Update: K6-2+ processors
Written: Mar 26 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Yet more mileage out of a Socket 7 board
Cons: It's not an Athlon. It's not a Pentium III. But it can top a Celeron.
The Bottom Line: The + brings more bang to the K6 line!
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| jdstevenson's Full Review: K6-2, 500 MHz (MPN-AMD-K-2/500BOX) Processor |
Just picked up a K6-2+ 475 processor from TigerDirect.com. These chips are hard to find, but worth the search. Unlike the older K6-2 series, these chips run cooler (they were designed for notebooks) and at lower voltage (1.9 - 2.1 volts), making them a good option for overclocking. They use 'PowerNow!' technology which can change the speed of the processor to improve battery performance in even more advanced ways than Intel's Speed Step approach. But you need a Bios and drivers that are compatible with your system to make use of the feature. They also include 128K of L2 full speed cache, like the newer Duron processors. Tiger had them for about $50 - an excellent bargain for the performance boost.
A K6-3+ line was also released, but is even harder (if not impossible) to find. One source I've tracked down is spartantech.com. It comes with 256K of L2 cache, for even more performance. I've also seen them on EBay. You'll find them for around $120-150, which seems too high a price to pay for the extra 128, in my opinion. Especially with the low price for K6-2's.
With proper cooling you can overclock either of these babys to around 600 mhz -- which will easily put it past the performance of a Celeron.
I put one in my Presario 1692 notebook, and have been very impressed with the result. Because I can't do the same cooling as a desktop, I only overclocked my 475 to 500 -- and it's running very stable and cool, with smoother DVD playback and gaming.
Before you buy one, make sure your motherboard can support the voltage (ideally 2.0 or 2.1 volts).
More info from AMD is available here:
http://www.amd.com/products/cpg/mobile/index.html
or Tom's Hardware (good overclocking info):
http://www4.tomshardware.com/cpu/00q4/001106/index.html
Happy Computing!
-Jerry
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
jdstevenson
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Location: Dallas, Texas, USA
Reviews written: 12
Trusted by: 1 member
About Me:
A self employed technology consultant who lives in Dallas with two very demanding cats.
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