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JimiH
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Memory for overclocking - question

Fri Jan 31, 2003 12:25 pm

Hey everyone,

I'm planning to build a pc (my first) based on the ASUS A7V266-E KT266A motherboard (specs at http://secure.newegg.com/app/specificat ... 13-131-420) and the XP 2100, yep the one that overclocks like crazy. Now the motherboard specs call for PC2100 memory. But if I plan on pushing the FSB speed, does it make sense to go to a higher memory rating like PC 2800, or 3200? I have done quite a bit of reading about overclocking and feel like I'm ready to slowly take it on...but I haven't been able to digest the whole idea of memory ratings and how they fit into the picture. I have seen where high quality memory overclocks better than low quality memory, so I do plan to get high quality memory. I'm just not sure if it makes sense to get a higher memory rating than the motherboard is spec'd for. Thanks for your input!
 
Vrock
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Fri Jan 31, 2003 12:33 pm

If you're serious about overclocking, don't buy a KT266A board. They were/are great boards, BUT they don't officially support a 333mhz FSB, and they don't have the proper AGP/PCI dividers. Go with a Nforce2 or a KT400 board instead, and buy at least PC2700 RAM to go with it.
 
Buub
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Fri Jan 31, 2003 6:56 pm

Yes definitely, go nForce2 or KT400. KT333 at the very least.

Corsair XMS is probably the best overclocking memory there is.
 
LicketySplit
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Fri Jan 31, 2003 7:25 pm

JimiH: Change ur mind about the 1700? :lol:
 
Austin
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Fri Jan 31, 2003 7:44 pm

8) Yup. KT266A was a great mobo and in fact there isn't huge diffs between it and KT333/400 BUT if 333FSB and full CPU support are important it makes sense to get something more capable/flexible (that includes nForce2 of course).

:D As for the RAM, you definitely do want to get at least DDR333-PC2700 (the fastest official DDR spec), it hardly costs any more than PC2100, which will run happily as PC2100 with ultra fast RAM timings AND still give you a LOT of o/c'ing headroom (esp on KT266A from 266FSB). Brand makes a big diff, mostly to do with longevity, reliability and consistency, Corsair are about tops but any well known RAM should more than do, do check out http://www.crucial.com

:roll: There a 3 key types of XP2100+:

1. Polly marked AX2100DMT3C which will use 1.75v, run HOT and reach XP2200+ at best.
2. TbredA marked AXDA2100DKT3C or AXDA2100DUT3C which will use 1.65/1.60v, run cool BUT only o/c to about XP2300+.
3. TbredB marked AXDA2100DUT3C which uses 1.60v, runs cool AND should yield XP2800+ or better!
WARNING: For XP2000+ and XP2100+ the marking DUT3C can mean EITHER TbredA or TbredB as both can use 1.60v (that's what the 'U' means). To distinguish you'll either need the stepping code (AIUGA=TbredA & AIUGB=TbredB) OR using CPUID which will show 6-8-0=TbredA or 6-8-1=TbredB.

:P To be sure of getting TbredB you'll either have to cough up the cash for an XP2400+ or else look for an XP1700+ to XP1900+ marked AXDA1700DUT3C which should always be TbredB as it's the only one to use 1.60v (TbredA uses 1.5v[L] and Polly uses 1.75v[M]). Although AMD don't officially acknowledge the existence of any XP1900+ using TbredB I'd be very surprised if there aren't. No luck in any UK store so far, there are some XP2000+ & XP2100+ which are marked DUT3C but as mentioned these could be TbredA or B!
 
JimiH
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Fri Jan 31, 2003 8:47 pm

Vrock, you say that motherboard doesn't have the proper bus dividers, but look at the specs:

Easy DIP Switch or Jumperfree overclocking from BIOS
Flexible CPU Core Voltage Adjustments in 0.05V increments over defaults
Accurate 1MHz adjustments of system-bus-frequency
Adjustable VIO memory voltage
Adjustable FSB/PCI/MEM ratio

Really, what more do I need to begin my oc trip? I'm a little puzzled by your comment.

Lickety, yeah, after I read a bunch of posts about the insane oc's that people are getting on the 2100 tBred B core procs that newegg is now selling for $95, there's no real reason not to go with the 2100. The extra $40 seems to get one hell of a bang!

