ABIT SR7-8X (SiS 648DX), an 845E killer?

[Regalk]

double post 😱

 

[NFS4]

there's nothing wrong with the SiS board and yes there may be better options available, BUT NONE ARE AS INEXPENSIVE. and that is a fact, and yes you make valid points about how different CPU's would need different FSB settings and such, but the FACT IS that the majority of people are buying the 1.6A and not the higher CPU's. I have such a strong opinion because I like supporting underdog companies like SiS instead of going with plane ol Intel chipsets. SiS has been puttin out solid chipsets and their upcoming sis 648 with 8X support and official ddr 400 support looks to be a killer board.

SiS has been putting out solid chipsets...since when?? Q3 '01 after they came out of hibernation? Yeah, that's a lot of time to form an opinion... The ECS K7S5A was spotty at best if you got a good one and there were very few other SiS735 boards made. SiS745 boards are few and far between. And the SiS645 has hardly been around long enough to say that it is the end all be all for Pentium 4 chipsets.

Intel makes the best chipsets for it's processors hands down no question about it. You also have a MUCH larger variety of boards to choose from with Intel solutions. VIA's P4X333 would be the next logical choice, but from VIA's roadmap, it looks as though they are going with P4X400 and have discontinued plans to bring forth P4X333.

And my i845G based EPoX 4G4A cost $98 from MWAVE. So much for 645DX boards being so cheap...the P4S533 is $105 at MWAVE. I'd gladly take my 4G4A over any SiS based motherboard. With prices like that, it makes no since IMHO NOT to go with an Intel based solution. Not to mention that you get onboard video, PCI/AGP lock, and native USB 2.0 support as well (4 USB 2.0 ports on the backpanel with the 4G4A).

 

[OneOfTheseDays]

NFS4 you really don't know what you are talking about. The earlier i845d boards from Epox were excellent. However their new i845g mobo the 4G4A has received a LOT of flak for being a crappy board for ocing. Just check hardforums and even these forums and you'll see that Epox isn't a stable mobo when overclocking. If you really want a great mobo and DDR 333 support get an Abit BG7, Abit BD7II.

 

[NFS4]

Originally posted by: Sudheer Anne
NFS4 you really don't know what you are talking about. The earlier i845d boards from Epox were excellent. However their new i845g mobo the 4G4A has received a LOT of flak for being a crappy board for ocing. Just check hardforums and even these forums and you'll see that Epox isn't a stable mobo when overclocking. If you really want a great mobo and DDR 333 support get an Abit BG7, Abit BD7II.

No, you don't know what YOU are talking about 😀 Read the motherboards forum here. There are many of us running Epox 4G4A motherboards just fine. You take one thread from HardForums (and nothing else) and think that means that all EpoX 4G4A boards suck for overclocking. PUHLEASE!!!!!! My 1.8A is running at 2.4GHz on my EpoX board. And did I mention that the EpoX board shows you all of your voltages, fan speeds, and temps on bootup at post??😛

http://www.ocworkbench.com/2002/epox/4g4a+/Picture_823_copy.jpg

Ohh, and good luck if you try to RMA an Abit board 😀 If you need more evidence of how good an overclocker the 4G4A is, read these links:

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=29&threadid=790932

And here are reviews that you can look at:

http://www.overclockersonline.com/?page=articles&num=140

As I mentioned, the 4G4A+ comes with all the overclocking tweaks you could ask for!! So what was I able to score with this beauty?? In order to test overclockability, I decided to install a Pentium4 1.6A processor, which is the overclockers dream the way things are now ... Low multiplier, same core as the much higher clocked processors, ... what more could you ask for?

EPoX has a good reputation when it comes to BIOS' and that's the case with the 4G4A+ as well. All the usual stuff is available and more: memory tweaks, overclocking options, ... you name it. Overclockers will be happy to hear that the DDR voltage can be increased up to 3.2V in 0.1V increments and the CPU voltage can go all the way up to 1.85V in 0.025V increments. If that won't satisfy your needs, let me tell you that the front side bus can be increased in 1MHz increments starting at 100MHz and ending at 255MHz ... This means that DDR-333 memory is no problem for this baby 😉.

