Upgrade from A7V266-E

[Jag Man]

I'm thinking about upgrading from my current A7V266-E and AMD Athlon
XP 1800.
From posts here and other forums I'm now thinking about an A7N8X. Is
this a good
choice, perhaps with an Athlon XP 2800 or 3000? Which particular A7N8X
versions
should I be looking at? I'm not a gamer, and don't spend much time
listening to music
or watching DVDs on the computer. I use it for programming, writing,
Internet, etc.
Thus speed and stability are paramount.


TIA

Ed

 

[Paul]

I'm thinking about upgrading from my current A7V266-E and AMD
Athlon XP 1800. From posts here and other forums I'm now thinking
about an A7N8X. Is this a good choice, perhaps with an Athlon
XP 2800 or 3000? Which particular A7N8X versions should I be
looking at? I'm not a gamer, and don't spend much time
listening to music or watching DVDs on the computer. I use it
for programming, writing, Internet, etc. Thus speed and stability
are paramount.


TIA

Ed

I have an A7N8X-E Deluxe and a 2600+ XP-M running at 200x11
(same as a 3200+). The A7N8X-X is a single channel alternative.
Those are the ones I'd suggest. A7N8X-VM/400 might be more
trouble than it is worth. I use a FX5200 with this rig,
to keep power dissipation to a minimum. (The low end FX5200's
are fanless.)

The only hard part about using Nforce2 boards, is finding
RAM that works. There are probably quite a few brands of
cheap PC3200 CAS3 memory that won't work reliably. Finding
a good CAS3 for the job might take some digging (see forums on
nforcershq.com). To solve the problem faster, I bought some
Ballistix PC3200, and that works error free. Test your
system with memtest86 from memtest.org and Prime95 from
mersenne.org, to determine whether your selected combo works
well.

The advantage of the XP-M (mobile) processor, is both the
FSB and multiplier can be set in the A7N8X-E BIOS. There is
still the issue with the "low" versus "high" multipliers,
so I think I am limited to 200 x 12.5, but since I didn't see
much benefit from running 12.5, I leave it at the lower
setting of 200 x 11. Various mobiles are for sale here:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...&maxprice=&mfrcode=1028&DEPA=0&InnerManu=1028

You will note that these officially run at FSB266, but I'm
running mine at FSB400 (200MHz clock). The silicon die is
Barton, the same die as is used on the 3200+. These processors
are picked to run at low Vcore, and when you set the Vcore
to a bit more in the BIOS, (like 1.65V or a bit less),
that is when they become suitable for running at 3200+
speeds. When you first plug it in, it should be found
running at about 800MHz core or so, and by setting most
of the BIOS settings manually, you can work up from there.
If you get "stuck" along the way (reset button won't work),
just power down and the BIOS will recover.

Since those processors are OEM, there is no fan. You could use
the HSF assembly from your current computer. I bought a
Zalman 7000 AlCu, which is more than enough, and you can turn
that down a notch if you want.

So, the only potential unpleasantness, is the RAM. My cheap
RAM from another system turned out not to be ready for running
in dual channel mode. No matter what I did, I couldn't run at
DDR400, to match the FSB400 setting. You can run the RAM in
single channel mode, drop the clock a bit, and fiddle with the
multiplier - I spent about a week characterizing what would and
would not work. The reason DDR400 rate is desirable, is the
processor needs every bit of bandwidth you can give it. The
A7N8X-X runs in single channel mode, so you don't have the
option of running the more demanding (but only 5% more effective
in real use) dual channel mode.

Consult the forums on nforcershq.com for more suggestions.
A "command rate 2T" hacked BIOS is another fix for the problem,
but what that does is drops the effective bandwidth of the memory
bus. So, you still aren't beating the problem, just side stepping
it.

Have fun,
Paul

 

[Jag Man]

Thanks, Paul. I had not been considering the A7N8X-E Deluxe because
it seemed to me that the main difference was things for gamers, which
I am not. But when you say "The A7N8X-X is a single channel
alternative"
and "The A7N8X-X runs in single channel mode, so you don't have the
option of running the more demanding (but only 5% more effective
in real use) dual channel mode."
I gather that the E-Deluxe uses dual channel memory while the X-X does
not. Is that
what you mean?

