Motherboard upgrade to my P3

[trigggl]

Now that I've upgraded the Dell to an E7600, I have this spare E2160. I gave my daughter the P4 HT and my wife is most definitely not happy with the performance of the P3 that the daughter was using.

So, I don't she'll mind if I can upgrade that case to a dual core. I've decided to start searching for a cheap board that will run the E2160 and also, that will give me another PCIE slot to work with. Maybe I can eventually acquire an ATI card for it.

Since I already have an ATA hard drive, I'm going to look for a board that supports that and hopefully get a seamless transition to the better performing board. I guess I will need to make some changes to my linux kernel. (no big deal) So, I guess I'll also be in the market for some more Ram to go into the 'new' board.

I currently have a bid on a board on Ebay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160540420676&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
I don't know if my current bid is enough to win it or even if it's worth what I bid, but I currently have the high bid.

[Fire$torm]

Hey trigggl, if by chance that auction passes your max bid, you can get that same make and model at Buy.com - Gigabyte GA-G41M-ES2L (http://www.buy.com/prod/giga-byte-ga-g41m-es2l-desktop-motherboard-intel-chipset-micro-atx/q/loc/101/210894700.html) for $56.08 w/Free Shipping.

Edit: I forgot to mention that you will also need a new PSU as the Pentium for requires the P4 12 Volt connector that did not exist in the time of that dinosaur, err I mean PIII.
From Wikipedia : ATX12V 1.0 Revision (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atx#ATX12V_1.0)

[DrPop]

You can get a new socket 775 mobo at Newegg for less than $40... ;)

[Aux10]

Just to put it out there, last time I looked Dell sells refurbished MOBOs on their site as replacement parts. Just need a service tag# and it should let you into the parts store.

[trigggl]

Hey trigggl, if by chance that auction passes your max bid, you can get that same make and model at Buy.com - Gigabyte GA-G41M-ES2L (http://www.buy.com/prod/giga-byte-ga-g41m-es2l-desktop-motherboard-intel-chipset-micro-atx/q/loc/101/210894700.html) for $56.08 w/Free Shipping.

Edit: I forgot to mention that you will also need a new PSU as the Pentium for requires the P4 12 Volt connector that did not exist in the time of that dinosaur, err I mean PIII.
From Wikipedia : ATX12V 1.0 Revision (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atx#ATX12V_1.0)
Is the 12 connector thing true of Rambus boards? No matter, I still have the power supply left over from the PSU upgrade to my Dell.

All great ideas. Now I hope I do get out bid. I should always check here before making bids/purchases. Lesson learned.

[DrPop]

My Dad's first P4 build we did back when I was in college - 2001 I think? It was the ASUS P4T-E board, and it uses RAMBUS ram, and has the little square 4 prong 12V P4 rail plugin from the PSU. I believe all boards had it after that. And for a long time, PSUs came in a box that promoted "Pentium4 ready" on it.

Shoot...now the new ones have an 8 prong socket! Power up baby... :D

[joker]

Your showing your age there DrPop. =))

[trigggl]

My Dad's first P4 build we did back when I was in college - 2001 I think? It was the ASUS P4T-E board, and it uses RAMBUS ram, and has the little square 4 prong 12V P4 rail plugin from the PSU. I believe all boards had it after that. And for a long time, PSUs came in a box that promoted "Pentium4 ready" on it.

Shoot...now the new ones have an 8 prong socket! Power up baby... :D

I bought the PSU somewhere around 2001, so it may have everything I need.

I just noticed I can overclock with this board. I will definitely be doing some of that (if I get it).

[trigggl]

Starting to get a little excited about this one. Whether I get this board or another, as long as overclocking is supported, I should be able to get at least 2.8Ghz out of my 1.8Ghz E2160 with stock voltage and cooling. These processors have been oc'ed to as high as 3.2-3.4Ghz (http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/pentium-e2160_14.html#sect0) by raising the Vcore to 1.5 V.

In particular, I read a feedback at newegg which specified an easy oc of the E2160 to 2.8Ghz on this specific board.

[trigggl]

Well, my top bid won the motherboard so I might as well be happy with it.

Next I'll need Ram, but I can borrow from the Dell for a bit. That will be 1G each until I get more. I may actually have everything I need to piece this together.

[Fire$torm]

Well, my top bid won the motherboard so I might as well be happy with it.

Next I'll need Ram, but I can borrow from the Dell for a bit. That will be 1G each until I get more. I may actually have everything I need to piece this together.

Sweet. How long before the MB arrives?

