Let's talk use and money
Nov 14 '00
I've read all three opinions and I still think I have something to add.
Not because the information is not accurate, but mostly because there are people out there in need of more down to earth opinions.
I don't think of me as a master of motherboards or chipsets and I'm only trying to help other people making a decision.
Most of the times you need to replace your motherboard because the old one does not have any more room for upgrade.
Is it this completely true?
Well, using at work a Pentium 200 with only 64Mb of RAM and only 4Gb of HD space will make me look like talking about medieval times, isn't it?
Of course I have a Celeron II 600 over clocked @ 900MHz at home but all the regular work someone wants to do, like home accounting, letter writing, email, web surfing works just fine on that 4 years old clunker in my office and I still have 2Gb of empty space on my HD. Most of my files are on my HD and I use the network mainly for backup.
I'll give you a clue.
If you use a Pentium 233MMX on a AT form factor motherboard and you think you need something else to jump at 450MHz I can tell you can do it only by upgrading your processor. How is that possible? Simple, change you Pentium with an AMD K6-2 450 and set your multiplier to 2.5X. Your new processor will take care of everything and will run happy at 450MHz. I know there is a problem in finding a K6-2 at 450MHz but a second hand processor can be found and usually is cheaper.
On the old boards you don't have AGP support. That's true but a PCI video card, with a good chipset (I would suggest Riva TNT) will do just fine for most of the applications, including lots of games.
Another thing that was not very well covered it was the possibility of using integrated motherboards. I know a lot of people are not happy when they hear the word integrated, but lets face it, do you need a games system, or a high-end graphics system? If not the integrated motherboard will fit your needs and will save you money because you don't need to buy a sound card, a modem, a video card and sometimes not even a network card.
Going these way you have to pay a little price by sharing a part of the system memory with your video card, but the machine will do just fine for any office work and internet surfing.
One of the best to use is the motherboard using Intel's 810E chipset. I found it faster and better that SIS chipset.
Expansion slots, or the number of PCI slots the motherboard has, is a nice feature and has to be taken in consideration if you decide to buy a new, not integrated, motherboard. Check what do you need to add to your system and be sure your new motherboard has enough slots to take all the boards
How much RAM I can install on my motherboard?
For a very long time I have not seen a motherboard that cannot take at least 512Mb of RAM. For anybody reading my opinion this should be enough, because I cannot think that a person trying to build a machine with more than 512Mb of RAM will ever need reading my opinion. In other words any motherboard on the market will take enough RAM to suit your needs, so don't worry.
Technical support from the manufacturer is a very important thing to consider and a good web site, with up to date information will help you faster. There are also good Forums where people are changing information and help each other in a very friendly manner. The vendor can most of the time to help you also make a decision based on his experience, and most of them have a lot, so don't be afraid and ask.
At the end I would suggest you some very helpful links for support and information about motherboards.
www.hostclub.net
www.winfiles.com - check the driver section for BIOS and you'll get the links to most of the motherboard's manufacturers
www.ars-technica.com
www.mrcs.net
Warning!
I made a mistake! I did this thing long time ago and I really forgot. Thanks to "vicwang" I am able to correct my statement. You should set your multiplier to 2X and set the system bus speed (also known as FSB) at 75MHz. This will give you 450MHz and works 95% of the time. If you cannot make it work go back to 66MHz FSB and stay at 400MHz, which is pretty good. In some cases, if the motherboard is good enough, you can make it to 500MHz with a FSB set at 83MHz. K6-2 at 500MHz is easy to get and cheap.
Be careful with the voltage settings for AMD processors!
These modifications are meant only for people that like to play with their hardware!
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Epinions.com ID:
ion54
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Member: Ion Petroianu
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Reviews written: 6
Trusted by: 0 members
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