overclocking with a7n8x, which should i use?

[Drexel]

I currently have a asus A7N8X Deluxe rev 1.04 (this is important cause they werent manufactured for 200fsb). Soon I will be getting either a week 30,31,or 34 barton 2500 (still have to pick, think im gonna go with week 34). I am gonna run a watercooling setup soon, and I want to overclock the barton pretty far. Now which memory should I use? I think I will buy a gig of PC3500 just to be on the safe and stable side, and get lower timings. The two main companies im looking at are Corsair and OCZ, and I read the reviews on www.legitreview.com on the PC4000 sticks. Both the OCZ and corsair did the best, and used the fastest memory chips, (Hynix). The review showed that corsair and ocz was on top, with corsair having the least amount of errors in Memtest. I was wondering if those companies use hynix chips for their 3500 series as well. What are your views on the memory chips at these speeds? And if anyone knows of any, are there any compatability issues with my asus board.

Thank you in advance,
Josh

 

[darko21]

I currently have a asus A7N8X Deluxe rev 1.04(this is important cause they werent manufactured for 200fsb).

Well you got that right. unless you got some kinda fluky board it will never do more than 192-193 FSB no mater what cpu ram power supply you use.

It can be done with a voltage mod and some better cooling to the northbridge.

Your idea is sound and a great idea but that rev 1.04 board is gonna give you nothing but grief trying to push 193fsb.

I had that exact board and OZC PC3500 EL dual channel 2x512 (great memory by the way) xp2400+ @ 2400MHz

I tried everything short of a voltage mod to push 193 and notta chance.

I recently bought a new nforce2 board ga-7nnxp moved EVERYTHING over and presto 210fsb (I think the xp2400+ is holding me back now)

You probably already know this but i'll say it anyway. ya gotta run memory in sync on these boards to get optimal performance so pc4000 won't do ya any good unless you do the voltage mod and get the fsb up to 250

If I glanced at a spilt box of tooth picks on the floor, could I tell you how many are in the pile. Not a chance, But then again I don't have to buy my underware at Kmart.

 

[SoDNighthawk]

Drexel, I have a A7V8X-X Asus Motherboard and I can run FSB of 533MHz for the C.P.U.... but!! the failing of both your A7N8X Deluxe and my A7V8X-X is that I am reasonable sure both boards do not support DUAL CHANNEL MEMORY handling. I know for sure mine doesn't.
I looked at the Corsair memory the Gamers version and it was real good looking memory, a matched set of 512MB sticks and they now how colour L.E.D's along the top that show activity levels. Great for water cooled cases that are clear plastic and you can see the parts inside.
Anyhow I ended up getting Kinston Memory because the Corsair matched sets are specifically designed for the DUAL channel motherboards.
I could go look at the ASUS site to see if your main board supports dual channel but I think I might have read an article scanning the web about my main board that it does not.
I purchased the A7V8X-X because it supports AGP8X Bus and memory speeds up to PC3200 @ 400MHz and I got 2 sticks of Kinston GamersX version memory it is nice as well the 512MB sticks have blue anodized heat sinks attached to both sides of the memory with large stainless steel clips at each end. Very impressive looking for a memory stick (Bullet Proof) for heat control What great heat dissipation properties.

Hold on I have gone to look up your board wait 1 sec

Ok the memory table provides for Corsair Dual channel as it seems to say DOUBLE and TWINBANK, but it looks like it uses memory up to the PC3200 range as my main board does so You wont be able to run PC4000 memory like you wanted to

Corsair CMX512-3200C
2XMS3202 v1.1 2.5 512M Double


Incidentally I run a AMD XP 2800+ CPU and only slightly over clocked it with the new Kinston memory so I can get memory channels at 200MHz, the CPU has to be set-up in the BIOS so you get a desktop speed rating at 2.25GHZ under my computer in properties.
Or you can download a free program called aida32 that will give you a detailed analysis of your current system.