[DrPop]

That's actually a surprisingly good O/Cing mobo. That's the one I put in my Dad's rig with the E6500 I used to have. It'll wrap that baby all the way out at 3.6GHz, when stock is 2.93GHz, so the FSB O/Cs very well. ;)

Good buy. Plus it's got built in VGA adapter to fall back on if you're ever crunching with a big GPU in there and something goes wonkey with the GPU or you need to pull it for some reason...overall a good buy, especially with the free shipping - I didn't see that before.

Let us know how the build-out goes!:cool:

[John P. Myers]

lol you won a Gigabyte board. Congratulations! You'll have no regrets with it :)

[trigggl]

Sweet. How long before the MB arrives?

The listing says between the 10th and the 16th.

I realized that I'm going to have to install a totally new operating system. I plan to go from 32 to 64-bit. I guess it's an opportunity to repartition the hard drive for maximum efficiency. Hopefully install will go fast using distcc with two dual cores.

[Fire$torm]

The listing says between the 10th and the 16th.

I realized that I'm going to have to install a totally new operating system. I plan to go from 32 to 64-bit. I guess it's an opportunity to repartition the hard drive for maximum efficiency. Hopefully install will go fast using distcc with two dual cores.
Is that for Gentoo?

[trigggl]

Is that for Gentoo?

Absotively! 3:-O

[trigggl]

Got an email today saying the board shipped. It's coming from Illinois, so it shouldn't be too long.

I should probably purchase some Ram to go with it.

[Fire$torm]

Got an email today saying the board shipped. It's coming from Illinois, so it shouldn't be too long.

I should probably purchase some Ram to go with it.

Good to hear. Just remember.... We want pictures!!!!!

[trigggl]

Good to hear. Just remember.... We want pictures!!!!!

Well, the board is taking too long and the Ram is shipping from CA. NewEgg doesn't have any Ram in Memphis? I guess this will be a project for next weekend.

[trigggl]

The board arrived yesterday. Here are some grainy pictures taken with a camera phone. I'll use a real camera for the actual job.

The case the P3 is residing in:
http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/430/021511054000.th.jpg (http://img220.imageshack.us/i/021511054000.jpg/)

"New and in Box" is relative, I guess:
http://img827.imageshack.us/img827/2134/021511053800.th.jpg (http://img827.imageshack.us/i/021511053800.jpg/)

Fuzzy closeup:
http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/9672/021511053900.th.jpg (http://img692.imageshack.us/i/021511053900.jpg/)

[DrPop]

Looks good. That is a fairly nice O/Cing board, actually. You should get some good mileage out of your old CPU! ;)

[trigggl]

Looks good. That is a fairly nice O/Cing board, actually. You should get some good mileage out of your old CPU! ;)
Here's something irritating. My board new from NewEgg, just went on sale.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128388R

The Ebay listing for the board I won was "New" unopened. The board I received was opened. It should have been listed as New(other).

Even after the NewEgg shipping fee, I would have paid less.

[Fire$torm]

Here's something irritating. My board new from NewEgg, just went on sale.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128388R

The Ebay listing for the board I won was "New" unopened. The board I received was opened. It should have been listed as New(other).

Even after the NewEgg shipping fee, I would have paid less.

Gawd! I hate it when that sot of thing happens.... The hardware gods are not fair!!!!

[trigggl]

Gawd! I hate it when that sot of thing happens.... The hardware gods are not fair!!!!

Just noticed the NewEgg listing says Open Box. I guess it didn't matter all that much. NewEgg doesn't guarantee that parts aren't missing.

[trigggl]

:mad: I just had my first bad experience with NewEgg. First, they shipped my Ram from California instead of Memphis. Then, either they, DHL or USPS screwed up and sent my package to Alabama. Carson, CA --> Kentucky --> Mississippi --> Alabama. It shipped on the 10th. It's scheduled to arrive on the 22nd. Yet another weekend goes by that I can't put this thing together.

I don't live in Jacksonville, Florida or Little Rock, Alabama. I live in Jacksonville, Arkansas.

Idiots. L-)

[Dandasarge]

:mad: I just had my first bad experience with NewEgg. First, they shipped my Ram from California instead of Memphis. Then, either they, DHL or USPS screwed up and sent my package to Alabama. Carson, CA --> Kentucky --> Mississippi --> Alabama. It shipped on the 10th. It's scheduled to arrive on the 22nd. Yet another weekend goes by that I can't put this thing together.

I don't live in Jacksonville, Florida or Little Rock, Alabama. I live in Jacksonville, Arkansas.

Idiots. L-)

Shipping companys are in there own world. I had a shipment sit in Tx this week for 4 days because the driver couldn't find the location.... It was a Pepsi plant. It's 10 acers. How do you drive past something every day and not drop the package?