Die hard overclockers who tend to get the most out of their video cards will be thrilled to hear that not only the CPU and DDR memory voltage can be adjusted, also the AGP voltage can be altered! Settings between 1.5V and 1.9V (0.1V increments) are available to make sure you are getting the most out of it.

All of the above combined result in a great overclockers motherboard, which will become clear in the "Overclocking" section ...

As I mentioned, the 4G4A+ comes with all the overclocking tweaks you could ask for!! So what was I able to score with this beauty?? In order to test overclockability, I decided to install a Pentium4 1.6A processor, which is the overclockers dream the way things are now ... Low multiplier, same core as the much higher clocked processors, ... what more could you ask for?

I was able to run my CPU at 2.61GHz with the EPoX 4G4A+ ... That's right ... this is a 1.01GHz overclock! Now, I can hear you think: "he used a watercooling setup along with some TEC's!" ... WRONG! The CPU is being chilled by a fairly standard aluminum Vantec P4 heatsink. Imagine what this puppy will do when I apply some liquid cooling to it huh?
Also note that the highest speed I could get from this processor on any other board was 2.4GHz, with the exact same hardware configuration (besides the motherboard).

I was able to get the processor to load windows at 2.7GHz, but it would fail as soon as CPU load would reach 100%. The reason for this is heat, which will probably be eliminated as soon as I install some watercooling, so expect this saga to continue soon!

All in all, the EPoX 4G4A+ has shown itself as a true overclockers dream with great potential and extreme stability! I ran loops of 3D Mark hours and hours, combined with RC5 and Prime95. Not a single hick-up took place. Need I say more?

And another review:

http://www.vr-zone.com/reviews/EPoX/4G4A+/

Just as you think DDR333 support is enough for you, EPoX 4G4A+ can provide some sort of DDR400 support if you increase the FSB to 160Mhz. Well, this is not a true DDR400 support as your CPU should remain at 133Mhz default while the memory is running at 200Mhz but it is nice enough for now.

Using the Intel Pentium 4 2.4BGhz utilizing 533Mhz FSB, i have increased the FSB from 133Mhz to 160Mhz and set the CPU😀RAM ratio to 4:5 that allows the DDR SDRAM to run at 200Mhz. The memory timings are still at most aggressive and the AGP/PCI ratio is still locked at 66/33Mhz.

EPoX 4G4A+ has a very powerful BIOS with many tweakable settings such as VCore up to 1.85V, Vagp up to 1.9V, VDimm up to 3.2V, FSB up to 200Mhz in 1Mhz interval and AGP/PCI ratio adjustable. The clock speed and the FSB of the Pentium 4 processor can be fully maxed out with this board. The ability to support DDR333 is certainly the most welcomed feature here and stability can even be achieved at 200Mhz FSB (DDR400) with good combinations of BIOS settings. EPoX 4G4A+ is simply an Overclockers' delight and much high FSB overclocking can be done with this board definitely.

And another review:

http://www.tweaktown.com/document.php?dType=review&dId=269

The EPoX 4G4A+ is a powerhouse when it comes to overclocking. Basically, every setting under the sun for overclockers is available and allows good to fantastic range settings. Using the Award 6.00PG BIOS, you will find the overclocking options under the "Frequency/Voltage Control" Menu. From here you have all your options.

First off is the FSB/CPU setting. You get to see your FSB speed and CPU speed at that FSB before any changes are affected, very good to check if you are going that little bit too high. Your FSB settings can be set from 100MHz up to 255MHz in 1MHz increments. A must have.

Next you get your DRAM Frequency. Here I found some amazing settings, you can set your DRAM speed to 200MHz, 266MHz and 333MHz. That?s right this board has DDR-333 support. Looking through my documents from Intel on the i845G, there is no mention of DDR-333 support. This is a nice hidden surprise.

After the main settings for your system, we get into voltages. First off is the Vcore. You can set the Vcore from 1.1v up to 1.85v in 0.025v increments. Northwood CPU's will go to full 1.85v without any problems on this board. The next voltage is the AGP Voltage. You can set your AGP voltage from 1.5v to 1.9v in 0.1v increments. DRAM voltage is the last on the list. You can set the voltage of the DDR-SDRAM from 2.5v up to 3.2v in 0.1v increments. This will give you super speeds from the memory and allow better overclocking of your DDR SDRAM.

