PC133 and Athlong XP cpu/mb recommendations?

[phillyTIM]

Greetings folx!

Hey I have like 512mb of PC133 memory here in my current P3-600/P3V4X system. I'm considering, because of the investment that I already have in PC133 memory, in getting an Athlon XP processor and motherboard to fit that PC133 memory.

1. what is the best motherboard to get right now to use the Athlon/PC133. And if you say that SiS ECS 735 (K7S5A) chipset board, then give me your secondary recommendation...just to keep the options open.

2. can I expect a scale of performance if I attempt to use an Athlon XP 1800-type level processor or will the PC133 bottom-out at an earlier speed? (ie, is it futile to spend money on an XP 1800+ processor?)

Thanx for your input and help!

 

[Kanaz]

I would go with Gigabyte any day. They have a couple boards that run XP's and PC133's. I use the GA-7ZMMH for work, but it's mATX (Has on-board video & AGP slot too). There are others I can't remember the name on too.

P.S. PC133 will significantly downgrade the performance of your AthlonXP.
Example: I had a PIII 666MHz - 256MB PC133
*Upgraded to: AthlonXP 1700+ - 256MB PC133 (</i>very</i> minor difference)
*Upgraded to: AthlonXP 1700+ - 256MB DDR PC2100 (<i>huge</i> difference)

-<font color=green>"<i>Tis not a <b>man</b>, tis a <b>monster</b>!</i>"</font color=green>

 

[AMD_Man]

Look at the Asus A7A266-E. They seem quite rare, however but it will allow you to upgrade to DDR RAM in the future. Also look at the IWill KK266-Plus. The KK266-Plus only supports SDRAM.

AMD technology + Intel technology = Intel/AMD Pentathlon IV; the <b>ULTIMATE</b> PC processor

 

[Crashman]

First choice would be the one you already mentioned. Second choice would be the A7A266. But what I would do instead is overclock your 600 to 800 at 133FSB. And who the hell roped you into that garbage motherboard in the first place? You could have been 10%-15% ahead by using a BX.
I would OC your current system and build the new one from scatch as money and time permits.

What's the frequency, Kenneth?

 

[phsstpok]

The Epox 8KTA3PRO (8KTA3+PRO - RAID version) is a good SDRAM board and it supports Athlon XP (with a BIOS update), good overclocking features, core voltage up to 2.25 volts, DRAM voltage to 3.75, AGP to 1.9. It's stable (with a good power supply).

However, SDRAM is a dead-end technology. Five months ago I chose to stick with SDRAM for the same reason as you, I had an investment in it. I don't even have an Athlon XP but rather a Tbird but performance is seriously hurt by the low-bandwidth of SDRAM. Sandra memory benchmarks show this combination getting 1100 MB/sec memory bandwidth (150mhz FSB). Current DDR mobos are 1800-2000 MB/sec at stock bus speeds. I don't know how well PC2400 and PC2700 memory does. Big penalty to have SDRAM. I wish I had spent the extra money. (This is especially true because memory was cheaper five months ago. At the time PC2100 was about $70/256MB. On the otherhand, since that's $140 (on 512MB) that I didn't spend I'll feel better when I spend the money toward a Geforce4 Ti4200).

<b>I have so many cookies I now have a FAT problem!</b><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by phsstpok on 04/21/02 04:56 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[AMD_Man]

P.S. PC133 will significantly downgrade the performance of your AthlonXP.
Example: I had a PIII 666MHz - 256MB PC133
*Upgraded to: AthlonXP 1700+ - 256MB PC133 (very minor difference)
*Upgraded to: AthlonXP 1700+ - 256MB DDR PC2100 (huge difference)

Even with PC133, I wouldn't exactly call a jump from a P3 666MHz to an Athlon XP 1700+ a minor difference in performance. Yes, DDR RAM is a lot faster but not as big as the difference you gain from upgrading the processor.

<b><i>"A penny saved is a penny earned!"</i></b>