Better MB for a P3 850

[jimerhardt2]

I'm currently running my P3 850 (100fsb) on a ASUS P3BF, with 256 MB RAM, ATI All in Wonder Radeon 32 MB DDR RAM. I was curious if switching to a newer MB with 4x AGP would get me a little more speed or if it would even be worth the cost. Any comments? thx

[Larommi]

Originally posted by Dumass:
I'm currently running my P3 850 (100fsb) on a ASUS P3BF, with 256 MB RAM, ATI All in Wonder Radeon 32 MB DDR RAM. I was curious if switching to a newer MB with 4x AGP would get me a little more speed or if it would even be worth the cost. Any comments? thx

Stick with what you have. I have never seen any major difference between 2X and 4X agp. A couple sites might report a few better frames per sec on some games but to me that is not worth shelling out the time and money for a new board.

[Ruslan]

Agree with Larommi.ASUS P3B-F still remains old,but good enough motherboard for P3s.
Common rule - You'll notice difference in CPU speed only if You'll install at least 30% faster CPU.

[Wayward Clam]

I'll add my 2c here. Cost and hassle with a mobo change will NOT translate into an improvement that is worth it. Your current mobo is an excellent model - I would get a little more life out of it, then upgrade the whole shebang further down the road when you're determined you need more speed.

[AlienDyne]

Don't upgrade.

BTW, I have a P3B-F that works fine for 2 years now.

[MDD1963]

I concur with AGP 4x not really being an issue.

If a little adventurous, however, you could attempt to delve into a little conservative overclocking, especially if your memory is PC133.

(My personal P3/850 made 1002 MHz easily, with little temp increase; squeezing an extra 80-100 MHz out of a Coppermine is usually child's play (there are P3/600's running at 900+!), and surely the P3BF has FSB adjustments in 1 or 2 Mhz increments. Even 110 MHz FSB would be a 85 MHz increase, with the AGP and PCI/ISA freqs increased proportionately, which will drive up the performance. The BX chipset is renowned for it's OC'd stability. Naturally, caution is advised, and this poster assumes no liability for mistakes!) :-)

[Geek #1]

I personally would not bother as you already have a good board and a stable system.

The speed increase from x2 x4 is minimal, as it is to do with (theoretical) bandwidth which needs the rest of the system to be able to handle in the increase.

[condor]

I agree,

The P3B-F is a great motherboard.
fast, stable and reliable.

I have yet to see any i815 or VIA board to match its stability.

you will not gain a lot from changing to i815 based mobo and the amount of money and efforts are not worth it.

[[email protected]]

Absolutely right,
P3b_F is a great board as are most Asus boards. You also have to consider you would be buying a new board for a platform that you can only upgrade slightly. Hold on to it until you need to upgrade to a P4. Thenm do it all at once.

[Tech666]

I have to agree with the above said opinions.

i upgraded my 750 on an aging BH6 to an Abit SE6 (i815) , i didnt lose any stability , but i actually did end up losing speed. even with teh 4x agp.

[jimerhardt2]

Thanks for the thoughts...I didn't think it would make much difference. Just trying to find a way to squeeze a little more speed out of what I have. I've considered overclocking, I just haven't collected enough info yet to attempt it. I have really considered doing this to my P3 500 (same MB).