I do want to make it clear that I am on a budget (low, that is!) and that the board that I have selected is the cheapest board made by a solid manufacturer that will allow me to learn about overclocking without fretting about how much cash I'm burning if I shoud fry it. This will be my first build too, so I know I'm going to make mistakes, and I've found it works best for me to make mistakes on cheap components, no matter what I'm getting into. After I get enough experience, I will then go for the latest and greatest.

Austin, I plan on getting that 2100 at newegg, and they are specifically advertising the B core. With everything that I have seen about their rep, here and elsewhere, I'm not worried about getting the wrong one.

Buub, seems like going for good PC2700 memory will be a good investment, so I will do that.

Thanks for the comments, everybody. I appreciate all your input! It's just amazing what I have learned in the last two months just reading the posts on this site and from asking a few questions.
 
eckslax
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Fri Jan 31, 2003 9:37 pm

If you are really serious about OCing, the nForce2 would actually be the best choice for you. It supports the latest processors, is more stable than a VIA chipset, great features, dual channel DDR, insane FSB settings (200+), and you don't have to worry about divider settings! The PCI and AGP buses are locked, meaning that unless you overclock them seperately, you can go **** with the FSB and only worry about the limits of your processor. The later VIA chipsets (KT333 and KT400) are also wise choices, but the nForce2 is definately the chipset of choice for the AMD platform right now (and probably will be until hammer).
"God created man. Samuel Colt made them equal."

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eckslax
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Fri Jan 31, 2003 11:44 pm

Silly me. I have to learn to read posts more carefully. Since you seem to be on a rather tight budget, I would suggest the KT333 as a minimum for the chipset. The KT266A was a nice chipset in its time, but it is not as competent of a choice these days. Since you are OCing, you will definately want to get a minimum of PC2700 so your ram does not hold you back (you will want to hit 166 Mhz FSB at least). Don't worry about wrecking your computer. I just built my first computer a few months ago and everything went fine. It really is pretty hard to totally screw over a computer build if you are careful about grounding and whatnot.
"God created man. Samuel Colt made them equal."



"Government does not tax to get the money it needs; government finds a need for the money it gets." - Ronald Reagan
 
JimiH
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Sat Feb 01, 2003 6:25 am

Allright, allright, I'm willing to look at the KT400 chipset boards. Now, can you good people give me some leads on what specific boards I should look at? I would really like to stay under $90, and under $100 for sure, and buy from a manufacturer that has good rep for quality and stability. From what I have read so far, Asus and Epox seem to be two manufactures that are quality oriented. As usual, thanks for the info!
 
Austin
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Sat Feb 01, 2003 8:31 am

:wink: Yes the only real diffs between KT266A and KT333 is that KT333 can use DDR333-PC2700 (only a small boost unless you run sync FSB) has the correct divider for 333FSB (but isn't certain to run at 333FSB) so your AGP & PCI buses won't be running double what they should be as they would on most KT266A. The KT400 adds a few other things like ATA133, USB2, AGP8x, official 333FSB, divider for 400FSB, DDR400-PC3200 support (with certain RAM), better future CPU support, 533mhz Vlink (KT333 still used 266mhz which could be a bottle neck) but most importantly it has a total reworking of the PCI bus which is what most people attributed to VIA's quirkiness ... the other factor is they were the only mobos to o/c VERY well so most people ran them well out of spec.

:P So basicly pay the little extra for a KT333 (pref with the KT400 PCI bus called 8235) or better still KT400, nForce2 isn't worth the extra money unless you need the absolute best.
 
Vrock
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Sat Feb 01, 2003 8:40 am

Vrock, you say that motherboard doesn't have the proper bus dividers, but look at the specs:

Easy DIP Switch or Jumperfree overclocking from BIOS
Flexible CPU Core Voltage Adjustments in 0.05V increments over defaults
Accurate 1MHz adjustments of system-bus-frequency
Adjustable VIO memory voltage
Adjustable FSB/PCI/MEM ratio

Really, what more do I need to begin my oc trip? I'm a little puzzled by your comment


Trust me, the KT266A only supports a max PCI divider of 4, and an AGP divider of 3. So if you are serious about overclocking the front side bus, your PCI bus and AGP port speeds will be out of spec. At 166mhz on a KT266A, your PCI speed will be 41.5 mhz.....that's way out of the 33mhz spec, and alot of hard drives and sound cards don't like the PCI bus being overclocked. I'm speaking from experience here....

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