StarDestroyer.Net BBS

Argh!!!! I just tried replacing the CPU in Matthew's computer (pulling out the old 1.7GHz Celeron and replacing it with a 2.4GHz Celeron) and the new chip was FUBAR. Random lockups, reboots, data corruption, the works. I put the old CPU back in and it was fine again. I'm going to have to send this shitty 2.4GHz chip back to Intel for a replacement now.

Dude, its a Celeron. What do you expect?

The celerons are decent chips....given not as fast as the vanilla chips with a cache...but...they work...when they aren't fucked

Looks like you got a lemon

My experiences with Intel have been uniformly good, so YMMV, I guess.

Where did you get it from? I've noticed that most electronic stores don't treat their CPU's with much care, epecially if they are of the OEM variety. I once bought an Athlon that actually had a crushed die, and it still had a seal on the bag.

That's why having a Fry's Electronics is so important. They allow returns for up to 30 days, no questions asked.

Darth Wong wrote:Argh!!!! I just tried replacing the CPU in Matthew's computer

Each kid has their own computer? Why, you young whippersnappers!
Back in my day, we had to share a single Tandy 286 with a 20MB
external hard drive amongst the whole family!

MKSheppard wrote:

Darth Wong wrote:Argh!!!! I just tried replacing the CPU in Matthew's computer

Each kid has their own computer? Why, you young whippersnappers!
Back in my day, we had to share a single Tandy 286 with a 20MB
external hard drive amongst the whole family!

A 286? 20MB hard drive? Bah! You kids and your high speed computers with "windows"! Back in my day, we were lucky to get a C64!

Hotfoot wrote:A 286? 20MB hard drive? Bah! You kids and your high speed computers with "windows"! Back in my day, we were lucky to get a C64!

Uh, Windows? What is this windows you speak of? We had Silent Service
and Space Quest, no Windows you speak of!

BBSes, Frogger, you can all STFU now.

Sorry, Mike. If there weren't only one Ghz-level processor in this house(And it's mine!), I'd send you one of the spares. Pity they're 500 Mhz range.

Darth Wong wrote:Argh!!!! I just tried replacing the CPU in Matthew's computer (pulling out the old 1.7GHz Celeron and replacing it with a 2.4GHz Celeron) and the new chip was FUBAR. Random lockups, reboots, data corruption, the works. I put the old CPU back in and it was fine again. I'm going to have to send this shitty 2.4GHz chip back to Intel for a replacement now.

Jesus, I bet that's a bitch, going through heatsink removal, then installation, then removal again. Hope you have better luck next time.

Out of curiosity, was there any particular reason why you chose Intel over AMD for your son's computer?

The Kernel: I haven't had great luck with the Fry's in Wilsonville, OR. Their salesmen have been unknowledgable (one of them once tried to sell me PC133 when I specifically asked for DDR!), I see massive amounts of hardware there with the "previously returned" sticker (which makes me uneasy), and the counter is a fucking pain in the ass if you're buying ANYTHING from 'behind-the-counter' (i.e. CPU/memory/etc)... double that if you're paying by check. The only time I ever got through the counter with any substantial amount of swag in less than five minutes was when I paid for a $140 purchase with cash.

Frankly, from now on, whenever I can, I will purchase through Newegg.

I've always had good luck at the Wilsonville Fry's, with one exception. Once, I tried to buy PC-100 memory for my Celeron (this is waaaay back), and a certain salesman would not sell it to me because he said it wouldn't work.

No shit, he would not sell it to me.

His name was Jermain, by the way. Black-ish, about 5'6". Never buy from him.

SirNitram wrote:BBSes, Frogger, you can all STFU now.

I remember upgrading from a 1200 baud modem to a 14.4 kbps modem,
man did those BBSes fly!

Heh, I'm still chuggin' away on an 800mHz celeron...

Have you made a BIOS upgrade, Mike? Some important settings can change, the Celeron 1.7 and 2.4 are made of different cores (Williamette vs. Northwood) and require different voltages: The 1.7 needs 1.75V while the 2.4 needs 1.525V. The mainboard needs to be able to handle this, too.

Maybe the mainboard doesn't support that CPU?

Argh, I spoke too soon

Turns out that I needed to download a BIOS update to use the 2.4GHz Celeron chip with my motherboard. I downloaded it, tried the new chip again, and lo and behold, it's working perfectly. I had it running a memory check program for 15 minutes straight, then I ran 3DMark03 two or three times, then I ran a full hard disk sector scan, then I tried running Halo and C&C Generals and it's working perfectly.

