Sorry if this falls outside the remit of this forum...

milltown · 23-10-2002 6:59pm #1

But I'm looking for any and all advice on upgrading my PC.
Current spec is:

P111 500
256Mb
Voodoo3 16Mb
20 Gb Hdd

Bought from Gateway (500web model) about 3 years ago.

Used for all the usual stuff including games. Not usually a problem but it has struggled with a lot of games since Quake 3. I will be upping the graphics to 64Mb (not for €300+, I don't think I want/need the latest and greatest card available) any recommendations for a new card?

I would also like a 1GHz+ processor and DDR RAM would also be desirable. What is likely to be the best processor my current motherboard will take (Intel or AMD I'm not fussy). Am I right in presuming my old motherboard will not take DDR RAM? I will be keeping my tower case and drives, PSU etc. Peats have upgrade kits on their site but they include a new case. Also I presume the parts could probably be got cheaper once I know what's needed.

All advice will be welcome, cheers.

Altheus · 23-10-2002 7:24pm

Well, anything new (i.e. Intel P4/AMD XP) will require a new PSU 300w +. Generally they cost €30-40. Also your board is quite frankly $h1te, so it's gotta be upgraded too, as for your HDD, CD/DVD etc, that'll all be fine for a new system.

I'm actually selling my old system, which sounds ideal for you, so PM me and I'll discuss it with you. (it's an XP2000+, 256MB DDR, GeForce3 Ti500 and motherboard)

SantaHoe · 24-10-2002 2:53am

Originally posted by milltown
any recommendations for a new card?

A GeForce 4 MX sounds about what you're looking for... they retail for about €160 (depending on where you buy obviously).
It's a huge step up from a Voodoo3 anyway... I'm very happy with mine... there's no way I'm paying anything over €200 for a GFX card.

Stephen · 24-10-2002 11:06am

Komplett.ie have GeForce 4 MX's for 80 euros + delivery this week - its one of their weekly specials.

Altheus · 24-10-2002 11:17am

Alternatively you could buy my GeForce3 Ti500 which is by far a superior card for €100

Typedef · 24-10-2002 11:19am

Depending on the motherboard you can probably just upgrade the CPU to 1ghz +.

That most likely would require a bios flash. I used to work with Gateway tech support so I could tell you for sure if you post a bios version.

Typedef · 24-10-2002 11:23am

Originally posted by milltown
Am I right in presuming my old motherboard will not take DDR RAM? I will be keeping my tower case and drives, PSU etc.

Yes pc133 is the best boards from that era will do, unless someone has found an smart way of getting around that.

Still if you have a model of motherboard we called "Fedora" in Gateway, as far as I remember those boards could take chips up to about 1 to 1.1 ghz with a new bios checksum.

Then you could just buy some random 2x (you won't get 4x out of a pIII 500 mobo) agp from PC world and nigels some mate of your grannies uncle.

Much cheaper then buying cpu,mobo,agp and ram if you think about it.

Post a bios version.

Saruman · 24-10-2002 11:30am

No Typedef, there is no way he has a fedora... most likely its a Tabor 2 or Tabor 3 (3 most likely). It will also be a Slot1 cpu and not a Socket A flipchip. [edit] I of course mean socket 370 [/edit]

Oh by the way.. welcome back to boards!

spongebob · 24-10-2002 11:36am

has to be slot 1 anyway

but it is a standard ATX form unlike the dell boards of the same era so it can be whiped out and flogged as a package

100Mhz sticks of RAM
ATX board with 500Mhz CPU

maybe the video card too

Some poor eejit with a PII 233 and 66Mhz memory wouyld say 'wow' to that

does the gateway have a promise card and matching ata66 drive by the way or is it ata33 running off the mobo

M

Typedef · 24-10-2002 11:44am

Originally posted by Saruman
No Typedef, there is no way he has a fedora... most likely its a Tabor 2 or Tabor 3 (3 most likely). It will also be a Slot1 cpu and not a Socket A flipchip.

Oh by the way.. welcome back to boards!

Are you sure Fedora didn't start somewhere around the 500mhz range?

The tabor had the intel 440bx chipset (piix4 wasn't it?) so dar leis intel he can't have a 500mhz machine with the tabor 3
http://support.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/se440bx/se_proc.htm

Tabor 3 http://support.gateway.com/s/MOTHERBD/INTEL/4000510/400051002.shtml

Fedora http://support.gateway.com/s/MOTHERBD/INTEL/2508226/250822618.shtml

Ok so it's two years since I was messing around with this.....
Post a bios version so we can get the right version of your motherboard.

