CUSL2-C still the best choice for P3?

[peemo]

I'm going to switch my 700P3 cA2 & BX board for a faster chip. I don't want to convert to AMD right now. If I get a P3 1GHz I won't be overclocking much, if at all. I don't need more than 512MB RAM. I don't expect to need an AGP Pro slot. What board for the absolute best performance & stability?

Thanks for any ideas & suggestions.

P.S. Does stepping matter for the P3 1 GHz? Should I try to avoid or obtain one in particular?

 

[CraigRT]

Well I have a CUSL2-C
and the Only thing so far I am not a huge fan about it is, it does not overclock as good as other boards I've owned
but since you aren't doing that you will be very happy with it. the stepping does not matter, the only CPU's the -C does not take is older PPGA's. As long as yours is a socketed PIII it should work excellent
the stability of the CUSL2-C is top notch I leave my machine on 24-7 with hardly any problems (win98se) and that is extremely pleasing, win98 isn't being known for high stability.

I'd say you're on the right track and should get this mobo.

 

[peemo]

Yield, thanks for your comments. You have a 700 @ 966 and you say your CUSL2-C doesn't overclock very well? Sounds pretty good to me. Have you had the same chip in another board for comparison? What makes you think that the mobo is holding you back, rather than the P3?

I know that the board will accept different P3 steppings but I am nto sure whether I need to try to get the latest stepping or not. Is the cD0 out yet? Does it matter for performance whether I get a cB0 or cC0, assuming that I can specifiy which I want?

 

[rkoenn]

I just flashed the latest beta BIOS from the Asus German web site and it definitely increses the stability of this board. I now have my P3-866 up over 920, which I don't think was possible at all on the previous beta or the 003 production BIOS. Post check is hugely faster as well. Stability seems greater and I am running Win2k. In fact, with the previous beta, I could not get past memory check at memory setting of 133 with my PC133 SDRAM. Very impressed with the board and new BIOS now and was a bit unhappy before.

 

[Plester]

peemo - hhmmm... i don't know if i'd ditch the soyo. go over to the fs/ft and grab a guarunteed 700/gig chip for $160+/-. 700s are far from a lock at a gig these days, just ask compuwiz, so rolling the dice is risky at best. i was recently in a position to upgrade my mobo/cpu and strongly considered a tbird/kt133a combo, but decided to stick with my very trusty BF6. i replaced a 650E @ 866 with a 700E flip chip ($180 shipped w/ MSI slotket & gorb). i am running it at 1001mhz at 1.66v right now (36c under prime95, case temp of 24c) and it is as smooth as silk - will do 1050 at 1.9v and does sandra benches at 1.1ghz. it was a tough pill not to roll the dice but i am glad i didn't. ram does cas2 and gives me sandra ALU-500+/-, FPU-580+/-(over 600 FPU at 150mhz). w/ a promise fasttrack and 2 GXPs this thing is undoubtedly faster than a CUSL2 w/ the same chip. sorry to be so long winded, but it is merely to point out that a cusl2 will buy you nothing or even less in terms of performance. you get a few more features, but thats about all. my 2c.

 

[peemo]

Thanks rkoenn,

Glad to hear that the CUSL2-C is improving with bios updates.

Thanks Plester,

I think I'm beginning to agree. I like my Soyo board, I have an ATA66 hard drive (not ATA100) and AGP4x don't do much for me over AGP 2x. I wanted to get a retail P3 cC0 but the local shops in Toronto won't guarantee the stepping. compuwiz1 says he doesn't ship to Canada anymore. I'm a bit wary of the cross-border shipping & customs involved with the FS/FT forum. But a 700E/800E cC0 may be the best bang for the buck. I want ot guarantee 1 GHz though so maybe a 1GHz "EB" on the Soyo is possible. What video card are you using at 89MHz AGP? Mine's an Asus 6800 DDR.

Thanks again.

 

[Plester]

i'm using a V3 2000 that if i recall correctly isn't truly capable of AGP 2x anyway. it runs fine on a 100mhz agp. also have a matrox G400 that gets a bit flaky above 95mhz.

i think you want to stay away from the 750E - 850E chips as there are few 1gig success stories. a 700 cB0 or cC0 is the way to go. just go to the shop and check the steppings visually - if you're gonna drop that kinda cash then they should let you inspect the product.