Athlon T-Bird or Duron cpu question

[Rickdog]

A friend of mine ordered an Athlon T-bird 1.2 ghz cpu for his box, only problem is his mobo has only a 200 mhz fsb, so the t-bird (266 fsb) only runs at 1.0ghz. Would he get better performance running a Duron 1.2 ghz which does use a 200 mhz fsb, or would the t-bird's better architecture still perform as well or nearly as well as the Duron running at 1.2 ghz?

i.e., should he just keep the t-bird, or would it be better for him to run the 1.2 Duron?

[Bokkenka]

From what I remember, the chip design changed with the 1.0GHz Duron. It could then almost keep up an the Athlon of the same speed. So, a 1.2 Duron should handily beat a 1.0 Athlon. The Athlon was topping 1.4GHz, and they would shortly release the XP.

I also remember that the 1.2 Athlon was one of the transition chips, made in both 100 and 133 FSB versions. He might still be able to find one that runs on the slower bus.

.2GHz is 17-20% depending on which way you look at it, and should thereby make a noticeable difference on high-intensity computational programs. If he's just word-processing and internetting, it won't make a difference.

[raz0rblade]

Is there a way to quickly find out the fsb ? on my machine i know its 400mhz but i have a old(er) compaq mobo w/ a 750mhz duron but i want to get a 1.2ghz Duron or Athlon for it but i need to know the fsb speed so i can decide which to get :)

[Bokkenka]

Look at the motherboard manufacturer's web-site to find out what processors it will support. You need the correct FSB (front-side bus), mutliplier range, and BIOS support to run any processor.

Since you already have a 750 Duron, your motherboard can do an FSB of 100 and a multiplier of 7.5x. The processor speed is a product of the multiplier and the FSB. That's how it gets your 750. Not knowing any specifics on your motherboard, nobody can guess how high it will go.

Don't be tricked by the DDR (double-data-rate) memory of "200MHz" and "266MHz". The memory is accessed twice per cycle, so they claim it's the same as have single-data-rate memory running on a 200 or 266MHz board. It's not. There is no 3.75x multiplier to get to a processor speed of 750. Your board runs at 100 or 133MHz, period. They do the same thing with the "quad-pumped" RAMBUS used on P4 systems with their "400MHz" and "533MHz" boards.

<< EDIT >>
Duh... Just reading over the message again. Check your model number on Compaq's web-site. It might tell you what upgrade options you have.

[raz0rblade]

why does ddr memory have do with my question ? i can't go to mobo manufactur as its compaq and they suck :p it doesnt have any settings i can change on the board. the memory is PC100/128 SDR.

edit: i cant go to compaq site as 1. i dont know the model number, its just a mobo and 2. it points to hp.com now.

edit 2: after carefully examining the mobo i found a chart that says


100mhz/133mhz
--------------------
1-2 100mhz
2-3 133mhz
--------------------

and on the other side of the memory slots there is a jumper with 100mhz/133mhz next to it. Is this of any help ?

[Bokkenka]

> why does ddr memory have do with my question ?

I brought it up because you wrote...

> ...the fsb ? on my machine i know its 400mhz....

If you have just the board, you can look at Wim's BIOS (www.wimsbios.com) to try to determine what it is. Either write down the BIOS code that appears on the screen during the memory check when booting, or the "BIOS Numbers" link will lead you to a couple utilities. You can then look up the BIOS ID on the site and hopefully get the manufacturer's info / web-site.

Even with the 100/133 jumper, you still need to know what processors the board's BIOS knows. A Duron 750 is a pretty "old" system... You might have to upgrade the BIOS with a program from the manufacturer to run newer Durons and Athlons. As already mentioned, the chip core changed with the Duron 1.0GHz, and also the Athlon T-bird. If you put a processor on the board that it can't recognize, it might refuse to boot.

[raz0rblade]

i found the chipset name on the mobo its a

VIA VT82C686A

but doesnt have a BIOS number when it boots (just says compaq in red)

[raz0rblade]

Originally posted by Bokkenka
> why does ddr memory have do with my question ?

I brought it up because you wrote...

> ...the fsb ? on my machine i know its 400mhz....



i meant on the machine im using now. I already know everything i need to about it.

[Rickdog]

.2GHz is 17-20% depending on which way you look at it, and should thereby make a noticeable difference on high-intensity computational programs. If he's just word-processing and internetting, it won't make a difference. [/B][/QUOTE]

I advised him that he should think about upgrading his mobo for another 30 bucks or so rather than wasting his money on a cpu that leaves his system at a dead end, that way he can use his 1.2 t-bird, then later he can upgrade memory to DDR and up to an XP 2400 cpu if he wants.