EPoX of late have had success after success. A little over three years ago, EPoX was a name unheard of, but today they are one of the biggest overclockers on the market. The 4G4A+ certainly does not tarnish this reputation.

The 4G4A+ in the stability section was unwavering. Even when running aggressive memory timings there were no hiccups at all. Overclocking stability is another of its great attributes. Able to support up to 170MHz FSB on our P4 2.4GHz 533FSB CPU shows that this board can push the limits, and the added settings in BIOS to control your overclocking are well above the average.

Spare me your blind faith😀

 

[tazdevl]

Sudheer Anne are you an angry youth or what? My suggestion is to relax and listen to other people. No one person is the sole repository of all motherboard knowledge. This isn't a competition to see who's right. It's people exhanging ideas and opinions.

 

[Athlon4all]

Brandon yoi make some good points, although I still think that you are off about K7S5A but anyway thats not the topic here. I think that there is no better value board for the 1.6A (or soon the 1.8A) other than the 4G4A. It has the fastest DDR Chipset on the market, and I really feel is hands down the best ocing mobo for the P4. So anyway.

 

[OneOfTheseDays]

ARGH!!! Well, after 2 days of tinkering around with the 4G4A+, I am about to pull my hair out! Yes, when I first installed it, it was great! Now that I am doing more things with it (or lack thereof), it is really starting to annoy me...

SVT: Now you see why my first post on this board was a bit negative...I posted AFTER I wrestled with it thoroughly...makes the color a bit uglier, eh?

I think I've finally reached the point where I know what's up with this board. I certainly think there's a power/current problem. Just as Zroc mentioned, anything over 1.7v seems to lose stability.

Right now it's running at 2.4/1.6v/DDR375, which allows me to run 3DM2K1 infinitely (or so it seems), but that limitation appears to be a RAM issue, as 2.48/310 runs fine as well. The max I can run the CPU with stability is 2.48 with 1.65v - I was able to run Prime95 for 13 hours without a hiccup. That speed (with the 4:5 ratio) puts the RAM at 387, and I get lock-ups in 3DM2K1. So, I am going to order some new RAM and see if I can get 2.4/400 working or maybe even 2.48/413, if the RAM will do it.

. I'm kind of a bit preturb at EPoX for not putting the 12v power connector on there! I'm sure it wouldn't have raised the price of the board all that much.

140MHz is pretty much the max stable FSB possible. But the 4G4A+ could turn out to be a waste of money (~$50) for an "upgrade" that performs worse due to lack of DDR400 support at possible FSB speeds.

Hello, just got the board yesterday and also run into trouble. The 1.8A works at 2.4 with 1.625volt without a problem, but only with RAM at 266Mhz (jumper at Auto). If i try 354Mhz and a VGA-card driver is loaded WinXP crashes on start. I used 512Mb Samsung PC333 original stick (2 fifferent sticks!),

like i said not a bad board, but not one that is recommended for overclocking. NFS4 just cuz you post 50 million times a day and have no life doesn't mean your smarter or more knowledgable than anyone on the forum.

 

[NFS4]

Sudheer Anne,

Who said anything about being smarter?? And having no life? What's up with that? Are you just doing this for kicks or do you find it funny? I work 40 hours a week, I post news for Anandtech, and I manage to have time for my friends and post on these forums. If you call that no life, then may I ask what YOU do? I have in NO WAY personally attacked you and everything I have said to you directly that could even be taken the wrong way has been with a smiley face. You've outright called Athlon4All stupid and have been confrontational. Even tazdevl told you to take a chill pill.

You made it out to seem that the EPoX board was the devil. I gave you a thread pointing out the exact opposite as well as a THREE reviews saying otherwise. Not every board or every processor is guaranteed to give you a 1GHz overclock but from the reviews and links I've posted, the EPoX is a great board for overclockers. Overclockers Online DID however get a 1GHz overclock with their 4G4A+ (I posted a link to that in my previous post).

I post links to three professional reviews and you totally ignore the information and go on with insults

As for the quotes you posted, I can do the exact same thing (though I'll provide links to my quotes):

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=29&threadid=790932

bwass24

I have both a 2.26B and a 1.6A and I've been running the 2.26B in the Epox board for a few days. This is the first board that I've tried the 2.26B CPU in so I don't know it's true overclocking potential. I've also run a few different types of RAM--Kingmax PC2700, Kingmax PC3200, Corsair PC3000 and Mushkin PC3200 (Samsung chips under the heat spreader).

