Looking to make some upgrades to my d/l computer

[Kelly Keyboard]

Computer's current specs:
Dell mobo w/ Intel 810 non-E chipset (Chipset ONLY supports 66 & 100MHz FSB) - Socket 370

I replaced the original Celeron 700 with a P3 800 (133x6), however the chipset supports a max. FSB of 100, so 100 x 6 = 600MHz)

256Mb (128x2) PC133 SD RAM (Only 2 RAM slots on mobo)
PCI GeForce 4 MX 440 (No AGP slot)
30Gb HDD
Floppy
40x CD-RW
145W Dell PSU
PC has latest BIOS flashed onto it (v. A10)

I constantly use Firefox, Azureus and LimeWire so the java programs make the system become PAINFULLY slow - CPU usage always goes to 100% even from just opening Azureus and there is only ever >15Mb of physical RAM free, PC is ALWAYS using Page file.

So I want to upgrade the RAM and CPU in it w/o spending bucket loads on an already obsolete system.

The board can take max. 512Mb ram, so I'm buying 2x256Mb PC133 sticks SD RAR from eBay (yes, PC133 does work in this system, just @ 100MHZ speeds - Can't find any PC100 256Mb SD RAM sticks on eBay)



Whats the max. CPU speed this mobo/chipset will support? (Bearing in mind the max. supported FSB is 100MHz)
Can it support Tualatin cores or only Coppermine cores? - How can I tell the 2 cores apart when looking at CPU specs)
What's the difference between FC-PGA CPUs and FC-PGA2 CPUs?
If I'm limited to Coppermine cores, what is the fastest P3 and Celeron i can get for it, w/o using an adapter?

Thankyou in advance,

KellyK

 

[batboy]

You will be limited to Coppermine only (no Tualatin support on that mobo without a special adapter). Fastest P-III Coppermine is 1.0 gig and fastest Celeron is 1.1 gig. The P-III 1000 Coppermine was made in both 100 and 133 FSB versions, plus there was also a Tualatin version. There were Tualatin Celerons and Coppermines in both 1.0 and 1.1 flavors too. Generally if it says FC-PGA2, that means Tualatin, but I would be careful since someone might not put that correct in the eBay ad. I would ask for the s-spec so you could look it up. I think the Tualatin cache is higher too, but double check that before you quote me. Personally, I would not spend any money on this rig. If I did anything, it might be to get a better motherboard, but with a Dell the PSU and case might be proprietary, so that might not be a good option either.

 

[Kelly Keyboard]

Which would be faster for this PC:

P3 - 600MHz/100FSB/256K
Celeron - 700MHZ/100FSB/128K

The PC is almost constantly on downloading through LimeWire and Azureus and it desperately needs more CPU speed, just opening LimeWire uses 100% CPU for a few minutes.

So I was wondering would the raw CPU speed increase of 100MHz be faster than the 256K cache on the P3 (I thought it might be since the CPU isn't doing any number crunching or CPU intensive applications).

Would it be worth upgrading the CPU to 1.1GHz Coppermine Celeron (if I can find one) or even a 900MHz Celeron <<I can get one for AUS$22, which is only $16 US w/ postage.

Would this upgrade (^^^) be worth doing?

Cheers