newbie here with questions

Discussion about systems that do not use the K6-x processors.
User avatar
tazwegion
Veteran K6'er
Posts: 349
Joined: Sat Jun 21, 2003 11:13 am
Location: Victoria, Australia

Post by tazwegion »

Welcome to the forums! :D



Additional modifications/performance enhancements also worth doing are as follows...

* Ensure (in device manager) that HDD's have DMA (transfer rate) enabled in properties

* Replace older 40 strand IDE with 80 strand IDE cables

* Strip down heatsink and/or clean whilst insitu

* Tidy up wiring within case to ensure maximum air flow

* Add extra case fans (where possible) to exhaust case heat

* Replace/upgrade CPU heatsink (if you get the opportunity) to reduce running temperatures



Just my 2c ;)
Image
Jim
K6'er Elite
Posts: 1745
Joined: Wed Jan 21, 2004 7:10 pm
Location: Toronto

Post by Jim »

No question, a K6-+ processor would definitely help; but he did say that he did not want to spend any money on the machine.

Getting a bit more technical there are a number of different K6 type processors. The original K6, I know nothing about because it was before my time in terms of involvement w/ computers. Next came the K6-2, which you have. Then came the K6-3, then finally the K6-2+ and K6-3+ processors. The K6-2 has 64k on die cache. That is to say there is 64k of memory built into the processor which operates at the same speed that the processor does which is used to store the instruction set and memory addresses of the most recently used data.

The K6-3 had the same 64k; and an additional 256k of on die cache. That enabled it to store a lot more memory addresses; and therefore find the data required by your programs a lot faster.

The K6-2+ had the same 64k; and an additional 128k of on die cache while the K6-3+ had the same 64k and an additional 256k of on die cache. The difference between a K6-3 and a K6-3+, (and K6-2+), is that the plus processors came later and had had a "Die Shrink", (The lithography used to manufacture them had been photoreduced), which enabled them to run somewhat faster at a reduced voltage. They are also considerably better for overclocking. (Running at a higher than design rated speed).

K6-2+ and K6-3+ processors are considerably better than K6-2s which is why I said it helps if you are willing to spend a few bucks.

EDIT : If you do decide to stick with your K6-2, follow Tazwegion's advice. He is an expert on how to get the most out of one of them.
Superpuppy 3
K6-3+ 450 ACZ (6x100)
DFI K6BV3+/66 Rev B2 (2 Meg) w/ 2x28mm Chipset Fans
2x256 Meg PC 133 Hynix SDRAM
1x 20G Maxtor (7200)
2x 80G Maxtor (7200) Ducted w/ 2x486 Fans Mount
52/24/52/16 LG CDR/RW/DVD
8/4/3/12/24/16/32 LG Super Multi
ATI 9000 aiw Radeon AGP
SB Audigy 1 MP3 Sound
CMD 649 IDE Controller
NEC USB 2 Card
User avatar
tazwegion
Veteran K6'er
Posts: 349
Joined: Sat Jun 21, 2003 11:13 am
Location: Victoria, Australia

Post by tazwegion »

Jim wrote:EDIT : If you do decide to stick with your K6-2, follow Tazwegion's advice. He is an expert on how to get the most out of one of them.
Thanks for the vote of confidence Jim :D unfortunately many of the propriety systems I've encountered lately have skimped on such things as case fans and/or quality IDE cables (not to mention PSU's) :(

It really is quite amazing the difference a small case modification can have on a system's overall stability (and running temperatures), but I digress... personally I'd spend the 'moola' and grab a K63+ chip too ;)
Image
User avatar
halfpennies
Newbie K6'er
Posts: 9
Joined: Sat Sep 03, 2005 9:07 pm
Location: Minnesota

Post by halfpennies »

The stock 7360 IDE cables and PSU are pretty weak, I replaced mine with higher quality stuff. Fortunately the PSU is the same micro ATX as found in many HP's and Emachines.
Image
A full sized ATX PSU would work too, but not much room inside the case. A K6III+ would put out less heat - an added bonus! I know he doesn't want to spend any money, but it would be money well spent!
Compaq Presario 7360
K6III+ 400 ATZ @ 500MHZ/2.1 volts /128 RAM

Compaq Presario 5184
K62 500MHZ/64 RAM

PC Chips M599LMR
K62+ 533MHZ/160 RAM
User avatar
tazwegion
Veteran K6'er
Posts: 349
Joined: Sat Jun 21, 2003 11:13 am
Location: Victoria, Australia

Post by tazwegion »

I've got a Netvista with that PSU (exhaust) setup too halfpennies, can't say I like it too much... I may end up modding the empty cavity (top of case) to fit a generic mATX PSU ;)

Yeah those EL-cheapo 40 core IDE leads certainly wouldn't support ATA66+ speeds, thus the new HDD would be running well below it's potential :(
Image
Post Reply