Oldfart etc, ASUS P3V4X (slot-1 PIII) motherboard re-use thoughts

[techwanabe]

I have an older ASUS P3V4X motherboard on the shelf I'd like to make use of for someone. I know someone who has an HP 533 mhz Celeron computer and it is a real chugger... as in very slow! I'd like to offer her a cheap upgrade and here is what I propose:

Tualatine 1.4 on a Slot-T adapter (purchase)
Asus P3V4X mobo (on hand)
128 or more SDR Ram (on hand)
cheap video like Radeon 7200 or such (small kids gaming only) -(purchase)
Aopen NIC (on--hand)
40 gig WD 7200 ATA100 or higher HD (purchase)
Windows 2000 OS
Antec case with 300 W P/S (purchase)

Recycle some old parts from old PC's like CD drive, modem etc

I'm guessing for about $200 - 250, I could build her a computer that "feels" super fast compared to her current rig. What do you think of this option? She only uses this computer for web surfing, email, word processing and small childrens games.

 

[3sixes]

I still have that board, running a pIII 550e at 825 with some kingmax tiny bga pc150.

That ought to be plenty fast.

 

[techwanabe]

First off, the CPU on that board right now is a PIII 550E on a slotket adapter which ran fine at 733 mhz for over a year with a Taisol HS/F. But I want to offer this person a faster CPU so the price performance choice would be a Tualy on a Slot-T adapter. Total cost would be about $65 or so for a 1.3 or 1.4 Tualy on that board. This would more than double the effective CPU speed. I don't want to give this person a highly overclocked processor because I don't want to have to worry about issues later. The 733 overclock is fine and safe, but much higher would worry me for a maintenence free situation.

 

[Tikerz]

Sounds like a great plan. It's a great board. I had an FCPGA P3 700MHz running in a slocket at 933MHz for a while. I sold the board earlier this year on eBay and it brought in an amazing $85!

 

[techwanabe]

Originally posted by: Tikerz
Sounds like a great plan. It's a great board. I had an FCPGA P3 700MHz running in a slocket at 933MHz for a while. I sold the board earlier this year on eBay and it brought in an amazing $85!

In a way I'm not surprised. There may be a few folks who know certain boards are good and would like to use them for situations where a PIII based system is fast enough. PIII based boards are getting rare - I'm not sure Newegg even offers them anymore - I did a quick search and didn't find any.

Just last fall, the back I work for purchased an imaging system which cam with 4 or 5 Dell computers. Interestingly, even though P4's had been out for a long time, these were all Tualy based system running at 1.4 ghz. They are plenty zippy for their uses. One is a DVD authoring PC, one is used for image and document maintenence and two are printer servers. The actual imaging system itself is a rack with 4 servers in it running faster rack mount computers - I would imagin P4's but I haven't checked.

 

[techwanabe]

*bump* for Oldfart and others

 

[tcsenter]

I would first try sticking in another 128MB of RAM and replace her HDD with a new 7200RPM model. You'd be surprised how much of a drag on any system old HDDs are.

For $250, she would be maxed out at 1.4GHz, requiring a new motherboard and processor for any major upgrades in the future.

For less than $300, you can do much better:

- Biostar M7NCD PRO nForce2 Ultra 400 Retail (up to XP3200+): $57.00 after rebates (free shipping)
- MAXTOR 30GB 7200RPM Model #6E030L0: $52.00 (free shipping)
- AMD Duron 1.3GHz Retail: $41.00 (free shipping)
- Viking 256MB PC2700 DDR-RAM: $46.00 (delivered)
- Foxconn Supercase ATX w/300W ATX12V AMD/P4 Ready: $60.00 (delivered)
- Alternatively, there is an Enlight ATX Case w/300W PS on special for a couple dollars more

Total: $256.00 (plus tax if applicable)

Includes on-board LAN, Audio, and USB2.0. Throw in a cheap ATI Rage128 Pro (Xpert2000) 32MB AGP or something (about $20).

 

[tcsenter]

Or, alternatively, save $50 by using your SDRAM with a motherboard that supports either SDR or DDR RAM.

Shuttle ATX Motherboard Model# AK32E: $57.00 delivered
VIA KT266A / VIA VT8235 (Newegg shows VT8233 which is an error)
Up to XP2600+
Supports SDRAM or DDR-RAM
On-board Audio
USB2.0

ECS K7S5A PRO ATX Motherboard: $47.00 (free shipping)
SIS 735 Chipset
Up to XP2600+
Supports SDRAM or DDR-RAM
On-board Audio
On-board LAN
USB2.0

Then add a GF4MX440SE 64MB DDR or Radeon 7500 64MB DDR (about $50.00). So for about the same $265.00 delivered, you could give her:

- Shuttle AK32E
- Duron 1.3GHz w/HSF
- Foxconn Supercase ATX w/300W ATX12V AMD/P4 Ready (Alternatively, Enlight ATX Case w/300W PS on special for a couple dollars more)
- MAXTOR 30GB 7200RPM
- GF4MX440SE or Radeon 7500

When ready, these motherboards give her a lot of upgrade headroom vs. the older P3V4X which will be severely limited. Just some ideas.

