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New Athlon System

DD: Nice new system, somewhat similiar to mine.

Everything is working well over here. I don't have crackling sound, however I had it for quite a long time when using the last beta before Win2k final was released, and it continued to haunt me after an upgrade. Only after a fresh install did it go away.

I don't have the zip you have, nor the video card (never heard of them), or the diamond brand scsi card (have adaptec), and have no modem in my system. Other than that it's similiar. No win2k issues with anything whatsoever.

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-Administrator / Owner
"Everything was true. God was an astronaut. Oz really is over the
rainbow. ...and Midian is where the monsters live." -Nightbreed
 
Nap, I'll third that. T-Birds are working beautifully for me and Lysi.

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-Administrator / Owner
"Everything was true. God was an astronaut. Oz really is over the
rainbow. ...and Midian is where the monsters live." -Nightbreed
 
Alien> Seriously, you've never heard of Elsa?
They've been popping out major-name chipset-based cards for years, and they've consistently been first to market with GeForce 256 and GeForce 2 cards.
They were known in budget circles until recently when they moved themselves into the performance bracket. Of course, virtually all GF2 GTS cards are nearly identical, since they're based 99% identically to Nvidia's reference design.

Anyway, you had the sound crackling problem? And only a fresh install got rid of it?
That'll really piss me off since I've gotten this system 90% of the way to where I want it, including many hours of software downloads and patching.
*groan*

What motherboard do you have, and how are your cards arranged in the PCI slots?


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"It's always funny until someone gets hurt, and then it's just hilarious."
 
Nap> I'm super pleased with my 900 MHz T-Bird. I'll give it a 4th thumbs up recommendation.

DD> Sometimes, a fresh install does the trick. It does suck, I know. Keep me posted on what you end up doing, though.

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Does driving a car from Saturn make me an alien?

I'm just a quick pee. - liltaz, fastest pee in the West!

That which does not make me barf, makes me stronger - possum37, fugly.net guru.

<FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Arial">This message has been edited by JHowse on January 09, 2001 at 09:21 PM</font>
 
5 recommendations now! COOL! heh

can you put 2 processors in a computer? Or is the motherboard incapable of that? Or would you have to put 2 of everything to equal it all out?

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Sit back, buckle up, and strap yourself in...this will be a bumpy ride on a joy ride!
Hey, it's the least I can do, and you know that's all I do
 
Nap&gt; AMD CPUs don't currently support SMP (Symmetric Multi-Processing), so you can't do it with any AMD CPUs. AMD has announced SMP support, but it's one of those things that's perpetually being pushed back further and further.
Whether or not it's currently an issue with the motherboard chipsets or the CPU is moot, since you can't get a motherboard that will run AMD CPUs in SMP.

Celeron's are not SMP capable, but depending on the form factor and model, could be hacked to work as such. The Abit BP6 was the only SMP capable Socket 370 motherboard, which allowed users to run dual S370 Celerons. Alien was selling his BP6 in FS/T a while back. Not sure if he still has it.
Currently, Celerons are no longer being produced in S370 format, so you can no longer just buy a new model Celeron and pop it into a dual motherboard.

Your only current realistic option for SMP is the P3. Dual P3 boards are kinda pricey.

Remember, too, that there are a ton of caveats to running an SMP system. A few of these are:
* Both CPUs must be of the same stepping.
* You must be running an SMP capable OS. If you're planning on using Windows, this means NT or 2000. That's it.
* SMP is a system of diminishing returns. Running 2 500MHz CPUs doesn't give you a 1GHz system.
* Most current applications won't get a significant boost from the 2nd CPU, as they are not multi-threaded.

There are many more factors to an SMP system, but it's way too detailed to go into here. I would suggest poking around on Google and Deja to find info on building and running SMP systems.

As for a recommendation, my personal recommendation is to get a Duron. They perform just as well as the T-bird in most applications, for a fraction of the price. And if you're into overclocking, the Durons overclock just as well as the T-birds, perhaps better. www.overclockers.com has a database of user-reported overclocking results, sorted by CPU, and you'll see that the average overclock for Durons is significantly than those of the T-birds.
The T-bird is a great CPU, but if you're just going for a gaming machine, I'd say go for a Duron and spend the saved money on extra RAM and a better video card.

The only functional difference between the Duron and the T-bird is the amount of L2. Unless you're going to be running cache-intensive tasks, save your money. You probably won't notice a difference, especially when you start overclocking it.


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"It's always funny until someone gets hurt, and then it's just hilarious."
 
Normally I would've just added this info to my previous post, but I thought it should be pointed out.

