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How to make an Old PC go fast (BIG Thread!) (Read 2791 times)

Apr 11^th, 2004 at 2:52pm

Dan Offline
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Meet Bogart! Thanks CRAIG!
Carmarthenshire, Wales, Uk!

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Hi, the subject says what I want to do, but I dan't want to overclock my 8y/o PC as it's the only one I have! Around here I once saw some one say 'Don't spare the information'. They will regret saying that, as here is ALL there is to know about my PC: ***Damn - It won't let me post it!*** Ok, Heres the first part: [quote]Microsoft Windows 98 4.10.2222 A
Clean install using OEM Preinstall Kit /T:C:\WININST0.400 /SrcDir=C:\WINDOWS\OPTIONS\CABS /IS /IW /IQ /ID /IV /IZ /II /NR /U:xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
IE 5 5.00.2614.3500
Uptime: 0:00:36:32
Normal mode
On "TINYPC" as "Unknown User"
Tiny Computers
GenuineIntel Pentium(r) III Processor
128MB RAM
57% system resources free
Windows-managed swap file on drive C (3202MB free)
Available space on drive C: 3199MB of 12405MB (FAT32)

[Hardware Resources]

[Conflicts/Sharing]

IRQ 9 NVIDIA RIVA TNT2 Model 64/Model 64 Pro
IRQ 9 ACPI IRQ Holder for PCI IRQ Steering
IRQ 9 SCI IRQ used by ACPI bus
IRQ 10 Creative Sound Blaster AudioPCI 64V
IRQ 10 Intel 82371AB/EB PCI to USB Universal Host Controller
IRQ 10 ACPI IRQ Holder for PCI IRQ Steering
IRQ 11 V.90 K56Flex HSP PCI Modem
IRQ 11 ACPI IRQ Holder for PCI IRQ Steering
IRQ 14 Primary IDE controller (dual fifo)
IRQ 14 Intel 82371AB/EB PCI Bus Master IDE Controller
IRQ 15 Secondary IDE controller (dual fifo)
IRQ 15 Intel 82371AB/EB PCI Bus Master IDE Controller

[DMA]

1 SB AudioPCI 64V Legacy Device
2 Standard Floppy Disk Controller
4 Direct memory access controller
0 (free)
3 (free)
5 (free)
6 (free)
7 (free)

[Forced Hardware]

Forced Hardware
There is no Forced Hardware on this computer.
[/quote]

Oh, Is there a quick way to dump the contents of My CTRL + ALT + DEL list?

Thanks, Dan

&&3DMark01 || OCUK - The best UK shop

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Reply #1 - Apr 11^th, 2004 at 6:15pm

Delta_ Offline
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Woah!
London, UK

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The quick way to post your task list is,
Press Ctrl-Alt-Del,
Press Print Screen button,
paste into paint then cut out the info you need and post that on SimV as an image.

My system:Intel Q6600@3.6GHz, Corsair XMS2 4GB DDR2-6400 (4-4-4-12-1T) , Sapphire 7850 OC 2BG 920/5000, X-Fi Fatality, Corsair AX 750, 7 Pro x64

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Reply #2 - Apr 11^th, 2004 at 7:26pm

Daz Offline
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in the morning im making
WAFFLES!
Leeds, UK

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urgh tiny pc's blah Tongue

Tongue

have had bad experiences with them **Shudders**

AMD athlon XP2800+ @2.34ghz&&Epox 8RDA3G 400 fsb, 8x AGP&&1024MB DDR400 PC3200&&XFX 256MB FX5950 Ultra (oc 525/1.04)&&40 gig maxtor 7200rpm&&80 gig seagate baracuda 7200rpm&&

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Reply #3 - Apr 12^th, 2004 at 1:17pm

Dan Offline
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I had thought of that, although my IDLE programs list has a scroll bar!!!!! OK, heres a 'Doctered' Close Prog Window:-
Dan

&&3DMark01 || OCUK - The best UK shop

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Reply #4 - Apr 12^th, 2004 at 4:28pm

Delta_ Offline
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Posts: 2032

Make sure you restart the comp to clear the RAM (win98 only) and for the background apps, kill everything except systray and explorer.

My system:Intel Q6600@3.6GHz, Corsair XMS2 4GB DDR2-6400 (4-4-4-12-1T) , Sapphire 7850 OC 2BG 920/5000, X-Fi Fatality, Corsair AX 750, 7 Pro x64

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Reply #5 - Apr 13^th, 2004 at 6:45am

Dan Offline
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Meet Bogart! Thanks CRAIG!
Carmarthenshire, Wales, Uk!

