uh...please don't laugh, but can i o/c a packard bell comp?
I have a Packard Bell PII 350 (3.5 x 100fsb) which I am considering overclocking (if possible). PB identified my motherboard as a MB870. The last BIOS update I have found for it was from 4/99. Is this system capable of being overclocked (again, no snide remarks about PBs.....please! ). Is it possible to upgrade to a new CPU instead of overclocking? I have limited funds (@ $100-150) for a new CPU. Would that money be better spent on cooling fans and such for overclocking? Any input would be appreciated.
Likely it can't be overclocked because PB probably removed the jumpers from the mobo.. I would suggest spending the $$ on a new mobo that would allow overclocking and expanded features...it would cost less thatn $100 then use the rest on RAM or something.
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A man is offered either infinite wisdom, or infinite money. He chooses the wisdom, thinks for a minute, and realizes he should have taken the money.
It said "requires Windows 95 or better," so I installed Linux.
Since Intel chips are multiplier locked, you can probably put a 400 or 450 in there and it'l work fine. The BIOS might not recognize it as a 400, but it's no bug deal. Just use WCPUID to see what it's actually running at.
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PIII 800@1066 1.7v
Abit BF6
512MB Micron PC133
Adaptec 29160
2x 9.1GB IBM Ultrastar 36LZX
18.2GB IBM Ultrastar 36LZX
Pioneer 10x SCSI DVD-ROM
Hollywood Decoder Card
Toshiba 6x4x24 SCSI CDRW
Voodoo3 2000 PCI
SoundBlaster Live
Aktiontec 56k PCI call-waiting
Netgear FA410TX
I&C Inc. 400W
Opteron 148@2805(255x11-1.4v)
Stock cooling(until I get a water block)
Asrock 939Dual-SATAII
1GB PC3200 OCZ Gold EL(2-2-2-8-2 1T 5:6 Divider)
Sapphire X800GTO2(520/580 - Unlocked 16 Pipes)
Antec TruePower 550 vmodded
2x Western Digital WD-1200JS(RAID0)
Lite-ON 1633S DVDRW
Gentoo 2.6.14-nitro2
Thanks for the replies. How do i tell if the jumpers have been removed (uh, i actually have never seen a jumper)? I heard 112 fsb is a reasonable jump for PII 350s. Will this affect my other components (sound/vid/ram/NIC)?
The PII 350 is a slot 1 - can i replace it with a Celeron slot 1 or do i have to stick with PII or PIII?
What motherboard would be a good replacement for this system?
Another point to consider is that Packard Bell PCs don't use AT/ATX mobos but instead have their proprietary motherboard design + riser cards that are not compatable with other mobos out there. Not to mention, his video and sound are probably built into his mobo making his upgrade cost quite considerable if he wants to change his mobo. With his price range, he might be stuck with a i810 type mobo with (once again) intergrated video and sound. He would also have to get a AT/ATX standard case as the PB case is also of a proprietary design.
PB is infamous for using bargin basement parts in it's PCs so I would not be able to guess on how your parts would take 112MHz.
------------------ -=S_Klass=- I tweak... therefore I am.
My video (stock) was a Rage IIC AGP card and sound was (i think) built in - Yamaha somtething or other. I have already purchased a voodoo 3 3000 and creative x gamer card (some time ago)which work well on the system. Could i put a celeron 400-450 chip in or do i have to stick with PII or PIII (celerons are cheaper, i think)?
well my thinking is sence you have diferant vid/sound cards i would opp for the other motherboard. and save for another cpu later. and more then likely the celeron would work. but then you never know it's up to the bios. will the bios know what it is? get the mobo.
iAMDking.
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"Is it worth it to give your heart away, and live for a great period of joy, risking the chance to have your heart broken? If your heart does get broken, was it worth it to give it away? - Me"
"Is it worth it to give your heart away, and live for a great period of joy, risking the chance to have your heart broken? If your heart does get broken, was it worth it to give it away? - Me"
I agree. Since you already have different sound/video cards, buy a nice 440BX motherboard and slap that 350 in it. As far as I know they oc'ed pretty well. Then when the time comes you can put in a new processor.
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PIII 800@1066 1.7v
Abit BF6
512MB Micron PC133
Adaptec 29160
2x 9.1GB IBM Ultrastar 36LZX
18.2GB IBM Ultrastar 36LZX
Pioneer 10x SCSI DVD-ROM
Hollywood Decoder Card
Toshiba 6x4x24 SCSI CDRW
Voodoo3 2000 PCI
SoundBlaster Live
Aktiontec 56k PCI call-waiting
Netgear FA410TX
I&C Inc. 400W
Opteron 148@2805(255x11-1.4v)
Stock cooling(until I get a water block)
Asrock 939Dual-SATAII
1GB PC3200 OCZ Gold EL(2-2-2-8-2 1T 5:6 Divider)
Sapphire X800GTO2(520/580 - Unlocked 16 Pipes)
Antec TruePower 550 vmodded
2x Western Digital WD-1200JS(RAID0)
Lite-ON 1633S DVDRW
Gentoo 2.6.14-nitro2
I hate to just pile on and reiterate what the other guys said, but I agree with them. Get a nice BX board (I always suggest an Abit BF6...) and let it rip.
Ya,
You can get a 440BX board oc capable for anywhere between $35 and $75. Even a lot of the old boards are able to support PIII's up to 800MHz (with thier latest bios).
I appreciate all your responses. I recently discovered that packard bell didn't remove the jumpers from the motherboard; however, changing the jumpers to get into a setup mode did not provide an option to change the FSB as I had hoped (posts 1 and 2 are normally jumped, posts 2 and 3 are for setup configuration, no posts jumped boots to default).
I am thinking of switching tack and just install a new CPU. I have read that my motherboard supports up to a Dechutes 400 mhz (PII, I think) or a PIII 550. Apparently the mb will "automatically detect the CPU speed", so no adjustments are necessary. Is this advisable? Where should I start looking for chips? Does L1 or L2 cache speed matter? My current PII 350 L1 is 32K and L2 is 512K. Should I stick with the same speed L1 and L2 cache for the new CPU?
By the way I am expecting to get a new computer in the next six months, so installing a new mb AND a 800 mhz chip on my Packard Bell system are a little more than I had planned at this time. I would really like to build my own system (with help from great discussion forums like this, of course) at a later date.
Learn from this, never by from PB and always build your own
------------------ Drakion is one of the few unfortunate people who cannot OC (lack of funds, useless mb, no cooling) and can only watch idlely by. Good luck dudes.
Drakion has recently had his computer go down the drain, and has ended up with a P4.
I have a PII-333 with a deschutes core- it's running at 4x100 for $150 less than the PII-400 was selling for Of course, with the prices now, you may as well just go for the true PII-400 and not worry about trying to overclock it with a PB board.
(The beaty of the 333 Deschutes was that it was the fastest chip Intel made without a multiplier lock! So it's really easy to overclock the hell out of.)
). Is it possible to upgrade to a new CPU instead of overclocking? I have limited funds (@ $100-150) for a new CPU. Would that money be better spent on cooling fans and such for overclocking? Any input would be appreciated.
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