This is WEIRD!!!!!

Okay, the problem with what I've done is that it happened by accident, so I don't know what the cause/solution was.

I installed Norton System Works Pro 2001 on the system, mostly for AV capability, and I already owned it for my 98 machine.
After the NSW install, I had to reboot the machine.
When the machine rebooted, I went into the BIOS to set some tweaks for performance. All of these were memory tweaks.

The tweaks were that I set the "Force 4-Way Interleave" to Enabled, set the "DRAM 4k Page Mode" to Enable, and changed my memory speed from HOST to HOST + PCICLK, essentially clocking my RAM from 100 to 133.

Since all of these tweaks were focused on RAM performance, none should have had an impact on my sound problem.

When I booted back into Windows, the crackling was gone!!!
supergrin.gif


However, I'm now left wondering if my tweaking the BIOS, or installing NSW was the fix.


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"It's always funny until someone gets hurt, and then it's just hilarious."
 
Congrats, Dan. I've had some strange computer problems, before, myself....so I hear ya.

------------------
Does driving a car from Saturn make me an alien?

I'm just a quick pee. - liltaz, fastest pee in the West!

That which does not make me barf, makes me stronger - possum37, fugly.net guru.
 
Well yes, I want the gaming machine most of all. So what's the highest Duron mhz/ghz out there? I want a 1ghz even, if not, then I want the AMD 1ghz even. I dunno why 1 ghz, but it looks cool...
lol.gif

Or I might get the T-bird 1.2ghz...that looks good. I'll hafta go (Ill do it right after this post) and add up the prices and see the total first...

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Sit back, buckle up, and strap yourself in...this will be a bumpy ride on a joy ride!
Hey, it's the least I can do, and you know that's all I do
 
Nap&gt; It depends on if you know how to overclock or not. I would never recommend getting a CPU for overclocking if the person didn't know what they were doing.

With that said, if you are not looking to overclock, and absolutely insist on getting 1GHz (which is more powerful than 98% of the population actually needs, except for worthless bragging rights), then go with a T-bird and run it at spec.

If you're looking to overclock, you can pick up a Duron for under $100, and overclock it to 1GHz pretty easily.

The important thing to remember is:
If you don't know what you're doing, don't even attempt to overclock your CPU. You can do serious damage if you do it wrong.


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"It's always funny until someone gets hurt, and then it's just hilarious."
 
Well my bro knows how to overclock

ANd yes I want it for bragging rights, as well as not needing a new one for a long time. Hey, why not get it now, rather than getting it later when you'll have to buy the one you get now, then by the 1ghz one later, which in total is more money than paying for a more pricey one now!
supergrin.gif


I'll think about which one though. Like I said before, it depends on the trust. But I'll keep you informed! Maybe even PM you or something...I dunno...

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Sit back, buckle up, and strap yourself in...this will be a bumpy ride on a joy ride!
Hey, it's the least I can do, and you know that's all I do
 
I personally never understood the whole bragging rights thing. Just a bunch of pent-up testosterone with no other release, IMHO.
As for getting it now so it will last longer, even Moore's Law is getting outpaced nowadays. If it's just for bragging rights, then the newest processor is only good until the next one comes out.

I fully expect to get a good year out of my T-bird 800, at which point, I'll likely upgrade again. I saved money now by buying a few steps below the fastest, and added to the money I spend to upgrade a year from now probably still won't equal the cost of the latest and greatest right now.

For that simple reason, I don't necessarily agree with the logic that it will cost more in the long run to buy a step below now and upgrade in the future. I'd say it's a pretty safe bet that I can use this 800 for a year, then upgrade to a 1.3 or 1.4GHz CPU next year for less in total than what it would cost me to get a 1GHz CPU now. Prices drop so quickly.

I'll do the math...
A T-bird 800 today will run you roughly $100, retail.
A 1.2GHz will run roughly $285, retail.
So, by buying the 800, which is plenty fast enough, I saved $185.
Think about how long it took for the 800 to drop from roughly $285 down to it's current $100. About 3 months, maybe?
I would guess that the 1.4 will probably be released within the next 3 months, which gives me 9 months for the price to frop down to less than $185, with $185 being the price point at which I'll have covered the cost to have the current upgrade to 1.2GHz.
I think it's safe to assume that a 9 month old AMD CPU will easily be found for under $185. This isn't even covering the fact that when I do upgrade, I'll no longer need the 800 and I'd sell it to recoup some of my costs, enhancing my cost savings further.
So, in the long run, I'll have saved myself a lot of money, and really wouldn't have benefitted from the performance difference between the 800 and the 1.2, since 800 should be more than enough for anyone, save the digital image editing and CAD user base, who actually have a NEED for the extra power.

