I'm confused

[kayden azagthoth]

I just finished running a diagnostics test at pc pitstop. I am running an AMD K6-2 500 and it tells me that I am running a K6-2 244. It's also recommending I upgrade and, to be blunt, that my PC sucks.

I know I want to upgrade eventually but I don't know what I should look for first. I only use my computer for surfing, playing higher end video games and online gaming. So far, my computer has been crapping out on me on occassion with freezing and such...and there's no real explination for it.

Wait...I found that my 'nominal clock speed' is 244Mhz and my 'measured clock speed' is 502 MHz. What does that mean exactly?

Here are some other specs...and I would appreciate a flood of suggestions on what to keep, get rid of, or upgrade...here we go--

-My motherboard is a VIA Technologies VT82C597 with PCI and ISA buses
-128 MB of RAM (the test says my memory type is FPM...I've never heard of that before)
-NVIDIA RIVA TNT 2 Model 64
-13 Gig Fujitsu Hard disk (7200 RPM)
-Running Windows 98 second edition

And I guess that's about it. I know I shouldn't really feel like I have a lemon on my hands because of what some website says. I just feel in order to keep up with the new games that are coming out I'll have to upgrade soon. I read PC Gamer avidly and I have been noticing lately their recommendation to play some games are Pentium 3, 800.

I hope I haven't come across as sounding stupid or anything. I am still new at all of this and I love reading all the questions and answers in this forum. Every little bit of knowledge I get from here helps me out a lot.

If I left out any details (which I probably did) don't hesitate to ask me about them. I'll do my best to say what I know to get some good advice. But having been in this forum, I know that I am in good hands.

Chow chow for now,

Keith

[xor_chad]

Hey
I am going to check out the pcpitstop before giving a full response.
But a quick response would be first to settle a HUGE misconception that i hear all to often.

This is the phrase, "I dont want a real hi-end computer, all i want to do is be able to play games"

That is a paradox.
Games push the PC to its limit because of MANY things.

Number one is that they are VERY CPU intensive and use almost NO caching and all FPU not IEU which the PC was originally designed around.

Your current system sounds just fine for Single player gaming.

For online MP gaming tho you are doing more calculations and should see better results of course by simply uping you CPU speed.
600 and greater should be fine for now.

Dont go giga unless you just cant stand being behind in the rat race.

Of course if compare economy of pricing. Maybe a GHz CPU is more bang for the buck.

Some video cards are - odly enough - CPU intensive.
I personally remember having a Banshee and getting unreal FPS but hating how ppl kept saying "get a voodoo 3, they smoke the Banshee"
I worked at a retail pc store so i took home a 2000,3000, and 3500.
On my computer, the Banshee out performed them all.
So i stuck with it till i found something better.
Maybe you would be better finding a different video card.

Anyway, i will finish this later. Laters...

------------------
Chad Wilson
C++/ASM Programmer
PC Support Technician

[Deebdee]

Good morning Chad...What did you finally get for a video card? You stated that the Banshee out performed them all. So u stuck with it till u found something better. What did you find?? http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/eek.gif

[xor_chad]

Hey
I ran the pcipitstop test and ranked almost 100% or better in every field even tho i have a very modest system:

Abit MB6 MB
Celeron 466 @ 525(7*75) - 102%
128MB PC-100 RAM (CAS3) - 103%
Matrox G400 Dual Head Max - 81%
IBM Deskstar 13GB 7200RPM ATA66 - 111% cached/148% uncached
Windows 98se

Overall rating 385.

My normal and clocked speed were the same.
It read my RAM as DIMMs.
Our systems are almost identical.
Did you try any tweaks it suggested.
What problems does it say you have and what was your rating.
I dont know if that is good or bad, but it said my system was high performance and configured optimal.
Let me hear back from you. LAters...

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Chad Wilson
C++/ASM Programmer
PC Support Technician

[This message has been edited by xor_chad (edited 01-06-2001).]

[xor_chad]

Dee,
I got the Matrox G400 MAX for several reasons.
[list=1]
It has superior rendering to the competiton(tnt2,voodoo3,ragepro...)
It was better suited for multimedia and Directx (my main uses)
The dual head feature is AWESOME.
[/list=a]

It was not the best fps pusher card, but this is not a concern to me.
I am concerned with high resolution and crisp graphics.

Rather than go on and on about its features i suggest reading about them here (http://www.matrox.com/mga/products/mill_g400/home.cfm) if you are interested. Laters...

**Fixed your link**...Paleo Pete

------------------
Chad Wilson
C++/ASM Programmer
PC Support Technician

[This message has been edited by Paleo Pete (edited 01-06-2001).]

