I have a retro K6-2 450 Mhz system I use to play games with sometimes.
I can get a 550 Mhz k6-2 for a 550/450 = +22% CPU boost
I could also get a 450 Mhz k6-3, which I hear is twenty-ish percent faster because of the extra level of cache. Suggestions? Maybe overclock a k6-3 450 to 500?
This machine also has a Voodoo 3. Would a Voodoo 5 help at all, or is it wasted with the k6 cpus?
k6-3 definitely. On the k6-2 line I couldn't even tell a real-world difference between 300 and 500 so the extra 50mhz push might be marginal at best.
About the CPU, if your board will support it (not all do), maybe look for a K6-2+ chip. The 3+ chips are a bit difficult to find, but the 2+ version seems to be pretty plentiful. That'd give you the speed boost of a built-in cache, but also a cooler running chip that'll generally clock higher than a plain K6-III.
To answer the other question, yes, a Voodoo5 would be completely wasted on a K6-x series. The Voodoo3 is about as good a match as there is, for that system.
wrote:About the CPU, if your board will support it (not all do), maybe look for a K6-2+ chip. The 3+ chips are a bit difficult to find, but the 2+ version seems to be pretty plentiful.
Strange...in Europe it's the other way around. K6-3+ is WAY easier to find then K6-2+.
When I look for K6-2+ I'll usually find nothing but for K6-3+ theres people selling trays of em NOS!
And before you buy a K6+, better check wether your motherboard will actually support it (with or without a new bios).
Often the original manufacturer of the board won't support it but if it's on this page http://web.inter.nl.net/hcc/J.Steunebrink/k6plus.htm you should be set!
wrote:About the CPU, if your board will support it (not all do), maybe look for a K6-2+ chip. The 3+ chips are a bit difficult to find, but the 2+ version seems to be pretty plentiful. That'd give you the speed boost of a built-in cache, but also a cooler running chip that'll generally clock higher than a plain K6-III.
To answer the other question, yes, a Voodoo5 would be completely wasted on a K6-x series. The Voodoo3 is about as good a match as there is, for that system.
The only problem with that idea is that the fastest chips of the 2+ and III+ lines are highly sought after and the bidding can get fierce. They can be used in laptop and desktop motherboards so a lot more people can use them as upgrades. They also weren't made in huge quantities when new.
Another good reason to go for a K6-2/3+ chip is their software-adjustable multiplier, which is very useful for retro-gaming.
The only problem with that idea is that the fastest chips of the 2+ and III+ lines are highly sought after and the bidding can get fierce.
That's only a problem if you're looking for the fastest chips, which is really unnecessary. The 450mhz versions of the 2+ can be found for around $10 BIN if you watch eBay... you're almost guaranteed 500mhz out of 'em, and I think a good many of 'em will even do 550.
wrote:wrote:About the CPU, if your board will support it (not all do), maybe look for a K6-2+ chip. The 3+ chips are a bit difficult to find, but the 2+ version seems to be pretty plentiful. That'd give you the speed boost of a built-in cache, but also a cooler running chip that'll generally clock higher than a plain K6-III.
To answer the other question, yes, a Voodoo5 would be completely wasted on a K6-x series. The Voodoo3 is about as good a match as there is, for that system.
The only problem with that idea is that the fastest chips of the 2+ and III+ lines are highly sought after and the bidding can get fierce. They can be used in laptop and desktop motherboards so a lot more people can use them as upgrades. They also weren't made in huge quantities when new.
Not in Europe. I bought a whole tray of K6-3+'es, 10 pcs, paying €4,50 EACH!
I bought the tray less then 2 months ago and there were 2 people selling trays full of them.
Maybe there weren't many made, but they were available in large numbers under 2 months ago.
Heres the link:
http://cgi.ebay.nl/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem& … e=STRK:MEWAX:IT
And I can guarantee that they were all brand new, no bend pins, no scratches and all 10 I tested personally and were in working condition.
