Is 845G limited to PC2100?

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Officially, Intel states that the chipset does not support memory speeds above PC2100. However, many has succeeded in running PC2700 with this chipset. But if it doesn't work with your mobo you are on your own. You cant blame anybody since it isnt officially supported. Whether you can run above PC2100 atall also depends on the amount of tweaking handles you have in the bios. Some are better in this respect than others, so it does not only depend on the chipset.

Thanks for the reply. Is there any danger of ruining anything if I were to try PC2400 or PC3200?? If not, it's worth a try as I could always sell the memory and purchase PC2100...

Thanks

whoa, wait a minute. the 4g4a+ uses the 845G chipset which has "unofficial" support for PC2700. tomshardware ran it with PC2700 memory in his article (with quality memory, of couse) so the MB should allow the proper settings.
BUT...
the 8IHXP uses the 845E chipset, NOT the the 845G chipset. The 845E does NOT have support for PC2700, official OR unofficial, so you'd be better off staying away from it unless you only want to use the slower memory.
Regarding the memory you already have, well, you really dont have to sell it. im pretty sure if it doesnt work at the higher speed you can just change the memory clock divider. it will run at pc2100 speeds (if im wrong, im sure a lot of people will rush to correct me), and your pc3200 should be able to be clocked down to PC2700.

Kill a man, you're a murderer. Kill ten thousand, you're a statesman.

...buy gum, you're right! I would think that the 845G would be a faster chipset then, at least with the PC2700 memory... Is the Epox 4G4A+ a decent board to get? How's their tech support?

Thanks

I've been considering the 845G myself, instead of the 845E, specifically for the faster memory support, even if unofficial. The integrated graphics of the 'G are less important to me, but at least a convenience for now.

I've never bought an Epox product, but I did have occasion to use their tech support once and it went OK. For more information, check out one of my past posts:

http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/modules.php?nam...

(or just search 1 to 2 weeks back for "4g4a" and click on
"Re: Poll: which MB mfgrs have best support??")

I've noticed some of your past posts and I'm guessing we've both gone through the same runaround: read tomshardware's 845G MB comparison, decided on the Gigabyte GA-8IGXP based on features - cost - performance, searched far and wide and found it completely unavailable, looked for a second choice, considered the '4G4A, etc etc.

I've downloaded the manual (the detailed manual, not the concise one) for the '8IEXP from Gigabyte's website. It shows on page 23 a "host/DRAM clock ratio" that can be only be set to 2.0, 2.66 and "AUTO". No setting for 3.33 or 2.50 (which would be DDR333/PC2700 with 400MHz or 533MHz FSB). I suppose it's possible AUTO might select PC2700 if the ram was PC2700 but I'd want to be darn sure of it first.

I would suggest downloading the manual for the '4G4A+ and giving it a quick read. I haven't had the chance yet.

At this point, I'm thinking of getting the 4G4a+ also; it's not the fastest, but it seems like its got a lot of features and a reasonable price. If it's 5% slower in some benchmarks, will I really notice a difference? especially if I save $20-40 or more, plus the cost of a few PCI cards.
Do consider this just my musings and not a strong recommendation, since i have no personal experience with Epox's MBs, but it is what I'm considering now.
Let me know what you find out and what you decide, and if you have found any other MBs worth considering
-Paul

Kill a man, you're a murderer. Kill ten thousand, you're a statesman.

Very observant of you porshe...
Yes, My first love was the Gigabyte 8IEXP until I saw the THG article that said that the 845G series boards were faster. So then the 8IGXP became my new love, until I found out that it was more or less a refrence board that Gigabyte had no plans to produce. So, from there, I went to liking the 8IHXP until I found out how expensive a solution it is for what would probably be a small jump in performance for a hobbyist such as myself.

The reason that I started liking the EPOX 4G4A+ is that it seems to have the same features of the 8IGXP, except for a lower quality sound chip, and no firewire, but it IS available now... I've also considered the Sis648 chip as I was really impressed with the THG review on the Shuttle AS45. However that's not available yet either. Plus I'm into video editing with the Canopus products. There's reports in the field that suggest it's hit or miss as to if the Sis chips will work with the Canopus cards. So I will stay away for now...

In the end I guess I'm concluding the the Epox 4G4A+ will be the way to go. It seems that with 3Ghz+ on the horizion (and new motherboard requirements for it), I would probably plan another upgrade in 18 months or so anyhow. And heck, a P4 2.5 and Epox 4G4A+ will blow away my current Dual PIII 650's.

My next step is to try to download the manual as you suggest. However I've noticed the Epox site to be painfully slow. Almost like it's hosted on someone's 56k dial-up box. I will keep trying and let you know what I can dig up on the "host/DRAM clock ratio" settings.

