- Joined
- Jan 17, 2002
- Location
- VA
someone tell me the best board for the athlonXP cpus and do i need like matching stepping and matching ram like 2x256 crucial ddr pc 2100 i know that memory has to be same speed but brand wise. someone tell me please
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what is the best board for dual xp cpus
- Thread starter SpyderMatrix
- Start date
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2001
- Location
- perth, Australia
The MSI k7d is the best board out there atm for dual AMD action.
You dont need matching stepping cpu's, but they need to be of the same type and speed.
Ram doesnt need to be matched, but you can only use 2 sticks of unbuffered (standard) ram in the first 2 slots.
You dont need matching stepping cpu's, but they need to be of the same type and speed.
Ram doesnt need to be matched, but you can only use 2 sticks of unbuffered (standard) ram in the first 2 slots.
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2001
- Location
- Tennessee
Yeah, the MSI K7D Master is the best dual AMD board, hands down. You don't have to use the same speed CPU's though, if you unlock the L1 bridges.
As far as mixing brands of RAM, that's a crap shoot. Sometimes there are problems mixing different brands of RAM, but this is a problem with any motherboard, not duals, specifically. I don't think that the dual will be any more picky than any other board, provided you use all Registered, or all non-Registered (in which case, you can only use two slots.)
As far as mixing brands of RAM, that's a crap shoot. Sometimes there are problems mixing different brands of RAM, but this is a problem with any motherboard, not duals, specifically. I don't think that the dual will be any more picky than any other board, provided you use all Registered, or all non-Registered (in which case, you can only use two slots.)
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2002
- Location
- Cincinnati, Oh.
I'll have to third the vote for the MSI. It's an awesome duallie board!
- Joined
- Nov 18, 2002
- Location
- England, Near Europe
I'd have to say the Iwill MPX2. I have seen a lot of problems with the MSI's running XP2400's yet all Iwill users that have tried, have managed to get the XP2400's working fine.
The Iwill has the best CPU power regulation of all the dual AMD boards.
The Iwill has the best CPU power regulation of all the dual AMD boards.
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2001
- Location
- Tennessee
Welcome to the Forums!
- Joined
- Nov 18, 2002
- Location
- England, Near Europe
Thanks
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2001
- Location
- Tennessee
A guy at the 2CPU forums is having no problems with his K7D Master and dual XP2400's
http://forums.2cpu.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=26992&highlight=k7d+xp2400
Another one here
http://forums.2cpu.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=27783
Basically, the battle for best dual CPU AMD motherboard comes down to the MSI K7D Master, or the Iwill MPX2. The K7D Master offers Vcore, multiplier, and FSB, but only goes up to 150 FSB. The Iwill MPX2 doesn't have multiplier control, but offers FSB up to 200 (or 250?, can't recall.) Of course, you'll never be able to get your FSB up THAT high, since there is only a 1/4 PCI divider.
So, the decision really rests on two things.
First, repuation of the board. The K7D Master has a fabulous reputation around here and elsewhere. The Iwill MPX2 is not particularly popular here, but has a decent following at 2CPU.com. Several people over there have had a great experience with it.
Secondly, what is your goal and expectation of the motherboard? Are you more concerned with having the ability to change the multipliers & FSB, or is balls-to-the-wall FSB overclocking the most important thing to you.
- Joined
- Nov 6, 2002
- Location
- Between Heaven and Hell
MSI's bandwidth is pitiful.
IDE transfers are downright crap. The 64-bit PCI runs at 33MHz rather than the normal 64.
If you're using anything real like SCSI don't bother with this board. It's great for enthusiasts but is nowhere close to being a real dual mobo.
IDE transfers are downright crap. The 64-bit PCI runs at 33MHz rather than the normal 64.
If you're using anything real like SCSI don't bother with this board. It's great for enthusiasts but is nowhere close to being a real dual mobo.
- Joined
- Jul 5, 2002
I don't know of any way to fill the bandwidth of a 33mhz bus with any type of hdd... 133MB/s is a lot considering the IDE and Scsi interfaces...
