question to Max C. or other hardware gurus - advice for

[michal 44]

I am considering a purchase of another CPU so my current setup will last me perhaps another 6 months before then a *major* upgrade.I currently have P3 500, 100 FSB, with Asus mobo P3BF. I know my current BIOS supports up to 850 MHz. I know that my Matrox G400max that I love would peak at about this clock speed - my major motivation for the upgrade.I am watching 2 items on Ebay. One is a used (bidding in progress) PIII 850, 100 FSB, FCPGA (whatever it means) and then a brand new P3 866 EB-type, 133 FSB. Both are slot 1 which I have. However things like FCPGA or EB-type confuse me and I am not sure which one would "fit". Moreover the second one is cheaper (close to 40%) than the equivalent brand new PIII 850, 100 FSB which muddles things even further.Any competent advise is welcome.Michael J.PIII 850, 100 FSB, slot 1 - about $179 brand new.PIII 866, 133 FSB, slot 1, EB-type - about $111 brand new.(both with sink,fan)

[Guest]

I Used to own a P3BF, its a good old work horse. That board only supports a 100MHz FSB so you cannot use a "EB" version of any P3 processor. So that will negate the use of the P3 866 in question.you could buy the P3 850 100MHz FSB FCPGA, but you would need what they call a slotket, which is a converter from FCPGA to slot 1 converter. You need to look for just the "E" version of a P3 to work with that board.Scott

[michal 44]

Thanks Scott. Roger - "E" version only.Michael J.

[Guest Kurt]

You usually will not find the 850 P3's with the E label. It is generally only used to signify that the chip is a Coppermine core when the chip was available as both an early P3 Katmai core or the later P3 (E) Coppermine core. All the 850's are Coppermines, they are available as FC-PGA (slotket needed to run in a slot 1 m/:( or S.E.C.C.2 (slotket not needed).Intel spec pagehttp://processorfinder.intel.com/scripts/l...ALL&PkgType=ALLKurt

[michal 44]

Are there places where one can walk-in and get this slotket ?Michael J.

[Guest Kurt]

They used to be fairly easy to get ($10-20) check around at your local shops. If you do get one it might be advisable to get one mfg'd by Asus if possible. You may also be able to run a 1/1.1 gig (10/11 x100 fsb) even if the bios does not actually have a setting above 850 (8.5x100fsb) because the multipliers are locked and can not be changed by the bios, you need to have a bios that has user controlled settings for the fsb. You should double check on some of the newsgroups about that particular board. a few more links with further infohttp://support.intel.com/support/processor.../corespeeds.htmhttp://support.intel.com/support/processor...III/general.htm Note:

[Guest]

The "E" means the processor was manufactured using the coppermine process or .18 microns. All 850MHz P3's ONLY have the E designation and not EB because they only support the 100 MHz FSB. The following link correctsclarifies your post as to the designations of "E" andor "B".http://support.intel.com/support/processor...miii/tti001.htmAlso note there was a 600MHz processor that used the older P3 core that had 512K cache that was on a slot 1 (secc2) form factor, but used the previous generation .25 micron process.Hope this helps..Scott