Mirage

Yep it is! Glad to see you found your way over here. PM sent. Later!

Hello all, and thanks for the help I've received so far. I've been a little slow to jump into the noob forum, please forgive me. I've been building computers as long as I can remember. (Well since my first Atari 800xl) and been modding them just as long. I dabble in overclocking every once in a while, and really love older tech. As I get older I find it harder and harder to stay on the bleeding edge, (lack of time and money) but it still fasinates me to see what others are doing to thier rigs, and just how far they can push them. I came here to OCC to learn more and to try to stay up to date, so I'll probably have lots of questions. So far it looks like I've come to the right place. Be talking to you soon!

Thanks for the input guys, I feel much better now. I'll give it a shot this weekend and report back how it goes. My main goal here is to be able to run at 2+GHz @400FSB. My 2800+ right now doesn't like 400FSB, but will clock a little over 2.1GHz. And from everything I've read it sounds like I'll notice more of a speed improvement at 400FSB than by forcing the CPU clock higher. And hearing that I won't have to re-install the OS is a big relief. Not that it's difficult, just a pain in the butt. I usually end up doing this once a year anyway, just to clear out all the stuff I installed, uninstalled, played with ove the year. Thanks again for your advice and help.

Ok, add my vote for Avast Free Edition. I like it. I also use AVG on a couple of my PC's and it works fine as well. If I had to select one or the other, I'd have to lean towards Avast. For purely aesthetic reasons. They both do an equally good job.

I used to use Starry Night as well. An older version, 5.0 I believe. (I've heard nothing but problems with 6.0 and later). I tried out Stellarium last weekend, and while I found it easy enough to use, I wasn't impressed overall with the way it performed. Now I'm looking for something in between the two. Any ideas?

Hello All, First post here at OCC, so bare with me. As you can see in my sig, I'm sunning an old Socket A system. Old yes, but it does what I need it to. Anyway, I currently have a Athlon XP 2800+ cpu, which has been rock solid for the last couple of years. (Though it doesn't OC as much as I would like). But I have a Athlon XP 2600+ Mobile CPU I'd like to throw into it and see what I can do. My question is, do you think I can get away with a simple CPU swap, reset the bios, and not have to reinstall my WinXP SP2 operating system? Or will I have to start all over again? That's it for now. Probably have a million questions in the future. Thanks in advance for the help. And a quick shout out to all my old DFI-Street / DIY-Street friends. And to all the new friends I'm make here, HELLO!

Mine is still up and running. In fact it's my main home PC! Not a problem in over 2 years now. Can't justify the jump to Vista yet, XP runs great! Got 2 more LPB NF2 setups running around the house as well. No complaints. OOps, my sig is gone... gottta fix that right away...

I think what he was trying to say was the SP97 interfered with the case fan (Extraction Fan). But I do agree, it should still miss anything vital and fit nicely, (but perhaps snugly). I'll be getting one of these myself next week (SP-97a that is). I can't wait.

That depends on a lot of factors, but my personal guesstimate would be something like: CPU - $75-$90.00 MB - $75-$100 (depending on completeness, cables brackets, etc, or extras NB/SB fans, heat sinks etc.) I'm sure if you stayed within this price range, they would sell quickly, make you a couple of bucks (hey it's "old, used" gear, right?) and give the buyer a deal as well. Ultimately the choice is yours, but that's my 2 cents.

While I agree with most of what Darien said in his post, I have the exact same mother board and CPU (memory is different), and I would recommend making his recommended changes slowly. First I would change the following: ADVANCED CHIPSET FEATURES: System Performance: Optimal Expert[/color] x CPU Interface: Optimal Agressive x Memory Timings: Optimal Expert x T(RAS): 7 11 x T(RCD-Read): 3 x T(RCD-Write: 3 x T(RP): 3 x CAS Latency: 2.5 x T(RC): 13 x T(RFC): 15 x T(DOE): Auto x T(RRD): Auto x T(W2P): Auto x T(W2R): Auto x T(REXT): Auto x T(R2P): Auto x T(R2W): Auto x SuperBypass: Enabled x Sync Mode Memory Bypass: Auto Enabled x Data Scavenged Rate: Fast x Command Per Clock: Enabled x DIMM1 Driving Strength: Auto x DIMM1 Driving Slew Rate: Auto x DIMM2 Driving Strength: Auto x DIMM2 Driving Slew Rate: Auto x DIMM3 Driving Strength: Auto x DIMM3 Driving Slew Rate: Auto AGP Aperture Size (MB): 128M AGP 8x Support: Enabled AGP Fast Write Capability: Enabled CPU Thermal-Throttling: 50.0% Disabled System BIOS Cacheable: Disabled Video RAM Cacheable: Disabled GENIE BIOS SETTING: Current CPU Frequency is: 2083 MHz Full Screen LOGO Show: Enabled -----CPU/DRAM Clock Setting----- CPU Clock Spread Spectrum: Disabled AGP Clock Spread Spectrum: Disabled CPU Clock Setting: 166 MHz 200MHz AGP Clock Setting: Auto 66 CPU Ratio: Default 10 DDR DRAM Clock: Auto 1:1 Current DDR Frequency is: Auto (I am currently running my CPU Ratio at 11 with no problem.) I would then run a series of tests to see how the system performs. If no more problems, and you feel like pushing the RAM a little more, then follow the rest of Dariens advice. I'm sure he is correct, but I like to take little steps, check my work, and then proceed. And I like to work on one section at a time. Like Get the CPU where I want it, then bump the memory, etc. Hope this helps a little. Merry Christmas!

Need to find another Lanparty NF2 B, before my oldest son gets jealous. Will take an Infinity if there are no Lp's out there. If you have one that you're willing to part with, please PM me with details and asking price. Thanks

PM Tmod, he's the man to talk to for BIOS's and BIOS chips.

Nothing stupid about old games ebdoradz. My kids still enjoy a walk down (8-bit) memory lane. (They're 19 & 20 Years old now). Remember Missile Command, Centipede, Pit Fall? Sometimes they dig up my old Atari 800xl and have a 8-bit weekend.

I've heard that the SP97 is a good cooler, a little on the heavy side, but very good. I've also heard that the Thermalright SI-97a is a great cooler, much lighter, but is hard to find. I'm thinking of picking up one of these (Si-97a) soon. I'll let you know how it works out.

Yes it's true, I've verified that the color corruption problem has been fixed! Look for the updated version from Tmod, sometime soon. Thanks to Tmod for all his work, and for taking the time to fix a small problem that could easily have been ignored. Keep in mind that this only fixes the problem with color corruption on the BIOS & Tools CD by Tmod. It does not address the underlying problem with DOS color palette corruption inherent on x1300-x1800 series ATI cards. I'm trying to get some answers from various manufacturers on this. I'll post any results I find. It seems that Sapphire has posted an updated BIOS that solves this problem, but it is specific to Sapphire ATI cards. Use at your own risk. EDIT - Link here: http://www.sapphiretech.com/us/support/drivers_viewlist.php Thanks again Tmod!