k6-2 550Mhz

[xang]

does anyone know of a review posted anywhere on this processor?
i currently have a k6-3 450 mhz processor and i'm wondering if the k6-2 550 will outperform it and i need to find outany basic info about it, cache sizes mainly. i also read somewhere that the L2 cache runs at 95 mhz? but the article that i read wasnt very detailed about it

i just thought of something else
is it possible to overclock my current k6-3 450mhz processor to 500 mhz or more?

 

[DocZaius]

xang,

If your motherboard/BIOS supports it, I would go with the K6-2+/3+ processor. Check out the upgrade article. They overclock and perform better than the original K6-2/3.

Hope that helps.

 

[CraigRT]

Don't know much about their architecures and why exactly the K6-3 is better, but I'd stay with what you have.. the K6-2 550 is not a particularly great CPU...
K6-3's do pretty decent for their time and such, but the K6-2 is lower end, the extra MHz I don't think will pay off.

 

[ledzepp98]

the difference between the k6-2 and the k6-3 is the cache. the k6-2 has 64k (i believe) L1 and 512k-2meg l@ on the board accessed by the 100mhz fsb. the k6-3 has 64k L1, 256k L2 on die running at full processor speed, and 512k-2meg L3 on the mobo accessed by the 100mhz fsb. basically, the k6-3 has the extra 256k full speed cache which gives it quite a performance boost. i would keep the k6-3 and if you want more speed, save your money for an upgrade to a duron/t-bird system

 

[xang]

thanx doc for that link

i do know that the k6-3 has 256k of on die L2 cache which is why it wiped the floor with its brother (its why i bought in the first place,that and i was limited to an AT platform) but anyways..

new question
did the original k6-2 come in a 550 mhz version? if not (which i dont think it did) its safe to assume that any k6-2 550 mhz is a + version right?
i cant find jack for k6-3 processors on pricewatch

 

[Zach]

a 100Mhz increase doesn't seem wort it to me, unless you are really dying for a bit of extra punch and can't afford a new motherboard. But, for less then $100 more you can get a Duron + mobo. I suppose not if you're stucj with AT though. Hmmmmmm.

Still though, might as well save up and make a bigger jump.

 

[ledzepp98]

yeah, they made a regular k6-2 550, just check pricewatch. they aren't expensive but again, i would stick with the k6-3 450. if you really want, tigerdirect has the k6-2 450+ and k6-2 475+ for like 35-40 bucks (plus shipping). if you can clock them at 600mhz, since they have 128k L2 on die cache, it might be a better performer than your k6-3

 

[xang]

yeah i'm stuck with a baby AT solution
i dont planin building a new computer for at least a year or 2
just workin on maxin the hell out of this one for now
ebay has k6-3+ 450 mhz processors but 50 bux is a lil steep for me arg
oh well

 

[ledzepp98]

if your mobo supports overclocking you should be able to get the k6-3+ to 600mhz, or at least 550mhz. that is more worth it than the k6-2+. what exactly do you do with your computer, or what do you need the extra punch for? what are the specs of the rest of the system?

 

[xang]

i'd just like some extra oomf to my games...it just doesnt seem like i'm getting the performance that i should

motherboard is EPoX EP-MVP3C2 (aloows up to a 5.5 multiplier and 112 mhz fsb setting)
256 megs of pc 100 ram
20 gig ATA 100 Maxtor DiamondMax HDD
TNT2 Ultra 32 meg vid card runnin at 2x
SBLive 4.1 sound card

i did try a few hours ago to overclock my processor just to see if it could
k6-3 450 mhz if you forgot
i bumped the multiplier up to 5 and kept the FSB speed at 100 mhz
i botted her up and got an invalid system disk error
i then bumped the voltage up to 2.3 from 2.2
it got to the WinME loading screen but a split second later it rebooted itself
i let it run and it brought up the "Windows did not load properly, do you wish to boot up normal, safe mode, etc."

i figured since bumpin up the voltage got me to that i'd bump it up to 2.4 to see if that would help
still no go, got a Window protection fault

any ideas?

 

[yokomo]

actually I have a K-62 450 running at 550 sandra says it is at 557 lol but the diffrence is VERY noticealble in Q3 and on my internet mabey cus all the other stuff in the box is second rate but the increse in only 100mhz was enough that I have left it that way for the last 2 1/2 years and it has been rock solid... just my thoughts..

 

[xang]

what do you have you multiplier/FSB/ and voltage set at?

 

[AnitaPeterson]

I remember reading that the K6-3 is really good at overclocking, which can't be said about K6-2 (I shudder to think about my first setup, which I ended up UNDERclocking in order to make it stable...)

 

[randypj]

Try keeping it at 4.5 and bumping the FSB up.

You could also try taking the voltage down a bump. I know it doesn't make sense, but some people have had it work.

I was using a K63-350 (yes...350) in an FIC mobo and had no problems running it to 4.5 x 75, which was the max FSB.
--Randy

 

[ledzepp98]

in general, the k6-2 and k6-3 are crappy overclockers. my k6-3 450 would not overclock one bit, no matter how much juice i gave it. it's the + versions that overclock pretty well (they get to about 600mhz). i don't know how much performance you expect out of that system...gaming isn't the strongest area for the k6-3. however, your setup should be able to run most games at 800x600@16bit medium detail. personally, i wouldn't spend more money on that system. start putting money in a piggy bank and buy some new stuff when you can

 

[Zach]

<< I remember reading that the K6-3 is really good at overclocking, which can't be said about K6-2 (I shudder to think about my first setup, which I ended up UNDERclocking in order to make it stable...) >>



Not so, the K6-3 sucks almost as bad as the K6-3. Mine wont OC at all. Not even a few Mhz. With a giant HS/fan. It's got a bigger fan than an Athlon system I just built...

The + K6's are good though.

 

[xang]

i'll try messin with the FSB speed tomorrow and report what i find

 

[Pederv]

I did a comparison on K6-2's, K6-2+'s ,K6-3's and TBird's in the 400MHz-550MHz range a while back and I guess it was too long ago because I can't find it. But what I found was, is a K6-2+@550MHz will run most apps the same or better than a K6-3@450MHz, plus you get a boost in the FPU (which is used in games). All 5 of the K6-2+@450MHz that I bought did at least 550MHz, 3 of those did 600MHz. I ran the K6 tests on an Epox MVP3G5 motherboard.

Edit: The highest I could get my K6-3-450MHZ was 500MHz@2.3V. My K6-3-450@500 was almost twice as fast as a K6-2-550, in most apps.