How to make an Old PC go fast (BIG Thread!)

[4_Series_Scania]

I've got an old p3 667 that happily runs doom3!

I overclocked it to 933mhz, added 512MB RAM and found an old Geforce 3 at a boot sale! - it runs Doom3 better than my other machine, a 1.8ghz p4 with 512mb DDR and an FX5200 !!!

Long live the p3, a chip that ,clock speed for clock speed, eats the p4 for breakfast!  :-*

[Gixer]

Ok things to change.  Ram as Hi-D says no way you want PC2100

You want 1gig PC3200 for that mobo/cpu combo
512 would do the job but not as good as 1gig.

The HDD.  You want 7200rpm 8mb cache.  Go for a bigger onew too they cost sod all nowadays! get an 80gig one for a few quid more.

The mobo you chose is meant to be pretty good.

With the graphics card your getting it would be rude to not have a monitor capable of 1600x1200 really.  There are 17" CRT's out there that will do this resolution I used to have one.

Personally I would get one of the Antec cases with a 'Truepower' PSU fitted.

Always found external modems faster for 56k.

You shoulda brought my bits off me! I let them go for the bargain price of

[Delta_]

Yep, with that system an Antec PSU is a must.  350W or 400w will do the job  Trupower or Smartpower, or for ultra quiet PSUs the Phantom PSU is a must, this is also Antec.  Neopower from Antec is the god of all PSUs.

Although you can get a good case and the PSU separately, that is what i did, that way you choose the style of case and which PSU goes in it.  I use the Smartpower 350W BTW.

[Dan]

Me thinks that I should have bought Gixer's stuf.... easy to say now tho! Just how much of an O/c can mine safly take?
Dan

[Gixer]

We cant tell you that.  It all depends on your cooling.  You have to sit and play to find out what it will do.  Keep an eye on temperatures when overclocking though.  You dont really want to be much over 50C under full load.

I am unsure as to whether the mobo in your current PC will enable you to fine tune your system though.

If it goes pop, well then you will just have to get yourself a spanky new shiney PC!!!  ;D

[Dan]

Hmmm. Well, heres my BIOS info:

General Information :      
Manufacturer :      American Megatrends, Inc.
Version :      0715
Date :      01/10/1/98
Address :      F000h on 256 KB
ID :      61-0209-001169-00111111-071595-440BX
DMI Version :      2.1

Characteristics :      
Flashable :      Yes
Socketed :      No

Functionnality :      
APM :      Yes
ACPI :      No
ESCD :      Yes
PnP :      Yes
PCI :      Yes
ISA :      No
AGP :      No
USB :      No
PCMCIA :      No
Smart Battery :      No

Boot Information :      
Selectable Boot :      Yes
CD-ROM Boot :      Yes
PC Card (PCMCIA) Boot :      No
I20 Boot :      No
LS-120 Boot :      No
1394 Boot :      No
ATAPI ZIP Boot :      No
Network Boot :      No

Now when I go into the BIOS at boot there is no PC Health tab or whatever, so I have no idea on how to find the temps. If I go to the Voltagte, Temperature and Fans section of PC Wizard 2004 it brings up:

Nothing

So, I geuss I can't o/c. For good measure, heres the mainboard:

General Information :      
Product :      Intel 440/100FSB
Version :      Unspecified
Serial Number :      Unspecified
Support MP :      No

Chassis Information :      
Manufacturer :      Unspecified
Type :      Unspecified
Version :      Unspecified
Serial Number :      Unspecified
Asset :      Unspecified

Slots Information :      
Slot ISA :      (16-bit)  
Slot PCI :      Available (32-bit)  
Slot PCI :      In Use (32-bit)  
Slot PCI :      Available (32-bit)  
Slot AGP :      Available (32-bit)  

External Connectors :      
Serial 16550A Compatible :      DB-9 male
Serial 16550A Compatible :      DB-9 male
Parallel ECP/EPP :      DB25 female
Keyboard :      Micro-DIN
Mouse :      PS/2

Internal Connectors :      
Primary IDE :      On Board IDE
Secondary IDE :      On Board IDE
Floppy :      On Board Floppy

And thats that.... hmm, that shiny new one sounds soooo tempting!
Dan

[Dan]

Ok, i have made some alterations, but I have kept the monitor:

GFX CARD      XFX GeForce 6800 GT 256MB DDR3      308.44
CPU      AMD Athlon 64 3500 inc fan etc