nForce2 or KT333

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RevyGurl

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I've been wanting to get the epox nForce2 motherboard, but I would only be able to equip it with an xp1600 - xp1700 cpu and maybe PC2700 DDR memory (256mb). I guess I wouldn't be taking full advantage of the motherboard's performance.. would I be better off getting a KT333 motherboard instead (i.e.,epox or gigabyte) and obtaining better performance using that cpu and memory?? Or would the nForce2 still show better performance even with that crappy cpu & mem? Anyone, any opinions? Thanks!
 
First of all, if you get an NForce2 mobo, GET AND ASUS A7N8X DELUXE!!!!! And second of all, the Nforce2 wipes the floor with the KT333. The only thing with all the Nforce2 boards is their memory specificity. Pretty much all corsair DDR will work as well as crucial. I am personally going to get Corsair XMS DDR400 (PC3200) in 2 identical blocks. Right now any good Athlon XP cpu (333 or 266 FSB) and DDR333 (PC2700) will rock. The thing with the mem is also to get CAS2 and NOT CAS2.5. CAS2 DDR333 (PC2700) rocks CAS2.5 DDR370 (PC3000) and possibly CAS2.5 DDR400 (PC3200). This is still a reletively inexpensive set up and will really rock in performance. Basically, the KT333 is outdated.

OH...I think Samsung and PNY memory will work also. There are places that give this info, like the website(global ASUS). Look at THG old article with 3 Nforce2 boards. I own an Asus and love it. The epox may be alright, but you are better off with an Asus in my opinion.
 
There is no reason why you would get an kt333 board over a nforce2 motherboard now. The epox 8rda is only $88 at newegg. The only reason you would want to go kt333 is because of price and since nforce2 has dropped... And from what I get from your post, you want a value system. If that is correct, you DO NOT want the Asus nforce deluxe version. Its expensive and your probably not going to use 1/2 the features included on it.
 
i just got an abit nf7-s and it is amazing.i am running a 2400 at 2600 speeds in sync with my dc pc2700.you could easily run a tbred lower rated xp at 166fsb if it was unlocked (most nforce 2's do it for you if it is a tbred b).nforce 2 is definitely worthwhile even for a slower xp.i just upgraded from kt333 and the nforce 2 is infinitely better

no matter how hard you try, you can't polish a turd. :]
 
There's absolutely no reason to buy a KT333 at this point in time. If you were considering an advanced VIA chipset for Socket A, get a KT400, 400, not 333.

I definitely recommend an nForce 2 over a KT400 though. I personally won't buy either though as I'd rather go with an SiS chipset (which I have already done).

-----

Benchmarks don't lie 🙂
 
So everyone definitely suggests getting the nForce2. I guess I will in that case, although I don't think I'm going to get the expensive name-brand Asus.

Even with a low cpu like the xp1700 and with little DDR memory (i.e., PC2700 256mb), the nForce2 performes great??

I don't know anything about the SiS chipset. Is it comparable to an nForce2?
 
Yea Nforce is where you want to be.

I'm still learning & having fun doing it!! Trouble comes with the things you forget or overlook along the way that make it not so fun!!
 
The nForce 2 supposedly has wonderful performance. It will be good regardless of what you equip it with. However, if you equip it with a very outdated video card, like a Voodoo 2 on a PCI slot, you are going to be limited by the quality of that particular part, no matter which motherboard you stick it on.

The nForce 2, however, does suffer from some compatibility/stability issues, and is made by Nvidia, a company displaying microsoft like characteristics (it seems to like they are trying to take over the whole computer market - what I mean, how long before we see Nvidia sound cards or CD burners, for those of you following my conversation). I personally will not choose to support Nvidia in this respect, and they are new to the motherboard arena (they are primarily a video card maker), and SiS is more stable and compatible.

The SiS 745 (currently the best Socket A board SiS offers) can't compete performance wise with the nForce 2, but the upcoming 746FX should wipe out the nForce 2 (I don't know when SiS will release the 746FX).

I personally recommend MSI. On my particular board they made some hardware changes like adding an additional heatsink, they are one of the only vendors who made a model with integrated Firewire (the 745 Ultra-E), and they have their signature red color for their circuit boards (kind of like how Gigabyte uses blue).

I was also very impressed by their software/drivers CD. They had automatic BIOS updates and everything. I would recommend MSI is a vendor also as they aren't priced higher than Asus. MSI stands for MicroStar Incoporated.

-----

Benchmarks don't lie 🙂
 
I don't know much about Nvidia trying to take over the whole computer market, I would think though, that *most* (if not all) companies, if they had the resources to do something like that, would. I guess we have learned that it's not in the nature of corporations to be moral, and everything boils down to the bottom line.

I have only acquired a certain respect for Nvidia, as they were the ones who came up with the revolutionary dual-DDR technology.

I'd rather stick with the Epox nForce2 instead of going with MSI, as Epox has shown much better performance (thru benchmark tests), and is even less expensive.

I look forward to hearing more about the SiS 746FX, though it will probably be a while before it comes out, right? And most likely quite pricy.
 
lol at kt333 dude listen nforce chipset for now and 8 months to come u have braggin rights and upgrades think Barton in future, dont skimp out of 30 bucks get the asus board i got it and looking for a faster chip my self with my tax returns if u dont buy a7v8nx and post low score later its your fault.
 
Nothing wrong with the KT400 board. I'd say the KT333 board was a mistake. Those are dirt cheap right now if you can get them. Both of them will setup stable right out of the box. The KT400 already has 400 FSB on them, so there's the upgrade path to Barton. Nforce can take a massive amount of playing to get it right & even then I'm not so sure it's really right. I have yet to see a post on the Nforce that says I got xxxx more benchmarks when I went to dual channel RAM over single. Most that are running stable are in single RAM configuration. IF dual RAM was the berries we'd see those posts I'm sure. Haven't built the 333, but I've built the other 2 machines. Yea the KT400 is a great board & fast.

