Hello everyone, I have never asked for a real opinion on how good the hardware in my computer is as opposed to hardware today, so i'll list the specs right here, and thank you in advance to any opinions I get.

-Trent

CPU: AMD Sempron 2500+ - Originally 1.74 Ghz, overclocked to 1.9 Ghz. (Single core, 32 Bit, 64 KB L1-D cache, 64 KB L1-I cache, 256 KB L2 cache. MMX, SSE, and 3DNow. 166 Mhz bus, overclocked to 190 Mhz)

RAM: 512 MB DDR (2 sticks of 256 MB. One stick is PC2700, the other is PC3200)

Mobo: Gigabyte GA-7VM400AM, VIA KM400A chipset.

Video: Onboard - VIA/S3G UniChrome IGP. Uses 64 MB of the main RAM as video RAM. I don't know the max resolution because my monitor (COMPAQ V570) can only handle up to 1280x1024 @ 32 bit color.

Sound: Onboard - Realtek AC'97. 1 audio out port, 2 audio in ports.

6 USB ports (Onboard)

1 LPT port (Onboard)

1 RS-232 port (Onboard)

PSU: 450 Watt switching-type

HD: 40 GB IDE

DVD-ROM

1.44 MB 3 1/2" floppy drive

Thats all I can find. The computer is about 4 years old. It runs Windows XP Media Center Edition 2002 and does a great job of it (it's really fast loading programs, etc.) It does ok when it comes to 3D games (about 50 Frames/Sec)

What do you want to know? It's not a gamer, it could use more RAM, the IGP sucks, no burner, small HDD, probably a generic power supply. I don't know what games you're playing that give you 50FPS, but it sure isn't anything recent.

If you're running the CPU at 190MHz, what speed are you running the RAM at? The PC2700 will drag the PC3200 down to it's level & I kinda doubt the PC2700 will run at 190MHz. If you're running the CPU & RAM async, you're losing performance.

If you intend to keep this system for a while, dump the PC2700 & invest in more PC3200 RAM, then you can crank the CPU up to 200MHz & run the RAM at he same speed (1:1 ratio). And get a cheap 128-bit AGP video card so that you can return the 64MB shared back to the system.

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products...

You're right about the games part. The only 3D games I play are for Windows 95 LOL. Sorry and Monopoly. According to CPU-Z, the FSB:DRAM is 1:1, but I think thats different then what you're talking about. I can get the CPU clock up to 2.1 Ghz (200 Mhz system bus) But stability problems start to show after about 2.0 Ghz.

"According to CPU-Z, the FSB:DRAM is 1:1, but I think thats different then what you're talking about"

No, that's what I'm talking about. I'm surprised you can get your PC2700 to run at that speed. Are you 100% sure one of the sticks is PC2700?

"I can get the CPU clock up to 2.1 Ghz (200 Mhz system bus) But stability problems start to show after about 2.0 Ghz"

Try bumping up the CPU voltage. Add 0.025v at time until the system stabilizes. Keep an eye on the CPU temp. You may also have to throw an additional 0.10v at the RAM.

Yep, the PC2700 stick is a generic brand, and runs at 166 Mhz. The PC3200 stick is by Apacer technology and runs at 200 Mhz. I'm basically scared to do any voltage changes because although my motherboard is overclocker-safe and will automaticly reset the computer if I try a higher clock than it is capable of, the same isn't true if I overdue the voltage. What I mean't by stability problems over 2 Ghz is that it will automaticly reset sometimes and will reset anyway if I go over 2.1 Ghz. The same is true if I try to underclock it below 1.2 Ghz (130 Mhz system bus). I'm just afraid that I'll fry my CPU or RAM. Since the voltage increments you described are very small, though, I may give it a try. One time, I managed to get to 2.18 Ghz without it reseting. My CPU temp rised to 140 degrees and green triangles started flashing on my screen, which I knew meant my video adapter was starting to give out. I brung the CPU down a little and no harm was done. Generaly, my CPU temp hovers around 130 degrees. I one time decided to see how cool I could get the cpu running. I opened the case, vacuumed about a pound of dust (lol), set up a desk fan blowing at the mobo and underclocked the CPU down to 1.2 Ghz. I got it down to 80 degrees. Thanks for your input, and I might give the voltage rise a little try.

-Trent