Here's what I've found:
-Regardless of the RAM installed I can run the FSB up to 155 with great stability with ratio at 1:1 or auto
-The lack of a extra 12V doesn't seem to be causing any problems
-At total defaults settings, which do a great job of figuring out how to run your RAM, Sandra mem scored are about 2500+/-, and 3Dmark2kSE scores (Ti4400 not overclocked) are about 10200
-The best results I've obtained so far have been:
--155fsb (2635mhz), memory ratio 4:5 using Mushkin (=194mhz), Vcore=1.625, Vagp=1.6, Vdimm=2.6
--Sandra mem score=3003
--3Dmark2001se score (GPU OC'ed to 567/280) =11012

phillyTIM

Alright...I put my 4G4A+ up last night, with my 1.6a p4, and here's what I have to report so far...

that 4G4A+ baby is running solid at fsb 138 (2.2ghz), 2 Samsung DDR333 registers as DDR344, vCore 1.5v, vDIMM 2.5v, PerformanceMark of 2955.

I have burn-in tests running for the past 8 hours, and not one freeze-up yet.

I'm quite pleased with my purchase of the 4G4A+. With the help of this motherboard, a $135 purchase of a 1.6a at 2.2ghz is a pretty healthy investment!

It seems this board, and every 845e/g board, is getting a bad rap out of those who can't get DDR400 speeds. Well since the system lets you run at DDR333 unofficially in-spec, that's nothin' to sneeze at.

gsethi

oh boy.....do i love this board or what ?

ok..this time i plugged in my GF3 video card and ran 150 FSB using 3:4 memory ratio. Just to save time, i decided to give +0.1v to my memory and it worked fine.

Running prime 95 without a hitch now. this board beats GA-8IEXP right off the back. Will test 4:5 memory ratio again and see if my GF3 affects it in any way.

but i LOVE THIS BOARD NOW. My GA-8IEXP is going back i guess.......

UPDATE: Low memory benchmarking was due to using integraded graphics. put in my GF3 and back to normal benchmarks........

ANOTHER UPDATE:

It is doing 160 FSB with 4:5 memory ratio now.....WOWOWOWOWOW
Increased CPU VCore to 1.700 v (it wouldnt do it at 1.600v though)

gsethi

Sukhoi, i am running my Memory at DDR 333 and getting those numbers of DDR 266. My Score should be around 2400 for DDR 333 and i am getting that score for DDR 374....weird.....will check BIOS again and might give some more voltage to Ram

But this board is performing like a stellar so far.....my GA-8IEXP required me to provide more voltage to my memory for DDR 354 and its doing DDR 374 on default (well..actuall is DDR 333)....but still.....

i have to figure out why memory is benching so low now.......

will try 150 FSB with 3:4 ratio next.

EDIT: oh yeah...forgot one more thing...this board is overvolting (unlike many other boards including Gigabyte) which is a nice thing for overclocking. Seems like that missing of 12v connector has no effect.

boy, i am starting to love this board now.....only have to figure out why my memory is benching so low.

MetroRider

ok, i just got my Epox 4G4A+ earlier today from newegg, and have hooked it up using a P4-1600a.

boy this mobo is SWEET! it posts @ 2560 (160 fsb), and i have run my Samsung PC2700 ram as high as 390 ddr (though not stable).

right now, i have it set at 154 fsb for a speed of 2464 MHz, with my ram running at cas 2-2-2-5. all of this is with default voltages for both the cpu and the ram.

will report back to see how others things of it are going....

ANY2

I just read on another thread that the 4G4A+ is not a great overclocker.

Now I see that gsethi has his 1.6A overclocked to 2.6 using a 4G4A+ and some Samsung DDR333 RAM.

That is an awesome overclock, considering it is only air-cooled...

I would also like to buy this 4G4A+/1.6A/512MB_Samsung_DDR333 combo. Is that the way to go for O/C that 1.6 to atleast ~2400?