Since I currently have the below mentioned Kinston matched set of PC3200 I will look into getting a A7N8X Deluxe motherboard I see it has nForce properties for chip set and that is part of Nvidia and I run a Nvidia Ti 4200 8X AGP 128MB graphics card they would hook up realy nice.
I want to take some more time to research your model of board.
I got the A7V8X-X because it had no on board garbage aside from the onboard LAN and Audio and I disabled the Audio because I use and external Hercules sound rack.



A7N8X Deluxe provides a revolutionary audio/video experience.
With an array of advanced technology, the A7N8X Deluxe provides a revolutionary audio/video experience. AGP Pro/8X, doubling the bandwidth of AGP 4X, provides cutting-edge graphics performance while Dolby® digital 6-channel support brings incredible sound

Processor Socket A for AMDR Athlon™ XP/ Athlon™ / Duron™ 600MHz ~ 3000+
Thoroughbred/Barton core CPU ready
Chipset North Bridge: NVIDIA® nForce2 SPP(Ultra400)
South Bridge: NVIDIA® nForce2 MCP-T
FSB 400* / 333 / 266 / 200 MHz
( * PCB 1.06 or earlier version need BIOS update )
Memory Dual-Channel DDR 400
3 x 184-pin DIMM Sockets
Max. 3 GB unbuffered PC3200/PC2700/PC2100/PC1600 non-ECC DDR RAM Memory (Twinbank)
Expansion Slots 1 x AGP Pro/8X (1.5V only)
5 x PCI
IDE Ports 2 x UltraDMA 133/100/66/33
Serial ATA Silicon ImageR Sil 3112A Controller with 2 ports
Support RAID 0/1
Audio RealtekR ALC650 6CH w/built in HP amplifier
Integrated APU(Audio Processor Unit) SoundStorm?/ DolbyR Digital (AC-3) Encoder
LAN 2 Ports
MCP integrated NVIDIAR MAC + RealtekR 8201BL PHY
MCP integrated 3ComR MAC + BroadcomR AC101L PHY
1394 2 Ports MCP-T Integrated IEEE 1394a + RealtekR PHY 8801B
Special Features Post Reporter
Power Loss Restart
Q-Fan Technology
STR (Suspend-to-RAM)
C.O.P. (CPU Overheating Protection)
CPU Throttle
Back Panel I/O Ports 1 x Parallel
1 x Serial
1 x PS/2 Keyboard
1 x PS/2 Mouse
1 x Audio I/O
4 x USB 2.0
1 x S/PDIF out + 1 x Surround L/R audio jack + 1 x CNTR/LFE audio jack
2 X RJ45
Internal I/O Connectors 1 x USB 2.0 connector support additional 2 USB 2.0 ports
CPU/Power/Chassis FAN connectors
Game Connector
20 pin ATX power connector
IDE LED connector, power LED connector
2 x 1394 Connector
2 x SATA (Serial ATA) Connector
WOR, WOL, Chassis Intrusion, SM Bus, SIR
Headphone (optional)
Front MIC
CD/AUX/Modem audio in
Front Panel Audio connector (optional)
BIOS Feature 4Mb Flash ROM, Award BIOS, TCAV, PnP, DMI2.0, DMI, Green
Industrial Standard PCI 2.2, USB 2.0
Manageability DMI 2.0, WOR, WOL, Chassis Intrusion, SM Bus
Support CD Drivers
ASUSR PC Probe
Trend Micro?PC-cillin 2002 anti-virus software with WindowsR XP support
ASUS LiveUpdate Utility
Accessories I/O Shield
SATA Cable
2-port USB 2.0 / Game port bracket
User's Manual / Quick Reference Guide
UltraDMA 133 cable
2-Port 1394 Bracket
FDD cable
UltraDMA 133/100/66 cable
9-pin COM cable
InterVideoR WinCinema (optional)
(WinDVD/WinRip/WinCoder/WinProducer) software
Form Factor ATX Form Factor
12" x 9.6" (30.5cm x 24.5cm)
Memory QVL TABLE DDR 400 Table
DIMM
Vendor DIMM Part No. CL Size Side DIE
Vendor DIE Part No.
Samsung M368L6423
DTM-CC4 3 512MB Double Samsung K4H560838D-
TCC4
Samsung M368L3223
DTM-CC4 3 256MB Single Samsung K4H560838D-
TCC4
Adata BDMA83A 2.5 256MB Single Winbond W942508BH-5
TwinMOS MDouble
TTUF08108L294
K4FW0/T 2.5 256MB Single TwinMOS TMD7608F
8E50B
Winbond W9451GBDB-5 2.5 512MB Double Winbond W942508BH-5
TwinMOS 2.5 512MB Double Winbond W942508BH-5
TwinMOS 2.5 256MB Single Winbond W942508BH-5
Kingston KVR400X64
C25/256 2.5 256MB Single Winbond W942508BH-5
Corsair CMX512-3200C
2XMS3202 v1.1 2.5 512M Double




