Overclocking an MSI K7T266 PRO-RU

[knowan]

This is the mobo with the kt266a chipset and on-board RAID. I'm getting it at a price too good to pass up. I am new to overclocking, though I have been lurking in this forum for a few months. I have no immediate plans to overclock the processor (an XP 1800), but I do have several questions about the RAM.

This mobo is expected to last me about 3 or 4 years (until I upgrade to a Hammer), and I'll likely get a Barton later on. The KT266a supports PC2100. If I buy cheep PC3000 with a CAS of 2.5, would I be able to run it at 2100 speeds and set the CAS to 2.0 since I will be underclocking the RAM? Additionally if I but good Crucial PC2100 at CAS 2.0, how difficult will it be later on to overclock it to PC3000 speeds while keeping the CAS at 2.0?

Next question, if I buy good PC3000 with CAS 2.0, will I be able to overclock the mobo to run it at PC3000 speeds without also overclocking the processor? How good is this mobo at overclocking? I don't want to be overclocking the processor yet as this PC will be put in a room where the room temps can reach 31 deg C. I'm going to wait until winter before I try any overclocking, but I'm hoping to be able to re-use the RAM in a few years when I get my Hammer.

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[knowan]

Oh, in case anyone's wondering, this system will be replacing my current Pentium 200 system. It will be using all new components, with the exception of the hard drive (Quantum Fireball 5 Gig), which will hopefully be replaced around Christmas time. I'll temporarly be using a PCI video card (purchased new, still looking for a cheep one) and replacing it with an ATI 9700 sometime early next year. I've got a very good case though, with room for installing 14 fans.

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Knowan likes you. Knowan is your friend. Knowan thinks you're great.

 

[Palpatine]

[..]If I buy cheep PC3000 with a CAS of 2.5, would I be able to run it at 2100 speeds and set the CAS to 2.0 since I will be underclocking the RAM? [..]

You can underclock it but it is not certain that it will do CAS2

[..] Additionally if I but good Crucial PC2100 at CAS 2.0, how difficult will it be later on to overclock it to PC3000 speeds while keeping the CAS at 2.0? [..]

The chances to o/c PC2100 to PC300 are pretty low and even if you manage to go that far it wont be at CAS2

[..] Next question, if I buy good PC3000 with CAS 2.0, will I be able to overclock the mobo to run it at PC3000 speeds without also overclocking the processor? [..]

The m/b officialy supports up to an AXP2100+. Also you can't o/c the memory alone, the CPU speed will go up as well. So, at FSB180 the CPU will be at 2070, a 500MHz o/c that the CPU cannot possibly do. Another problem is that while you raise the FSB the AGP and PCI clock increases also and some peripheral will probably fail much lower than 180 (perhaps 160)

[..] How good is this mobo at overclocking? [..]

Tha mobo offers and FSB 1-step increase from 100 to 166, Vcore from 1.70 to 1.85 (in 0.025 steps) and DDR volt from 2.5 to 2.7 (in 0.1 steps). I have an AXP1700+ oc @1620 at 147 fsb with Corsair XMS2400 at CAS2.

[..] I don't want to be overclocking the processor yet as this PC will be put in a room where the room temps can reach 31 deg C. I'm going to wait until winter before I try any overclocking, but I'm hoping to be able to re-use the RAM in a few years when I get my Hammer. [..]

I believe that in 3-4 of years DDR will be replaced with DDR-II or something else more fancy so get a good ram now (a PC2400 or PC2700 at CAS2) and upgrade later.

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