Upgrading Processor & Memory(?)

[TomTGC]

Hello,

I have two questions regarding upgrading my computer. My ECS K7S5A Pro motherboard currently has an AMD Athlon 800Mhz processor and one 512MB SDRAM on it. This motherboard also has two slots for 184-pin DDR (using the 266Mhz memory bus).
I am thinking of upgrading the processor. My manual says it supports AMD Athlon XP/Athlon/Duron processors.

First question: If I upgrade the processor to Athlon XP 2600+, FSB 266MHz or something slightly slower, do I have to upgrade the memory to DDR as well? Will the current SDRAM work with this faster processor? I understand that I can’t use both SDRAM and DDR simultaneously.

Second question: I have a 300Watt power supply, if I upgrade the above, will I need to upgrade the power supply as well (to 350W or 400W)?

Tom

[Budfred]

You can continue to use the SDRAM with a faster CPU, it just won't work as fast as it would with DDR.

As long as you don't add any more components and the power supply is decent to begin with, it will probably be fine for the faster CPU. If it isn't enough, you will just have some odd error problems....

[TomTGC]

Budfred,

Thanks for answering my post. I plan to update the processor first and then the memory at a later date. Don’t have the bucks for both.
I have heard in the past about people experiencing weird errors that they couldn’t figure out and as soon as they increased the power supply, their problems went away. Thanks again.

Tom

[Budfred]

It is usually more a matter of the quality of the power supply than the total watts. A good power supply at 300watts will outperform a crummy one at 500watts....