[Fire$torm]

Shipping companys are in there own world. I had a shipment sit in Tx this week for 4 days because the driver couldn't find the location.... It was a Pepsi plant. It's 10 acers. How do you drive past something every day and not drop the package?

Probably because the driver was too busy looking for five minute dates rather than doing his (her?) J O B.

[trigggl]

The Ebay listing for the board I won was "New" unopened. The board I received was opened. It should have been listed as New(other).

Even after the NewEgg shipping fee, I would have paid less.
I contacted the seller and requested a $10 refund. He decided to give it to me, since he mislabeled the listing. So, I paid $41 for the board.

My Ram, according to the USPS tracking page, is in Memphis. I'm hoping it will be here tomorrow or Saturday. Otherwise I have to wait until Tuesday. :-w

[DrPop]

Wow, that's good news on the board! Best of luck on the ram. I think we all hate the waiting game when we're in it! ;)

[trigggl]

Wow, that's good news on the board! Best of luck on the ram. I think we all hate the waiting game when we're in it! ;)

Well, the Ram came in yesterday. More to follow...

[trigggl]

Ok, I have the board put together and running a rudimentary Gentoo install. Next to install Grub and Boinc. But, here are some pictures from the build.

Time to put the P3 out to pasture.

http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/1771/1001610d.jpg


The ASUS P3 board uninstalled and ready to be recycled.

http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/9331/1001612r.jpg


The Ram has arrived! =P~

http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/2079/1001611y.jpg


Case with P3 uninstalled and waiting for Mr. Gigabyte.
As it turns out, the PSU I bought when putting this P3 together does have the 12V plug. Also, it's 300W, so, plenty of power until I upgrade the GPU.

http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/1762/1001613n.jpg


The Gigabyte board installed and bolted down waiting to be connected. Do you think I have enough room for expansion?
After this the battery on the camera was getting low, so only enough juice for one more picture and then the download.

http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/7034/1001614v.jpg


And finally...
Everything is connected and a few bundle ties to keep stuff organized.
Despite my best efforts to break things by dropping my "T" screwdriver onto the motherboard, everything is running smoothly.

http://img580.imageshack.us/img580/5660/1001615w.jpg


It's taking me some trial and error to get the BIOS right and getting the settings right for overclocking. I didn't realize after adjusting the CPU that I then had to adjust the Ram to keep from clocking it past usability. It's good Ram, but doesn't overclock much. I currently have the CPU clocked at 2.4Ghz with Ram at 890Ghz. I'll get the thing crunching stably before going higher.

[Fire$torm]

Ahhh, pictures pictures pictures!!! Congrats on the new system.

[DrPop]

Nice O/C! So what % increase did it turn into for you, running the CPU on the new board?

[trigggl]

Nice O/C! So what % increase did it turn into for you, running the CPU on the new board?

I went from 1.8 to 2.4Ghz. I believe that's 33%.

Running boinc it levels out at 85C. I probably need to get a better cooler.

[Shadow]

This will cool down your CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103055

The Cooler Master V8, it's huge but it definitely does the job if you have the room for it. My i7 950 is OC'd to 3.71 and idles at 38C, it rarely sees anything above 55C under a full load.

[trigggl]

This will cool down your CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103055

The Cooler Master V8, it's huge but it definitely does the job if you have the room for it. My i7 950 is OC'd to 3.71 and idles at 38C, it rarely sees anything above 55C under a full load.
I won't be spending much more than $20 when I do buy one. I just need something better than the stock cooler that came with my E7600.

[Fire$torm]

I won't be spending much more than $20 when I do buy one. I just need something better than the stock cooler that came with my E7600.

You should take a look at this one Thermaltake TR2-M13 775 Socket Cooler (http://compare.ebay.com/like/310278605994?ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar&rvr_id=212333904786&crlp=1_263602_304662&UA=%3F*F%3F&GUID=4ab80df312e0a0aa1240ee90fefd775b&itemid=310278605994&ff4=263602_304662) for $12.99 + $4.99 Shipping on eBay (New Stock). Did a great job on my P4 cruncher/server before the MB started going south (Bad PCIe slot).

http://p.gzhls.at/213647.jpg

[trigggl]

You should take a look at this one Thermaltake TR2-M13 775 Socket Cooler (http://compare.ebay.com/like/310278605994?ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar&rvr_id=212333904786&crlp=1_263602_304662&UA=%3F*F%3F&GUID=4ab80df312e0a0aa1240ee90fefd775b&itemid=310278605994&ff4=263602_304662) for $12.99 + $4.99 Shipping on eBay (New Stock). Did a great job on my P4 cruncher/server before the MB started going south (Bad PCIe slot).

http://p.gzhls.at/213647.jpg
I've decided not to go with a cooler with the push pins. I suspect that's the problem with the cooler now. I clocked the processor back down to 1.8Mhz and it's still running too hot. I'm going to get a backplate and get one that screws down. I realized I have a $10 refund in my Paypal account, so I very well might get it all on Ebay.

