http://www.aceshardware.com/read.jsp?id=45000290
It is possible to build a stable, overclocked, and high-performance Socket A PC without resorting to expensive cooling or dangerous voltage settings. An unlocked Athlon XP (or an Athlon MP) performs very well with an an overclocked FSB on the nForce-based ASUS A7N266-E. As we used relatively humble cooling and a slightly older Athlon MP 1900+ (AGKGA - AGOGA probably does much better), we are confident that our readers will be able to push their Athlons higher than we did.
Thanks to the impressive overclocking performance of the ASUS A7N266-E and the Corsair PC2400/2700 XMS it is possible to run the Athlon XP at 166 MHz FSB without sacrificing stability. We are looking forward to the ASUS A7N266-C, which will be based on NVIDIA's less-expensive 415 chipset (no integrated video).
Me waits impatiently for nForce 415-D.
EDIT: Look at those benchmarks, the nForce comes out on top in nearly every single game, app, etc. Btw, why didn't anyone post this before? This article is almost 12 hours old.
EDITx2: For those wanting to overclock...
The newest ASUS A7N266 (rev 1.01) [and A7N266-E) updated to the latest BIOS revision surprised us with excellent stability at 165 MHz FSB. In fact, running games at 172 MHz FSB was not out of the question, but 3DS Max rendering froze at this speed. At 167 MHz FSB, the rendering tests would complete successfully most of the time and games would run without a single crash. At 165 MHz, everything ran without incident.
Too bad ASUS likes to charge an arm and a leg for their products. Although this thread in the Motherboard forum holds some hope for lower priced ASUS nForce boards.
It is possible to build a stable, overclocked, and high-performance Socket A PC without resorting to expensive cooling or dangerous voltage settings. An unlocked Athlon XP (or an Athlon MP) performs very well with an an overclocked FSB on the nForce-based ASUS A7N266-E. As we used relatively humble cooling and a slightly older Athlon MP 1900+ (AGKGA - AGOGA probably does much better), we are confident that our readers will be able to push their Athlons higher than we did.
Thanks to the impressive overclocking performance of the ASUS A7N266-E and the Corsair PC2400/2700 XMS it is possible to run the Athlon XP at 166 MHz FSB without sacrificing stability. We are looking forward to the ASUS A7N266-C, which will be based on NVIDIA's less-expensive 415 chipset (no integrated video).
Me waits impatiently for nForce 415-D.
EDIT: Look at those benchmarks, the nForce comes out on top in nearly every single game, app, etc. Btw, why didn't anyone post this before? This article is almost 12 hours old.
EDITx2: For those wanting to overclock...
The newest ASUS A7N266 (rev 1.01) [and A7N266-E) updated to the latest BIOS revision surprised us with excellent stability at 165 MHz FSB. In fact, running games at 172 MHz FSB was not out of the question, but 3DS Max rendering froze at this speed. At 167 MHz FSB, the rendering tests would complete successfully most of the time and games would run without a single crash. At 165 MHz, everything ran without incident.
Too bad ASUS likes to charge an arm and a leg for their products. Although this thread in the Motherboard forum holds some hope for lower priced ASUS nForce boards.