[Deebdee]

I was just wondering Chad because I'm trying to decide between a Abit KT7-R and an ASUS A7V and no matter which way I go, I'll definetly need a new video card. I just wish somebody would make up my mind for me! I've been reading a lot of personal reviews and although the KT7-R is an excellent board, some say it's difficult to set up. I've got experience on a lot of things, the ATA100 and RAID are a new breed to me. Isn't there a "mind maker upper", out there?

[Reid]

Kayden, do you see the speed that the CPU is running at when the computer is booting? I'm wondering if the bus and multiplier jumpers are set correctly.

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reido@my-deja.com

[sea69]

hehe ok Chad..


My score was close 405 ( not alot of diff considering)
I have Amd T-Bird 800 @ 798 ..... http://www.zing.com/picture/pb638d8209942e85bfabc50764b1c63a4/ff0388d2.gif.orig.gif

*note* I had This in red: Under "Windows Configp Tab, it said my "Max File Cache is 31.86
again this was in Red.. is that # too high or too low..?? 128 Ram(sdram)

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"re-inventing the hammer.. why I oughtta..."

[This message has been edited by sea69 (edited 01-06-2001).]

[Paleo Pete]

OK, I stopped by the PC Pitstop just out of curiosity...My system rated..are you ready for a laugh? Overall -33, and I'm running faster than a whopping 12%...red flags all over the place...it told me to get a new computer! And replace the hard drives, more memory...didn't say replace the ancient 33.6 modem, but I could just feel it thinking it...and of course it said the Matrox Mystique 2MB video card sucks out loud...

OK, so I don't have a screamin' 3 trillion MHz decatriathlon mega cyclops CPU with gobs of PC 655 RAM and a $4500 video card...it gets the job done and runs Descent just fine...and plods along at 200MHz all day long with no trouble...someday I'll be able to add another 32MB memory and it'll be a whole new world. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif Maybe it'll even load Unreal in less than 4 minutes...

kayden: I'm wondering if your CPU multiplier and bus are jumpered correctly too.

FPM memory is Fast Page Mode. It's the predecessor of EDO, and was very common at one time. They were both in use in many early first generation Pentiums, when the P-200-266 machines were top of the line. I'm using EDO and it's not a noticable difference from the FPM in my Packard Bell P-60. I've switched it around just to see, they both work on this machine.

If your machine supports 168 pin SDRAM it might help to switch to that type if you're currently running 72 pin SIMM's.


------------------
My hairdresser charges me a finder's fee!!

Please post your questions on the forums, not in my email.

Computer Information Links (http://www.geocities.com/paleopete/)

[This message has been edited by Paleo Pete (edited 01-06-2001).]

[sea69]

http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif LoL Pete http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

btw I was tweakin a friends pc earlier today (win98se- K6-2 amd)
and it was pretty fast (even on a winmodem dail up connection)
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"re-inventing the hammer.. why I oughtta..."

[This message has been edited by sea69 (edited 01-06-2001).]

[xor_chad]

Howdy
Dont be fix'n my mistakes PETE!!! (hehe)

Sea, thats WAY to small. Swap files should be around 75-150MB for Windows.

After playing around on pcpitstop i managed to get my entire system performing at over 100% - i clocked/tewaked my video card to 301MHz(it was actually WAY underclocked to 150!) - which got it to 100% but i connected slower this time and my rating actually went DOWN!

So now i dont have much confidence in the overall rating for rhis site but it did help me fix a few problems.

Anyway...that aside. I am concerned too about it saying you have SIMMS and that your clocked at 244.

The K6-II is rated for 100MHz right? So how in the world could you derive 244 from any multiplier. You would have to have the bus and multiplier wrong.

Originally i said nothing because i know that alot of software is written for Intel cpus and have problems when other brands are used.

Back when i had a K6-III i often ran into this problem of software identifying it incorrectly.

Regardless it says measured clock speed was 502 so it is probably set OK.

Still waiting to hear from you. Paste your results to the forum for us. Laters...

ps
are you related to Trey Azagthoth from Morbid Angel by chance?


------------------
Chad Wilson
C++/ASM Programmer
PC Support Technician

[This message has been edited by xor_chad (edited 01-06-2001).]

[sea69]

and that would be adjusted in System Properties ?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

(duh) ok checked and my max is set (tools, options, settings- @ 80MB.. I dont know why it was in Red saying only 31.86 http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/eek.gif

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"re-inventing the hammer.. why I oughtta..."

[This message has been edited by sea69 (edited 01-07-2001).]