Now Matthew has a reasonably decent machine again. From a 1.7GHz Celeron with a 32MB GeForce2 to a 2.4GHz Celeron with a 128MB FX5600. Not bad for budget parts (the equivalent of roughly $250 US). The funny thing is that the upgrade doesn't really make a noticeable difference in terms of framerate, but it makes a HUGE difference in terms of picture quality, since I'm able to turn on all of these cool features that I wasn't using before.

MKSheppard wrote:

Darth Wong wrote:Argh!!!! I just tried replacing the CPU in Matthew's computer

Each kid has their own computer? Why, you young whippersnappers!
Back in my day, we had to share a single Tandy 286 with a 20MB
external hard drive amongst the whole family!

You had a hard drive? Pish tosh. I had an Apple II/c that required you loaded every program from the floppy disks each time, and I was THRILLED we had it.

RedImperator wrote:

MKSheppard wrote:

Darth Wong wrote:Argh!!!! I just tried replacing the CPU in Matthew's computer

Each kid has their own computer? Why, you young whippersnappers!
Back in my day, we had to share a single Tandy 286 with a 20MB
external hard drive amongst the whole family!

You had a hard drive? Pish tosh. I had an Apple II/c that required you loaded every program from the floppy disks each time, and I was THRILLED we had it.

Oh yeah because loading the program meant it was Oregon Trail time baby.

Darth Wong wrote:Argh, I spoke too soon

Turns out that I needed to download a BIOS update to use the 2.4GHz Celeron chip with my motherboard. I downloaded it, tried the new chip again, and lo and behold, it's working perfectly. I had it running a memory check program for 15 minutes straight, then I ran 3DMark03 two or three times, then I ran a full hard disk sector scan, then I tried running Halo and C&C Generals and it's working perfectly.

Now Matthew has a reasonably decent machine again. From a 1.7GHz Celeron with a 32MB GeForce2 to a 2.4GHz Celeron with a 128MB FX5600. Not bad for budget parts (the equivalent of roughly $250 US). The funny thing is that the upgrade doesn't really make a noticeable difference in terms of framerate, but it makes a HUGE difference in terms of picture quality, since I'm able to turn on all of these cool features that I wasn't using before.

Ummm...you are aware that the Celeron is a TERRIBLE performer right? Pound for pound a 3Ghz Celeron has trouble keeping up with a 2Ghz P4 in most benchmarks. Since you said it was for your son's machine I didn't say anything, but it sounds like you actually plan to use it to play games.

As for the 5600, just make sure you get a driver patch as soon as the Det. 50's come out as they provide about 50% increase in performance in Halo. Seriously, it might be worth picking up the beta leaks if you want to play Halo right away.

The Kernel wrote:Ummm...you are aware that the Celeron is a TERRIBLE performer right? Pound for pound a 3Ghz Celeron has trouble keeping up with a 2Ghz P4 in most benchmarks. Since you said it was for your son's machine I didn't say anything, but it sounds like you actually plan to use it to play games.

Everybody knows the Celeron is a cheapie CPU. But it's good enough for playing these games at a reasonable pace. Matthew is 7 years old; he's not trying to achieve top-flight framerates, and I wasn't interested in spending more money to get them for his machine.

As for the 5600, just make sure you get a driver patch as soon as the Det. 50's come out as they provide about 50% increase in performance in Halo. Seriously, it might be worth picking up the beta leaks if you want to play Halo right away.

Halo plays fine at 640x480, which is all he wants. It looked absolutely terrible before the upgrade; bad enough that even a 7 year old was pointing at the screen and asking why it looks so horrible. Now he's happy with the appearance.

Terrible nothing. I'm running Halo on the bare minimums.

neoolong wrote:Terrible nothing. I'm running Halo on the bare minimums.

Are you serious? According to the gamebox, the minimum is a 733MHz processor with any 32MB T&L capable card (this basically means GeForce2 or Radeon 7200 as a baseline). I know what it looks like on that kind of hardware. Have you seen what it looks like on a better rig?

RTFM

Darth Wong wrote:

neoolong wrote:Terrible nothing. I'm running Halo on the bare minimums.

Are you serious? According to the gamebox, the minimum is a 733MHz processor with any 32MB T&L capable card (this basically means GeForce2 or Radeon 7200 as a baseline). I know what it looks like on that kind of hardware.

Yes. A 733MHz Pentium with a GeForce2.

Have you seen what it looks like on a better rig?

Only the pictures on the box. And one day, I hope to be able to play it with such graphics. But that day, is not today.

Darth Wong wrote:

neoolong wrote:Terrible nothing. I'm running Halo on the bare minimums.

Are you serious? According to the gamebox, the minimum is a 733MHz processor with any 32MB T&L capable card (this basically means GeForce2 or Radeon 7200 as a baseline). I know what it looks like on that kind of hardware. Have you seen what it looks like on a better rig?

Hahahaha! I run Halo on a GF 256, thats a GeForce1