256 MB RAM, K6-3+ @ 550Mhz, Windows 2000 system cache

Discuss software and how to tweak more performance out of your system.
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davexnet
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256 MB RAM, K6-3+ @ 550Mhz, Windows 2000 system cache

Post by davexnet »

HI all,
my K6+ Epox mvp3-GM still going strong, I use the box
for light internet browsing, email, bit torrent, network share, etc,etc.

One thing that bothers me, Windows 2000 uses up all it's memory on
"system cache" when copying files over the network and/or
downloading/uploading in bit torrent, so much so that
and the box becomes unusable.

Win2k's memory management is supposed to be self-tuning, but once it
grabs the RAM for system cache it doesn't want to give it back until
the task completes (or you quit utorrent,etc,etc).

On top of that, my mvp3 system has always struggled to be
responsive (opening/closing windows, navigating here and there)
when ever heavy I/O is taking place such as burning / verifying a CD.
I assume it's down to the architecture of the board. I have vlatency
installed. The system is stable, but this problem has always been there.
Jim
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Location: Toronto

RE: 256 MB RAM, K6-3+ @ 550Mhz, Windows 2000 system cache

Post by Jim »

So get more RAM for it. You should be able to put it 3 x 256 Meg sticks to give you a total of 768 Meg. That should give you more breathing space; and I doubt if it would cost much now since that is obsolete RAM anyway.
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
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CMD 649 IDE Controller
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davexnet
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Post by davexnet »

Crucial memory want $25 for a 128 MB stick.
I must admit, the box could probably do with a min. of 512,
Firefox 4 is pretty heavy on RAM.
Jim
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Posts: 1745
Joined: Wed Jan 21, 2004 7:10 pm
Location: Toronto

Post by Jim »

So don't get Crucial, isn't all that good anyway. Hynix or Skill will do the trick nicely. Also Apacer was quite good. If you get Hynix make sure the type number ends with a K not an H. K is CL2, H is CL3.
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
davexnet
Newbie K6'er
Posts: 9
Joined: Wed Apr 30, 2008 9:27 am

Post by davexnet »

Well I opted for the low-cost solution. I looked into it a little
more, this board can accept 384MB max (128 max per each of the
three slots). My current config was 256MB, 2*128.

I looked on ebay and purchased a used, CL2, 128MB stick
for $1.49 delivered. Can't go wrong with that.

It's in, and working fine - I think Win2k can now do a better job
juggling system cache and Firefox 4's memory demands.

A little bit more life for this old PC !
Jim
K6'er Elite
Posts: 1745
Joined: Wed Jan 21, 2004 7:10 pm
Location: Toronto

Post by Jim »

No matter what it says, it can use 768 Meg, 3 x 256, except for a few types of IBM boards that had a max of 512 Meg.
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
davexnet
Newbie K6'er
Posts: 9
Joined: Wed Apr 30, 2008 9:27 am

Post by davexnet »

OK, thanks for the info. It already feels like a big improvement.
I just want to be able to do some basic browsing using FF4, and run
utorrent at the same time. With 256 it was obviously thrashing, but I don't
see that with 384.

Actually, I have another board in the cupboard, an Iwill kk266-r -
I'm pretty sure it uses the same RAM. It has two 256MB sticks -
only problem is one is cl2, while the other is cl3.
moondog
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Post by moondog »

Hello,

just wanted to state that 384 MB may be fine, but be sure, the day comes you want to have more ;) My MVP3G5 runs very well with 768 mb. I´m using XP pro and it was awfully slow at 384 MB with FF3... surfing with 2 opened windows was getting awfully slow in short time as the RAM-usage was growing like hell. I´m using Apacer 256 MB unbuffered doublesided PC 133 CL2 Sticks... little hint: try to get some bundled RAM sticks, I got 3 of them including a P3 1000 (used it for my notebook), several cards (gfx, sata, firewire), drives, cooler and motherboard for about 10 euro incl. shipping... I guess trying to get single ram sticks is much more expensive then...

Greetings,

Eric
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jsc1973
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Post by jsc1973 »

I'm able to surf fairly well in FF3 on the K6-III+ 400 laptop in my sig, with 288 megs of RAM. I need to try FF4 and see if that works any better or worse. That laptop never ceases to surprise me since I found out that you could exceed the "official" RAM limit of 160 MB and it would work. It's faster than another one I have running at 550/100 with 160 MB.
FIC VA-503+, Rev. 1.2, AMD K6-III+ 450@550MHz, 80GB Seagate ATA-100, 3dfx Voodoo3 3500 TV, TB Montego II Quadzilla, Win98se, 384MB PC100

Compaq Presario 1273, AMD K6-III+ 450@400MHz 1.8v, 40GB Samsung 5400RPM, extremely hacked Win98SE, 288 (yes, 288!) MB RAM
(Also an AMD FX-8350, which does the heavy lifting these days...)
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