Goodbye to fast P4... hello XP?

I just have to say goodbye to my fastest P4 on the sig... I receive an offer that I can´t say no
And decide to go back to AMD corner to see what I can get for a real cheap system, handpicked. Then I end with this (prices in Brazil):
ECS K7S5A: U$ 59,00
XP1600 AGOIA 4 0220: U$ 80,00 (duron prices now!)
El cheapo cooler: U$ 11,00
El cheapo DDR 266 128mb: U$ 30,00

The only mod needed was the cpu mod for 1,85v. Then I ended at 166mhz fsb, 1750mhz for just 180 bucks.... that´s the price just for P4 mobo here.
I´ll benchmark it today and send the result for Shark, to see what it can do, but I think with 1750mhz and 2.2k memory score in sandra 2002, it will do fine... perhaps in the top 10 timers.

Firehawk said:

The only mod needed was the cpu mod for 1,85v. Then I ended at 166mhz fsb, 1750mhz for just 180 bucks....

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That's fantastic Firehawk. I thought 166MHz fsb was impossible on the K7S5A. Great going and getting a 10.5 x 166MHz cpu makes it double.

Look forward to your benchies that SIS 735 is as good as the AMD 761.

Harvey

Thanks Hallen. I know this is a very rare result... but I´m crediting this to a very good cpu, week 20. Looks like the last XPs are very good indeed.
I´ll heading to buy a second rig just like this to see if this was just a fluke. I´m wondering what this cpu can give me with a proper board.... but then I need another cooler, memo, and good bye cheap.
The ECS can´t boot at more than 150fsb, but once in windows, you can change to 166 with cpufsb tool. Put it in start up and you are done. 100% rock solid BTW.... can run 3dmark 24h

Firehawk said:

The ECS can´t boot at more than 150fsb, but once in windows, you can change to 166 with cpufsb tool. Put it in start up and you are done. 100% rock solid BTW.... can run 3dmark 24h

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That's very interesting.

Running 3dmark 24 @ 166/1750 for $180. must feel great.

Good luck with number two.

That makes it interesting for TC's diskless cluster with the built in 10/100 Lan. I'm going with 1.2GHz Duron's and plan to use an Electric Engraver to cut the bridges:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1752564522

Harvey

edit: I'll run the benchmark on a KT266A board XP @ 10.5 X 166 so we can see what the difference is. I was really impresssed with that board and I only ran as high as 150fsb.

I just end the benchmark. 3:10min. That will be 3.17h, unofficial time, putting this cheapo machine somewhere near position 15-20. Just among the more expensive amd systems. Not so good as I was expecting, but not too bad either
But I´m still thinking this cpu is a fluke. If all the new XP1600 AGOIA does 1750mhz or more, it´s time put a eye on it...

Then, I think I can get 2000mhz with a Tbred 1800+ when I can get one, in this very same system. This will bring my time to about 2h45/2h50min, and can be a challenge for the expensive P4 system.
I´ll keep you guys posted.

edit: my mistake... 2000mhz would be for Tbred 1900+, not 1800+...

Stay away from the Tbreds for now. A friend of mine that builds computers couldn't get a 2200+ to overclock past 1900MHz. Somebody else I read about had to use a Vapochill and 1.9 volts just to get to 2GHz. Something is wrong with these early cores.

Thanks TC! Well... will be funny if the next cpu to run well in this cheapo board will be a Barton......

I can't even get my K7S5A to boot at 150fsb. My KT266A boards are significantly faster. I love how fast the K7S5A boots up, it's cheap, and it's very stable.

i was running an ECS board with my duron for a while
the time difference between my previous kt266a board and the SIS board were about 4 minutes.
not bad for a budget board

I think I'm going to try the K7S5A and a duron for another node on my cluster. I'm hoping the built in LAN supports PXE booting - anyone here know? If it doesn't I'll have to boot from a floppy and try to get the card to be recognized as tulip compatible and use bootp. Dang that would be sweet if this works - just plug in the cpu and ram, hook up the lan cable and fire it up. Don't even need a case. I can just plop it down on a shelf and rest the psu next to it. Adding crunchers doesn't get any easier.

i'm getting a pair of 1600+ too. heard most people won't have problem to get it at least 1.7GHz. we'll see.