I guess I was lucky in being at the right place, at the right time 😀
Theres still 1 person selling them on Ebay.de for €10 each and he ships worldwide:
http://cgi.ebay.nl/AMD-K6-III-400-MHz-ATZ-AMD … k_Computer_CPUs
but he doesn't have many left.
It's as if someone from Germany bought a very large quantity of them and decided to sell his entire stock for cheap.
It was listed "Shipping to Germany" but I went bold and bought it anyway and then contacted him if he would ship to The Netherlands. "No problem!" was his response 😁
Btw, I just checked ebay.com (USA ebay) and it really has very few mobiles for sale for normal prices.
I got a couple K6-2+'es from there about half a year ago for hardly anything and even with shipping cost added weren't that expensive.
wrote:Not in Europe. I bought a whole tray of K6-3+'es, 10 pcs, paying €4,50 EACH! I bought the tray less then 2 months ago and there […]
wrote:wrote:About the CPU, if your board will support it (not all do), maybe look for a K6-2+ chip. The 3+ chips are a bit difficult to find, but the 2+ version seems to be pretty plentiful. That'd give you the speed boost of a built-in cache, but also a cooler running chip that'll generally clock higher than a plain K6-III.
To answer the other question, yes, a Voodoo5 would be completely wasted on a K6-x series. The Voodoo3 is about as good a match as there is, for that system.
The only problem with that idea is that the fastest chips of the 2+ and III+ lines are highly sought after and the bidding can get fierce. They can be used in laptop and desktop motherboards so a lot more people can use them as upgrades. They also weren't made in huge quantities when new.
Not in Europe. I bought a whole tray of K6-3+'es, 10 pcs, paying €4,50 EACH!
I bought the tray less then 2 months ago and there were 2 people selling trays full of them.
Maybe there weren't many made, but they were available in large numbers under 2 months ago.
Heres the link:
http://cgi.ebay.nl/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem& … e=STRK:MEWAX:ITAnd I can guarantee that they were all brand new, no bend pins, no scratches and all 10 I tested personally and were in working condition.
I guess I was lucky in being at the right place, at the right time 😀
Theres still 1 person selling them on Ebay.de for €10 each and he ships worldwide:
http://cgi.ebay.nl/AMD-K6-III-400-MHz-ATZ-AMD … k_Computer_CPUs
but he doesn't have many left.
It's as if someone from Germany bought a very large quantity of them and decided to sell his entire stock for cheap.It was listed "Shipping to Germany" but I went bold and bought it anyway and then contacted him if he would ship to The Netherlands. "No problem!" was his response 😁
Btw, I just checked ebay.com (USA ebay) and it really has very few mobiles for sale for normal prices.
I got a couple K6-2+'es from there about half a year ago for hardly anything and even with shipping cost added weren't that expensive.
I was talking more about the 550mhz ones. Those are the hardest to find for anything close to a reasonable price. That's why if you want an AMD system from that era you're better to go with a Slot A Athlon. They are still dirt cheap.
It's not all about speedrating, it's the combination of the speedrating with the voltage used.
A K6-3+ 400 @ 2.0V will be much less overclockable then a 400Mhz part rated at only 1.6V and there were many different varieties made.
The 400ATZ (1.6V part) should be able to do 550 to 600Mhz without taking the lid off, which is enough for me (and maybe enough for carangil as well).
If the 550's are rated at a higher standard voltage, they won't overclock as much.
But anyway, if supply of these chips is low, you can't be too picky at what you'll go for. There may be a point where these cpu's hardly appear on Ebay at all.
Do not take the lid off of these. I did that myself and found out the hard way that the cores of these CPUs are exceptionally easy to chip/crack. Dead K6-III+ even though I had put foam tape pads around the core like the Athlons use.
Anyway, the K6+ chips don't put off much heat. I don't believe that they are limited in their overclock by it at all. I do think that some motherboards limit their overclocking though. And I do know that the CPU architecture is just not well designed for above ~550 MHz.