[Hewy]

Hey all,

I just went to pc pitstop to check out the "benchmark" program to compare scores with everyone else. I got a measely score of 499 http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/mad.gif

CPU= 109%
RAM= 109%
HD (C) (D)= Cached speed 131.29 MB/s (121%) 133.85 MB/s (123%)
Uncached speed 3.94 MB/s (102%) 5.76 MB/s (150%)
Video= 146%
Internet= Bandwidth Down 650 Kbits/sec
Bandwidth Up 337 Kbits/sec

Sys Specs
Asus A7V mobo
T-Bird 900 MHz
128MB PC-133 RAM
30GB 7200rpm ATA100 HD (Maxtor)
GeForce2 MX
SB Live!
Linksys 10/100 NIC

SMOKIN!!!! hehehehehe


[This message has been edited by Hewy (edited 01-07-2001).]

[sleddog]

Originally posted by Deebdee:
... I'm trying to decide between a Abit KT7-R and an ASUS A7V ...

I recently bought a new board and narrowed the field down to exactly these two. They're both great boards. I picked the Asus, largely because I already had another Asus board -- CUV4X for the Celeron -- and I was very pleased with it. I also preferred the way the Asus board provides all CPU setting by dip switches, rather than the softmenu provided by the Abit -- but that's not really an advantage, just a personal preference. Of course the Abit board has, to it's advantage, the raid capability (there's a non-raid version that's slightly cheaper). The Abit also has one ISA slot, while the Asus is PCI-only.

Whichever you pick, I don't think you'll go wrong!


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sleddog (http://www.sleddog.f2s.com)
Pulling for a SmartLabrador (http://www.labradorit.nf.ca/smartlabrador/)

[Paleo Pete]

chad: Just tryin' to help... http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/rolleyes.gif

everyone: This one has gone slightly off topic, we're comparing Pitstop results instead of answering this person's questions. (I'm guilty as well, see my previous post...) On the flip side, the majority of the posts do eventually get back to the topic at hand...

I'm not that familiar with newer hardware, and agree with someone's post above that the main upgrade here would be memory and a better video card. I won't suggest a video card, since I'm not that familiar with the new ones, but will say I've been very pleased with the Matrox cards I've had dealings with. My present Mystique does a nice job, just needs more memory.

Memory...we need to know for sure if this computer is using SIMM memory or what...if so, I think SDRAM might be a better choice. CPU should be sufficient, as long as the video card doesn't work it to death...If the board will support a faster CPU that might be a consideration too.

Anyone think we might drop a PC Pitstop topic in the After Hours Club to continue the comparisons? Might be a good idea I think...I'll post my depressing results again... http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif


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My hairdresser charges me a finder's fee!!

Please post your questions on the forums, not in my email.

Computer Information Links (http://www.geocities.com/paleopete/)

[kayden azagthoth]

I went back to tha PC pitstop and checked out some more stuff that I didn't tell ya'll. Well, I also ran a second test to see if things improved over time like fine wine...heh heh.

Under the Processor category:

External Clock Speed 100 MHz
CPU Load 25% ( and this was in yellow )
Level 1 Cache 64KB
Level 2 Cache 1024KB
Speed Rating 1092 (99%)

Memory

128MB PC-100 SDRAM (but I don't know how many pins)
Speed Rating 786 MB/s (106%)

Internet Connection

I am on a 56K:

Bandwidth down 38k/s (again, in yellow)
Bandwidth up 54k/s
Avg. ping 206 ms

Then in the end, I got these overall ratings:

"System" 18th percentile http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/frown.gif
"Memory" 84th percentile
"Disk" 66th percentile

The pc pitstop also suggests that I replace my computer...that's funny, considering I just bought the bastard in March of 2000.

I think I left out some responses to some questions that were asked to me. I'll come back in a bit to answer them as best as I can. I have another question regarding one of your responses as well but I don't remember what it is. I have to re-read all of the posts.

Oh by the way, I'm not related to Trey Azagthoth. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif I dreamt of the name Kayden a few months ago and I liked it and I chose Azagthoth because in this vast web of so many user names...I wanted a name that wouldn't be rejected everytime I registered with something. I hate having a name like "Keith4743-pd". http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

Keith

PS. Here are my other addtions to this post.

How do I know if my CPU multiplier and bus are jumpered correctly?

All I know is I was 'sold' SDRAM when I bought my system. At least that's what it says on the receipt!! http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by kayden azagthoth (edited 01-07-2001).]

[Hewy]

This thread has definitely gone off on a tangent but when boys get the chance to show off their toys, Look out! http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

To get back on the topic, I own a Asus A7V motherboard and I haven't had any problems from day one. As u can see from my score just a few messages above, my system rocks! It has support for ATA100 hardrives, AGP Pro slot, and can go up to a 1.25GHz CPU: thats the highest multipler that can be set on the dip switches.

The GeForce2 MX (Asus V7100 by the way)is a great card. I play MDK2 @ 1024x768, max texture, trilinear filtering, mipmap, Hardware T&L, 16 bit colour at 60 fps. Even though this is a lower end card of the GeForce2 series, I'm happy with its performance and thats what counts.