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"It's always funny until someone gets hurt, and then it's just hilarious."
 
Interesting, DD. I had a similar discussion with my uncle, the other night, and you're absolutely right. Always cheaper to buy at the highest before the huge price delta so that you save the most money.

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Does driving a car from Saturn make me an alien?

I'm just a quick pee. - liltaz, fastest pee in the West!

That which does not make me barf, makes me stronger - possum37, fugly.net guru.
 
Oh, phooey to both of you!!!!
lol.gif
j/k

Well I guess I agree now that you showed me DD...BUT, the thing is, I have the choice to get either an 800, a 1.0, or a 1.2...not much price difference. The trust, I'm sure, would be willing to get me the 1.2 if I would like. And besides, the trust savings grow as time passes. My cousins have already gotten their share, and bro is next, when he turns 22. So when he gets his, it'll be all mine left, and it'll keep growing. So really, in the long run, it'll be better for me!
That way I won't have to ask them twice (course I probably won't need to ask them by the time I need to upgrade, cuz I'll have a job).

The bragging parts was kind of a joke...
lol.gif

I think it's sometimes retarded too...
lol.gif


Also, I'm really looking for a computer that will take me all the way to college. So I wanna get the best I can for a cheap price (well, not CHEAP...but you know what I mean) that can last a long time. This way it will save me, personally, money (and spend the trusts...), and I won't ever have to worry about it for 2 years.
smile.gif


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Sit back, buckle up, and strap yourself in...this will be a bumpy ride on a joy ride!
Hey, it's the least I can do, and you know that's all I do
:fork:
 
Sorry, Nap. Gone are the days when one could reasonably expect a computer to last them 4 years.
If you're on a seriously tight budget, I would say it's not outlandish to expect 18 months of acceptable performance out of today's fastest CPU, followed by 6 months of having a legitimate need to upgrade.

I would also say that timeline is stretching it a LOT for most power users. I would say that timeline is accurate for a typical college student who uses the PC for email, web browsing, and Word. It's entirely conceivable that for those types of users, 2 years is a reasonale lifetime for a new PC.

If you're going to be doing anything with your computer that's remotely strenous, such as CAD, software development, video editing, or gaming, you can easily forget about any PC lasting you 2 full years before performance becomes unacceptable. I would even say that 18 months out of a CPU is stretching it for any gamer.

18 months ago, the P2 350 was the latest and greatest. How many gamers do you know that would find it's performance acceptable for anything more than email, web browsing, and Word?


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"It's always funny until someone gets hurt, and then it's just hilarious."
 
Well my old computer that I got in 8th grade last me until about a month ago! Gaming, web browsing, email, word, moms work stuff, music, and all that stuff....

But I see what you mean. I probably could buy another CPU if the need arouses, cuz I wanna get a job soon...
so who knows. I'm kinda viewing all my options here at the moment and getting advice...
lol.gif


What about having the 1.2 for 1 year then getting a brand new 1.5 for the second year. Would that be good? And maybe getting more HD like in a half year (cuz I plan to fill it up quickly...LOTS of music and MANY games to put on it...actually this one has 30 GB, it's a month old, and 11GB is being used...course most of my games are already on, so the use rate will slow down) and like a new memory chip somewhere along the lines.

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Sit back, buckle up, and strap yourself in...this will be a bumpy ride on a joy ride!
Hey, it's the least I can do, and you know that's all I do
 
Nap&gt; I think you missed the point.
Instead of getting a 1.2, think about getting an 800 or 900. You'll end up saving close to $200 on the CPU alone.
Spend that $200 on more RAM and a better video card, and you'll see much better performance than you would with less RAM and a crappy video card.

Then, in a year's time, your RAM will still be usuable, plus you'll still have a decent video card to work with.

As for hard drives, they're dirt cheap now anyway. You can get a 30GB IBM 75GXP for around $110 if you find a coupon, and the 45-60GB drives just hit the "sweet spot" price point. I'd recommend IBM over anything else, but Maxtor's aren't a bad choice either.

That's my advice anyway.

As for your old machine still working, with the exception of gaming, I can do every one of those tasks with a 486 and get acceptable performance. As for games, it really depends on what you play. A 4 year old computer can still play Diablo with great performance, but try putting Deus Ex on it, and watch it crawl.

My second bit of advice is, since this conversation has drifted outside the bounds of the original thread, why not make a new thread with system design questions?


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"It's always funny until someone gets hurt, and then it's just hilarious."
 
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