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I did exactly what you said and I got 2.1fps! Normally i get around 12. The reason was that I end tasked my graphics card driver!! What are they called in that list for a NVidea TNT2 Model 64Pro?
Thanks, Dan

Driver Infohttp://www.nvidia.com/object/win9x_53.04

&&3DMark01 || OCUK - The best UK shop

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Reply #6 - Apr 13^th, 2004 at 5:45pm

Delta_ Offline
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London, UK

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OK, then just do it again without ending the GFX driver.

My system:Intel Q6600@3.6GHz, Corsair XMS2 4GB DDR2-6400 (4-4-4-12-1T) , Sapphire 7850 OC 2BG 920/5000, X-Fi Fatality, Corsair AX 750, 7 Pro x64

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Reply #7 - Apr 17^th, 2004 at 7:25am

congo Offline
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Make BIOS your Friend
Australia

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Dan,

You got a lotta junk running in the background and not enough ram for FS9, let alone all that other junk.

Mainboard: Asus P5K-Premium, CPU=Intel E6850 @ x8x450fsb 3.6ghz, RAM: 4gb PC8500 Team Dark, Video: NV8800GT, HDD: 2x1Tb Samsung F3 RAID-0 + 1Tb F3, PSU: Antec 550 Basiq, OS: Win7x64, Display: 24" WS LCD

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Reply #8 - Apr 23^rd, 2004 at 2:17pm

Dan Offline
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I have sorted all of those bkg aps. I would like to do a 25Mhz (or around that) ovwerclock to my PC. Trouble is, I nedd the software and I have no docs, nor is there any name on the mobo. It's one of the ancient 'Slotted proccesor' types. Where can I get the software?
Dan

&&3DMark01 || OCUK - The best UK shop

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Reply #9 - May 7^th, 2004 at 10:46am

Scottler Offline
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Google "Belarc Advisor" and install it. It will give you a complete profile of your computer. I haven't run it in ages, but I'm 99% sure it will give you your mobo information as well.

Great edit, Bob.&&&&&&Google it. &&&&www.google.com

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Reply #10 - May 7^th, 2004 at 12:52pm

Pinchaser... Offline
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how much faster will 25mhz make it? i doubt it will do a whole lot. http://www.pricewatch.com look for parts for a new PC. Wink

Wink

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Reply #11 - Sep 26^th, 2004 at 8:57pm

Gary R. Offline
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If God is you're co-pilot,
switch seats.
PA, USA

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Case=$60, Moboard for AMD=$125, AND 2800+=$75, 300 watt power pack = $45, 512meg DDR3300 = $120, ATI 9600 = $120, Seagate 80 gig HD =$79.95, LG CDRW = $45. Enjoying FS2004/2002 =priceless.

All prices gestimated, some may be too high. Most components come with software and easy for a kid to follow installation foldouts. If you have a decent PC shop in your area, trade that junk, he might give you $50 off a barebones and if you shop smartly you might get away with a very upgradable up-to date PC for $300 or less especially if your brave enough to build part of it yourself.

AMD 2800xp on gigabyte vt600l k7 triton overclocked @ 2.3 ghz, 768 PC 3200, 128 DDR 6600GT AGP, 60 gig,5200 rpm maxtor, 160gig 7200rpm WD, Sony FD Trinitron 19

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Reply #12 - Sep 27^th, 2004 at 5:00am

Gixer Offline
Colonel
Lets go fly a kite!!

Posts: 1540

Dan it isn't worth it for 25MHz, i really dont think you will notice anything at that size of overclock, you really wanna aim for over 100MHz. I had a Tiny PC many years ago and now I relise why I shouldn't have brought one! still we all learn by our mistakes.

One thing I really hated about the Tiny was the restore disk. It puts all kinds of crap all over your PC, half of which you dont want. Your best bet is get together the drivers you require, i.e.

Motherboard drivers
Graphics card drivers
DX9c
Sound drivers
Any peripheral device drivers

Put these onto a CD.

Now re-format and dont use the crappy Tiny restore disk. Install Windows using the windows disk they should have provided u with. Then install the mobo drivers, then DX9, then graphics, then sound then anything else you need. This is a much better way of doing things than those crap restore disks.

You will find doing it this way you will have the absolute bare minimum running to on boot up, well until you install stuff yourself.

If you know how to when you re-format change your file system to NTFS. It keeps things a hell of a lot tidier than FAT32.

AMD64 3500+ @ 2200MHz 400FSB&&MSI K8N Neo 2 mobo nForce3 chipset&&1gig Corsair XMS PC3200 timings @ 10.2.2.2 &&XFX 6800 Ultra @ 450/1200&&80gig HDD&&Loadsa fans!!!

