opinions about motherboard with DDR for Athlon

Hi,
I'm looking for a mobo with minimum of 5 PCI slots, to fit an athlon A1133 (1.133Ghz) in.

I don't particularly object to sound onboard, but without is plenty OKay.

absolutely NO video onboard.
but most of all, I want available options on motherboards WITH DDR memory support.

- - - - - - -

now, having said that, have any of you seen good comparative real life benchmarks comparing athlon 1.133 Ghz, 266 FSB with PC133 SDRAM and same CPU using PC2100 CL2 DDRAM ?

My fave retailer was out of stock on mobos with DDR memory slots https://discussions.virtualdr.com/

I want to find out about a good choice with DDR and if it really makes that much of a difference with for example, ABIT KT7A with PC133SDRAM
(mobo without raid, VIA apollo KT133A chipset, w/is for 133bus, ata100, agp4 ).

as I say, I am looking for a DDR alternative, and wanna know if its worthwile to get DDR support.

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sorry folks, misquoted the CPU type
- a mere 33 Hertz difference, no? But what a world of difference it would have made had I not also said it was for FSB266-

anyway, no harm done. We was on track.

[This message has been edited by jtdoom (edited 08-03-2001).]

Jaak,

It's reasonable to potentially see a 20% performance increase with PC2100 DDR SDRAM vs PC133 SDRAM. Of course depending on what one does the gain could be less or more.

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Hmmm,
I thought only 7 to 9%
sounds good

my next problem is this...
I am quite busy at the moment, and thought the folks here would gladly help find available options for moboes with DDR support

Abit site is under reconstruction, Aopen has only one? (with too few PCI, and I could not find comparitive tests between athlon mobos
CPU to be supported is 1.1 Ghz athlon on 266 Fsb

https://discussions.virtualdr.com/


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Kind regards, Jaak

Humm you posted again.
well, I found this review, And I am starting you in the middle

You have me curious also.

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[This message has been edited by Train (edited 07-19-2001).]

yep, had forgotten to enable email notification

sorry bout that.
gonna look at that link

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Please remember, it's FREE advice! Let the world know what worked so we can learn.
Kind regards, Jaak

I'm getting a Gigabyte GA-7DX today, I will be using it with my T/bird 1.2 Ghz 266 FSB I'll let you know how it performs.
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/products/7dx.htm

have been busy...

pure DRR only boards are seemingly thin on the ground.

the ali magic can handle both DDR and sdram

we's still looking for viable solutions.
Raymond got really interested about the differences of these chipsets.

TBC'd


------------------
Please remember, it's FREE advice! Let the world know what worked so we can learn.
Kind regards, Jaak

In the end I didn’t get a DDR Gigabyte mobo, I went one better and got an Epox-8K7A+ I have only had it a few days but my first impressions are very good.

Before my purchase I had:

Gigabyte GA-7ZX-H
Athlon Thunderbird 1.2 gig 266fsb
Globalwin fop32-1 HSF with Artic Silver 2 paste
256 megs of PC133 (2 sticks of 128)
Creative geforce2 pro graphics

This gave me a 3dmark 2000 score of 7900

I changed the mobo and used one stick of crucial 256 pc2100 CL2.5 ddr ram and my score went up to 8150, no giant leap but I have not investigated the bios settings yet. I am sure that I would have seen better results with other benchmarking software but 3dmark was all I had to hand.

Must also add that both systems are extremely stable, so I can’t complain.
http://www.epox.com/html/english/pro...d/ep-8k7a+.asp

Epox makes excellent boards.

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Philgo
Which version of direct x are you using?


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Train,

Windows ME with Directx 8.0a, any reason for asking

Hi, this morning I read that other thread.

epox, eh?
[EDIT]just read this review here
what jumpers did you have?

gonna look if it's available,
I can still swap Abit mobo at the shop as it hasn't been used yet.

------------------
Please remember, it's FREE advice! Let the world know what worked so we can learn.
Kind regards, Jaak

[This message has been edited by jtdoom (edited 07-29-2001).]

