Sempron Upgrade

A

adam7488

Limp Gawd
Joined
Oct 14, 2004
Messages
303
I just purchased these parts for an upgrade from a 500 mhz P3 with 384 mb ram.

Sempron 2300 - http://www.bzboyz.com/store/product3469.html

Chaintech 7NJL3 Socket A - http://www.partspc.com/store/product2077.html

I have a few questions; I'm not planning on overclocking; but I will if I don't get the performance I expected out of the Sempron. I didn't get a heatsink/fan; is this ok?

I'm going to use the same psu that I used for my P3 500mhz cpu.mobo; coupled with that are a DVD drive, a CDRW drive, a floppy drive, 512mb SDRAM, an ethernet card, and two hard drives. Would this psu be enough?

I've got 512 mb SDRAM; I understand this may be a serious bottleneck. Right now it's all I have. Will it "work" with the mobo?

This may be somewhat of a ridiculous question but if I was to buy better ram in the future, and I purchased the Geforce 5900XT what would my gaming potential be?

Thank you for your help.
 
first off, the psu: it may work, but chances are that you'll need something more powerful.
the ram: you say you have sdram.. the board uses ddram (ddr). you'll probably need new memory cause it won't fit, and if it does, it will probably fry either the mobo or your ram.
as for that video card, there's no point of buying last generation's videocards anymore. the geforce6600 is faster than the 5900xt in many cases, and i do believe it will be cheaper when it finally shows up in stores.
 
The last generation video card is still very capable; and believe me if money wasn't a factor I wouldn't hesitate to buy a 6800. However, money is a factor soo I think the 5900 would do fine...

What games would I be able to play if I got new ram and the 5900?
 
You could play damn near any game, just not at 1600x1200.

I am slightly depressed truthfully. In RL benchmarks there was only about a 10% difference between my 5900 ultra and my new 6800. In synthetic benchmarks, the 6800 owned the 5900.

Then again, there is a pretty big difference in my msi 5900 ultra than a 5900xt.
 
ALL4AMD said:
uhh yeah that board does support DDRsdram but the ram u got in ur old pc is Sdram not ddr
Click to expand...

How do you know?

The ram didnt come with the board. I installed the ram on the board myself.
 
The old machine is a P3-500. Almost all P3 boards (especially those you'd see with a 500 on them) used PC100 or PC133 non-DDR SDRAM. Motherboards that take PC133 won't be able to run well (if at all) with a Sempron & it's 166(aka 333)Mhz bus.

Also - have heard some bad things about BZboyz in the past - check resellerratings.com
 
adam7488 wanna tell me pc133 ram will fit in aboard made for pc3200?

DDR ram has more pins than sdram
 
yep, 184 vs. 168 on non-DDR SDRAM.

They also use different supply voltages. Unless the board has regular SDRAM AND DDR SDRAM slots onboard, your old RAM ain't workin'.
 
when you talk of buying a 5900 in the future, think of this...maximum pc puts the 9800 as a budget card (for them, at least)....depending on how far off in the future, a 6600 series card may be a little more affordable....socket a's life is about over...start saving for A64, even if it's only socket 754...
 
chile7236 said:
when you talk of buying a 5900 in the future, think of this...maximum pc puts the 9800 as a budget card (for them, at least)....depending on how far off in the future, a 6600 series card may be a little more affordable....socket a's life is about over...start saving for A64, even if it's only socket 754...
Click to expand...

No thanx. I'll stick with a sempron 2300+ and I'll buy some DDR ram. Will I need a hsf??? Can I go w/o it? There is a setting in the BIOS that allows ur computer to automatically "turbo" your CPU via some method I'm completely unaware of. It does warn of a unstable computer and possible issues. If I went with that setting would I need the hsf?

I understand that you all see it as a best interest for me to buy the best possible machine. I understand where you come from. Money is ridiculously short for me. I don't see it as an absolute requirement for me to buy top-of-the-line or near-top-of-the-line hardware. I wanna game and I wanna do it comfortably thats all. Not at some crazy insane fps. Granted I may not get the "complete immersion" that the game was designed to give me but I'll live. If I got 512mb ram, stuck with the sempron 2300+, and bought the Geforce 5900XT I'm confident I could play D3, HL2, and FC; comfortably. Comfortably being maybe ~30fps. Correct?

Please don't post anymore about what I should purchase instead, as I've already bought the processor and the motherboard. They came in today.

PS - As soon as I find my Win2K disc I will be posting about what precautions and procedures I should take before taking out my old mobo. I know how to go about it, I know that I'll need to reinstall my OS but that is about all I kno. I haven't done this before. I'm just asking for any advice/heads up you can give me before I do this.

Thank you for your help

Adam.
 
