T-Bird @ 266 FSB..

[reberry]

Hello all! I'm new to these parts.. well, because I'm just getting into overclocking..

I was wondering how safe it actually is dropping the multiplier down on a 1 gig so that I am still running 1000 MHz, just with a 266 FSB. Is there any potential for frying hardware?

Also, what is the performance gain? I have not seen any reviews around that say you gain xxxx in performance. I would assume its pretty big if your running a motherboard and ram at 266 FSB..

Any info is aprreciated!

Reberry

[Eriksson]

You will not fry anything by running higher fsb and lower multiplier. There has been booting issues on non 133mhz chips running on 133mhz boards though. (some info on the main page here)

How much will you gain by running 133mhz?
Good question...it depends on your current config/setup.

Current socket A boards using the VIA KT133 chipset can run the memory @ 133mhz with the fsb @ 100mhz. The new KT133A boards will run the mem=fsb=133mhz , no change there.

What remains is the 33mhz gain in fsb speed, and therefore increase in communication speed between the cpu and the northbridge. However this bus is DDR pumped and cannot be regarded as bottleneck in the either case.

You will see 0-10% increase in speed, depending on what apps/benchmarks you use. Overall this speed increase is probably around 3-5% from KT133 to KT133A chipset.

If you are planning to upgrade from KT133 board, you are probably paying much for little.

If you are looking for a new board (no upgrade) you should get one of the new KT133A for future cpu support.

You might also want to consider getting DDR board too.

[reberry]

You hit it right on the head. I'm getting a whole new system (from pc2100 memory to processor and motherboard).

One question though... If a motherboard says 266 FSB, does this mean that it is DDR capible? The only reason I ask is because I do not know why they would advertise a board as 266, but not say DDR - if it is DDR capible.

I'm planning on the Abit KT7A-Raid as of now though.

Reberry

[AZZKICKER]

the kt7a-raid id sdram board
not a ddr board
even knows it out performs most ddr boards

think about that

*SENIOR MEMBER*

[Eriksson]

Yes AZZ is right as usual..
The Abit KT7A(-Raid) does use the current sdram..(non DDR)
This is not the board you want if you are going to use the new DDR memory technology.

Dont mix up the two different things, DDR front side bus(used on current Durons/Tbirds), and DDR memory bus.

If you are going to use new DDR memory chips (pc2100)you have to get a board using the AMD 760, or Ali DDR chipset boards...

The KT133A chipset is just a temp solution, designed to be a bridge between current setups and the new 133mhz cpu's(non DDR's)

[Dani]

If you are buying at this time now, you are probably better off with non-ddr. Ali is supposedly horribble and the 760 only offers at most 10% gains. Im getting a KT133A myself and i'll prolly save a good penny and still be able to upgrade. Im waiting for matured ddr mobo's before I hop on the bandwagon.

But if you really want ddr, wait for some 760 boards and some good pc2100 ram. Don't go for ALI

[DamnFast]

Dani,
I have bought an Iwill KA-266R and it's based on ALi chipset for DDR support. I have overclocked my 1.2GHz T-bird to 1333MHz (10 x 133 FSB) and all the benchmarks comes way beyond those KT133 and other boards. I don't know where you got the idea of "Bad ALi" but see it for yourself before you recommend not to buy it to others.

[AZZKICKER]

show us some sandra scores of the 1333'er

i would love to compair to see how the DDR performs in a overclocked state

=-)

[DamnFast]

Here is the Screenshot of my CPU and Memory's benchmark.
I got my DDR memory from crucial for $78 per 128MB module(very cheap)
and I really like this memory alot since it works perfectly on 133 FSM with CAS 2. I jut had to raise the voltage slightly to keep it stable though. I wanted to go higher FSB but I decided to wait untill I get the water cooling for my system. (From swiftech)
I did try going over 1.46GHz (10 x 146MHz FSB) but my CPU's temperature was going over 48'C and was keep rising, so I stopped. My system is currently running very stable(I mean very stable) @1.33GHz with 133MHz FSB so I will keep it like this for a month or so until I receive my water cooling package.
Anyways, to back up the fact that Iwill mobo with ALi chipset is good, I have attatched a screenshot. Take a look.

Here are simplified version of my system specs:

AMD 1.2GHz Bluecore@ 1.33
Kanie Hedgehog HS with YS-Tech 80mm Fan
Iwill KA-266R Mobo
256MB Crucial PC1600 DDR SDRAM (128 x 2) running @ 133FSB(PC2100)
Elsa Gladiac GeForce 2 GTS (32MB DDR)

[DamnFast]

anyone help me out.
How can I attatch a file?