oc barton 2500+ with DDR266 ram? what chipset/mainboard?

hi,


i d like to build a new system on a barton 2500+ with preferred via kt600 chipset (or nvidia ultra400, i still have to find out about advantages, disadvantages and possibilities).

i definetly want to keep my 2*512mb 266 cl2 ram

i d like to be able to run the system either in stock speed or overclocked fsb with 200 mhz or underclocked.
FSB doesn t have to be higher than 200 mhz

will i run into any problems while overclocking to 200 mhz FSB with this memory combination? is it possible at all? can i still use my ram with cl 2 settings? or do i automatically also oc the ram?

what is the relation between memoryfrequency( i don t want to oc my ram) and fsb-overclocking? is this handled different on the via kt 600 and nforce ultra 400?



thanks for answers, experiences, suggestions thats making me less confused than i already am
and hopefully i can decide what mainboard i want to buy

matthias

....hmmmm...looks like i am not the only one confused about this...

You sound very green...

First of all, if you want to underclock your CPU, i mean... I'm just confused. Why the hell did you spend all that money on a 2500+ CPU if you're not going to use it's full potential? Or even it's rated speed? You're going to underclock it? Just return it and get a cheaper, slower CPU for God's sake!

Next, 3 words: Get. New. Memory.

you won't be able to overclock for anything with that memory. You might get 1 Mhz of FSB or so. No, it will not run at CL2 settings, and yes it overclocks the memory automatically.

Via is dead, and has been for quite some time. nForce is the ONLY way to go to overclock nowadays. Go with an nForce2 mobo like the Abit NF7. Then get yourself some PC3200 (DDR416) or PC3500 (PC433) memory and then and ONLY then will you be able to overclock. Using DDR266 memory with a 333Mhz CPU is like putting bicycle tires on a BMW M3.

meaning you want a higher bus on your ddr than your cpu? thanks, i'm still learning.

nope,

meaning i want to be able to run fsb 333(166mhz) or 400(200mhz) with memory at DDR266(133mhz)

so memory frequency is effective always lower than cpu frequency....

i know its confusing from industry creating new words and expressions that doesnt subscribe the products real effects
they are trying to suggerate lots of power - but what about reality??

whatever,

Um... real world example... as Amino said, Get. New. Memory.

I notice quite a bit when i go from 333 to 400 on my fsb, in battlefield and UT. But the performance will be much lacking. And i believe it is always best to run a 1:1 ratio CPU:MEM.

If a raging fire has only firemen with buckets from an unlimited supply of water... the buckets are the bottlemeck.. as is your mem if you choose to run it at 266. you call.. but the performance is noticeable

Matzen, what you probally want is a nForce2 single-channel board as with running async like you're talking an nForce dual-channel board is a waste. What is your memory? You stated it was CAS 2, what are the rest of the timings and what brand is it?
I think the first board you should look at is the Soltek SL-NV400-L64, its available at NewEgg for $75.00 at this link

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...=22&manufactory=1347&DEPA=1&sortby=14&order=1

Heres a couple of reviews
http://www.amdmb.com/article-display.php?ArticleID=244

http://anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.html?i=1844

Check out what Anand's crew got for an OC with the Barton 2500+, a 225FSB, pretty sweet for a $75.00 single-channel board.

Though dual-channel can give you a 3-5% increase in certain benchmarks, there are an awful lot of them out there that can't run a stable 225FSB.

Good Luck and keep looking I know some of the new Via KT600 boards have dividers that will allow you to run PC2100 memory async and have improved their performance to within a few % of nForce, which will only be noticed in benchmarks, not the real world.

Regards, Balrog

.....i know what i ll do.......

leaning back and waiting......

maybe there are new and better mobos or at least new revisions coming out soon, still for socket a as this chip will be produced till mid-2004.

did anyone hear about new mobos and what about vias kt880 chipset?

WELCOME TO THE FORUMS!

First of all, I'm not sure why everyone's telling you to get new RAM, when you have 1GB of it...

Faster RAM will certainly give you more performance, but I don't think you are missing out on that much. First of all, memory performance is something like 3 times less important to system performance than CPU speed. Increasing your memory performance by 10%, and you might get something like 2~3% increase in system performance.

The Athlon's EVA6 bus only doubles the effective FSB, unlike the quad pumped P4, so I don't think you loose much by having dual channel PC2100 rather than PC3200. Dual channel PC3200 actually should provide more bandwidth than the bus can handle.

The KT880 chipset will be VIA's dual channel DDR chipset, and will probably outperform the nForce 2. It also has a host of other neat features. Not many reviews yet due to how new it is, but it is looking very good.

