RE: OT Computer Processors

["Paul Gordon" <paul_gordon@xxxxxxx>]

Slot 1's and socket 370's are electrically and interface compatible with
each other, just different physically, which is why there are numerous
varieties of "slocket" cards available, which are cards that go
into a slot1
which have a socket 370 on them. I have used one of these t  put a socket
370 Celeron 533 onto an Abit BH6 motherboard (slot 1).

Where it gets more complicated is of course the fact that there are also
two
types of socket 370 interfaces, - the PPGA (Plastic Pin Grid Array), and
the
FC-PGA (Flip-chip Pin Grid Array). These two flavours are generally NOT
compatible with each other, which is why I have a collection of PPGA
Celeron
533's which are virtually useless t  me, as it just does not seem t  be
possible t  buy decent (new) PPGA motherboards anymore (production has
moved
pretty much exclusively to FC-PGA boards).

All newer Intel processors are FC-PGA (ignoring the P4 for now, which uses
yet another socket type, socket 423).

I would wholeheartedly agree with the earlier comment about AMD chips, and
I
am currently buying AMD as my first choice processor. I just recently got
an
Athlon 1GHz for £87 INC VAT & Postage! (Intel P111 1GHz = £180, but the
Athlon supports 266FSB, whereas the Intel topped out at 133FSB)

AMD Duron's can be had for beer money - a Duron 750 for under £30!!
(Celeron
733 = £46)

The AMD chips compare VERY favourably to Intel parts in terms of
performance
at any given speed, and given the huge price differential you can usually
specify an AMD part that is about 50% faster for the same money, so much
more "bang for your buck" (as the yanks would say)

With regard to RAM, as mentioned previously the P100 / P133 thing is just
the rated speed the memory can be clocked at. It is not wise to overclock
(ie run PC100 SDRAM at 133MHz), but there is absolutely no problem doiung
it
the other way (ie run PC133 SDRAM at 100 MHz). Even though it is
"better",
you will usually find PC133 memory is very slightly cheaper than the slower
PC100 stuff, merely because PC133 is what all the fab's are churning out in
lorryloads. (at the moment) - but PC150 SDRAM is already ramping up in
production volumes, so I would expect this t  predominate in a few months
time. If you go for an AMD CPU/motherboard combination, then you also have
the option of using DDR (Double-Data-Rate) memory, which doubles the
effective throughput by performing a read or write operation on both the
leading and the trailing edge of the clock cycle. (AFAIK, Intel platforms
do
not support DDR SDRAM, but I could be wrong about that!)

There are of course processor upgrades available from the likes of
Evergreen
which allow you t  put a recent processor architecture in an older slot or
socket type by providing a bridge unit between the two interfaces, but
these
are without exception a very poor choice, and extremely poor value for
money
IMO. - a processor upgrade which would go in your older slot 1 board would
undoubtedly cost significantly more than buying a whole new motherboard/CPU
bundle.

Paul G.

BTW, all the prices I have mentioned above are VAT INCLUSIVE, and are the
current prices quoted on www.ebuyer.com, which I can also recommend
unreservedly.





>From: "Phil Harris" <phillip.harris1@xxxxxxx>
>Reply-To: ukha_d@xxxxxxx
>To: <ukha_d@xxxxxxx>
>Subject: RE: [ukha_d] OT Computer Processors
>Date: Tue, 24 Jul 2001 19:19:16 +0100
>
>I think Maplin did a board t  put a P3 into a P2 slot ... however I'd
>recommend changing the motherboard itself as it's probably cheaper!
>
>Go for PC133 memory as that will run at 100Mhz but is a bit more future
>proof ...
>
>Phil
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Dan James [mailto:UKHA@xxxxxxx]
> > Sent: 24 July 2001 16:55
> > To: ukha_d@xxxxxxx
> > Subject: [ukha_d] OT Computer Processors
> >
> >
> > Hi all
> >
> > A couple of off topic (kind of PC questions)
> >
> > I have a P2 266Mhgz machine - I want t  upgrade the process in
this,
> > can I put in a P3 chip? - can anyone recommend somewhere t  buy
new
> > processors from?
> >
> > Also Memory wise it uses SDRAM - where can I find out what type I
> > need t  use to add to this, there seems t  be 2 main types,
100mhz
> > and 133mhz - will it make any difference if I use the wrong one!?
> >
> > Thanks - as always there is a wealth of knowledge on this list,
and
> > it seems rude to go elsewhere!
> >
> > Regards
> >
> >
> > Daniel
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ____________________________________
> > Automated Home UK
> > http://www.automatedhome.co.uk
> > ____________________________________
> >
> > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject t
>http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
> >
> >
>


_________________________________________________________________