Another computer question- CPU's

Computer question- CPU's

There seem s to be quite a lot of computer expert bods here so i thought it a good place to ask.

Now that my new (family ) Computer is pretty much up and running I've told my young lad he can have the old one in his room. I have re-formated the drive and installed XP pro onto it, I've also removed the modem and fitted a new network card instead. I have also fitted a newer (s/h) and more powerfull 400 watt PSU. During some trials over the weekend, using a crossover ethernet cable it worked a treat, connecting to the internet via my main computer and broadband modem, Pages loaded, etc just as fast as the new machine. The machine already had fitted the maximum amount of RAM that the manufacturers say it can take (512 mb )i.e. 2 x 256mb sticks and I would now like to speed up the processor a little. The machine is currently fitted with an Intel Celeron 600Mhz. All of the mods so far have cost next to nothing as i had some of the bits lying about anyway. The existing DVD-ROM drive is a bit dicky so I'll get a new cheapy drive for it too , they are only about £20 these days.

I would like to upgrade the processor if possible but don't really know how far up the ladder i should go before other limitations on the machine crop up. Basically i intend to get a suitable faster processor of e-bay or similar source. The idea of this little mini project is to have a decent enough little machine that doesn't cost the earth. what processor should i be looking out for , here is some info from the spec sheet:

Processor (CPU)
Processor Speed (MHz) = 600 MHz
Processor Interface Implementation = Socket 370
Max Clock Speed = 133 MHz
System Bus Speed = 66 MHz
System Bus Speed Max = 66 MHz/133 MHz
Selectable Voltage = Yes
Upgradable Processor = Yes
Processor Upgrade Options = Intel Celeron and Intel Pentium III
Chipset = i810e
Math coprocessor = Built-In

Cache
Internal L1 Primary Cache = 32 KB
L2 Cache = 128 KB Integrated
L3 Cache = N/A
Cache Upgrade Options = N/A

Memory
Memory Max = 512 MB

When i bought this old machine about 4-5 years ago an 800Mhz Pentium 3 was pretty much top dog on the high street and 1 Gb processors where just making the headlines. Obviously these processors have been well surpassed and can now be bought very cheaply, especially s/h.

Could i pop in something like a 800 or 900 Mhz Pentium 3, I'm not too sure about these bus speeds and clock speeds, I assume they all have to match up?
Some e-bay sellers state details as e.g.
Pentium 3 1 Gb 1000/256/133/1.75v what does the 256 mean ?

what affordable s/h processor should i be looking out for to make any worthwhile gains. This is a toy at the moment so cheap , cheerfull and effective is the key (£25 -£35 ish ) . Looking on e-bay my old Celeron 600Mhz might even have a little residual value to offset the cost of a new chip.

Thanks for any advice.

 

your only limitation is the motherboard in this case you will need to get teh make and model of the motherboard and find out if there are any bios patches available as this will often allow you to use better chips on the board.

by getting the make/model of the board you should be able to find out online what it can actually take once you have these detail you can start looking on ebay. i would recomend if the motherboard supports geting a pentium III rather then a celeron as they have better cache and better technology inside.

Pentium 3 1 Gb 1000/256/133/1.75v what does the 256 mean ?
= Pentiium 3
1gb ? 1000Mhz
256Kb Level 2 Cache
133Mhz FSB
1.75v is the voltage it can take (often chips are over clocked and this is then useful)