TC said:

I think I'm going to try the K7S5A and a duron for another node on my cluster. I'm hoping the built in LAN supports PXE booting - anyone here know?

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I have a K7S5A and I know that when it boots it has a prompt (with the prompt to hit DEL for setup etc) that says "F12: Network"
Also in the BIOS you can select Network as a boot device.
Does that answer your question? I'm not really sure what PXE means?

I´m pretty sure all you guys know where to find ECS stuff to overclock, but just in case....
Mobo mods:
http://www.hardcool.hpg.ig.com.br/
Overclock bios, softwares and FAQs:
http://www.ocworkbench.com/ocwbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi?category=5

Second rig finished and online. Same cpu (AGOIA 4 - XP1600) and same results. This time at default voltage
Damn, I need a better mobo to test this chips and see what they can do...

Firehawk said:

Second rig finished and online. Same cpu (AGOIA 4 - XP1600) and same results. This time at default voltage
Damn, I need a better mobo to test this chips and see what they can do...

Click to expand...

newegg refubs for KT266A KR7A-133 $52. or KR7A-133Raid $60.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...ry&catalog=22&manufactory=1283&Type=Refurbish

It's a great board. I think Yodums would agree. There is a poster Kat who gets Sandra memory scores > 3000 with them.

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,2988827~root=ocusa~mode=flat

If you want, I can ship you a pair. Duty on $104. can't be all that bad.

Harvey

edit: PS Great news on your second 1.75GHz rig!!

My board and memory are from hallen and it's an excellent board. It is rated number one Socket A KT266A chipset in alot of websites. Before the KT333 hype all AMDMB.com ever posted about was this board. Anyways, the board loves the FSB above 166 (Explains why Hallen's Morgans are all at 190 fsb - mid 180's). This board hit my 1600+ AGOIA "Y" at 160fsb, CPU Fast Decode = fast (Between normal, fast, ultra), all the lowest possible ram timings w/ 4 way intereleve and 1CMD, did I mention default voltage! The only thing holding me back is the PSU, which causes lockups if I set the vcore too high since my overclock is getting high. 280mhz overclock on default voltage, sweet deal.

Personally, I don't like kat's method of overclocking. I usually pick an area which I think is possible, this morning I picked 155, fast decode, worked fine, within minutes I bumped it to 160fsb, looped through Prime95 for about 10mins, tried higher and that involves vcore which was a no go w/ this PSU. I stuck with 160fsb and now extending that Torture Test. So far it's been running since 8am till now with no errors. Although I had to up the I/O voltage from 3.5v to 3.65v. Also the memory voltage was slightly uped to 2.65v.

Yodums

TC said:

Stay away from the Tbreds for now. A friend of mine that builds computers couldn't get a 2200+ to overclock past 1900MHz. Somebody else I read about had to use a Vapochill and 1.9 volts just to get to 2GHz. Something is wrong with these early cores.

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TC- This AMD update is in German but here is a translation on a few points:

3. 2400+ and 2600+ are being produced for two weeks now, should be available at the beginning of September.
4. 0.13 process runs without a problem.
5. 0.13 is expected to scale up to 3200+.

Click to expand...

http://www.wallstreet-online.de/ws/...id=&iid=&tid=608215&fid=10&offset=0&reverse=1

Could be that things are getting better.

Harvey

hallen said:

TC- This AMD update is in German but here is a translation on a few points:



http://www.wallstreet-online.de/ws/...id=&iid=&tid=608215&fid=10&offset=0&reverse=1

Could be that things are getting better.

Harvey

Click to expand...

They should be getting better. I had noticed that the early production run seems to overclock less than the last of the pallys.

Firehawk said:

Second rig finished and online. Same cpu (AGOIA 4 - XP1600) and same results. This time at default voltage
Damn, I need a better mobo to test this chips and see what they can do...

Click to expand...

that's why i'm getting a 8K3A to pair w/ it! check my other thread for a refurb'ed one for$55!!

I just ordered a refurbished kr7a and a 1600+ Hopefully it will be a good stepping. I wish some more people were interested in the diskless setup. Once it's running it's so easy to add a new cruncher, not to mention much cheaper. Just lay the board on a table and put the psu next to it. All you need is the board, cpu, ram, psu, and a nic - either built in or pci. There's no time spent installing an os and the client. Just boot the system and it's crunching. I'll try to finish the how-to this weekend.