150 mhz sdram..will it work 4 me??

G

Guest

Guest
I am trying to gather as much memory info as i can and have already corresponded with most major memory wholesalers/ manufacturers.
now i would like to hear from the proffesionals , the end user's.
will there be any advantage to using 150 mhz sdram over 133 mhz sdram for the following set up:
Abit kt7a-raid 266 fsb kt133 chipset, with AMD athlon t-bird 1.267ghz with 266 fsb support (avail. mid feb)
I am not in a super rush as its expensive building your dream machine, so I am using this time to pick out every component and all thats left is the memory.
this system will be used for lite buisiness applications and mostly 3d gaming, q2, q3, ut, hl , etc..
the board im using ( kt7a-raid) supports 1.5 ghz of sd133 ram so i would like to stick with 512 mb modules.
your opinion and advice would be greatly appreciated.
 

Crashman

Polypheme
Former Staff
No. The fastest memory for your system is Cas2 PC133. Your memory only operates at the rate of it's bus, which is 100 or 133 on your system. So faster memroy will run at the slower speed of your motherboard.

Suicide is painless...........
 

rcf84

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nope i see a couple of reveiws showing that -KingMax PC150- is the fast sdram out. well if you want to overclock pc150 is a must.

Cel 533 - 256mb sdram
15gb HD - ati radeon 32mb ddr (200/200)
SB live! mp3+ - win98 Beos
 

Crashman

Polypheme
Former Staff
Like I said, if you RUN the memory bus at 100MHz, the memory will PERFORM at 100MHz. If you run the bus at 150, the memory will also run at 150. But since he CAN'T run over 133, he should just get 133! Spend the extra money on Cas2 if he really wants to spend money because cas latency is the only place he can improve! PC150 will run only 133 if the memory bus is 133!

Suicide is painless...........
 
G

Guest

Guest
Crashman is right on the memory, as most memory when running the exact same memory timings will run the same speed on the same FSB. But the KT133A chipset will run over 140mhz FSB bus with complete stability. I know this because I run my system at 7.5 x 140mhz FSB on the ABIT KT7A-Raid. The places you will notice differences is the CAS, 2 or 3. Other timing in the BIOS also can affect memory performance, but the ability to run those different setting depends on memory quality. But what this really boils down to is this, if you plan to run at 133mhz FSB, than almost all SDRAM memory will run the same, with the exception of VC-SDRAM, but that is another story.
 

phsstpok

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Does the KT7A still have the "HST+PCICLK" option for DRAM clock? On the KT7, if you overclock to 106 Mhz, DRAM would be at 141 mhz. If the option is available on the KT7A you could run DRAM at 166 mhz without overclocking the FSB.
 

phsstpok

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OCZ.Safeshopper.Com has custom built memory, using hand picked and tested Micron and Infineon chips. Their fastest memory is PC-175, CAS 3/3/3. They also have PC-160, CAS 2/2/2, memory. The prices are $129.99 and $109.99, respectively, per 128 mb module. (Read reviews of some OCZ memory at www.madonion.com).
 
G

Guest

Guest
Thanks again for all the responses.
what if the chip i use is the athlon 1.267 ghz w/ 266 fsb ( eta mid to late feb), on the abit kt7a-raid wich supports the 266 fsb ? would the 133 overclock to the 2666 mhz?
i decided on mushkin cas2 rev 3 128 mb modules ( @ 150 mhz),
will i be able to utilize the 266 fsb?
 

Crashman

Polypheme
Former Staff
the 266 your refering to is actually 133 at DDR. The KT133a chipset will run your memory at 133. The only way to run your memory at DDR is to use one of the new DDR motherboards with DDR chipset and DDR memory. Up until the recent release of DDR chipsets, the 200 bus athlon (shich is only 100, DDR) ran the memory at 100. And the KT133a will run it at 133. Sorry to burst your bubble, I can only tell you the truth, which is that manufacturers have been playing a number game and the 266FSB is really 133. So you will still only need 133, which I suggest you can get from crucial, as this is high quality memory, and their cas2 memory will run at cas2 at over 140MHz.

Suicide is painless...........
 

Ncogneto

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Err this is only partilailly correct, Most athlon boards starting with the kx chipset have the option to use fsb+pci bus which = 133. the cpu itself does run at a 100 fsb but is double pumped to give you the 200. If he does any overclocking at all with his rig by means of upping the fsb then the kingmax pc-150 is a very good choice. If he chooses to stay at stock fsb settings then it may be a small waste but nothing is ever wrong with a little headroom. the kingmax does however slightly still out perform the standard Sdram it seems to have a little less latency.

A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing!
 

Ncogneto

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btw if you plan on running windows 9x/me do not use anymore than 512 meg of ram, more than this and you cost yourself performance. Win 2k is an entirely different matter, but you said you were building a dream gaming machine correct?

A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing!
 

phsstpok

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2666 mhz! I think you have your terminologies confused (and it's AMD's fault). For an AMD system 133 mhz FSB and 266 mhz FSB are synonymous. The real meaning is clocked at 133 mhz and double pumped with a 266 mhz effective (or equivalent) speed.

I don't own a KT133A motherboard but the FSB is overclockable and you always have the multiplier to fiddle with.

As for the 1.2667 ghz Athlon, I haven't heard of it but it makes sense. It would be the speed for an Athlon run at an FSB of 133 mhz with a 9.5 multiplier. I have no idea how overclockable it would be. I heard a rumor of 160 Mhz FSB is possible but with a slower rated chip.

We both will have to wait.
 

JOJO

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have you already bought the board? (kt7a-raid)

if not, since it a dream rig, ever thought about ddr boards that use ddr ram?

i am currently debating myself between ddr and non ddr boards. As for the non-ddr, i was thinking the abit kt7a-raid or the asus a7v133.
But for the ddr, i was thinking the asus a7m266...although he current revision doesn't have dipswitches for multiplier adjustments.....that gives it a big minus point...

just my thoughts though...:)
 

Crashman

Polypheme
Former Staff
I've been in discussion with several hardcore overclockers who have tried both Kingmax and Crucial/Micron. They consistantly say that the memory timings of Crucial Cas2 PC133 are equal to or supperior to the Kingmax PC150. Crucial is getting pretty cheap these days, so I would still think it was the beter choice.

Suicide is painless...........
 

Ncogneto

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Possibly, I don't know if I consider Crucial Cas2 PC133 to be standard ram however. I have heard arguments for both types and would agree that they are pretty close. I would venture to say that there are variances in each stick of ram to some degree and sometimes the kingmax may be better and sometimes the crucial would be. I myself have been able to push the kingmax to higher fsb then the crucial.

A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing!