No announcement yet.

Upgrade or build...need a simple answer.

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Upgrade or build...need a simple answer.

    Howdy folks. New guy on board. I need a simple answer to a couple of questions Gateway cannot seem to answer. I currently have a PIII 650 using the Intel (Tabor3) 440BX Motherboard R3. I would like to know if I can safely upgrade from the 650 slot one processor to a 1 Gig? Also, can I safely upgrade the powersupply from 200W to 300W? Thanks. Just trying to get extra miles out of this one if I can.

  • #2
    Welcome aboard! :D

    I don't believe that the 440BX chipset was designed to handle the stresses of the 1GHz processors, but look in the BIOS (if there is much in the way of a BIOS on an older Gateway machine) and see if it will support the voltages and multiplier settings for the Coppermine processors. This will tell you straight off if you can even consider it. If it will, then research the mainboard to see, but you would be limited in memory and such if you decided to go this route. With so many modern updates available, you'd be missing out on a lot! Combining a new P4 with DDR memory can make a huge difference in your computing experience, but the bottom line is what you can afford.

    Good luck in your research. :)
    Old age and treachery will overcome youth and skill
    My Toys

    Comment


    • #3
      If your've got a "brand name" computer build

      Comment


      • #4
        Quite franky I'd leave what you have as is and build a new one. You can always use it as a server/backup but the platform is old and more benefits/features are offered by modern setups (not to mention the performance over a PIII 1GHz). :devil:
        <center>:cheers:</center>

        Comment


        • #5
          And it may be slightly hard tracking down a P3 1Ghz

          Comment


          • #6
            Thanks all. Kinda what I was figurin'. I picked up the PIII 1G on Ebay, but put the cart before the horse. Package infers to the fact it was tested for server mainboards and not desktops. I don't want to fry what I've got now until I've started putting pieces together for a new one.

            Comment


            • #7
              Glad to be of assitance :thumb:

              Comment


              • #8
                since the i440bx chipset doesn't have official support for a 133FSB - you'd have to run with an OC'd FSB (as well as PCI & AGP)
                depending on what your doing with your PC - you might want to try a 1G CuMine Celeron - it's only half the L2 but they're a little easier to find right now. I've upgraded half a dozen older (epox MB) i440bx boxes that way - all I needed was a bios flash to get the right multiplier. Plus you can usually OC them to the 1200MHz range.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by RDR
                  since the i440bx chipset doesn't have official support for a 133FSB - you'd have to run with an OC'd FSB (as well as PCI & AGP)
                  depending on what your doing with your PC - you might want to try a 1G CuMine Celeron - it's only half the L2 but they're a little easier to find right now. I've upgraded half a dozen older (epox MB) i440bx boxes that way - all I needed was a bios flash to get the right multiplier. Plus you can usually OC them to the 1200MHz range.
                  Thanks as well. The CPU I picked up was a 100Mhz fsb. However, since I have a Slot 1 chip, I really don't want to mess with the conversion of the Celery route. Looking more and more like selling this one to my brother-in-law and building a P4 might be the best option.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    [b]Looking more and more like selling this one to my brother-in-law and building a P4 might be the best option.
                    Sounds like a good option to me. :thumb:
                    <center>:cheers:</center>

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Since it is a gateway though, you don't have much in the bios about changing ANY cpu settings. I've tried, believe me with my PIII 450 440bx gateway system. And plus, they are to my knowledge mostly intel boards, and there isn't going to be much upping of any settings in one of those.

                      Just my 2cents

                      Comment

                      Working...
                      X