I'm still learning & having fun doing it!! Trouble comes with the things you forget or overlook along the way that make it not so fun!!
 
Okay now I'm getting kinda confused. First people are saying things like, the nForce2 wipes the floor with the KT333 etc. Now this? Dual-ddr is not the berries?? If it's a matter of benchmarks, you should definitely check out this site: http://www.anandtech.com/mb/index.html

From what I can tell, this site shows that the nForce2's dual-DDR technology *is* the berries. 😀
 
I did. But I haven't had the same results building them as they did. I have built several single A7V8X's with no problem. However when you go to Dual all of that goes out the window. I have yet to see someone here post that they got so much more going from single to a Dual channel set up. I've seen plenty of people trying to set up dual channel & getting frustrated to no end. So you can read anything you want to, but putting them together is a whole other matter. Most giving you that advice are running single channel. Read some posts about it here if you want to know what time of day it is.

I'm still learning & having fun doing it!! Trouble comes with the things you forget or overlook along the way that make it not so fun!!

I'm running the KT400 on the ASUS A7V8X & i think it's the best out there right now, but the benches won't tell you that either.<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by rcpilot on 01/30/03 05:25 PM.</EM></FONT></P>
 
My friend and I decided to check and see if dual channel was better. Using JK2 we got roughly 10 to 20 more FPS than the single channel. The first test used 2x256MB Corsair XMS PC2700C2PT and the second used 1x512 Corsair XMS PC2700C2PT. The real kicker was running winamp, IM, getright, Norton disk doctor, and JKII at the same time. There we got like 40-50 more FPS. The dual channel really helps with multiple operations.

One mans throw-away is another mans god-box. Help friends in need, I always do!!
Then again, having extra parts are great for making dedicated servers for LAN parties!!!!
 
LOL lay off the crack bro. Sis 745 is not more stable than Nforce 2. I just got rid of a Asus a7s333 cause it was a POS and got a A7V8X for a friend. Which was more stable and better performing than the Sis chipset.

I think you are the only person on this forum that would take a Sis chipset over an Nforce 2.

What a joke!
 
I strongly suggest you get a Tbred XP1700+
A. its cheap
B. they come with unlocked multipliers
so
C. you can run them extreemly easily at 166 bus speed, gaining extra performance for free.

that and a nforce will be really good.

<b>My Computer is so powerful Sauron Desires it and mortal men Covet it, <i>My Precioussssssss</i></b>
 
acually if you want, i can run results, my A7N8X Deluxe runs fine. Right now i'm running on pc2100 cas2 from my old ram, damn pos. I've returned one of my PC2700 cas2.0 sticks was bad (would restart my gigabyte motherboard when i ran anything on it) so i'm waiting for a RMA to come back. I'll post results as soon as i get it back.

"What kind of idiot are you?"
"I don't know, what kinds are there?"
 
That's fine. I didn't see much difference at all with the dual ram. But I didn't play with them long. Clients took them home & I'm totally happy with my A7V8X. I still put them together for others though.

I'm still learning & having fun doing it!! Trouble comes with the things you forget or overlook along the way that make it not so fun!!
 
I don't think the <A HREF="http://www.via.com.tw/en/apollo/kt400.jsp" target="_new">KT400</A> supports more than 333 fsb or memory bus. But dual channel does very little good unless you are running very intensive 3D applications. The KT400 boards have more features included than the KT333 boards though.

<font color=red>The solution may be obvious, but I can't see it for the smoke coming off my processor.</font color=red>
 
I think alot of the people having trouble with dual channel are using RAM other than Corsair. I have heard people doing fine w/ Corsair in dual channel. But you can always run 2 sticks in single channel mode. Then it would be just like any other board w/ two sticks of RAM.

<font color=red>The solution may be obvious, but I can't see it for the smoke coming off my processor.</font color=red>
 
How do people run into problems with DDR? I thought you'd just stick two sticks of memory on the board, and boom.. that's it. Isn't it? Do you have to mess around in the bios or something?
 
With Asus A7N8X you have three slots for memory. Two of the slots are on the same channel. One of the slots is on a second channel. If you have two sticks of memory and you install them in the two slots that share the same channel then you have two sticks in single channel mode, not dual channel.

People have had problems with certain memory types when overclocking in dual channel mode. I think those with Corsair are having success. There are some bios issues that still need to be worked out.

<font color=red>The solution may be obvious, but I can't see it for the smoke coming off my processor.</font color=red>
 
RE: " strongly suggest you get a Tbred XP1700+
A. its cheap
B. they come with unlocked multipliers
so
C. you can run them extreemly easily at 166 bus speed, gaining extra performance for free."

I'm actually trying to decide whether I should get the xp1700 or xp1800 since the price difference isn't all that much. I have no idea how to use the "multipliers" to increase performance, but are you saying that you can't do that with the xp1800?
 
no, from all reports the Tbred XP1800 also has unlocked multipliers... but so long as you get the Tbred, not the older Palomino.

The value of unlocked multipliers is you can choose any combination of multiplier + fsb you want.
e.g default for the XP1700 = 11x133 = 1466Mhz
but a quick visit to the bios and i can run 9x167 = 1500mhz. this way you can easily take atvantage of running at a faster and more efficient bus speed. and you dont have to worry about FSB overclocking and all its associated problems.


<b>My Computer is so powerful Sauron Desires it and mortal men Covet it, <i>My Precioussssssss</i></b>
 
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