Time to upgrade

Hello,

I just need some advice about what I can upgrade to.
http://www.centrix-intl.com/a7m266.htm
that is supposedly the mobo i have in my current system.

I'd like to get a better amd cpu and Im not sure how high tek of one this mobo can sustain.

I also see there it says 1g"+" how high is this "+" talking?
it also says there I can upgrade to 2gb of ram. Is this correct?
I currently only have 512mb not exsact on the configuration, think its two sticks.
I dream of having the money for an fx-51 or even one thats in the 3ghz range.
I would then get a better mobo down the road for the high end cpu.

thanks

Qlone said:

Hello,

I just need some advice about what I can upgrade to.
http://www.centrix-intl.com/a7m266.htm
that is supposedly the mobo i have in my current system.

Click to expand...

This looks like an older board based on the AMD 761 chipset. Its old but you still have some upgrade options with it.

I'd like to get a better amd cpu and Im not sure how high tek of one this mobo can sustain.

I also see there it says 1g"+" how high is this "+" talking?

Click to expand...

You can use any CPU with a 100MHz or 133MHz FSB. This means Durons, Athlon Thunderbird CPUs, AlthonXP1500+/1600+/1700+/1800+/1900+/2000+/2100+/2200+/2400+ but the 2500+ and above will not work on your board. Best bet would be to get the 2400+ Thoroughbred, or try and find a 1700+ Thoroughbred (an older one) if you want to overclock.

it also says there I can upgrade to 2gb of ram. Is this correct?
I currently only have 512mb not exsact on the configuration, think its two sticks.

Click to expand...

This is correct. 512MB is fine really for most things.

I dream of having the money for an fx-51 or even one thats in the 3ghz range.
I would then get a better mobo down the road for the high end cpu.


thanks

Click to expand...

You essentially have two options. One is to get a later Thoroughbred AthlonXP CPU and perhaps a newer graphics card. Or if you want an overclockable setup I would recommend an XP-M2500+, Abit NF7 board and PC3200 RAM which is a good OCing setup for those on a budget.

Or save up for an Athlon64 3000+ (Winchester core) and an MSI K8N Neo2 and some PC3200 RAM.

The "+" means the mobo will do a little higher than 1Ghz, which suggests somewhere in the 1.xGhz range, not just limited to 1Ghz CPU's.

First I'd ask, why not upgrade to an even better mobo than this? Unless of course you plan on using your current components, i.e., CPU, RAM, etc.

The BIOS will probably be limited to HP's specifications, meaning [usually] no o/c'ing or extra features. If I were you, I'd purchase a comparible mobo elsewhere, something that's not an HP OEM.

EDIT: Crap, David beat me by like... 20 seconds.