Unless you desire a burned cpu and a nonfunctional computer, every modern cpu (I'm not talking pocketpc's here) needs some sort of cooling.

A heatsink+fan is not optional equipment. Running without one will destroy your cpu in minutes if not seconds, especially if it's a non-thermally protected one like the Sempron.
 
I will buy a hsf tomorrow then. I didn't realize that was the case.

If I got 512mb ram, stuck with the sempron 2300+, and bought the Geforce 5900XT I'm confident I could play D3, HL2, and FC; comfortably. Comfortably being maybe ~30fps. Correct?

As soon as I find my Win2K disc I will be posting about what precautions and procedures I should take before taking out my old mobo. I know how to go about it, I know that I'll need to reinstall my OS but that is about all I kno. I haven't done this before. I'm just asking for any advice/heads up you can give me before I do this?

Thanx for your help.

Adam.
 
i'd say you'll probably be able to play those games ok at an ok res. you WILL be CPU limited at the stock clock.
 
nylint said:
i'd say you'll probably be able to play those games ok at an ok res. you WILL be CPU limited at the stock clock.
Click to expand...

I'll buy a decent hsf, and OC.

Define "ok res".

Can anyone help me on this? As soon as I find my Win2K disc I will be posting about what precautions and procedures I should take before taking out my old mobo. I know how to go about it, I know that I'll need to reinstall my OS but that is about all I kno. I haven't done this before. I'm just asking for any advice/heads up you can give me before I do this?
 
The most important thing for a first time build is go slow...very very slow. Read everything and make sure you're comfortable before you proceed.

Nothing sucks worse than frying a brand new motherboard, situations like this are where a local pc store can come in handy. Often if you have trouble installing it they will help. As oppossed to online vendors who offer no support. (and often have relatively long delays if you run into a bad part or need to return something for some reason)

The componants you'll need are Power supply, DDR Ram for your board (DDR 333), Processor, Motherboard, ATX Case, Video card, Hard Disk Drive, screw driver, and also helpful are pliers to install the heatsink with.

Make sure to ground youself, and dont slip installing the processor the first time. Socket A isn't all that newbie friendly like slot 1/a was.

If you're re-using your p3 case, make sure it isn't proprietary (in other words, be sure it's an atx case and doesn;t employ riser cards or any other non standard design)

Common first time mistakes:
Not setting proper jumpers
Not aligning the HSF correctly so it sits evenly on the core (in your case, a silver colored square on the processor)
Not using motherboard standoffs (usually small copper colored pegs, although sometimes plastic or silver colored)
Using to many standoffs and shorting the board
Using incompatible parts.

Since it's likely your processor will come with no instructions on installation (this is where retail comes in handy) Don't "rock" the heatsink. Once it goes down don't move it. Chipping the core is another common error, that comes from applying uneven pressure when you're installing the processor.

It should run any game out perfectly fine, although I think the sempron model ratings compare against the celeron, and do not fall in line with the Athlon XPs PR rating.

Still, you should be fine.
 
Wixard said:
The most important thing for a first time build is go slow...very very slow. Read everything and make sure you're comfortable before you proceed.

Nothing sucks worse than frying a brand new motherboard, situations like this are where a local pc store can come in handy. Often if you have trouble installing it they will help. As oppossed to online vendors who offer no support. (and often have relatively long delays if you run into a bad part or need to return something for some reason)

The componants you'll need are Power supply, DDR Ram for your board (DDR 333), Processor, Motherboard, ATX Case, Video card, Hard Disk Drive, screw driver, and also helpful are pliers to install the heatsink with.

Make sure to ground youself, and dont slip installing the processor the first time. Socket A isn't all that newbie friendly like slot 1/a was.

If you're re-using your p3 case, make sure it isn't proprietary (in other words, be sure it's an atx case and doesn;t employ riser cards or any other non standard design)

Common first time mistakes:
Not setting proper jumpers
Not aligning the HSF correctly so it sits evenly on the core (in your case, a silver colored square on the processor)
Not using motherboard standoffs (usually small copper colored pegs, although sometimes plastic or silver colored)
Using to many standoffs and shorting the board
Using incompatible parts.

Since it's likely your processor will come with no instructions on installation (this is where retail comes in handy) Don't "rock" the heatsink. Once it goes down don't move it. Chipping the core is another common error, that comes from applying uneven pressure when you're installing the processor.

It should run any game out perfectly fine, although I think the sempron model ratings compare against the celeron, and do not fall in line with the Athlon XPs PR rating.

Still, you should be fine.
Click to expand...

My biggest concern... is the old PSU gonna be able to suppot all this?
 
adam7488 said:
My biggest concern... is the old PSU gonna be able to suppot all this?
Click to expand...


I think it's unlikely enough I would say probably not. But that certainly is not definite.