Ed

 

[Paul Busby]

Thus spake Paul:

I have an A7N8X-E Deluxe and a 2600+ XP-M running at 200x11
(same as a 3200+). The A7N8X-X is a single channel alternative.
Those are the ones I'd suggest. A7N8X-VM/400 might be more
trouble than it is worth. I use a FX5200 with this rig,
to keep power dissipation to a minimum. (The low end FX5200's
are fanless.)

The only hard part about using Nforce2 boards, is finding
RAM that works. There are probably quite a few brands of
cheap PC3200 CAS3 memory that won't work reliably. Finding
a good CAS3 for the job might take some digging (see forums on
nforcershq.com). To solve the problem faster, I bought some
Ballistix PC3200, and that works error free. Test your
system with memtest86 from memtest.org and Prime95 from
mersenne.org, to determine whether your selected combo works
well.

The advantage of the XP-M (mobile) processor, is both the
FSB and multiplier can be set in the A7N8X-E BIOS. There is
still the issue with the "low" versus "high" multipliers,
so I think I am limited to 200 x 12.5, but since I didn't see
much benefit from running 12.5, I leave it at the lower
setting of 200 x 11. Various mobiles are for sale here:

12.5x is the highest I can get. Until I can afford some Ballistix, my PC2100
(2x 256) will run at 174x12.5 (1:1, 3 4 4 8 @2.6V) with an XP2500+ Mob
@1.58V, the lowest Vcore this m/b can set without mods.

As for the difference from my XP1800+, none worth speaking of in day to day
tasks - defrag zips through faster but little else. I'm hoping that 2x 512MB
of PC3200 will ice the cake. The mobile Athlons do run cooler & are
unlocked. A few get sold on eBay. Their overclockability does depend on the
stepping though some say 3GHz with water cooling.

The A7N8X-E is a far better m/b than the A7V266-E mine replaces - Sound
Storm is as good as on-board sound gets. SATA, Ethernet etc all work just
fine. I too am about to buy a fanless 5200 series graphics card & I'll
retire my current MX200 to a QDI B1 with PIII550 for a friend - no ACPI with
Win2000 though

 

[Jag Man]

12.5x is the highest I can get. Until I can afford some Ballistix, my PC2100
(2x 256) will run at 174x12.5 (1:1, 3 4 4 8 @2.6V) with an XP2500+ Mob
@1.58V, the lowest Vcore this m/b can set without mods.

As for the difference from my XP1800+, none worth speaking of in day to day
tasks - defrag zips through faster but little else. I'm hoping that 2x 512MB
of PC3200 will ice the cake. The mobile Athlons do run cooler & are
unlocked. A few get sold on eBay. Their overclockability does depend on the
stepping though some say 3GHz with water cooling.

The A7N8X-E is a far better m/b than the A7V266-E mine replaces - Sound
Storm is as good as on-board sound gets. SATA, Ethernet etc all work just
fine. I too am about to buy a fanless 5200 series graphics card & I'll
retire my current MX200 to a QDI B1 with PIII550 for a friend - no ACPI with
Win2000 though

Paul, if I am interpreting your remarks correctly, perhaps my proposed
upgrade
isn't worth the bother. That is, with regard to the processor, if
going from XP 1800+ to 2500+ doesn't yield
much I wouldn't think that 2800+ would be all that much better. And
with regard
to the board, the superior sound is of no interest to me, all that
leaves is SATA.
Or, what am I missing?

Ed

 

[Paul Busby]

Thus spake Jag Man:

Paul, if I am interpreting your remarks correctly, perhaps my proposed
upgrade
isn't worth the bother. That is, with regard to the processor, if
going from XP 1800+ to 2500+ doesn't yield
much I wouldn't think that 2800+ would be all that much better. And
with regard
to the board, the superior sound is of no interest to me, all that
leaves is SATA.
Or, what am I missing?

Ed

I'm in the process of wringing out as much performance as possible from a
non-gaming Athlon 32b system based on this board. I'm half way there, more &
faster RAM should see me through another 18-24 months before I go 64 bit
dual core. It's only CPU intensive tasks that feel like they run faster.
Unless you do CAD, video editing, gaming, heavy duty photo editing (or
benchmarking!), you just won't see that much extra speed for your outlay,
certainly not much in the tasks you mention - compiling code will see an
improvement which maybe the clincher for you.

