Looking for mobo/CPU comparison.

[over_c]

I am considering upgrading my current mobo/CPU due to some instability problems I've been having for a few months. Can anyone point me to a link that compares P4 Northwoods with A64 Winchesters? I know it's a long shot, but I hope to move from my P4 2.8C/Asus P4P800 to an A64 3500+ Winchester/nForce3 Ultra mobo and I would like to see what kind of a performance gain I can expect.

If the performance gain is minimal, I will probably wait for a little while.

Any links will be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Rugger]

THG has a series of two CPU chart comparisons in their <A HREF="http://www20.tomshardware.com/cpu/index.html" target="_new">CPU section</A>. What are your current system specs? What have you done to try and fix the stability issues?

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<font color=red>You're a boil on the arse of progress - don't make me squeeze you!</font color=red>

 

[over_c]

Current system specs:
P4 2.8C
Asus P4P800
2x512MB Patriot PC3200 w/ XBL @ SPD (2-2-2-5)
BFG 6800 OC (no adjustments)
120 GB Seagate 7200.7 SATA HDD
Fortron 500 W Blue Storm PSU
Antec P-160WF case
TDK 40/16/24 CD-RW
Generic floppy drive
Windows XP Pro SP2

My epic struggle against my latest computer upgrade is detailed <A HREF="http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=200087#200087" target="_new">here.</A>

To make a long story short, I get various BSODs relating to memory or driver problems frequently when running games. Especially the Matrix Online game. It crashes my system frequently.

 

[pat]

A friend of mine upgraded his 2.8c/Asus to an A64 3200+/Gigabyte k8nf-9 motherboard. His cpu is OC to 2.3 ghz.

He say that his system feel faster than his other and he's been able to cut 1 minutes30 secondes out of a 13.50 minutes computation job.

Gaming is another story, as AMD are generaly faster than Intel, but intel has an advantage over AMD in mpeg2 encoding..

That's a lost and win upgrade, in your case, for peformance, imho. What kind of stability problems? What are you using your system for?

<font color=red>Sig space for rent. make your offer.</font color=red>

 

[Rugger]

I remember that thread - I hate intermittent errors that are hard to track down... 😱

__________________________________________________
<font color=red>You're a boil on the arse of progress - don't make me squeeze you!</font color=red>

 

[over_c]

The system will be used for RPG gaming mostly. I rarely do office work on it, and never do encoding of any kind.

 

[Rugger]

Then A64 is the way to go - did you look at the charts. The 3500+ smokes the 2.8C stock. The Northwood can hit some high OCs, but the Winnies do ok themselves. You should see if you can track down one of Venice core CPUs (E3 stepping). With the rest of your rig you should be able to OC it very well...

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<font color=red>You're a boil on the arse of progress - don't make me squeeze you!</font color=red>

 

[over_c]

That's a good idea about the Venice cores. Do you, or does anyone else know when they will be hitting the shelves? Thanks again.

Also, you're right about the CPU charts.

The 2.8C is outperformed by the 3500+ by about 25% or so in the DX9 and OpenGL tests. And that is with the 2.8C on an 875 chipset and the 3500+ on a VIA chipset. In my situation, my 865 chipset would perform worse than the 875, and the nForce3 would likely perform better than the VIA (my assumption). So a 30% improvement (probably) looks nice. Especially when I factor in the OC potential of the Winchesters and Venices.

 

[Rugger]

The Northwood cores OC very well, too, but the A64 is the way to go if gaming is the priority. There's a recent thread on the Venice cores in the CPU forum - I don't remember the dates off the top of my head buit I think they're hitting the streets soon. Xbit labs did a recent review on the <A HREF="http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/athlon64-venice.html" target="_new">Venice cores</A>. You can expect that the Venice cores will cost more upon initial release, but it may be worth the extra OC potential. You'll have to make that price/performance decision yourself. It looks like the rest of your system will handle a good OC - just get a mobo that OCs well and a good HSF to keep the temps down some.

__________________________________________________
<font color=red>You're a boil on the arse of progress - don't make me squeeze you!</font color=red>

 

[Unolocogringo]

I have a very similar system to yours. The only instabilities I ever encountered was when I first upgraded to SP2.
Try lowering your memory timings or turning off TURBO MODE or Memory Acceleration Mode If those are not matched pairs for Dual channel memory.
After a full reinstall of XP with SP2 streamlined (not upgraded) everything has been stable. Except when I overclock the video or processor too much for bunghoolio marks.
Asus P4P800
2.6c@3.25 250fsb 1.7v
2x256 Corsair XMS PC3500 2/2/2/5/7 2.8v Turbomode
BFG6800OC 128MB 420/960 1.4 volt mod 16x6 mod
Fortron 400watt
Plextor 20/10/40/12
Western Digital 400JB and 400AB
Black Sony floppy
Silver Black Antec Sanoma case
WindowsXP SP2 slipstreamed
Onboar Soundmax audio (only use digital out)
Boston Accoustics Surround system

Everything but the videocard is a little over a year old. With a little overclocking you could come within a few percent of the 3500+ performance.
3DM05 5236 <A HREF="http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm05=747956" target="_new">http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm05=747956</A>
Aguamark3 66770 <A HREF="http://arc.aquamark3.com/arc/arc_view.php?run=488809913" target="_new">http://arc.aquamark3.com/arc/arc_view.php?run=488809913</A>


I aint signing nothing!!!

 

[Unolocogringo]

Read your other post and noticed yout motherboard temp is at the top of Intels max temperature.
Also your memory is rated at 400fsb 2/2/2 @ 2.6 or 2.7 volts. If memory is set to auto it will default to 2.5volt. Which undervols your memory making it unstable.
So a little too much heat and not enough voltage to the memory could be your problem.

I aint signing nothing!!!

 

[over_c]

Thanks for the comment on the voltage. I had tried using 2.85 V before and the board shut down hard, and I ended up removing the BIOS jumper to get it to start up again and using the auto voltage afterwards. What source did you use to determine that my mobo temps are too high? I couldn't find anything like that on the Asus website.

I manually set the DRAM Voltage to 2.75 V this morning. (My options are 2.55, 2.65, 2.75, and 2.85, I think). I'll try some torture testing after work and see if that helps. If not, I figure it's time for a whole new board.

I just wish I hadn't spent $280 on that video card in January. Otherwise I would just get an nForce4 board and a PCIe video card.

 

[Unolocogringo]

Intel published a paper and video on Thermal Advantage Chasis. About using a case with a funnel or fan in the side cover. This is to bring in fresh cool air to the cpu for cooling. In it they stated the maxtemp for motherboard arround the cpu socket should be no higher than 36 or 38 degrees celsius. Otherwise you will have instabilities.

Your problem is probably heat in your SFF case. Your motherboard is getting too hot.
Of course the more voltage you use the more heat. So upping the voltage to the memory is creating more heat.

I aint signing nothing!!!