This is me transferring you to IVR

Saruman · 24-10-2002 12:53pm

Positive.. think about it Typedef... ever seen a 500mhz Socket 370 PIII? If so its a first.. no Gateway started at 667, 733 and so on where as the Tabor 3 being slot 1 could go up to 1gig though Gateway only shipped up to 850mhz before changing over to socket 370

Not to worry though.. you left Gateway before i did so i have more knowledge of Gateway crap than you... Especially the newer stuff they did, fedora, monterey Santorini etc

BKtje · 24-10-2002 1:28pm

best graphics card you get can for under €300 is the geforce ti4200.

runs rings around the mx but quite a bit more expensive.

Quigs Snr · 24-10-2002 2:54pm

If your machine can take it, I know a guy who would be willing to part with a PS 933mhz chip.

Typedef · 24-10-2002 3:52pm

Positive.. think about it Typedef... ever seen a 500mhz Socket 370 PIII?

Yes I have right here http://www.baber.com/baber/411/asus_tusl2c.htm as you can see there are Asus boards that support 533mhz Pentium III's.

A Tabor 3 is likely considering Gateway's setup at the time, however there is a chance he as a Fedora, it's certainly possible hardware wise, in any case he will most likely require a bios flash to get a 1ghz cpu running on a mobo that shipped with a 500/533mhz cpu. Even if you could find a slot 1 running at 1 gigahertz that hadn't bee clocked.

monterey Santorini

You have me there I left around seven weeks after the Monterey was introduced. Still he might have a socket 370 @ 500mhz, it he's luckey.

Still yes you did spend longer in Tech then I did.... no rest for the wicked eh?

This is me transferring you to IVR

milltown · 25-10-2002 2:01am

According to my diagnostic pal SANDRA (I didn't bother rebooting! Let me know if the bios screen will offer any extra info) I have Phoenix BIOS 4.0 release 6.0 dated 22/4/99.

Cheers for all the advice so far!

Saruman · 25-10-2002 9:07am

Yes I have right here http://www.baber.com/baber/411/asus_tusl2c.htm as you can see there are Asus boards that support 533mhz Pentium III's.

I think you have been out of it too long Typedef... not to worry... i said 500mhz, of course there is a 533 flipchip (Gateway did not do it)... think of the bus speeds! The introduction of PC133 ram at the same time as socket370 means 533 and so on. Not a bog standard Slot1 500mhz Katmai (not even coppermine).

Anyway like i said, not possible to be fedora due to age.. also the bios date confirms it. 4/99 cant be fedora as they only appeared 10/01

milltown Sandra is no good for getting a bios version. simply boot to the bios with F1 on boot and get it from there. A tabor 3 bios for instance will be something like 4M4PB0X1.15A.0018.P09
The P09 at the end is the revision so that might be different but the rest means Tabor 3.

milltown · 25-10-2002 11:37am

At this stage I can't see it helping me any, but it might help you guys settle your dispute.

BIOS Version: 4W4B0X0.15A.0013.P08

You might just throw in one last post and let me know what that means.
Thanks.

Typedef · 25-10-2002 12:37pm

Whatever man

Anyway Milltown here is the latest version of your bios (tabor 3) http://193.95.174.112/ftp/bios/desktop/tabor3/vp14.exe.

If you can find a Slot 1 Intel Pentium III cpu you can install a new one with a clock frequency of roughly 1200mhz according to the bios checksum information document after you have flashed the bios.

Do not under any circumstances attempt to install a cpu of 1200mhz without this new bios checksum.

Installation is pretty simple. Click on the link. Save the file to desktop. Click, insert the floppy disk. Once the floppy has finished writing insert it into your floppy drive and reboot your machine.

The new checksum should load automagically.

astrofool · 25-10-2002 4:57pm

slot 1 pIII topped at 1000mhz, u'll have to use a slot1 -> 370 adaptor card, tho tbh unless u get it cheap, u'd be better of just getting a new case/ram/mobo/chip, and putting your old parts in there. Once the base system is upgraded u can worry about a new gfx card, hd, more ram etc.

SantaHoe · 25-10-2002 5:14pm

Originally posted by Stephen
Komplett.ie have GeForce 4 MX's for 80 euros + delivery this week - its one of their weekly specials.

Bah!

I don't have a credit card... thus I'm stuck with pappy high-street retail prices... ah well.
But remember... I did say - 'depends where you shop'

Dempsey · 29-10-2002 2:32pm

Would his old mobo, CPU fit and work in my old Dell Case (XPS D233). I'm mainly concerned about the power compatability. Its a 200W one.

Hellrazer · 29-10-2002 2:46pm

Milltown if it is a Tabor 3 then you can do what I did.

Pl-ip3/t slocket adapter about €40 from www.powerleap.co.uk

And then a 1.2 ghz celeron 2-about €125 from Maplins(I think)

Buy a Geforce 3 and Bobs yer Uncle.

Will play most newer games quite well.

Richie.

Sorry if this falls outside the remit of this forum...

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