I just bought this system before xmas so I'm sure it will be out of date in a year or so.

<b>Kayden</b>
If you r looking to upgrade, check out <a href="http://www.ncix.com">Netlink Computers</a>. They r based in BC and it is where I got my system. They got good prices and service... better that back on the Rock haha

Check your motherboard book to see if the jumpers r set right, hope u got one.

Mike

[xor_chad]

Hey Kayden,

everyone:let me clear something up. i went to pcpitstop so that i may see first hand what K was seeing.
I posted my results only for a comparison for him to judge by.
I wanted K to post his results because they might clarify things.
I feel pcpitstop is a good pc diagnostics utility but it is definately NOT a benchmarking utility.

anyway...here we go again.
External Clock Speed 100 MHz
(thats good. you are definately using 100MHz bus speed)

Load 25% ( and this was in yellow )
(you probably have alot of tasks in the background. if you look at the Windows Details page and at Running Programs you will probably find many you didnt know were running)

Level 1 Cache 64KB
(32KB Instruction cache/32KB data cache. typical k6)

Level 2 Cache 1024KB
(1MB of cache on MB. really good)

Speed Rating 1092 (99%)
(low because it was probably a FPU test which k6s underperform at)

128MB PC-100 SDRAM (but I don't know how many pins)
(pc-100 is a rating for SDRAM only...DIMMs)

Speed Rating 786 MB/s (106%)
(thats about right)

"System" 18th percentile
(thats really low and i dont know what they base it on)

as for your multiplier. The easied way to check it is set correctly is to see how the BIOS identified it when you boot.

Right when you boot you should see the CPUs stats posted. You may need to hit the pause/break key to give you enough time to see it.

Laters...

------------------
Chad Wilson
C++/ASM Programmer
PC Support Technician

[Paleo Pete]

chad: I have no dispute with your posting your pitstop scores, I knew why you did it to begin with and agreed that it might be a good idea for his comparison purposes. Don't take it personally, I wasn't slamming you...just noting that the topic had taken a side street somewhere in general...

Hewy: HTML doesn't work on the forums, only UBB code. At the left you'll see a "Click for Details" link you can check to see how to create links that work.

kayden: the best way to find out if your bus speed and multiplier are jumpered correctly is to consult the motherboard manual, and compare it to the jumpers on the board itself. If you know your CPU speed, you can use the [Pause] key to stop the boot screens when you turn on the computer so you can read them. It's posted on two of those screens. Any other key will resume booting. If the CPU posted in the boot screens matches the CPU you bought, it's jumpered correctly. Mine is a P-200MMX and that's what it says at bootup. When I misjumpered a P-233MMX it said it was a P-250...

In your last post above the PC Pitstop results you posted said you have PC 100 ram, that's 168 pin SDRAM. That confuses me because your first post said it was Fast Page Mode...What the???

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My hairdresser charges me a finder's fee!!

Please post your questions on the forums, not in my email.

Computer Information Links (http://www.geocities.com/paleopete/)

[kayden azagthoth]

Hey Pete,

PC Pitstop is the place that said that I have FPM RAM and the place that I bought my computer from says I have PC-100 RAM.

I was thinking about buying another 128MB stick of RAM a few weeks ago because it was something like $100. Everywhere I went, they were sold out. I went to Brilliance Computers (the place that I got my system) and they told me they have to special order PC-100 RAM now because PC-133 is the 'more standard' now. Is this true? Will PC-133 RAM work along with my PC-100 or should I trade in my old RAM if I decide to upgrade to 256MB?

Questions...questions...sigh. I guess that's why we're all here, eh? Eh...doesn't that sound just so damn Canadian? http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

The only stupid question is the one not asked.

Keith

[xor_chad]

How
Well i know you asked Pete, but i am going to butt in and reply anyway!

PC-133 should work just fine in your system, as long as you keep it all clocked to the slowest RAM you have.

I have had PC-100 RAM in my Celeron machine for 50yrs and no problems yet.

The RAM is just capable of being accessed at speeds up to 133, its not locked in...but if Intel had their way then it might be http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/wink.gif

LAters...

------------------
Chad Wilson
C++/ASM Programmer
PC Support Technician

[kayden azagthoth]

Cool and the gang with the RAM, Chad. As for my bus speed and multiplier being jumpered properly, they are. When I look at my boot screen, it says my processor is in fact an AMD K6-2 500. At least I know that much! Stinkin' PC Pitstop makin' me think that I didn't have what I have...humph! http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/tongue.gif

[Paleo Pete]

OK, guess the CPU issue is settled...and chad is correct about the memory. It should work fine at a lower speed. Thanks chad...

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If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you!
Note: Please post your questions on the forums, not in my email.

Computer Information Links (http://www.geocities.com/paleopete/)