Also, I'm going to do my best to get one with copper.

[Fire$torm]

I've decided not to go with a cooler with the push pins. I suspect that's the problem with the cooler now. I clocked the processor back down to 1.8Mhz and it's still running too hot. I'm going to get a backplate and get one that screws down. I realized I have a $10 refund in my Paypal account, so I very well might get it all on Ebay.

Also, I'm going to do my best to get one with copper.

OK, I understand your concern over pushpins though my TR2 worked very well.

NewEgg has this ZALMAN 9500A-LED 92mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118223) for $39.99 before $10.00 MIR. It uses a retention clip rather than being bolted down. Highly rated unit.

The COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065) for $29.99 uses a four bolt scissors type mounting bracket and comes with a backplate.
BTW: NewEgg does accept PayPal.

Edit: If you have enough case width, Zalman make a 110mm version of the one I listed above, the CNPS9700 LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler. (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118019) NewEgg is selling it for $44.99 before $10.00 MIR. This unit uses a single boltdown clip. Check out Zalman's neat little installation animation here. (http://www.zalman.com/ENG/product/Product_Setup.asp?Idx=164)

Also both Zalman units ship Free from NewEgg. The Cooler Master's shipping charge is $3.99.

[trigggl]

OK, I understand your concern over pushpins though my TR2 worked very well.

NewEgg has this ZALMAN 9500A-LED 92mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118223) for $39.99 before $10.00 MIR. It uses a retention clip rather than being bolted down. Highly rated unit.

The COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065) for $29.99 uses a four bolt scissors type mounting bracket and comes with a backplate.
BTW: NewEgg does accept PayPal.

Edit: If you have enough case width, Zalman make a 110mm version of the one I listed above, the CNPS9700 LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler. (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118019) NewEgg is selling it for $44.99 before $10.00 MIR. This unit uses a single boltdown clip. Check out Zalman's neat little installation animation here. (http://www.zalman.com/ENG/product/Product_Setup.asp?Idx=164)

Also both Zalman units ship Free from NewEgg. The Cooler Master's shipping charge is $3.99.
Once I get this thing cooled correctly, I'll be running it at 3Ghz. It was stable all the way up to 195F, which is where I stopped crunching so it could cool back down.

On a totally unrelated note, after looking at my before and after pics, it occured to me I can remove the hard drive slot and create even more room. The only thing there is a floppy drive that's not even connected.

[trigggl]

A co-worker just gave me one of these.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835702007

http://www.legitreviews.com/images/reviews/880/i7_roundup-021.jpg

I hope it fits because it came with all the hardware to secure it properly :D

[Maxwell]

Awesome! I have one very similar to that, and I love it. Works great.

[Fire$torm]

Sweet Cooler! Let the OC'ing begin....

[trigggl]

A co-worker just gave me one of these.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835702007

I hope it fits because it came with all the hardware to secure it properly :D

Well, the case is about 1/2 inch too narrow. Tax return (Fed and State) came in, problem solved.

Case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144219

PSU: Didn't technically need it yet, but strike while the iron is hot.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016

[Fire$torm]

Well, the case is about 1/2 inch too narrow. Tax return (Fed and State) came in, problem solved.

Case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144219

PSU: Didn't technically need it yet, but strike while the iron is hot.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016

Bummer about the case. Although you could have modded the case and emulated a...

Trans-Am Shaker Hood
http://www.tachrev.com/JPEG_Images/Pensacola2.2K/77Shaker1A.jpg

Or a Cuda Shaker Hood
http://image.moparmusclemagazine.com/f/32145666/mopp_0805_04_z+1973_plymouth_barracuda+hood_scoop. jpg

[trigggl]

My P3 upgrade is quickly turning into a whole new build. The case came in and the Power Supply came in. I pulled the motherboard out of the old case, mounted it on the cooler, installed cooler into the case and added the power supply.

The cooler is definitely worth it. I have the processor OC'ed from 1.8 Ghz to 3.0 Ghz and it's running full tilt cooler than my Dell which isn't OC'ed.

http://img585.imageshack.us/img585/1010/1001617.jpg

http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/8530/1001621v.jpg

[DrPop]

Very nice. That's turning into a sweet second rig there, Trigggl! Congrats on the good fortune. :D

[trigggl]

Very nice. That's turning into a sweet second rig there, Trigggl! Congrats on the good fortune. :D

What's even better is, since it's at the wife's desk, she loves it. She can't believe I didn't give her the Dell instead.