kenneth?

 

[Crashman]

NIce link, it looks like even the older revision of the board (prior to the introduction of FS3 jumper) would also support 133MHz FSB and automatically drop the PCI muliplier?

Now that you're wishing you had a PIII 1000E<b>B</b>, let me ask you this...do you have the slot 1 PIII 750E or the Socket 370 version on a slotket? If the later is true, it's easy to overclock, and might yet hit 1000EB speed!

What's the frequency, Kenneth?

 

[Flyboy]

Which leads me to believe that Flyboy is simply the nevous type, you know, the kind that drives 55 on the freeway!

LoL...no way man I cruise 10 over all the time! Nah, this one unfortunately goes to "misinformed". It appears I'm not the only one though. Even the link I provided- that guy also thought that the PCI bus would be overclocked. Good call Crash (pats on back).

 

[Crashman]

Look up a few post to my jumper download link!

What's the frequency, Kenneth?

 

[Crashman]

Hey, I didn't even know the version prior to the introduction of FS3 could do it, but our friend here has the FS3 jumper!

What's the frequency, Kenneth?

 

[Flyboy]

I've got the P2B-F manual right here in front of me so I don't need it, but thx anyway!

I should have known better than to take on the forum gigolo!

 

[Crashman]

I have a local store here that sells slotkets. As long as the slotket is of reasonable quality, there's no disavantage to using one. Do a web search, I'm sure you'll find a few hundred venders! LIke <A HREF="http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-Details.asp?sku=TC1-2036" target="_new">THIS ONE</A>

Now for the cooler-with a Slotket, you'll need a Socket type cooler. Most Athlon coolers also work on Pentium III's. The best cooler I can think of for use on a Slotket is the Evercool ND-8, because of it's low height. But basically any decent cooler will work, just be aware that too tall a cooler can cover your memory slots!

What's the frequency, Kenneth?<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Crashman on 02/02/02 04:08 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Flyboy]

Could you school me on why the FS3 jumper is significant?

 

[jclw]

P2B rev 1.11 or LESS:
- will NOT run SECC2 E chips (due to old VRM)
- will NOT run SECC2 EB chips (due to old VRM)
- will run FC-PGA E chips
- will run FC-PGA EB chips
- Use 1.80V on slockets
- BIOS 1012 or later

P2B rev 1.12 or GREATER:
- will run SECC2 E chips
- will run SECC2 EB chips
- will run FC-PGA E chips
- will run FC-PGA EB chips
- Use 1.70V on slockets
- BIOS 1013 or later

P2B-F:
- will run SECC2 E chips
- will run SECC2 EB chips
- will run FC-PGA E chips
- will run FC-PGA EB chips
- Use 1.70V on slockets
- BIOS 1013A or later

- JW