I'd sit tight for at least 6/9 months & see if:
WindowsXP 64 launches
Dual core CPUs arrive
SATAII &/or PCIe takes off
DDR2 still under-performs

If you really want to upgrade now, I'd advise going with an Athlon64 939
system. What ever you do, don't underestimate how much difference a faster
hard disc can make - there's plenty of life left in PATA discs (for the
moment). How much RAM do you have? If only 256MB, I'd double it now if
possible.

I've just been lurking on nForcersHQ forums where one thread applauded a h/w
site that had voted the A7N8X as the best AMD m/b of 2004. The responses
were best described as mixed! Later h/w & f/w revisions have sorted the
problems. I went for the E version - great board & reasonably cheap. If you
stick with the A7V266-E for a while & want to quieten it down, unplug the NB
fan connector if your case temps are not much higher than room temp, the NB
chip doesn't get more than warm on this board. I hate noisy PCs!

 

[Jag Man]

I'm in the process of wringing out as much performance as possible from a
non-gaming Athlon 32b system based on this board. I'm half way there, more &
faster RAM should see me through another 18-24 months before I go 64 bit
dual core. It's only CPU intensive tasks that feel like they run faster.
Unless you do CAD, video editing, gaming, heavy duty photo editing (or
benchmarking!), you just won't see that much extra speed for your outlay,
certainly not much in the tasks you mention - compiling code will see an
improvement which maybe the clincher for you.

I'd sit tight for at least 6/9 months & see if:
WindowsXP 64 launches
Dual core CPUs arrive
SATAII &/or PCIe takes off
DDR2 still under-performs

If you really want to upgrade now, I'd advise going with an Athlon64 939
system. What ever you do, don't underestimate how much difference a faster
hard disc can make - there's plenty of life left in PATA discs (for the
moment). How much RAM do you have? If only 256MB, I'd double it now if
possible.

I've just been lurking on nForcersHQ forums where one thread applauded a h/w
site that had voted the A7N8X as the best AMD m/b of 2004. The responses
were best described as mixed! Later h/w & f/w revisions have sorted the
problems. I went for the E version - great board & reasonably cheap. If you
stick with the A7V266-E for a while & want to quieten it down, unplug the NB
fan connector if your case temps are not much higher than room temp, the NB
chip doesn't get more than warm on this board. I hate noisy PCs!

Thanks, Paul. No, you've helped. I started thinking about the
"upgrade" in
an inverted sort of way. I'm still running Win98SE after about 3 years
on the
A7V266-E, which I bought thinking about moving to XP. But I've had
qualms
about making the switch for fear of loosing functionality of a lot of
software tools I've
installed over the years, some of which probably wouldn't survive in
XP. So, I came
to the conclusion I would just build up a new system. leaving the old
one in place
atrhough a long transition. Then, it occurred to me I should take the
opportunity to
upgrade while I'm at it. From what you have said, however, as well as
other
threads I've read, now's not the time to be doing serious upgrading. I
may
implement my plan, but just on another A7V266-E or something, as cheap
as possible
while maintaining stability.

Ed

 

[Paul Busby]

Thus spake Jag Man:

Thanks, Paul. No, you've helped. I started thinking about the
"upgrade" in
an inverted sort of way. I'm still running Win98SE after about 3 years
on the
A7V266-E, which I bought thinking about moving to XP. But I've had
qualms
about making the switch for fear of loosing functionality of a lot of
software tools I've
installed over the years, some of which probably wouldn't survive in
XP. So, I came
to the conclusion I would just build up a new system. leaving the old
one in place
atrhough a long transition. Then, it occurred to me I should take the
opportunity to
upgrade while I'm at it. From what you have said, however, as well as
other
threads I've read, now's not the time to be doing serious upgrading. I
may
implement my plan, but just on another A7V266-E or something, as cheap
as possible
while maintaining stability.

Win98 was never that stable for me like it was supposed to be for a number
of people. XP Pro was a huge improvement, more stable, no slower & power
management worked as advertised - S3 standby mode has worked perfectly on
the A7V266-E as did Hibernate. The only problem with XP was that a scanner
lost some of its functionality when using the MS supplied driver, I
eventually replaced it.

I would never ever be tempted to upgrade a newer OS over a previous one -
reformat.