To register for an Internet.com membership to receive newsletters and white papers, use the Register button ABOVE.
To participate in the message forums BELOW, click here
my dell PIV came w/ a single 256mb ddr module...what are my choice for adding an addtl memory module???...what other upgrades should I make to this machine to max performance???
Well, if you’re $loaded you could always buy a 1024MB stick of DDR, they only run about a $1000CND. But I think 256MB should be plenty for most tasks. Other than that you’re pretty limited unless you want a 15,000rpm HDD in your computer and like the sound of jet engines.
If you move your computer to a colder climate they tend to run a little better. Cooler = better/faster. Now I just happen to live pretty far north so if you move your P4 to my place you can really expect max performance.
PS. I’ll pay the shipping. And give you quarterly updates on how it’s running.
OK...so I'm gonna get the 256MB DDR module...for the extra slot...I'm looking at the memory available and there's the PC2100...PC2700...and more...which one can I add?...right now it's the stock dell w/ the 278pin P4 and their 256MB DDR module...and a 80GB 7200RPM HD...I really wanna make this my graphic design animation system...and prolly do some dig. video editing too...10+ years ago I was art director for the 'Inside winston cup' on TNN...and did all their 3-d animation...I left the industry to start my own biz in a different field...now here i am learning Photoshop, flash etc, etc...
I'm in noway ready to tear into this system and do major overhuals...plus I can't afford much of anything right now...but I do wanna do what i can to maximize the lfe and performance of what i've got...so, looking at it that way....whataya reccomend?....would the 'raid' and other stuff I dont know anything about be something to consider really?
I also have basically a 'brand new' quantex 233Mhz PII MMX (i440LX chipset & Biostar M6TLC motherboard)w/ 2 open memory slots ...do ya know what memory type I need for this one?...and would a processor upgrade be worth the money...or what?...I want to get this system as upto date as i can for my 15yr old son's music, internet and some light graphics..(plus hopefully some homework!)
and by the way...I really appreciate you guys takin the time to help me w/ (what must seem really stupid ) questions...seriously, THANK YOU...
in exchange - If anyone needs help w/custom a reef aquarium or a custom mahogony/birdseye maple longboard (skateboard)...lemme know...I guess that's my claim to expertism...
OK,
you want a home graphics system. The extra RAM is always a bonus for that. In fact, if you are planning on edit large images, more RAM is a must. 512MB total is a good place to start, and see how fast your system runs when you're editing images. I have seen some serious image editing machines that have 2GB of RAM in them, and even then the users swear that they need more.....! As for speed, your motherboard will only be able to support PC2100, and if money is an issue I believe PC2700 will be considerably the dearer. Given that your current RAM will probably be CAS 2.5 and you don't want to replace it for a few percent performance increase, I would say PC2100 will be fine.
What graphics card does your system have? If you are lucky you may have a GeForce3 in there, otherwise as I recall Dells staple is the GeForce 2 MX/ ATi Rage 128/ TNT2 M64 (listed in order of descending capability). If you have a TNT2, you will almost certainly benefit from something a little nippier, even if you don't have that much to spend.
Also, what sound card does the system use? Dell are notorious for using terrible on-board solutions, and again it doesn't cost much to upgrade to something that is ALOT better.
Hmm, as for the PII 233, I'm not sure if it will use PC66 SDRAM or old EDO RAM (my parents have an old PII 233 which uses EDO RAM, boy were they gutted when I told them upgrading it would be damned expensive). If it is SDRAM, you should be able to plonk some PC133 (which is currently quite cheap) in there and go, if it is EDO RAM it will cost more, and might be difficult to find (as EDO RAM is not made any more).
As for a Raid array (which uses 2 hard drives, and can theoretically double the speed of your hard drive transfer), I would only consider it if you have alot of money to spare. It costs alot more than a simple graphics or sound card upgrade (unless you pay for a bleeding edge card), and whilst it does speed up your system, it isn't really going to be of major help if you already have alot of RAM and are working on images (rather than loading apps continiously, or streaming data to disk at high speed).
Ok,
I have had a look at the BioStar website, it looks like the M6TLC supports both EDO and SDRAM. Which socket is currently occupied? There should be 1 white one (EDO RAM) and 2 black ones (SDRAM).
From the spec, it should be possible to run bother EDO and SDRAM, but I would check in the manual as you may have to change some jumper settings first.
You could also upgrade to a Celeron processor, but this might prove to be a slightly trickier proposition. The board only supports up to 500MHz (and probably the 533 non-A variety) chips, and even then it will require a slocket converter (as the Celerons come in socket format). This upgrade would be further hampered by the fact that Celerons of those speed grades are not widely available (I don't think they are in production any more).It is theoretically possible to upgrade that motherboard to a 766Mhz Celeron (based on the PIII core) using a PowerLeap adaptor, but again it would not be a trivial exercise, and would probably cost as much as a new motherboard and CPU anyway. All in all, I would stick with the PII 233 and save up until you can replace the motherboard and processor.
Damn...you guys are good!...I swear, I've talked to soo many "I know everything, about everything" kinda' idiots...and realized that I might never get a straight answer...
THANK YOU !!!