Just to be certain, be prepared to get a new power supply.
 
adam7488 said:
My biggest concern... is the old PSU gonna be able to suppot all this?
Click to expand...

There's no way to tell unless you tell us what your old PSU is.
 
if your going to get a new CPU and mobo get 754 Sempron there just about as fast as a full A64
 
adam7488 said:
My biggest concern... is the old PSU gonna be able to suppot all this?
Click to expand...

Your old system being a P3-500, I wouldn't bet on it. Today's systems consume more power, and your new graphics card is going to suck a lot more juice than an old one would, too.

P.S. I'd recommend looking at a used Radeon 9700 or 9800 Pro over the GeForce 5900XT, but that's just my .02. I'm also curious as to why you bought a system board that didn't have an onboard network interface.
 
It has a PCI slot.... thats where my enternet card goes...

thats all i would need...
 
Another thing....

I havent bought the vid card yet. So I doubt the psu will be a problem just yet. To get it up and running im gonna purchase pc2100 128mb ram, and an hsf.... I already have the sempron 2300+ and the mobo. So the only differnece from the my old system would be less ram, a new proc, a new mobo, and an hsf. I'm confident the PSU wil hold out. How many watts should I buy when I do get it?
 
adam7488 said:
Another thing....

I havent bought the vid card yet. So I doubt the psu will be a problem just yet. To get it up and running im gonna purchase pc2100 128mb ram, and an hsf.... I already have the sempron 2300+ and the mobo. So the only differnece from the my old system would be less ram, a new proc, a new mobo, and an hsf. I'm confident the PSU wil hold out. How many watts should I buy when I do get it?
Click to expand...
there is no sense in buying 128mb of PC2100 to run with that Sempron.
The Sempron you've bought has a 333fsb, which means that running it with that 2100 at SPD timings will give you an async memory/fsb ratio. K7 platforms traditionally don't perform as well if they're not running synchronously. Get PC2700 at least, the price premium should be negligible.

As for the PSU wattage question, delivering reliable power is more important than the numbers on the box. Get a 530W Fortron Source PSU for about $70 and never have to worry about PSU problems again. Failing that, I think Allied makes good, fairly cheap PSU's.
 
nylint said:
there is no sense in buying 128mb of PC2100 to run with that Sempron.
The Sempron you've bought has a 333fsb, which means that running it with that 2100 at SPD timings will give you an async memory/fsb ratio. K7 platforms traditionally don't perform as well if they're not running synchronously. Get PC2700 at least, the price premium should be negligible.

As for the PSU wattage question, delivering reliable power is more important than the numbers on the box. Get a 530W Fortron Source PSU for about $70 and never have to worry about PSU problems again. Failing that, I think Allied makes good, fairly cheap PSU's.
Click to expand...

As I already stated I will make adjustsments in the future; BUT I just want to get the system up and running then ill make my changes......

Thank you.
 
Elios said:
if your going to get a new CPU and mobo get 754 Sempron there just about as fast as a full A64
Click to expand...

...and almost the same price
 
adam7488 said:
As I already stated I will make adjustsments in the future; BUT I just want to get the system up and running then ill make my changes......

Thank you.
Click to expand...
Why are you asking for advice if you won't take it?

128MB of PC2100 costs like what, $40? 128MB of PC2700 costs about $42, 256MB of PC2700 costs under $50. Why buy less than 256? anything less than 256 is disposable now, not worth buying, not worth selling.

I do this for a living, I don't sell 128MB sticks anymore unless someone is running an old system.
 
adam7488 said:
As I already stated I will make adjustsments in the future; BUT I just want to get the system up and running then ill make my changes......

Thank you.
Click to expand...

And doing that, you'll end up paying 50% more than if you had saved up, by making compromises and buying cheap hardware to start with that you'll have to scrap to buy additional hardware for compatibility down the road. No offense, but I can already see some compromises in the CPU and mainboard you chose that may affect you down the line. I've seen it time and time again with people who wanted a computer so bad they couldn't see straight, and instead of choosing what was right, chose what was "right now".

Save money and buy PC2700 or PC3200 RAM. It's worth the wait. You'll be able to use that RAM in another system board later without buying more RAM to replace it.

Save money and buy a GOOD power supply like a Seasonic Tornado, which can be had fairly reasonably. You'll save money on having to buy another power supply next time you do a mainboard/CPU upgrade.

Save money and buy a decent graphics card. It doesn't have to be topnotch and can even be used, but don't settle for a funky brand or something that doesn't do what you really want just because "you wanted your system working right now".

Many of us have budgets that force us to compromise...compromise too much though, and you'll spend far more in the long run than if you had scraped together an extra $100 to get all the things you needed right the first time.
 
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