Jtdoom, The jumpers were the same as on your link, although they are actually dip switches for the multiplier, there are other sets of jumpers on the board for changing CPU Vcore, DDR voltage and clock select.

All I done was change the clock select from 100mhz to 133mhz all the others I left on auto or default, I'm not really into overclocking.

Hi,
Heres the board I would run with the requirements you gave. http://www.iwillusa.com/products/spe...266&SupportID=

They also have a raid board. http://www.iwillusa.com/products/spe...6-R&SupportID=
https://discussions.virtualdr.com/

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Some of the good things in life are free! :) Cable Internet isn't one of them!!

SNAG....

this particular (or any) epox is hard to get in belgium??

Raymond said he has been looking for a local EPOX Distri (for the board mentioned here) for about a month now...


------------------
Please remember, it's FREE advice! Let the world know what worked so we can learn.
Kind regards, Jaak

All DDR motherboards are hard to get in the UK at the moment, must be a shortage, thats life.

Philgo
The difference between 7 and 8.0a in 3D 2000 in frame rates is conciderable over 1500 with a Duron 800. You have a very nice score, very nice.

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jaak
this may help. http://www.epox.nl/english/index.htm

dealers; http://www.epox.nl/english/purchase/belgium.htm

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[This message has been edited by Train (edited 07-30-2001).]

hey,

thanks for the links and stats.
forwarded this info to Raymond https://discussions.virtualdr.com/




------------------
Please remember, it's FREE advice! Let the world know what worked so we can learn.
Kind regards, Jaak

Train, my high score is mainly down to the Creative geforce2 pro 64mb video card that I've just bought, this increased my score by 3000 over a Hercules geforce2 MX.

Hi Philgo
you's getting rid of all bottlenecks, aren't you? https://discussions.virtualdr.com/

looks like a nice setup.
you tell us it's stable, and I find this more important than anything.

Speed and reliability in real world tests are what I am looking for now, and it finishes all tests**
(some systems fail in that, sometimes due to the graphics system...)


------------------
Please remember, it's FREE advice! Let the world know what worked so we can learn.
Kind regards, Jaak

Hi Jaak, stability is the most important thing that's why I don't mess with cverclocking, hope you find a stable DDR board yourself.

As a matter of interest I built a new system for a friend today, it had the same CPU and vid card as mine but the mobo was a MSI MS6330K7T Turbo with 256 megs of PC133 ram, the score with that one was 7850.

just got mail
gonna be able to get epox with DDR.

and he should start postin here, he should. https://discussions.virtualdr.com/

we want more guru, don't we?

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Please remember, it's FREE advice! Let the world know what worked so we can learn.
Kind regards, Jaak

This one has 4 DDR slots, compared to 2 on the Epox 8K7A+
From what I've been reading, it's one of the best performers out there.. http://www.icrontic.com/?action=hardware&id=76

Philgo
Now I know what to replace my Hercules with. Down the road though https://discussions.virtualdr.com/

Nice Info folks, very nice.

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Hi folks
the abit site is sorta back up in the air (still under reconstruction, and just found a forum there) and halfway decent to browse.

paul's unofficial faq's have plenty good info, and that site is defenately worth spending time at.

guys, thanks
I'm learning a ton.




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it's only FREE advice!

Kind regards, Jaak

VDR SEARCH

Epox is replacing the 8K7A with the 8kha.
http://discussions.hardwarecentral.c...ML/010910.html

all this time I said athlon 1.1Ghz
and its a A1133.
Oh well, I did tell it was 266FSB.

but because I wrote it that way, I somehow got it wrong in my mind, and was confusing myself when I looked up recommended boards, and supported CPU on some boards.

so, I'm gonna edit the opening question.

------------------
it's only FREE advice!

Kind regards, Jaak

VDR SEARCH

Hi Doom: Look no further: go to www.soltek.com.tw for your mobo requirements.
They have a full range of mobos but I am not sure whether they are available in your area. Again, good luck with your search!

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Athlon Thunderbird 1.2GHZ
Soltek 75KAV w/VIA
Inno3D GeForce GTS 32DDR
Seagate 30GB 7200/ATA100
Kingston 256MB SDR
NEC CDRW GloballWIN fan