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Reply #13 - Sep 27^th, 2004 at 2:03pm

Dan Offline
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Ok, thanks Gixer. I havn't done any o/cing or anything, so don't worry about that. MY excuse about the TINY PC thing:

I was 9 when my parents bought it in 1999
And It was the first PC i had EVER used!

BTW, heres a spec I did when I was bored:

GFX CARD XFX GeForce 6800 GT 256MB DDR3 308.44
CPU AMD Athlon 64 3500 inc fan etc… 255.56
SCREEN Hyundai ImageQuest Q770S 17'' 93.94
MOBO Asus A8V Deluxe 92.83
RAM Crucial 512MB DDR PC2100 CAS2.5 55.81
CASE AOpen H500A Midi Tower - 300W PSU 46.94
HDD Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 8 40GB ATA-133 2MB Cache 34.08
CDRW AOpen CRW5232 Chameleon 52x/32x/52x CD-ReWriter 19.27
PSU
MODEM Creative Modem Blaster V.92 PCI 11.69
Mouse Logitech Premium Optical Wheel Mouse (White) 8.11
Kboard Genius Comfy KB-06X Black PS2 Keyboard 7.64

***934.31***

Would that Run FS9 vicelessly?

Dan

&&3DMark01 || OCUK - The best UK shop

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Reply #14 - Sep 27^th, 2004 at 2:34pm

Delta_ Offline
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London, UK

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I would not use PC2100 RAM in it, as it will not work at the correct FSB setting if you do. You need PC3200 RAM, this operates on a 400MHz effective frequency and will allow max performance for that system.

My system:Intel Q6600@3.6GHz, Corsair XMS2 4GB DDR2-6400 (4-4-4-12-1T) , Sapphire 7850 OC 2BG 920/5000, X-Fi Fatality, Corsair AX 750, 7 Pro x64

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Reply #15 - Sep 27^th, 2004 at 4:39pm

4_Series_Scania Offline
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slowest.
Stoke on Trent England U.K.

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I've got an old p3 667 that happily runs doom3!

I overclocked it to 933mhz, added 512MB RAM and found an old Geforce 3 at a boot sale! - it runs Doom3 better than my other machine, a 1.8ghz p4 with 512mb DDR and an FX5200 !!!

Long live the p3, a chip that ,clock speed for clock speed, eats the p4 for breakfast! Kiss

Kiss

Posting drivel here since Jan 31st, 2002. - That long!

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Reply #16 - Sep 27^th, 2004 at 4:45pm

Gixer Offline
Colonel
Lets go fly a kite!!

Posts: 1540

Ok things to change. Ram as Hi-D says no way you want PC2100

You want 1gig PC3200 for that mobo/cpu combo
512 would do the job but not as good as 1gig.

The HDD. You want 7200rpm 8mb cache. Go for a bigger onew too they cost sod all nowadays! get an 80gig one for a few quid more.

The mobo you chose is meant to be pretty good.

With the graphics card your getting it would be rude to not have a monitor capable of 1600x1200 really. There are 17" CRT's out there that will do this resolution I used to have one.

Personally I would get one of the Antec cases with a 'Truepower' PSU fitted.

Always found external modems faster for 56k.

You shoulda brought my bits off me! I let them go for the bargain price of £120 in the end. Still not to worry Grin

Grin

AMD64 3500+ @ 2200MHz 400FSB&&MSI K8N Neo 2 mobo nForce3 chipset&&1gig Corsair XMS PC3200 timings @ 10.2.2.2 &&XFX 6800 Ultra @ 450/1200&&80gig HDD&&Loadsa fans!!!

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Reply #17 - Sep 28^th, 2004 at 4:34am

Delta_ Offline
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London, UK

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Posts: 2032

Yep, with that system an Antec PSU is a must. 350W or 400w will do the job Trupower or Smartpower, or for ultra quiet PSUs the Phantom PSU is a must, this is also Antec. Neopower from Antec is the god of all PSUs.

Although you can get a good case and the PSU separately, that is what i did, that way you choose the style of case and which PSU goes in it. I use the Smartpower 350W BTW.

My system:Intel Q6600@3.6GHz, Corsair XMS2 4GB DDR2-6400 (4-4-4-12-1T) , Sapphire 7850 OC 2BG 920/5000, X-Fi Fatality, Corsair AX 750, 7 Pro x64

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Reply #18 - Sep 28^th, 2004 at 5:34am

Dan Offline
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Me thinks that I should have bought Gixer's stuf.... easy to say now tho! Just how much of an O/c can mine safly take?
Dan

&&3DMark01 || OCUK - The best UK shop

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Reply #19 - Sep 29^th, 2004 at 1:28am

Gixer Offline
Colonel
Lets go fly a kite!!

Posts: 1540

We cant tell you that. It all depends on your cooling. You have to sit and play to find out what it will do. Keep an eye on temperatures when overclocking though. You dont really want to be much over 50C under full load.