I had some extra 66-100 mhz sdram lying around from another upgrade and popped it into the open slot on the quantum 266 PII...and although its not great...it's just fine for my son's stuff...I do need to put a bigger hard drive in...so, IS there a limit to the hard drive size and a partitioning issue w/ the PII???...or since I've loaded win 98se...can I get a 30Gig or so and just install the thing???
on the hard drive upgrade. You should be able to pop a 30 gig drive in there with little to no problem. I wanna say that your box is new enough that it shouldn't be hampered by the 8 gig limit. If that is the case, A simple BIOS upgrade will fix the problem. Your other option would be to put windows 2000 on there. Windows 2000/NT/XP directly access the drives through the INT13(I believe this is correct) extentions and thus can overcome a BIOS limitation.
So, check your motherobard manual and see what the max drive it supports. Also check their website as I'm sure they'd have a bios update for you that would take care of the problem.
Like fallguy was talking about, you should be able to drop a PPGA celeron in there. Checking pricewatch quick I saw 466, 500, and 533 celerons for dirt cheap, less than $30. You'd have to pick up an slot convert card, but I think it would be well worth the investment. Going from a PII 266 to a ~500 mhz celeron will be a very nice boost in performance.
[This message has been edited by Luds (edited 04-22-2002).]
Awsome...that's what I'm gonna do...get the the slot-to-socket converter and get a 500Mhz Celeron...(was that the max speed on the old Celeron's w/66Mhz FSB? or was it the 466Mhz that was the last of those???)...
And since I'm really takin' advantage of the gross overwhelmingly onesided distribution of knowledge here...(hehe)...I'll ask this last question....On my 400Mhz celeron w/ the following specs:
> CPU Name = FlipChip Celeron
> Socket Type = Slocket or PPGA370
> Model = 0665
> BIOS Vendor = Award
> BIOS Version = xx
> BIOS Date = 08/11/99
> Chipset = Intel 810
> Motherboard = FIC-CW33
> CRC1 = FA639479
> CRC2 = F8DBD2C3
> CRC3 = 5FD2E367
> CPU Core = 400 MHz
> Front Side Bus = 67 MHz
(the CW-33 manual states -
Intel 810 chipset includes a CPU interface controller, integrated memory
controller, integrated power management unit, concurrent PCI (PCI v.2.0,
2.1, 2.2), 3D video, IDE and ISA bus controller.
n Flexible Processor Support
Onboard Socket 370 supports leading-edge processors:
Celeron™ PPGA processors 333/366/400/433/466/500 MHz and up.
Various External Bus and CPU/Bus Frequency Ratio Support
The board supports the Bus frequency of 66 / 75 / 83 / 90 / 95 / 100 / 112
/ 124 / 133MHz and the CPU/Bus frequency ratio of 2x / 2.5x / 3x / 3.5x / 4x
/ 4.5x / 5x / 5.5x / 6x / 6.5x / 7x / 7.5x / 8x by a switching voltage regulator
which accepts 1.8V to 2.8V.
Versatile Main Memory Support
Accepts up to 512MB (total) RAM using two DIMMs of 8, 16, 32, 64, 128,
256MB with support for lightning-fast SDRAM (66/100MHz).
> Clock Multiplier = 06.0
> L1 Code Cache = 16 KB
> L1 Data Cache = 16 KB
> L2 Cache Size = 128 KB
> Total Physical memory = 522696 KB
> Operating Systems = Windows 98 SE
so, my question is: Can I upgrade this CPU & then use the 400Mhz celeron (w/converter)inmy PII233 Mhz upgrade.(by the way, the PII that I said was a 266Mhz is actually a 233Mhz...not sure where I got the 266 part from)....
If I'm abusing the knowledge base here guys...jus say so...and I'll shut up...
P.S....I'm gonna post some pics of the longboards ASAP...they really are beuatiful and the best carving decks i've ever ridden...I'm equipping them w/ Torsion trucks & nylon core wheels (abec-7 bearings)..really a breathtaking ride and stable enuf for even non-skateboarders to cruise on...
P.S.S....I just dissasembled two (72X24X36) reef systems for a client (hurting by the economy downturn)...and have a great deal of other reef aquarium support 'things'...so, if anyone wants to setup a living reef next to their workstation...I'll offer all the free support I can... (on a different message board of course)
The i810, although not the "preferred" chipset should support any Cumine PIII. So I think that dropping in say a 933 mhz PIII wouldn't be a half bad idea. Then you could put the celeron in the other machine. A simple converter card would probably run you like 6 bucks.
The PPGA celerons went as high as 533 mhz. However, one has to be careful as that the coppermine core celerons also started at 533. So there is that one speed grade overlap between the PPGA and FC-PGA versions.
I'm sorry. I just checked info on your board. The FIC CW33 does NOT support the FC-PGA socket 370 Pentium 3s. So you will not be able to upgrade to anything faster than a celeron 533. I apologize for that. I now have your manual downloaded and am looking at the board.
Your best bet would be to leave that system alone and just buy something in the range of a 466 - 533 mhz PPGA celeron and replace the PII with it on the LX board machine.
Linear Mode
