Where do I turn?

[Jeff]

haha, I couldn't figure out another way. but it works!!

[Arminiusc]

As long as it works... Thats the main thing... I will keep that in mind if I come across a M/B that wont clear any other way... always good to have options!

[chaz]

He's using WinXP.... 128mb of ram isnt going to cut it. Upgrading to 256 would help, but 512 would probably see a big improvement(even without overclocking).With that board looks like it has 2 dimm slots, 1 256 stick wouldnt cost too much.If you do decide to increase your ram, try to get the same kind as what you are already using, or you risk blue screen "page_fault_in_nonpaged_area" errors. Also if this is an OE computer, Gateway Compaq, HP, Dell, etc, dump alot of the icons down by the clock that arent in use. Alot of those puters come with a bunch of crap installed that some ppl never use, they just sit there and consume memory.Also Antivirus set to "Autoprotect" scans every single file your open in the background and slows you down too, you could turn off autoprotect too at your own risk, and still scan mail automatically(I have no antivirus for over a year now and have had no problems whatsoever).
With integrated video i dont see being able to push the fsb too far, imho.

[Bionic_Redneck]

to clear bios you can just remove battery no need to put it in backwards but typically you would unplug computer and short out jumpers for cmos clear for 3 seconds then put jumper back to it's correct position before plugging computer back in or you will damage your motherboard.

[Arminiusc]

Chaz, that is good advice... WinXP is a memory hog... And OEM's do put too much crap on the computer which slows it down. I also run my antivirus as diasabled while letting it check my email and I dont get viruses... but then again... I dont open attachments either!
If more than 1 person operates the computer though, I would not disable the antivirus.

[Anonymous]

I don't even bother with antivirus, I can always format, I have a couple rewritable cds where I put my saved games and pictures and stuff...it's useful.

Okay, cmos resetting out of the way (thanks a bunch)..

My pci things don't have anyting in them, only the agp video card. GeForce 2 mx400/400 piece of crap...

Yeah, I know a bit more memory would always help...I'm working on that, but a new processor (2ghz athlon or duron, don't remember which off hand) video card (geforce fx, don't remember exact model off hand, it's in my wishlist on newegg) and 512 of memory will cost me 222 dollars so if I reallllly screw things up, it won't be too hard to come up with a better computer..a month and a half of work or so.

Now you said to go find the manuel and it should say, right? I'll go do that and come back and complain after reading it all the way through if I don't find it out how.. thanks!

[Anonymous]

Albatron Geforce FX 5200 AGP 8X Video card Model FX5200EP Retail

AMD ATHLON XP 2400+ /266 FSB PROCESSOR CPU - RETAIL

There we go I heard albatron geforces aren't too good, but there's absolutely no possible way it could be worse than a gf2 lol

[chaz]

That 2400 wont do alot of good if youre trying to run XP on 128mb of ram. I'd sacrifice the vid card($69) and get the memory instead. You'd see a big difference just from the ram increase even without the processor i bet. My system is using 154mb of ram doing nothing at all but viewing this web page...........256 sticks at newegg start at 39 dollars, the Apacers use infinoen chips and are cheap.And you might check your power supply also, if you have alot of devices RAID CD CDRW DVD etc, you will want a decent power supply too. Or post your power ratings here and we can help you decide if you got enough juice.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, I added in the 512 memory with my post, guess you missed it...

Anyway, I got my cpu to like 1430...I went a bit higher but it locked up while I was playing max payne 2..but man, it looked soooo much better in the game than normal and I didn't change any settings.

Gigabyte lets you have a program called easytune, that's what I used to do it. Thank you all for all your help! Especially the help with the CMOS stuff, hopefully I'll never have to use it though.

I do have one other question, though, for anyone who's ever used easytune... There are two circles on the left hand side of the program which load for a second, then close again when I choose advanced mode. Any ideas how to fix that? Also, it won't let me do the multiplier, but I know that won't work because I didn't unlock the processor.

Will buying another fan make me able to go any higher, or what will that need? Don't say memory again! I know, I know...get more! I will try to get another 128 tonight.

How do you check power? I'm gonna run to pc club real quick and check on fans and memory right now, so I'll be back in like 20 minutes.


Here's a link to a picture of the part I'm talking about.

[Bionic_Redneck]

If temps are ok you can try and raise vcore up a little that should increase stablity but durons aren't as good as athlon as far as overclocking goes plus are harder to cool due to less surface area than their xp counter parts. probly the best bang for the buck you can do to your system is to upgrade your cpu. the low speed tbred are very good buys and overclock great. btw one big stick of ram will overclock better than 2 or 3 smaller ones will. I think you can get a xp 1800+ or 1900+ for around $50 it would be a major feat to get a duron to preform at the level of eithier one of these cpus.