I am unsure as to whether the mobo in your current PC will enable you to fine tune your system though.

If it goes pop, well then you will just have to get yourself a spanky new shiney PC!!! Grin

Grin

AMD64 3500+ @ 2200MHz 400FSB&&MSI K8N Neo 2 mobo nForce3 chipset&&1gig Corsair XMS PC3200 timings @ 10.2.2.2 &&XFX 6800 Ultra @ 450/1200&&80gig HDD&&Loadsa fans!!!

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Reply #20 - Sep 30^th, 2004 at 12:54pm

Dan Offline
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Meet Bogart! Thanks CRAIG!
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Hmmm. Well, heres my BIOS info:

General Information :
Manufacturer : American Megatrends, Inc.
Version : 0715
Date : 01/10/1/98
Address : F000h on 256 KB
ID : 61-0209-001169-00111111-071595-440BX
DMI Version : 2.1

Characteristics :
Flashable : Yes
Socketed : No

Functionnality :
APM : Yes
ACPI : No
ESCD : Yes
PnP : Yes
PCI : Yes
ISA : No
AGP : No
USB : No
PCMCIA : No
Smart Battery : No

Boot Information :
Selectable Boot : Yes
CD-ROM Boot : Yes
PC Card (PCMCIA) Boot : No
I20 Boot : No
LS-120 Boot : No
1394 Boot : No
ATAPI ZIP Boot : No
Network Boot : No

Now when I go into the BIOS at boot there is no PC Health tab or whatever, so I have no idea on how to find the temps. If I go to the Voltagte, Temperature and Fans section of PC Wizard 2004 it brings up:

Nothing

So, I geuss I can't o/c. For good measure, heres the mainboard:

General Information :
Product : Intel 440/100FSB
Version : Unspecified
Serial Number : Unspecified
Support MP : No

Chassis Information :
Manufacturer : Unspecified
Type : Unspecified
Version : Unspecified
Serial Number : Unspecified
Asset : Unspecified

Slots Information :
Slot ISA : (16-bit)
Slot PCI : Available (32-bit)
Slot PCI : In Use (32-bit)
Slot PCI : Available (32-bit)
Slot AGP : Available (32-bit)

External Connectors :
Serial 16550A Compatible : DB-9 male
Serial 16550A Compatible : DB-9 male
Parallel ECP/EPP : DB25 female
Keyboard : Micro-DIN
Mouse : PS/2

Internal Connectors :
Primary IDE : On Board IDE
Secondary IDE : On Board IDE
Floppy : On Board Floppy

And thats that.... hmm, that shiny new one sounds soooo tempting!
Dan

&&3DMark01 || OCUK - The best UK shop

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Reply #21 - Sep 30^th, 2004 at 2:17pm

Dan Offline
Colonel
Meet Bogart! Thanks CRAIG!
Carmarthenshire, Wales, Uk!

Gender:
Posts: 2053

Ok, i have made some alterations, but I have kept the monitor:

GFX CARD XFX GeForce 6800 GT 256MB DDR3 308.44
CPU AMD Athlon 64 3500 inc fan etc… 255.56
RAM Crucial 1GB DDR PC3200 CAS3 200Mhz (400 DDR) 170.82
SCREEN Hyundai ImageQuest Q770S 17'' 93.94
MOBO Asus A8V Deluxe 92.83
CASE Antec SLK1650 Beige Quiet Mini Tower Case - 350W SmartPower PSU 46.94
HDD Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 80GB ATA-133 8MB Cache - OEM 7.200 42.24
CDRW LiteON LTR-52327S 52x/32x/52x CD-ReWriter 17.04
MODEM Creative Modem Blaster V.92 PCI 11.69
Mouse Logitech Premium Optical Wheel Mouse (White) 8.11
Kboard Genius Comfy KB-06X Black PS2 Keyboard 7.64

1055.25

Oh the joys of speccing in exel... at least it adds it up for you! lol The idea was to spec a great gaming rig for Under £1000 (Doh....) and upgrade the monitor to summat like IIyama Vision Master Pro 513 22" CRT DiamondTron NF Monitor. Heres the spec:

- 22 Inch (20.0 inch viewable)
- 0.24 mm Dot Pitch
- Full 30 to 142Hz Horizontal Scan
- Full 50 to 200khz Vertical Scan
- 2048 x 1536 @ 85 Hz Max. Resolution
- 1800 x 1440 @ 92 Hz Recommended

£368! I was gonna upgrade to it when I had earnt the extra dosh.... about 4 months! SO am I lagging on anything or can I economise myself back under £1000 in anything?
Dan

&&3DMark01 || OCUK - The best UK shop

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