Getting a new Duron system, unknown expectations

[Pitspawn]

Ok, currently I have a TB system (Check signature for exactly what it is).
I have friends round everyday and we share my system and my other K6-2 System. Here are the specs of my K6-2 system...

K6-2 450 @ 495 (110x4.5) (Coolermaster cpu fan)
Gigabyte GA-5AA Mobo
Creative GeForce 32Mb Annihilator Pro (6.31 drivers)
128Mb PC133 Generic SDRAM (1x128Mb 2-3-3)
17Gb 5,200rpm Fijitsu HDD
52x Creative CD-ROM
Creative AWE64 Gold
3Com 10/100 Network Card
230w generic power supply
System fan, open case

Here are the new bits Im going to replace with the old ones. What difference can I expect with my system?

Duron 800Mhz @ >900Mhz (ThermoEngine 5krpm cpu fan)
ABit KT7A Motherboard
256Mb PC133 Generic SDRAM (1x128Mb 2-3-3)
300w generic power supply

[Paul -The Mad Hatter]

I think you'll ga good boost with the duron system. But if you run run games at >800x600 you'll not going to get a huge gain. Baisiclly your system will have more "zip" in everyday things (web,file access, ect..) in games you'll get about a 5-10 % boost.

[Pitspawn]

5-10% NOOOOOOOOOO!!!

I know for a fact that my fps will be a lot better than that. A long time ago when the athlon 750 was the best thing going, i bought a 650 and clocked it to 750. When I had that I got like 103fps in Quake3. ATM i get like well under half that for timedemo. So I think that the upgrade is definately worth it.

Oh yeah, can ANYONE please tell me their Q3 benchmarks with their DURON system at a resolution at 640x480x16bit or lower.

[Bender]

A better power supply is a necessity. Check out pricewatch and find a good 300 watt amd approved psu. A decent power supply shouldn't cost all that much. If you use the 230 the system will probably be unstable especially if you overclock it.

[Pitspawn]

Yeah, i already said that I was getting a new 300w. I aint stupid, I wouldnt run a TB/Duron system on a 230w!!!!

I'll be using a generic 300W, nothing special but it'll definately do.

[UnseenMenace]

pauldogg (Jun 29, 2001 02:13 p.m.):
I think you'll ga good boost with the duron system. But if you run run games at >800x600 you'll not going to get a huge gain. Baisiclly your system will have more "zip" in everyday things (web,file access, ect..) in games you'll get about a 5-10 % boost.

The Duron benchmarks out faster than a P3 of the same speed, so are you suggesting that a 800 mhz Pentium 3 is less than 5% better than a K62-450 ? when playing Quake

My Duron 800 @ 1050 ( 7.5 x 140 ) on a Abit KT7A-Raid mobo with a Elsa Erazor X2 (Geforce 32 mb DDR) with the Quadro modification and a blue orb easily gets a 110 FPS on Q3 in 800 x 600

[Pitspawn]

Niiiiiice!

WOW, I definately gonna buy my new system now :)

I get a timedemo of 48.9 fps in 640x480x32 in Q3, and the same at 1024x768x32. If urs is any indication thats double the speed at a quite high resolution.

My friends are likely to play games at 800x600x32/16 bit. They will probably put the resolution down for new games like Tribes ][ or Treadmarks etc.

[Pitspawn]

I've just ordered my new system, and it was cheap! Only £210 (~$300).

I cant wait to get the parts through. Only problem is that its not really my computer as I wont be using it, my friends will. Now hopefully it will even the stakes in the games we play and they wont be able to complain they lost because of the fps :)

I cannot believe the cost of an 800Mhz Duron processor, shame the mobo is like over twice its price.

Oh yeah I got a couple of questions about Durons...

1...Do Durons have Extended 3DNow! commands in them like TB systems
2...What is the standard voltage of an 800Mhz Duron?
3...What is the maximum voltage (with a bios update) I can get with a KT7A mobo and can I get to 1Ghz with the voltage limit?

[UnseenMenace]

Pitspawn (Jun 29, 2001 05:28 p.m.):

1...Do Durons have Extended 3DNow! commands in them like TB systems
2...What is the standard voltage of an 800Mhz Duron?
3...What is the maximum voltage (with a bios update) I can get with a KT7A mobo and can I get to 1Ghz with the voltage limit?

1 ) The Durons have extended 3DNow (I believe although im not 100% sure )
2) The Duron runs at 1.6 volts as standard I understand although mine never has, I run mine at 1.85 v as it was overclocked from the moment I got it
3) The maximum voltage of the KT7A is 1.85 v and you should expect to hit 1 ghz quite easily with the 800 Duron (10x100 or 7.5x133) The Duron runs on a 100 mhz FSB and a noticable increase can be obtained by running it on a 133 or higher FSB ( I run 7.5 x 140 )

[Pitspawn]

Yeah, i have great expectations of my new second system because...

1...I will have 256Mb of ram running at the HST+PCICLK (133Mhz)
2...I have specifically bought an unlocked, pretested to 1Ghz Duron with a okish cooler. I have a better cooler than them so I expect above 1Ghz, but not that much maybe at most 1050. If it went over that I would swap my own 1st system with the Durons LOL! LOL!

Oh yeah, i forgot to mention...I'm NOT using the KT7A with the Duron.
My 1.1Ghz cpu in my first system is LOCKED and is in a KT7 mobo. I need high fsb support to increase the clock speed. The Duron is UNLOCKED and therefore doesnt need the high fsb to overclock. I also have a IBM45Gb IDE100 which cannot run at IDE100 because the KT7 doesnt support it. So thats another reason to swap. AND, because I will have to take the hsf off, I can scrap the pink cheapo compound off of the hsf and put some Arctic Silver on it. WOOOHOOO!

So, heres my main question. Can I run a Duron 800 on a KT7 mobo, Im almost certain that I can but I just want to make sure.

[UnseenMenace]

Yes the Duron will run on the Abit KT7 however I believe that the maximum FSB available with these boards is about 110 mhz.

[Pitspawn]

As i said, i will be overclocking through multiplier not fsb. The KT7 mobo has the HST+PCICLK option in its bios. This means I can run the ram at 133 even though the fsb will be 100.

Only fear I have is finding that the 686b chipset bug causes more problems than the 686a chipset. If this happens, I will cry. Hopefully the 686b should actually REDUCE the problems with my SBLive I have in my system. ATM I get at the most crackling in complicated midi playback.