Budget Upgrade : Duron or MX ?

[TiG]

Just a hypothetical on my next upgrade : is anyone out there running a g400 MAX in a Duron system and could you please give me an idea of performance ? Ive got a p3 450 (256mb RAM, 98SE, 6.50 driver) at the moment but after trying to play giants (ugh! those base building levels get down to sub 10 fps), and with b&w, tribes2 etc on the way, I think it might be time for a change. As far as i see it my only options are to drop in a twinview mx board (lose DVDMAX and e-dualhead, gain 3d performance and an OpenGL icd thats fit to be called so)
or upgrade to a duron, say 700-800 MHz. Obviously the duron upgrade is the more expensive option, but i dont really want to part with my MAX. Ive grown accustomed to its face
Thanks in advance guys, Im sure someone will have a helpful insight or two.

[Electric Amish]

You'll get no gain by adding anything to that system other than a faster processor. Even if you add an MX, you'll still be limited by the CPU.

I would upgrade my CPU first.

amish

[Novdid]

I don´t know, but have you ever tried overclocking. Try to OC both your MAX and CPU.

If you are lucky you can get the cpu to 600MHz (133), ofcourse your ram has to cope with it too. And overclocking your MAX should give you a nice boost.

[TiG]

Thanks Novdid but so far every time ive tried to OC my MAX (using the clock tweak in mtsutil418) it doesnt work past 106%, which doesnt seem to make a lick of difference. And i cant seem to get the ol 450 past 500 either.
Sigh.

[Wombat]

I noticed a performance boost even from 750 to 900. What kind of specs were you looking for?


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Epox 8KTA3 w/ Duron 850@7.5*133 with Alpha 6035, 256MB Crucial 7E, G400MAX,SBLive!-MP3,Pioneer 10x DVD, Plextor 12/10/32A, IBM 45GB 75gxp, and a Sony 420GS. Running RH7.0 (2.4.0-final), and Win98 (when I have to).

[Novdid]

Bad luck with the components.

Well worth a try.

[Wombat]

If your CPU was more powerful, you would get more performance. I'm in the situation where my G400 is the bottleneck. Unfortunately, my MAX is unstable at 102%

[mirko65795]

i am using a MAX in my Duron system (700@1000)and i get 4200 points in 3Dmark2K
and 1600 points in 3dmark2k1 i think you should upgrade your CPU+Board first it will give you much more speed.

[spawn666]

just like me...

g400max, duron650@866
abit kt7a

3dmark2000 3800
2dmark2001 1600

i think i wait for the kyro2 here in germany. or get one of these thunderbirds.

[TiG]

Thanks guys! Thats given me an idea of the sort of gains i can expect.
A duron 700 or so looks the goods, now all i need is the cash

[spawn666]

and a good mobo...

[Beezer]

What mobo do you currently have with your PIII 450? There's a good chance you can just pop in a PIII 850 into the same mobo -- that's what I did recently. Only cost about $220 (U.S.) for the retail 850. I've got the Abit BE6. Everything works fine.

[Novdid]

The Duron 750+Mobo is faster (overclocked) than a single P3 850, did I mention cheaper. A duron@850 is just as fast as the P3.

Intel is a very bad buy right now, regardless of which CPU you're getting. Not that the P3 is a bad CPU it´s just to expensive. You could get hold of a Athlon 1Ghz that is cheaper than A P3 850, we all know which one is faster. People buy Intel because the brand still has some strength to it.

[TiG]

Thanks Beezer but ive got a BX6, which means id need a slotket. Something im not overly keen on. Besides the upgrade path with the p3 is pretty dead, if i get a duron and a good socket A board (KT7A or a A7V133) at least i can drop in an Athlon later.

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[Heiney]

Tig, I have a Abit BF6 and just threw a Slot 1 P3-750E into it. It's purring alone at 1GHz and 1.9v, although with a HUGE Global Win VOS32 heatsink.

For $150, I'll say I'm happy.

Also, I have a P3-450 too. But I had it running at 640. With the VOS32. You gotta have the cooling.

And my G400 @ 160/200 is just fine for now. And for at least several months ahead.

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ABIT BF6, Pentium III 1GHz, Alpha P3125 Cooler, 256MB Crucial 7E, Quantum Fireball Plus LM, IBM 75GXP, Matrox G400 DH@160/200, Enlight 7237, 300watt TurboCool PS, and some fun with a Dremel!