 

[oldfart]

Your plan looks good. The Slot-T and C1.3 - 1.4 are a good way to go. 128 meg of ram is kind of light. I'd try to improve on that. Sometimes you can use the HP case/PS depending on the model. I've put different mobos n them a couple of times. A used video card from the FS/T forum would be a good idea.

 

[techwanabe]

tcsenter and Oldfart,

Thanks for the comments. Partly, I'd like to see that my old trusty ASUS P3V4X is used rather than collect dust. That is why I was thinking of the Tualy on the slot-T. In fact I could throw in my old Voodoo 3 3000 video card since it should be fine for the kids games - I'm thinking an inexpensive modern vid card may be better just incase drivers are an issue.

The Maxtor HD looks about what I was thinking about... should be plenty of space for her. Heck, I'm still using my 15 gig WD but I'm cramped. I'll be using a 20 gig WD in my upgraded PC for a while, but it will serve...

 

[3sixes]

techwanabe

Sorry I was not indicating that you should overclock, I was merly commenting that I have that board and that its allways been a good setup.

Good luck with you plans though!

 

[tcsenter]

Partly, I'd like to see that my old trusty ASUS P3V4X is used rather than collect dust. That is why I was thinking of the Tualy on the slot-T.

Ah, ok. I was thinking what was best for her and making sure she gets the most for her money.

Shuttle AK32E or ECS K7S5A Pro = support XP2600+, USB2.0, ATA100/133, SDR + DDR RAM for future upgrade, overall newer (and faster) hardware, support on-going.

ASUS P3V4X = max 1.4GHz Tualatin on adapter (presuming it is supported and will run), USB1.1, ATA66 on dated VIA 596B Southbridge, SDR only, no new BIOS releases since 06/2000, great board in its day but used and dated.

There really isn't much comparison if the cost is the same, but whatever.

 

[techwanabe]

It would save some money to use the old mobo, since I wouldn't have to purchase a new mobo... just a Tualy + Slot-T $65 or so.

 

[DieHardware]

Originally posted by: techwanabe
It would save some money to use the old mobo, since I wouldn't have to purchase a new mobo... just a Tualy + Slot-T $65 or so.

Yes but she'll have a used board with no warranty. And if it fails, you will have to shell out for a new one__if you can find one. techwanabe for the few bucks extra take tcsenter"s advice or you'll be just that...a techwanabe.

 

[techwanabe]

Gee

So if I follow your advice, I'll have to change my name? Forget that!

 

[FMann]

I'll vouch for the p3v4x being a workhorse - up to now, I've still been using it (albeit with as many memory and performance tweaks the BIOS would allow me).

However, I agree with the above about new parts and warranties. Having seen the evil eye of IT, warranties are really useful. Even with a solid board like this, if a problem should arise, you might be out of luck in a van down by the river. On the other hand, if a hardware problem arises and you can't remedy it, you can always just say, "It's under warranty, I'll handle it." Customer might not be happy, but they won't be as pissed at you.

Another good, solid AMD board that uses DDR and SDRAM is the Syntax SV266A (KT266a). I picked one up for $42 w/free shipping at accupc (the deal is no longer good). It's the most lacking of frills board and it's old school ATX big, but it works.

 

[techwanabe]

Well,

Maybe the all new parts set up may be the wisest thing to do, warranties and all. I generally try to avoid being someone elses tech support, so I don't usually do this kind of thing. So at least warranties will help if they are needed.

Perhaps I'll just keep my old Asus mobo as a back up if my Abit-ST6 craps out... I'll need a Slot-T if I want to use my Tualy on it tho.

Anyway, this girl (friend) wasn't planning on a new/faster PC financially (cheap or otherwise) so there is no rush. If she decides on something eventually, I'm sure there will be cheap options. I like the idea of using a mobo that takes both SDR and DDR memory... that would save a few $$ since I have some PC133 SDR sitting around. I'd like to think I can slap something together for under $250 anyway.

 

[tcsenter]

This looks like a pretty good deal, presuming you can get the rebate successfully.

Ultra Barebones Special with Rebate

Includes:

XFX MACH 4 KT400 ATX Socket A Motherboard
AMD Athlon XP 1600+ Processor Thoroughbred Core
Speeze Socket A/370 Cooling Fan up to XP 2800+
PNY GeForce2 MX200 32MB SDR AGP4X Video Card
Ultra 128MB PC2100 DDR 266MHz Memory
Seagate 20.4GB/7200/2MB/9.0/ATA EIDE Hard Drive
Elements 56x CD-ROM Drive
Windows Keyboard
Compaq PS/2 Scroll Mouse
Avus Titanium Mid-Tower Case w/300W P4 Power Supply

Price after Rebate: $199.99

Shipping will probably kill the deal, though.

 

[techwanabe]

tscenter,

Not bad! Unfortunately, my friend may not be ready to make a decision just yet. But thanks for the suggestion!