If you can find one, grab it if it fits the budget. The ABIT KV7II should be a nice one: http://www.amdboard.com/abit_kv7ii.html

I'd recommend the KT880 over nForce2, and nForce2 over the KT600.

I'm sure you can run the memory at 133Mhz, and the FSB at 166Mhz or 200Mhz. Pick KT600, nForce2, or KT880, and any one of those will do it. As an example, with my nForce 2 based Abit NF7-S, you just set the FSB to 200, the CPU:RAM divider to 6:4, and you have the ram running at 133Mhz (or 266 as it's DDR), PC2100.

Of course running async is not as good as 1:1 with the FSB, but again, I don't think it's that big a deal.

MSI KT6 Delta FISR

Hi
I have got my Barton 2500+ running as a 3200+. That is from a 1.8 Ghz to a 2.2 Ghz on my MSI KT6 Delta FISR.

All I have done is upped the FSB to 200. I haven't changed the multiplier, although it does allow me to do so, but I need more information about what can happen if I do and what i should look out for if I try it. Also if I need to alter the vcore valtage.....

I was running 266 ram and my box ran ok until it had to work, as in gaming... it kept locking up in games..I changed the ram for some Kingston HyperX DDR 400 and now it's BRILL....

Temp is averaging 60c going up to about 66c when gaming.
Everything is running stable with no probs..

I have just registered in this forum, and I hope i can find the help i need in here, and also offer any help, with my limited knowlage.

Cheers

Neyida

WELCOME TO THE FORUMS!

I think this is the first time I've had that line in two successive posts!

Neyida, before you go any further, I must say that your CPU temperatures are way too high. 66c is getting dangerously high.

What kind of cooling are you using at the moment? Stock AMD heatsink? Is the heatsink mounted properly and making good contact with the CPU core? Are you using the thermal pad or thermal paste? What about your case airflow? What kind of temperatures do you have inside your case?

So far your system has been stable at 11x200 with the stock 1.65v. This is quite nice, and is what most people get with that voltage. But it would not be wise to try for any more with your present temperatures. It would not be good for the life expectancy of your CPU.

Your CPU's speed is derived from the multiplier and FSB. 11x200 = 2.2Ghz. If you raised your multiplier to 12x, and left the FSB at 200Mhz, you'd be running at 2.4Ghz. (which would be very good as most people don't get that far)

You only increase the Vcore when your system is not stable due to a too high CPU speed. Increasing the CPU voltage brings with it a lot of added heat (and so CPU temperature), so in your case it's best not to increase the Vcore at all, due to your already high temperatures.

Of upmost priority for you is to improve your cooling. If you could tell us what you have at the moment, we can tell you what to do.

I too would recommend nForce2, and further I think you could benefit from dual channel in this scenario. Ideally you'd be running the memory and FSB synchronously. In this case the processor is rated at a 333MHz FSB and the memory at 266MHz. However, not to worry, this is OC-forums, right? I would suggest that you try setting the memory to conservative settings (higher latency etc.) and then seeing what's the fastest memory bus speed it can handle. Assuming that ends up being somewhere between 266 and 333MHz you can then set the FSB to that same speed and simply increase the multiplier until the processor is running at the speed you want. The adjustable multiplier (for TbredB and Barton) and PCI / AGP lock of the nForce will be particularly advantageous in this instance.

Hi Shiyan,

Thanks for the advice. I am using a
COOLERMASTER AERO7 UPTO XP3200+ WITH SPEED ADJUSTMENT
I have turned the fan speed up to full with little difference to the temp.. Could this be due to the amount of drives in my pc?
I also have a 550 w psu, but is is a twin fan one... and then i have 2 fans at the top of the tower...

Would cutting a hole in the side of the tower just where the cpu fan is improve things or would that upset the air flow..?

I must admit, that I always thought that 60 ish was ok... Can you tell me what is the ideal temp please....

Personally I like below 50C under load but many will run below 55C. I use side ducts on most of my rigs to direct cooler room air directly to the CPU HSF, there are plenty of things you can use to make the tubes out of, you can even add a secondary fan for some ram-air cooling.

Regards, Balrog

ideal temps are actually as low as possible.

are you saying that you are into the 60Cs? that's very high, and might affect your system stability.

are you sure you the cooler is making proper contact with the CPU? you used thermal paste right? what are your case temperatures like?

(next time you can start a new thread about this under cooling section, as you'll get many more replies there)

@ shiyan

have a look here


looks good and for me worth waiting.....

thank you for help searching

awsome! looks like it is not vaporware then! that's great news.

the Abit KV7ii is probably for real too.

this is certainly worth waiting a little bit for then.