You could get an A7N8X-E Deluxe or an A7N8X-X board. I don't know what
performance level you'd get, if you are combining FSB400 processor
with DDR266 RAM. The boards have a selection of memory dividers, and
so it should be possible to run it with FSB400/DDR266. If you go with
the dual channel A7N8X-E , it might even manage to hide the fact that
the RAM is DDR266, by virtue of the two channels being more of a match
for the FSB400 processor interface.
2*DDR266*64bitsperDIMM ? FSB400*64bitdatabus A7N8X-E Deluxe when
equipped
4.2GB/sec > 3.2GB/sec with two matching
DIMMs, one
per channel
1*DDR266*64bitsperDIMM ? FSB400*64bitdatabus A7N8X-X has a single
data bus,
2.1GB/sec < 3.2GB/sec DDR266 would be slow.
In the case of using DDR400 RAM for the comparison, the upper case
becomes 6.4GB/sec > 3.2GB/sec and the lower case becomes
3.2GB/sec = 3.2GB/sec. Using two sticks of DDR400 RAM, makes the
two boards about equal. Using two sticks of DDR266 RAM, would make
the A7N8X-E outperform the A7N8X-X, as the memory subsystem has a
better balance between the RAM subsystem and the processor FSB.
So, if you keep your DDR266 (PC2100) RAM, and there are two
matched sticks of it, the reduced speed means there should be
no issues with the Nforce2. The fun begins if you are trying
FSB400 with DDR400 RAM speeds. At that speed, the Nforce2
becomes picky about the RAM is will use. That is when the
cursing begins. I fixed mine by using some CAS2 memory, but
there have been a couple of posts here, from people who got away
with using CAS3 rated memory at DDR400 rates.
In terms of purchasing a processor - have you decided where you
will find a 3200+ ? AMD stopped making them I believe, and
the Semprons are still being made instead. Actually, here is the
AMD price list:
http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/ProductInformation/0,,30_118_609,00.html?redir=CPT301
I only see the 2600+ Sempron listed for Socket A.
There is a secret though. If you cannot find a 3200+ AthlonXP, you
can use one of several AthlonXP-M processors, and set them up to
200x11 multiplier for the 2200MHz core clock of a 3200+. The XP-M
(mobile) processors are unlocked, so you can set the multiplier
yourself. The 3200+ would have had a locked multiplier (11x). The
XP-M adverts say they are FSB266, but because the silicon die is
a Barton, they are FSB400 capable. That is what I am using on my
A7N8X-E Deluxe.
Read the "reviews" link with each product, and see what kind of
core clock rate people have managed to get. I used a 2600+ XP-M
for mine, but with a slight bit extra Vcore, the other ones will
work as well. I don't really understand why these are still
available. (As I am in Canada, I cannot buy from Newegg, so I
got my processor from ncix.com in Canada. I have no idea if
anyone carries these in Europe.)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ertycodevalue=507:6978&bop=and&InnerManu=1028
As a mobile doesn't come with a heatsink fan, if you don't like
your current heatsink/fan, you can fit a Zalman 7000 series
heatsink. (The only thing I cannot tell you about your purchase,
is what the warranty on one of these things is like. The
warranty terms are bound to be different, as the packaging
is not "retail".)
For a power supply for the A7N8X-E Deluxe, I recommend a 5V rating
of 25A, for a basic build. 5A of that is allocated for the video card,
but your video card probably uses more 3.3V than anything else.
The A7N8X-E doesn't use a lot of 12V current, and doesn't even have
that 2x2 plug. So, you might be able to reuse your current power
supply, if it has a generous +5V (and to a lesser extent 3.3V) current
rating.
You could also consider shopping for a Athlon64 board. You could
get an A8V Deluxe board, as it has an AGP slot, and it can even
run a dual core processor, if you wanted to get one at some
future date. The A8V Deluxe (socket 939) is dual channel, so with
the slow DDR memory, you could again get some benefit from dual
channel operation. That would bring you up to date, although a
S939 processor would be more expensive than what you had planned.
If you were willing to ditch the video card, you could look at
a PCI Express S939 motherboard as an option as well. These boards use
the 12V 2x2 power connector, so perhaps a new power supply would be
needed.
The S754 motherboards are good too, as one review site found slightly
better performance when comparing to S939. The problem with S754,
is the socket is already obsolete, so you would have few upgrade
opportunities in the future. If you weren't planning on upgrading
the board you buy, you could get a couple sticks of DDR400 memory,
and a S754 motherboard, and have a pretty good gaming system.
HTH,
Paul