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2001
- Location
- perth, Australia
im pretty sure that the 33mhz 64bit slots is a limitation of all MPX boards due to the chipset (the MP supported 66mhz 64bit slots i believe) so its not just the MSI board in that regard.
This is an enthusiast board and low end server board, Tyan's thunder series rules the high end market that you describe at a significantly higher price (with more features that most of us will never use).
This is an enthusiast board and low end server board, Tyan's thunder series rules the high end market that you describe at a significantly higher price (with more features that most of us will never use).
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2001
- Location
- The North Pole
SpyderMatrix said:
Are you going to use a dual athlon for that?!? What a waste. A Pentium 200 is enough for that.
OP
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2002
- Location
- VA
- Thread Starter
- #15
i have other things also but thats the main see i am doing a online game based on CircleMud the ever popular text based rpg sorta like D&D online but only text based and i want to be running like 4 worlds or muds at a time along with file sharing and a dedicated Folding@home all at the same time so
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2001
- Location
- Tennessee
The MSI K7D Master, like all MPX boards has two 66 MHz/64 bit PCI slots. They aren't 33 MHz. They don't suck. I had a four-channel IDE RAID card (66 MHz capable card) in one of my 66 MHz PCI slots. Had four IBM 120 GXP hard drives in a RAID 0. Disk throughput, using ATTO Express, was 150 MB/s.
Disk throughput on my WD hard drive on the onboard IDE controller is normal, as well, topping out at around 49 MB/s.
I've used Sisoft Sandra, ATTO Express, and Disk Winbench to test my drives on my K7D system. I have had no problems at all, with the exception on using a RAID controller in the 33 MHz slots. The 33 MHz PCI bus is a separate bus from the 66 MHz bus and does have some latency. I doesn't bother any other peripherals I've used in there, like soundcards and network cards, but it does have a detrimental effect on IDE transfer speeds. This is common to ALL MPX MOTHERBOARDS.
If you get an MPX motherboard and are going to use a RAID, SCSI, or IDE card in it... use the 66 MHz/64 bit PCI slots.
Disk throughput on my WD hard drive on the onboard IDE controller is normal, as well, topping out at around 49 MB/s.
I've used Sisoft Sandra, ATTO Express, and Disk Winbench to test my drives on my K7D system. I have had no problems at all, with the exception on using a RAID controller in the 33 MHz slots. The 33 MHz PCI bus is a separate bus from the 66 MHz bus and does have some latency. I doesn't bother any other peripherals I've used in there, like soundcards and network cards, but it does have a detrimental effect on IDE transfer speeds. This is common to ALL MPX MOTHERBOARDS.
If you get an MPX motherboard and are going to use a RAID, SCSI, or IDE card in it... use the 66 MHz/64 bit PCI slots.
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2001
I have an MSI K7D Master-L board and I love it.
Rock solid and ***** fast with dual XP1600+s. Well worth the extra £150. I chose duals because I run folding at home. This also means I can multitask easily, running Warcraft III and email and internet is easy, all at the same time.
David
Rock solid and ***** fast with dual XP1600+s. Well worth the extra £150. I chose duals because I run folding at home. This also means I can multitask easily, running Warcraft III and email and internet is easy, all at the same time.
David
- Joined
- Nov 6, 2002
- Location
- Between Heaven and Hell
cmcquistion said:
I suggest you check your info again. They are 64bit 33MHz. All other brands have 64bit 66MHz PCI slots.
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2001
Heres proof they are 64/66:
From here: http://www.msi.com.tw/program/products/mainboard/mbd/pro_mbd_detail.php?UID=344&MODEL=MS-6501
David
From here: http://www.msi.com.tw/program/products/mainboard/mbd/pro_mbd_detail.php?UID=344&MODEL=MS-6501
David
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2001
- Location
- Tennessee
MP boards have 33 MHz/ 64 bit slots
MPX boards have 66 MHz/64 bit slots
The K7D Master is an MPX board and has the same PCI slots as all other MPX boards.
MPX boards have 66 MHz/64 bit slots
The K7D Master is an MPX board and has the same PCI slots as all other MPX boards.
