Asus A7V8XMX and 3200+ cpu

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.asus (More info?)

I was looking to put a 3200+ cpu into this mobo, as it says it
supports it, but the only 3200+ cpus I can find all want 400fsb - does
this mean it won't run correctly unless I find a 3200+ cpu that runs
at 333fsb (was there one?).

What MATX mobo supports the 3200+ with 400fsb?

Is the A7N8X-VM/400 the only one, and is the support for just
333mhzDDR a limitation? Would I be better off with a board that
supports 3000+cpu and 400mhzddr?

TIA

Gary.

 

[Paul]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.asus (More info?)

In article <2o1lpcF5r5h6U1@uni-berlin.de>, "Gary Lightfoot"
<g.lightfoot@btinosmegnternet.com> wrote:

> I was looking to put a 3200+ cpu into this mobo, as it says it
> supports it, but the only 3200+ cpus I can find all want 400fsb - does
> this mean it won't run correctly unless I find a 3200+ cpu that runs
> at 333fsb (was there one?).
>
> What MATX mobo supports the 3200+ with 400fsb?
>
> Is the A7N8X-VM/400 the only one, and is the support for just
> 333mhzDDR a limitation? Would I be better off with a board that
> supports 3000+cpu and 400mhzddr?
>
> TIA
>
> Gary.

http://www.asus.com.tw/support/cpusupport/cpusupport.aspx

If you click the "CPU Name" button, you can use the pulldown
menus, to select the processor you are interested in. That
will show the motherboards that support a given processor.

Looking in that pulldown menu, there is only one 3200+
listed for the AthlonXP. If you select 3000+/FSB333, the
A7V8X-MX shows up.

The statements in the specification sections of the manuals are
interesting. In the A7V8X manual, for example, the CPU spec
says:

"Socket A for AMD Thoroughbred, Athlon XP/Athlon/Duron
600 MHz ~ 2.4 GHz+"

Your A7V8X-MX manual says:

"Socket A for AMD Athlon?XP up to 3200+ processor
Thoroughbred/Barton core support"

I think these are generally forward looking statements, and
are an attempt to extrapolate how power hungry a processor can
be run, using the limits of the Vcore regulator. The supported
processor list grows over time, and for the majority of the
motherboards, once the manuals are written, they aren't updated
(saves download costs that way). The cpusupport web page tells
you the real story.

HTH,
Paul

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.asus (More info?)

Hi Paul,

>> Gary.
>
> http://www.asus.com.tw/support/cpusupport/cpusupport.aspx
>
> If you click the "CPU Name" button, you can use the pulldown
> menus, to select the processor you are interested in. That
> will show the motherboards that support a given processor.

I managed to find a board that supports the 400fsb 3200+ and that's
the A7N8X-VM/400, and the above utility confirmed it. Hoorah!

> Looking in that pulldown menu, there is only one 3200+
> listed for the AthlonXP. If you select 3000+/FSB333, the
> A7V8X-MX shows up.

Yeah, that's what I thought - thanks for confirming that for me.

> Your A7V8X-MX manual says:
>
> "Socket A for AMD Athlon?XP up to 3200+ processor
> Thoroughbred/Barton core support"

That was the confusing part, and to make things worse, an HTPC case
manufacturer actualy said that as the manual says it will support it,
it will! I'm glad I was a bit cautious and didn't buy the board for
that chip....

Ok, another question for you. Is ther any advantage to having a 3000+
CPU with 333fsb and 400DDR memory, over the faster 3200+ CPU with
400fsb and only 333DDR memory capability? The ATX board I found that
takes the 400fsb 3200+ has a slower DDR capability. Which one equates
to a faster machine for Hi Def WMV video material would you say?

Many thanks for your time.

Gary.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.asus (More info?)

Paul wrote:
[..]

Thanks for that - great info!

> Generally, full size boards like A7N8X-E deluxe or A7N8X-X
> would have more adjustments and fewer gotchas than the -VM.
> If you can afford the size increase, and the cost of
> throwing in a FX5200 video card, for your video card, then
> they would be much more likely to give you a fast system,
> with FSB and DDR rates that can be set to the same value.

I'm inclined to try and go for the larger board size due to the
greater choice of mobos. The reason I was after MATX was because the
case that it has to go in only took MATX mobos, but now they can
accomodate ATX but with a physically smaller PSU (max size of 320w).
The case can take up to 7 hard drives, and this was originaly the plan
as it's being used as a DVD/Hi Def media server using X-Lobby.

I'm building it for a friend, so we're now thinking of using just 3
hard drives in the ATX case, with any extra storage via Lacie Firewire
hard drives.

We'e going to use a Radeon 9600 non pro due to it's DVD quality
playback quality, improved mpg2 deblocking in hardware mode and the
fact that it's fanless, so quieter.

Many thanks for your help.

Gary.