»§øЫÑighthåwk™ Don't get mad at the player get mad at the game. Hackers drool and Skill's rule.

 

[SoDNighthawk]

Damn Drexel you just sold me a new motherboard I like the Nvidia chip-set above the KT400 on my current board.
That deluxe board looks like it kicks holy numbers. My A7V8X-X was released before the A7N Deluxe and now I want one

»§øЫÑighthåwk™ Don't get mad at the player get mad at the game. Hackers drool and Skill's rule.

 

[darko21]

Some people claim your board will do a 200 fsb once you upgrade to 1004 BIOS. I tried that along with most people and no such luck. But who knows you may have a fluky board that will permit it. (It's sure worth a try if you got the parts)

I'm guessing you will be stuck at 192-193 fsb as most people with this board are.

Here are a couple of links you can read or post in to help you out

http://www.nforcershq.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36854

http://www.nforcershq.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=35849

If I glanced at a spilt box of tooth picks on the floor, could I tell you how many are in the pile. Not a chance, But then again I don't have to buy my underware at Kmart.

 

[Drexel]

You wont be able to run PC4000 memory like you wanted to

I wasnt saying I wanted to use PC4000 memory. I want to know if I should buy 3200 or 3500 because i was planning on overclocking the FSB to 200 to 220. Then I asked if my motherboard could take that (which people answered, thank you, im gonna try myself, and I updated the BIOS, hope that helps). I mentioned pc4000 cause I saw a review of PC4000 ram, and which companies made better sticks. The OCZ and Corsair memory used the good hynix chips, and I wanted to know if they used those chips in thier 3200 and 3500 models. Thats all.

But I will repeat, should I use OCZ or Corsair with my motherboard, and what type? (EL, GOLD, LL, stuff like that) Also, if I plan to overclock the FSB from 200 to 220 (if my mb allows), should I be safe and get the 3500, or save the money with 3200 and overclock the memory when i want to go over 200FSB?(anandtech's review says prices for 3200 are down, and 3500 moved up)

Thank you to everyone who responded.

 

[Prof133]

I would suggest dimms built with Winbond Rev B chips for this chipset. If we restrict it to OCZ and Corsair, choose the OCZ EL PC3500 Platinum Limited Edition.

 

[Drexel]

Im fine with going outside of OCZ and corsair, I just liked them because of their popularity and good stability.

Can you list which sticks use the winbond Rev b chips? Also, where did you hear that these are good for my chipset, and how can you tell which chips the sticks use? (do their websites tell or, or do you have to get the memory and read the print on the chip?

 

[Prof133]

Im fine with going outside of OCZ and corsair

In that case I would recommend Mushkin PC3500 Level-II Black.

Can you list which sticks use the winbond Rev b chips?

Including but not limited to:

Mushkin PC3500/PC3200 Level II Black
OCZ EL PC3500 Platinum Limited Edition
Corsair XMS PC3500 C2

Also, where did you hear that these are good for my chipset

Mostly because of user feedback. Most of the top overclockers for this chipset use memory with Winbond Rev B.

and how can you tell which chips the sticks use? (do their websites tell or, or do you have to get the memory and read the print on the chip?

Sometimes we can ask the manufacturer by way of online forum - <A HREF="http://www.houseofhelp.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?forumid=128" target="_new">Corsair Memory Forum</A>, for example. Other times the knowledge comes from following the overclocking community as they use many different dimms and can inform which chips are used, which is the best, etc.