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[WildRhino]

My brother wants a new system but is it better for him to get a fast cpu (t-bird) or o/c a slower one or even a duron? Is an o/ced 1 gig cpu the same as a straight 1 gig cpu? What speed should we opt for?

What sort of mobo is best if we decide to o/c? The Asus range seems to be a popoular choice. Also, are the KT133A mobos with the new FSB able to be o/ced?

We want to get a Geforce MX card, is this the best option for increasing performance?

Finally, I have read about PC 150 and PC 170,will we need to buy these as they were cited as o/cers memory?

I know these r basic questions but I assume that is what this forum is for!

All help greatly appreciated.

 

[yoda271828]

Get a slower CPU and overclock it. 1Ghz is 1Ghz, it doesn't matter if it is overclocked or not. An overclocked CPU may not be as stable at very high clock speeds, but you can lower the speed slightly and increase the core voltage until it is. Most Durons (even 600Mhz ones) run stabily between 900-1000Mhz (Some can even get to 1100Mhz stabily). Unless your a speed freak, and really want a T-Bird, I suggest a Duron.

I've heard good things about the Asus A7V, Abit KT7, and MSI K7T-Pro2A. If I were you I would wait for the AMD760 or KT133A motherboards though.

Geforce2 MX is a good choice.

You do not need the PC150 or PC170 RAM, the AMD motherboards can not reach those speeds. Any good quality PC133 RAM (Crucial, Mushkin) can handle any slight overclock of the FSB that the motherboard will allow.

 

[WildRhino]

Thx for the info. I assume the T-Bird's level 2 cache is a better option against the duron's. What speed of T-Bird will o/c to @1 gig?

Do u have a rough time line for the 760 or KT133a?

Cheers

 

[yoda271828]

Last I heard the KT133A boards are supposed to ship in 2-3 weeks and AMD760 boards by the end of January. But who knows when either of them will really be shipped.

 

[Guest]

Well, I don't have a t-bird, but I have a duron 700 and it goes to 1gig (it gets really hot though and I had to drop it down to 900). The heat problem wouldn't be an issue if I had a better case with more fans, though. I've heard that the t-birds don't oc quite as high as durons (when I say high I mean gain in extra processor speed, not total), but I assume a 850 or a 900 t-bird would make a gig.

Greg

 

[Guest]

Oh yeah, I forgot. If you're going to get a Geforce2mx card, I would recommend getting a RETAIL version of a Hercules Prophet II mx. The retail version has a higher ram clock speed (183) than most other geforce 2 mx cards in which the ram is clocked at 166. The OEM version of the prophet also has ram running at 166 so make sure you find out which speed the ram runs at if you decide to purchase one. OC'ing the ram in the geforce is very important for overclocking the video card, and the better the ram, the easier and higher the oc speed the card. I heard that Winfast also offers a card with 183 mhz ram so you might want to look into that card as well.

Greg

 

[TheAntipop]

thunderbird 800s can make it to a gig, but the price spread of an 800 to an actual gig is so small, i dont know if i would just go for something like the 1.2 gig tbird and not overclock at all

TBird 800 - Asus A7V 1005a
256 PC133 - Maxtor 45GB ATA100
Radeon 32DDR - SB Live MP3+