I also noticed that gsethi has a very powerfull PSU, that might be compensating for the lack of the 12V input on the 4G4A+
Am I right? If so, which PSU should I get?

gsethi

Hello, i think that this board is a good overclocker. I am running rock stable for about a week now at 160 FSB. I can do 163 FSB rock stable too and thats with 3:4 memory ratio. I will try once again over this weekend to see if i can go any higher after burning my board.

Regarding the PSU, i am using Antec 400w PSU right now. Its a great PSU and is also very quiet and i love it. you might want to go with atleast 450w-500w if you want to go over 2.6 Ghz. Thats the same i am wondering. I wonder if its my PSU thats holding my back now on higher upgrades by not able to provide enough power ? dont know for sure but go with atleast 400w PSU, i definately recommend atleast 450-500w PSU though.

hope that helps

MetroRider

ok, i've been working my way up with this combo. i recently installed 3DMark2001 SE, but am not an avid follower of it, so please let me know how my score ranks:

p4 @ 2432 MHz
ram running at 406 DDR

i get a score of 9503 using a Geforce3. I will see what happens when I pop in the Geforce4 Ti4200 128mb card in its place...

anazoal

...I've been working my way up the FSB ladder...

Currently:

...Default voltages... at 147 FSB & 367.5 DDR

Running Prine95, CPU temp steady at 49 C

Mobo is STABLE so far!!!

...going to 150 FSB & 375 DDR next

...Did I mention I am using stock HSF? Fan is now spinning at ~3900 RPM... That's 1000 RPM above stock FSB!

Insane3D

Just got mine set up with the following components....

P4 1.6A
Retail Radeon 8500 128mb
Philips AE 5.1
Hollywood Plus DVD card (for TV Output only)
2 x 256mb Kingmax PC3200 (DDR400)
Alpha PAL8492 HSF
Antec 350W PSU

I'm using the onboard LAN only. The Highpoint Controller, video, and sound are all disabled.

I'm running 160mhz FSB, DDR400, stable as a rock. I replaced the northbridge HS with the one from my dead Asus P4B266-C, and it works well.

Here's a couple of pics...

gsethi

Another update from me:

for those who missed my last update, here is my old info:

CPU: 1.60a @ 2560 Mhz (160 FSB)
CPU VCore: 1.800v
Memory: DDR 333 @ DDR 426 (3:4 memory ratio)
DRam Voltage: 2.700v
Prime 95: ran effortlessly for hours

Todays update:
CPU: 1.60a @ 2640 Mhz (165 FSB)
CPU VCore: 1.800v
Memory: DDR 333 @ DDR 440 (3:4 memory ratio)
DRam Voltage: 2.700v
Prime 95: running solid so far......

Seems like there is no stopping on my Ram. Surprised that my Samsung DDR 333 is running effortlessly at DDR 440. (at current increasing rate of DDR 14 / week, my memory will be running at DDR 496 next month now this is one heck of a memory stick.....thanks Samsung)

btw, for your info, my stick is a newer "DTL" model (not "CTL" like some of you are running after). I read somewhere that the "DTL" model is supposed to be DDR 400 memory sticks (in my case, it is certainly true)

Hugenstein

For anyone who is curious, these are the scores I got with the simple overclock, put the system up to 133 bus, and PC2100 RAM at CAS 2.

Epox 4G4A+
P4 - 1.6A @ 133 bus
512 MB Crucial PC2100 @ CAS2
Geforce TI4200

3d Mark2001 SE: 9379
PC Mark 2002: 5132

I have proven myself with links and quotes from users and reviews from around the web proving the great overclockability of the 4G4A+. You provide quotes from who knows where without even posting links. Not quite the counter claim I was expecting. Here's another link:

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=27&threadid=819187

But if you want to stomp around and call names and act like a little child, I'll leave the rest to you. I'm through with it.

 

[mschell]

I don't think a board with PCI bus frequency locking is absolutly necessary at least in the short term. OK, the 1.6A is being discontinued but the 1.8A should still be available for a few months. I've had 3 different SiS 645 boards, they all ran a 150MHz FBS - 38MHz PCI, 76MHz AGP flawlessly, even the USB ports worked without a hitch. The 1.8 at 150MHz is 2.7GHz which is a good overclock in anyone's book. You would have to be a bit wacky or just have too much disposable income to consider the 2.26 which only some are getting close to 3GHz at this point.