Regards,

Dave

Now here's something interesting that I saw... The review on THG on the P4 3.66Ghz chip shows that they used an ASUS P4T533-C motherboard with RDRAM. Even though it is a more expensive solution, this seems to be contrary to the 'announcement' a week ago that the 3Ghz+ chips would require new motherboards! Hmmm.. This would seem to say that maybe the RDRAM solution would be the way to go given that one could upgrade the CPU in a year or so. I wonder if the EPOX 4G4A+ would support a 3Ghz+ as well? What do you think>??

Dave

Hi fellas, I own a epox 4g4a+ and i can assure you it runs the pc2700 flawlessly, it automatically detects it and sets it in the bios as "ddr333" and if you get good ram you can run it on turbo setting wich is faster than pc800 rdram. It's a nice board, I highly reccommend it.

"I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints."

Very interesting, your comment about the SIS chip. I've been concerned with compatibility issues. That's why I decided on choosing an Intel chipset even if a little performance might suffer.
A number of years ago I was putting together a video capture system. I had a problem with both a VIA chipset and Chips & Technologies. According to all the capture card mfrs (and the chipset mfrs, when pressed against the wall) neither properly supported DirectX, etc.. I ultimately had to scrap the project (i was using inexpensive single board computers and no one at the time had a low-enough cost intel-based solution). Ever since, I've been leery about straying far from the tried-and-true.
regarding 3+GHz cpu's, I don't know what the 4g4a+ will support. I do believe that the CPUs will be using the same 533MHz FSB for the immediate future (maybe a review of the manual will give some idea as to what can be supported, or overclocked). In any case, I'm not gonna hold off anymore. I've been "just about to buy a PC" since just before RDRAM came out at all!. My friends are making fun of me. I'm taking the plunge now. 18 months is a long time away.
Also, I'm interested in leading edge not bleeding edge, i.e. when the 3+GHz pro's come out, I'd still buy, not the 3.6GHz, but whatever dropped in price to $250 or less...


Kill a man, you're a murderer. Kill ten thousand, you're a statesman.

By the way, have u looked at cases at all? ive been thinking about antech, maybe with a 400+w supply. but they're pretty pricey. any suggestions for anything cheaper? I'm looking for something with a lot of slots, but no larger than midtower. Something with a good supply that wont crap out if overclocking.

Kill a man, you're a murderer. Kill ten thousand, you're a statesman.

I'm looking around at cases as well. Actually, I bought a "True480" Antec power supply a few months ago, so I'm set there. So all I need is a case. According to THG, the Directron 201S (http://www.directron.com/mg.html) got a high review. What I like about it is that it's aluminum, fairly small, and has a built in raid holder. It's still $100 though... Anyhow, the article is here:
http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/02q2/020521/index.htm...

As for the 3Ghz question on current motherboards: The answer is that while it is supposed that the 'high end' boards that you and I are looking at will support the higher electrical needs, the fact is that all of the 3.xxGhz chips will have Hyperthreading which is said to aid in multitasking abilities (capture video and compile an Excel spreadsheet at the same time). Hyperthreading will require a new chipset to utilize it. So there you have it. A new board would be needed as well.

So my conclusion is to get what I can afford now and in another 18 months or so, see what I can 'eBay' it for and upgrade to whatever I can again afford! Hmmm. Why can't I just be happy with what I have?

What mobo/CPU are you leaning towards??

Dave

P.S. My inexperienced boss just got into video editing with the Canopus RaptorRT. He bought an Abit (VIA) board BEFORE checking the compatibility charts. BIG mistake... Also, I tried a VIA board as well about two years ago when I got into it. For me, I already had the computer. It didn't work. I upgraded to the Intel 440BX which I have now...

At this point, I'm probably going to get:
epox 4g4a+ MB (<$140)
either P4 2.4G (<$200w/fan & heatsink) or 2.5G (<$250w/same)
antec 1080 case w/430w p/s (~$100)
some name brand 512MB DDR333 (~$130)
some name brand 80G HD (~$100)
misc stuff floppy, CD, etc. (~$50) (I probably have this stuff laying around anyway)
so for $600-700 I should have a blazing fast complete system that will run rings around some slow and old celeron system available retail for the close to the same price.
Of course, later on, I'll add a good video card, sound card, cd or dvd burner, another HD or three for raid.
Whaddaya think? what are you planning?
also, if u know of any better prices, let me know
Kill a man, you're a murderer. Kill ten thousand, you're a statesman.<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by porsche on 09/12/02 01:02 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

Is it better to get the PC2700 CL2 memory, or the PC3200 CL2.5? Will the Epox 4G4A+ support PC3200??

I've heard that the PC2700 memory is actually faster!??!

Dave