266mhz FSB???

[TP]

I am looking into items for the next rig I build. Ive noticed that the t-bird 1.2 gig comes in two flavors. what is the difference between the standard and the 266mhz fsb version? Is it worth it to go with the 266 fsb? and if so, which mobo is best for it then?

 

[ericd]

Basically it doesn't matter. If you are willing to unlock the multiplier on the processor than you can lower the multiplier and compensate with higher FSB. If you want the best performance with the least amount of hassle yes the 266mhz version is worth it. For any 266 FSB Thunderbird you need to have a motherboard based on the AMD 760 chipset or the VIA KT133A chipset. My personal favorite motherboard at this moment (and the one that I ordered 2 days ago) is the Epox 8kta3. It is based on the KT133A chipset and has very good features. Some people might like the KT7A-RAID better due to the built in RAID controller but I put higher importance on the higher number of memory slots. Hell you can always add a PCI Raid controller later.

Eric

 

[Pers]

from what i hear the 200mhz overclocks better, and an overclocked 200mhz t-bird would outperform a 266mhz one..

 

[SuperKen!]

Pers, what are you talking about?

The only difference between the 200 and 266 T-birds are the multipliers (the 200 has a multiplier of 12 while the 266 has one of 9). Other than that they are exactly the same.

Also, the 200 does not overclock better, and NO, the 200 one does not perform better than the 266 one.

 

[ericd]

Exactly, given the fact that you can unlock the multiplier, you could actually turn a 200 mhz thunderbird into a 266 or the other way around. I plan to take the 1.2gig/200mhz T-Bird and push the FSB as high as I can take it, and at the same time I will decrease the multiplier so that I don't end up clocking it at 1.8 gig.

Eric