If money's no object then forget about SiS or the 845G and go with the 850E along with some 1066MHz RDRAM. These setups blow everything else away in benchmarks for all that that matters which brings me to my last point - the small performance differences between chipsets published in reviews are not noticable in real world system operation. This means an 645DX will perform every bit as good (or bad) as anything else out there MHz to MHz. It might intrest some to know that the 645DX puts out consistantly high video FPS numbers, these are the only benchmarks that mean much IMO but some here think Sandra is king, go figure - M.

 

[MortaniuS]

Hmmm.....i run a ECS P4s5a/645DX and its rock solid, no compatibaility issues and running smooth as hell and cost under 100 bux. Honestly i think all this bickering is a waste of time ;-P

 

[Mikewarrior2]

Sundheer Anne,

Where do you get your info that the EPOX 4G4A is getting flak for being a poor overclocker? I browed the hardforums, and saw NO SUCH EVIDENCE.

Similiarly, there is no evidence of that at Anandtech Forums either.

Why don't you click a few of the links NFS4 has posted, and you can see both USERS and REVIEWERS that get great overclocking results.

What do you have against Epox anyways? it seem slike you have some kind of personal vengeance factor involved here. Did they run over your dog or something?



Mike

 

[OneOfTheseDays]

here is the link to the thread

 

[Insane3D]

Originally posted by: Sudheer Anne
here is the link to the thread

Wow! One thread! That seals it for me!

<---Immediately removes 4G4A+ running 160mhz FSB, DDR400 from system and throws it away because of the one thread Sudheer Anne pointed out....whatever.


God, some people are so thick headed....

 

[NFS4]

Originally posted by: Sudheer Anne
here is the link to the thread

WOW. After all the chest beating and name-calling, we finally get ONE link to a thread where we find that TWO people are having problems overclocking, one person had success getting DDR375 and states that his RAM is holding him back, and then you have the folks that are just there to chime in about "I'll stay away from this board now" or "this board sucks." The rest are people who have no problems overclocking at all and are stable.

I also found it funny that Zroc bashes the board for the purple box and brown PCB. WTH does that have to do with anything?

I still find it strange that you have not addressed the reviews, links, and quotes I have posted. Instead, I get insults. Anyway, the evidence is right there in front of you...you do as you choose with it.

 

[oldfart]

SiS 645:

For those who like 2nd best

 

[NFS4]

Originally posted by: oldfart
SiS 645:

For those who like 2nd best

There ARE no points for second place 😀

 

[OneOfTheseDays]

the epox board is decent for mild overclocking (ie 1.6@2.4) but for anything serious requiring high voltages it is not so good. Due to the lack of a P4 power connector on board there are several stability issues for those running with smaller power supplies (and even for those with higher powersupplies). That is why the Epox board is not recommended for overclockers, the Abit BG7 is not so good either because of the excessive heat of the northbridge. It severely limits its ocing capabilities at 150 fsb and above. In a nutshell the i845g mobos aren't all too great for extreme and high overclocking. Ask any of the extreme overclockers on this board and see who's running an epox board? is thugsrook....no

 

[NFS4]

Originally posted by: Sudheer Anne
the epox board is decent for mild overclocking (ie 1.6@2.4) but for anything serious requiring high voltages it is not so good. Due to the lack of a P4 power connector on board there are several stability issues for those running with smaller power supplies (and even for those with higher powersupplies). That is why the Epox board is not recommended for overclockers, the Abit BG7 is not so good either because of the excessive heat of the northbridge. It severely limits its ocing capabilities at 150 fsb and above. In a nutshell the i845g mobos aren't all too great for extreme and high overclocking. Ask any of the extreme overclockers on this board and see who's running an epox board? is thugsrook....no

Not recommended according to who?? Where are you getting this information from? And I don't consider a 1.6A to 2.4GHz (an 800MHz difference) a "mild" overclock. That is a 50% overclock...hardly "mild" at all. For you to expect much more than that from a processor is getting into greed and slim pickings.

Now for my favorite😛:

"That is why the Epox board is not recommended for overclockers, the Abit BG7 is not so good either because of the excessive heat of the northbridge. It severely limits its ocing capabilities at 150 fsb and above"

Weren't you the one that JUST yesterday said in this SAME thread:

Just check hardforums and even these forums and you'll see that Epox isn't a stable mobo when overclocking. If you really want a great mobo and DDR 333 support get an Abit BG7, Abit BD7II.

