[lug] Upgrading AMD *

[Harris, James]

>The most intensive would be POV-ray 3D rendering, I've been doing that on
>the iMac and plan to move it over very soon. I am ok with letting the
>finals render over night.

Spring for the K6-3 in that case, you'll benefit from the cache.

>Umm, well. I don't know for sure but.... it's an HP4440 stock and says
>SPAX-M Rev 1.01. I tried to save some time and check Pricewatch for an SPAX
>category but there wasn't one . It's the only possible identifier I can
>find. Why do i have a feeling i'm gonna be laughing at myself over this one
>:}

Unfortunately you're really going to have to identify the chipset somehow on
that board.  It'll probably be the limiting factor on whether or not you can
up to K6-3 or if you have to stay to K6-2.  A lot of the original Super-7
boards either can't handle the 3, or require a bios update to support them.
My board is only a year and a half old and I had to update it to support the
3.  You'll most likely also have to get the board model to identify voltages
and jumper settings (if necessary.)

I'd recommend taking a good flashlight to the board and see if you can peel
any numbers off the chipset.  I've had good luck with feeding them to google
and getting manufacturers.  It takes some sleuthing on occasion.

If you're not familiar with identifying the chipset on the board, you can
usually find it by picking out the two largest, very thin square chips on
the board.  You're most likely going to find that they're made by VIA since
that's the prominant AMD manufacturer, so look for silk screening that says
such.  The photo on the following link is generally what you're looking for:
http://www4.tomshardware.com/mainboard/00q4/001026/index.html
In this example the vt82c... number is the one you're looking for.  That'll
help you identify what chipset that particular chip is a member of and
should help lead you on your way.

Good luck!  Sounds like you're in a for a good ride!  :)
Jim