Can a faster mobo increase PC's performance?

[jEct2]

Let's say that if I switch only my motherboard with a new one with faster FSB, would that actually make my PC perform faster? The rest of the set up stays the same (XP 1700+, 512 DDR, etc)

 

[suicidalpigeon]

mmm a little bit.

 

[nick1985]

WF

 

[HappyPuppy]

Nope, at least not discernably.

 

[kogase]

P&N

 

[jEct2]

Originally posted by: HappyPuppy
Nope, at least not discernably.

Then why do ppl spend so much $$ on mobos? They should just buy whatever is the cheapest that can support their desired CPU speed.

 

[intogamer]

just a little bit...

The mobo that supports faster FSB doesn't do anything unless you get a CPU that has a higher FSB

 

[mercanucaribe]

Originally posted by: jEct2

Originally posted by: HappyPuppy
Nope, at least not discernably.

Then why do ppl spend so much $$ on mobos? They should just buy whatever is the cheapest that can support their desired CPU speed.

Features. I have a good motherboard, but it doesn't support increasing CPU multipliers past 12x because of some bug they never fixed. If I had a better one, I'd be good!

 

[imported_goku]

Yes and no. I was using a dell system with a 400MHZ processor and it was so so slow, I knew it shouldn't be this slow because I practically had the exact system (450MHZ). There was also a friend's system which was 850MHZ with the exact same board and it was slower than my system. I eventually upgraded to the system I have today and replaced the board in my friends 850MHZ machine, WOW it was significantly faster. Memory benchmarks went from 300MB/s to 750MB/s... The memory benchmarks before the upgrade to 850MHZ was about 700MB/s. So it really depends on the system, if you've got a system with a real sh!tty motherboard then yes, otherwise not likely.

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: jEct2
Let's say that if I switch only my motherboard with a new one with faster FSB, would that actually make my PC perform faster? The rest of the set up stays the same (XP 1700+, 512 DDR, etc)

Yes/No/Maybe

Depends. There are slight differences in performance(few % points) between mobos, but not enough to consider switching an Upgrade(not noticeable). There are some exceptions when it comes to comparing chipsets where certain things might see significant improvement, but that usually only applies to something specific such as USB or HD improvements.

Another exception is switching from a poor overclocking mobo to a good one, provided you intend to overclock. There can be significant differences in how different mobo models oveclock. So if that's your thing it might make sense to change mobos, depending on what you currently have of course.

Overall though, changing mobos for Performance improvements is nutty. Newer feature support, current one getting flakey, or the PCB colour clashes with your new case mod are all better reasons than some promise of better performance.

edit: clarity

 

[sniperruff]

it's an axp 1700+, so the best one can only be a throughbred B. the fsb for the palomino, TBa, TBb, are all 266mhz. assuming your current ram is PC2100 or better (and not SDRAM), even if the new mobo supports PC2700, it'll be handicapped by the fsb of the cpu.

so in summary: no performance increase.

forgot to take OCing into consideration... but don't expect much from a 1700+. so all in all it's not worth the hassle.

 

[UNCjigga]

Well of course it will, if it gives you more overclocking headroom.

 

[OS]

actually, I remember when the nforce2 mobos came out, the performance of the platform actually improved alot even for the same cpu vs VIA or whatever junk chipsets were available at the time.

 

[cirthix]

yes, but the increase is small. upgrading mobos only usually happens when an old one dies or a friend needs a mobo . occasionally its for features, like overclockability or more ram slots, agp+ pcie or something like that.

 

[Fenixgoon]

depends.. for example, i used a sempron 333fsb in a 266fsb mobo, so it was only running at 80% of the speed. surely if i ran 333, it would have been much faster.

 

[Taggart]

NOEES you have to put a Type-R sticker on your case to improve performance

 

[Ornery]

...why do ppl spend so much $$ on mobos?

QUALITY! My PCs become relatively slower & slower over the years, as applications become more demanding, but I hang on to them just the same. They get passed down to family and friends, still just as stable as the day they were assembled. That's another good reason: STABILITY! Good quality mobo components + good chipset = stable computing for years!

 

[So]

Trivially at best.

 

[NiKeFiDO]

Nik in 3...2...1...