So which is it????😀 As for the BD7-II, this is what HardOCP had to say:

Initially I decided to adjust the front side bus and go for broke at 166MHz FSB and then back it down from there since I know the CPU I am using is capable of hitting that speed. It was my attempting this that uncovered my second big issue with this board, rebooting. Both warm rebooting and cold booting. It seems that any setting over 133MHz FSB (533MHz) would cause the system to hang while rebooting.

The system when set to high bus speeds would not reboot without having to manually reset the CMOS. Even then, sometimes the system would take two or three times to reset itself.

Then, all BIOS settings were returned to ?Default? to ensure that any settings I may have made were not adversely affecting the system's ability to boot, and attempts were again made to reboot in an overclocked setting. Even at Default speeds, overclocking the system bus required rebooting several times to get the system to start properly.

The highest stable speed I was able to achieve was 158MHz FSB at 18x for a speed of 2854MHz. Although the system did perform very well while running at 158MHz FSB, the fact that the system would hang while rebooting at ANY overclocked speed made overclocking the system a pain, at best.


Overall Impressions:

It is clear from the problems we encountered during testing that the BD7-II clearly has some issues that marred an otherwise good benchmarking performance. Solid numbers coupled with decent features would normally make this board a very good choice for a wide range of users, however that does not seem to be the case here.

The board even with its overclocking issues was a strong performer and had it not been for the RAM slot issues, would have be an OK desktop workstation candidate. Still, you are not going to come close to hearing us suggest you buy this board when there are so many other solid candidates on the market. When fully populated RAM slots do not recognize all your memory, there is a serious problem somewhere and one that you are most likely to find out about when the board is way out of warranty. Not a good problem to have.

It is not clear whether the mentioned issues can be addressed with BIOS updates, or if the problems are rooted in the design of the board necessitating a revision. ABIT was not able to get back with us on these issues to drop in their suggestions. A fair amount of time and effort went into troubleshooting this board that should have been spent enjoying the solid performance it did have when operating correctly. Hunting down BIOS revisions and swapping out RAM in multiple configurations also added to the headache, and troubles are certainly something no one wants to purchase any more of.

Speaking solely on the merits of the BD7-II?s performance and features, I enjoyed working with it at default speeds, but beyond that the BD7-II was simply a bother. I believe that if ABIT can address these problems and make the BD7-II a stable board, it could very well be a great board to work with. Sadly though, in its current form, it is simply not a board that should be on your shopping list. With ABIT building boards that have been as incredibly strong as their AT7-MAX and IT7-MAX, it makes you wonder what was going on when the BD7-II was engineered.

And who is thugsrock and what does he have to do with the EPoX board?

 

[MortaniuS]

Originally posted by: oldfart
SiS 645:

For those who like 2nd best

Well for the $70 i paid for the board, ill say it was well worth it.
Just my personal tests (I run a computer shop): ECS P4s5a vs MSI 845E

both at 133/166

ECS 645DX ($65):
3Dmark: 7004
SiSoft : 2381/2385

MSI 845E ($100)
3Dmark: 7190
SiSoft: 2511/2523

I dont see $35 more performance there. Ide rather put $35 gas in my car ;-P

 

[tazdevl]

LOL NFS4, you cheeky monkey, like the way you said... " even taz said to take a chill pill". 😛

I was thinking about an upgrade... hence the interest in this thread. But now I think I'll wait for the dual memory channel (Springdale?) mobos to hit the market.

I suggest deep breathing Sudheer and increasing your fiber intake.

 

[OneOfTheseDays]

i hate fiber.

 

[THUGSROOK]

lol @ you guys 😀

i dumped SIS months ago. ive owned both, and the i845 cleans SiS's clock to a high luster polish & w/o any memory ratios. i posted numerous threads in the OC forum as far back as DEC on SiS645 performance.

besides it all comes down to 1 major option anyway....
if it doesnt have AGP/PCI lock its worthless for serious overclocking.

 

[MortaniuS]

I dont like overclocking. ;-P

 

[manko]

NFS4 just posted this link in gen hardware:

ASUS P4S8X SiS648 Mainboard Review