Pick me an Abit AMD board:

[donny_paycheck]

Yeah, it's getting time to upgrade my motherboard. My KR7A-RAID is about to hit its 1 year anniversary. I love ABit boards and I have ever since my BH6. I don't want to get anything else. Softmenu is the bomb.

I've got an XP 2000+ AGOIA-Y 0213 (unlocked) right now so this will be a motherboard/RAM purchase. I've also got one of the first Prometeias being sold in the US coming to me in the next few weeks.

Since I'll be freezing this CPU, vcore is important because I should be able to break 2ghz with 1.95-2.0v. My KR7A can do 1.85 without a volt mod, but what kind of vcore do the latest ABit boards push?

Also, I still need my PS2 stuff. S-ATA isn't important to me. Onboard RAID isn't either because I'm getting an independent processing controller so I don't burden my CPU.

So far I like the AT7-MAX2 and KX7-333. I hear the nforce2 will be here soon. Do you think that's worth waiting for?

Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

 

[{PMS}fishy]

KX7-333 Best memory bandwith out of any KT333 MB

1.85v Can be modded to 2.1v anything higher needs a second mod.

 

[Sonny]

KD7 = 2.325VCore & 3.25VMem = $101.99USD FREE SHIPPING

 

[{PMS}fishy]

KT400 gets the big thumbs down. Reminds me of the KT266.

 

[donny_paycheck]

Thanks for the replies, and the link Sonny. I've spoken with people elsewhere and nforce2 sounds like it's going to be a huge performer. Supposedly the ABit nforce2 (nv78x?) is going to be out semi-soon so it looks like I'll be going with that one. If anybody has any information on that one I'm all ears...

 

[Sonny]

KT400 gets the big thumbs down. Reminds me of the KT266.

 

[Emericana]

KT400's suck and do so hard. the KT333 chipset is much more stable and works better at high fsbs.

there is no better board on the market than a volt modded KX7-333(R)

 

[donny_paycheck]

Is the voltmod on the KX7-333 easy to do?

edit- meh, nevermind, I'll go look at the sticky...

 

[Sonny]

It's really funny how people think that the KT333 chipset is better than the KT400. The faster VLink & upgraded southbridge, park feature enabled = no more latency issues, alone are something you guys should take a look at not to mention the ability of the motherboard to go higher voltages & with the added feature of a 12V socket any voltage issues are easily taken cared of. No more clips & no more 5V mod soldering.

You want to talk higher performance then go with a KT266A since it is the fastest chipset out there.

 

[{PMS}fishy]

You want to talk higher performance then go with a KT266A since it is the fastest chipset out there.

I can't tell if yu are giving me crap or not.

 

[Sonny]

I can't tell if yu are giving me crap or not.

I'm not throwing anything at anybody but don't forget to backup whatever you or anybody for that matter when you put down another suggestion. If you take any of my replies here as offensive please notify a mod ASAP.

Ive already posted why I like the KT400 chipset over the KT333 even with the impending release of the KT400A in a few months. My mention of the KT266A is something I strongly believe in.



EDIT: I just read your sig, LOL, I suggest you run againts a KT333 mobo at the same FSB(fastest you can go) then you will understand why the KT266A is faster then try asking whoever to run his max FSB & see how much more he has to go to match you. The sad part really is when you turn around & use a CPU bench to show that over 166MHz/333FSB AMD CPUs just don't push hard enough.

 

[JAWS]

Abits latest mobo is based on the kt333. KD7-E

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4244

 

[Exar Jun]

I wouldn't wait on the nforce2. It is inevitable that there will be a few issues will the first release or two. It may be better to go with the KX7 and wait on the first or second wave on revisions on the nforce2. You never know too, will they be for real or just look good on paper? And when are they coming out anyway?

 

[donny_paycheck]

Well, the nforce2 is supposed to have a lockable PCI and AGP clock so you can kick the FSB through the roof. Also it'll have dual channel DDR and hopefully the completely unlocked features that the KT400/thoroughbred combo does right now.

Since nforce2 is going to be released very soon I'm going to wait and see what it brings to the table before I make a purchase.

 

[{PMS}fishy]

From what I have been reading about the Nforce2 is that the Dual DDR they are using mimics the Dual DDR we have all been hearing about. 1 channel is for the video and the other for the MB/CPU. It does not give the numbers that Dual DDR gives. Ill see if I can find the Asus Nforce2 Review. If its anything like the original nForce chipset, there are going to be a lot of dissapointed people.

 

[{PMS}fishy]

Here ya go. http://www.amdmb.com/article-display.php?ArticleID=209

The KT333 vs the nForce2

Asus takes on Epox

Both systems were using identical setups, the KT333 preformed just as well as the nforce2, if not better in some cases. The nForce2 did dominate a few benchmarks. Look at the nForce2 solution to be another options when looking at KT333 and KT400 MBs, its no better, just another option.

 

[Sonny]

Well, the nforce2 is supposed to have a lockable PCI and AGP clock so you can kick the FSB through the roof. Also it'll have dual channel DDR and hopefully the completely unlocked features that the KT400/thoroughbred combo does right now.

Since nforce2 is going to be released very soon I'm going to wait and see what it brings to the table before I make a purchase.

Why would you want to lock the AGP & PCI bus? Isnt it more of a performance boost when you actually run them out of spec?

 

[donny_paycheck]

Why would you want to lock the AGP & PCI bus? Isnt it more of a performance boost when you actually run them out of spec?

Yeah, but the idea of being able to hold them lower while driving the memory speed through the roof should affect performance more than hitting the roof and stopping because the AGP/PCI clock was at its limit.

PCI overclocking I don't care so much about. AGP overclocking is much more important and can usually be taken further but memory bandwidth is what I want to shoot for.

Thanks a ton for the link Fishy - after reading it I'm thinking nforce2 is out for me. I wasn't aware of a lot of the aspects of it that the article you linked to provides.

So now, it looks like a choice between the KX7-333 and the KD7. AFAIK the KT400A won't be here for a little while yet and I'm not sure if it's worth holding out for...

edit- That'd probably be the KD7-E, since it doesn't have the integrated peripherals that the KD7 does, which I have no use for.

 

[Sonny]

I guess it would be down to how low that ceiling is & how long your components can function at extreme FSB settings. Never noticed any gains in RAID performance with the PCI screaming?

Anyways, Good Luck on your purchase.

 

[none1]

Another semi vote for the KT400. It should OC about as well as the KT333, similar dividers. BUT, the KT400 does have 8x AGP, and yes, the fastest cards coming out will be 8x AGP. Of course, if you're not gaming, you don't need the 8x AGP......

On the FSB, goal is to get the most memory bandwidth possible, so FSB = 200 -> DDR400 is something to shoot for. With the 1/5 divider of the KT333 or KT400, 200/5 = 40, and many PCI / AGP cards can't go that fast. The Nforce2 or KT400A should THEORETICALLY make it easier to hit FSB of 200 and higher, e.g. 220/6 = 36, should be doable by most PCI cards pretty easy......

I still think the nforce2 is unkown, while the PCI lock could help, its unclear what the max FSB will be, how stable the boards will be at high FSB, etc.. IF you have time, I would wait and see the results from the hundreds of people who will rush out and buy this as soon as it is available. See what FSB they get, then decide.

Good luck.