difference between nforce2 400 and ultra

[mrweirdo]

Since It seems i need to get a new motherboard I was wondering what the difference between the NForce2 400 and Nforce2 400 chipsets is?

 

[chilled]

nForce2 400 -> Single channel chipset
nForce2 400 Ultra -> Dual channel chipset

So in the former you would put 1*512MB and lose say 5% perf. compared to the latter where you would use 2*256MB instead. Get the ultra if you can find one at a good price, otherwise if you're on a budget the the vanilla will do. Bear in mind you will only get MCP-T with Soundstrom (and perhaps SATA?) with the Ultra.

 

[mrweirdo]

its a good thing i went for the ultra then 😉
I had to buy a new mobo to replace my old ECS KS75A that just recently bit the dust and wound up buying the ASUS A7N8X nforce2 ultra 400 from newegg.

 

[Bovinicus]

Originally posted by: chilled
nForce2 400 -> Single channel chipset
nForce2 400 Ultra -> Dual channel chipset

So in the former you would put 1*512MB and lose say 5% perf. compared to the latter where you would use 2*256MB instead. Get the ultra if you can find one at a good price, otherwise if you're on a budget the the vanilla will do. Bear in mind you will only get MCP-T with Soundstrom (and perhaps SATA?) with the Ultra.

I think that 5% performance difference would only occur in a handfull of extremely memory dependent situations. Most of the time the performance difference would be on the order of 1-2%, if anything at all.

 

[Forrest Gump]

I want to change my VIA KT266A based motherboard (Gigabyte GA-7VTXH) to something based on nforce2 or nforce2 ultra chipset, but I don't want to buy new memory. Is it worth to me to buy nforce2 ULTRA based mobo if I have PC2100 memory (266) ?
I personally guess NOT.
What you say ?
I couldn't find any reviews comparing nforce2 and nforce2 Ultra chipsets.

Please advise me a good and cheap motherboard. I'm NOT an overclocker.

Is EPoX EP-8RDA3I good enough ?
And the last question: will GeForce2 MX 400 work with nforce2 based motheboards ? (I'm just waiting for GeForce 6600 GT for AGP and need something to browse this forum before it's out 🙂)

 

[Fern]

Originally posted by: Forrest Gump
I want to change my VIA KT266A based motherboard (Gigabyte GA-7VTXH) to something based on nforce2 or nforce2 ultra chipset, but I don't want to buy new memory. Is it worth to me to buy nforce2 ULTRA based mobo if I have PC2100 memory (266) ?
I personally guess NOT.

Prolly not unless you want some other features these mobo's offer, or you'll be getting pc 3200 ram in the future. You don't say what cpu you got,

What you say ?
I couldn't find any reviews comparing nforce2 and nforce2 Ultra chipsets.

Try google

Please advise me a good and cheap motherboard. I'm NOT an overclocker.

nForce mobo's? Take a look at the Shuttle AN35N-Ultra, they're about $55.

Is EPoX EP-8RDA3I good enough ?
And the last question: will GeForce2 MX 400 work with nforce2 based motheboards ? (I'm just waiting for GeForce 6600 GT for AGP and need something to browse this forum before it's out 🙂)

Yeah, it should work, it's a AGP 4x card. The AGP 2x prolly won't work.

 

[Forrest Gump]

Originally posted by: Fern
You don't say what cpu you got, [/b]

Athlon XP 1600+, but I want to change it to Athlon XP-M 2600+ or Athlon XP 2500+ (Barton)

Originally posted by: Fern
Try google[/b]

I tried 🙂

All I could find were technical specifications like this:
Nvidia chipset comparison table

I want something more useful for a gamer like these diagrams:
NVIDIA nForce2 Based Mainboards Roundup
NVIDIA nForce2 Ultra 400 Mainboards Roundup
nForce2: single-channel mode vs. dual-channel mode

I want some diagrams wich compare nforce2 and nforce2 ultra based motheboards' performance.

I could NOT find such diagrams 🙁
Help me, please 🙂

BTW: Does nforce2 (not ultra) chipset support dual-channel mode ?

 

[Forrest Gump]

chilled

nForce2 400 -> Single channel chipset
nForce2 400 Ultra -> Dual channel chipset

Are you sure ?

Read this:

First of all, the dual-channel mode of the nForce2 always makes a positive effect, and taking into account that this mode actually costs nothing (it needs two smaller memory modules instead of one big module), it's very possible to get the performance growth of 2-4%.

(NOT ultra).

 

[Hottie]

While we are at it, can anyone suggest a mATX MB get have OK o'c feature? KM400A, KT600 or nF2 were fine, but I can't found any mATX with o'c feature.

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: Forrest Gump
chilled

nForce2 400 -> Single channel chipset
nForce2 400 Ultra -> Dual channel chipset

Are you sure ?

Read this:

First of all, the dual-channel mode of the nForce2 always makes a positive effect, and taking into account that this mode actually costs nothing (it needs two smaller memory modules instead of one big module), it's very possible to get the performance growth of 2-4%.

(NOT ultra).

I believe this is the breakdown:

NForce2/NForce2 IGP: DDR200/266/333, dual channel
NForce2 400: DDR200/266/333/400, single channel
NForce2 400 Ultra: DDR200/266/333/400, dual channel

From here: NVIDIA NForce2 info

(emphasis added)

NVIDIA NFORCE2 SPECIFICATIONS
? NVIDIA DualDDR Memory Architecture
° Two independent 64-bit memory
controllers (NVIDIA nForce2 400 has
one 64-bit memory controller)
- 3 separate address busses
- 2 separate data busses
° Supports 64-bit or 128-bit memory busses
° Concurrent simultaneous accesses
optimized for system and graphics
performance
° Supports DDR400/333/266/200 SDRAMS
(IGP supports DDR333/266/200)
- Supports 2.5V 166/133/100 DDR SDRAMs
- Supports 2.6/2.65V 200 DDR SDRAMs
- Supports 64MB, 128MB, 256MB,
512MB, and 1.0GB modules
° Support for up to 3.0GB Memory

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: Forrest Gump
chilled

nForce2 400 -> Single channel chipset
nForce2 400 Ultra -> Dual channel chipset

Are you sure ?

Read this:

First of all, the dual-channel mode of the nForce2 always makes a positive effect, and taking into account that this mode actually costs nothing (it needs two smaller memory modules instead of one big module), it's very possible to get the performance growth of 2-4%.

(NOT ultra).

chilled is correct, "Ultra" means dual-channel. If you notice, Digit-Life's article doesn't mention either nF2 400 or nF2 Ultra400, they're using nF2-GT. That's nForce2's original identity, from before there was a single-channel nF2 option to write about. Must be an older article...

Anyway, I second the motion for the Shuttle AN35N Ultra for a full-sized ATX board at a budget price, or the Abit NF7-S if you want something deluxe with the Soundstorm audio features. 🙂 Both are dual-channel and can OC.

 

[Forrest Gump]

Matthias99
mechBgon
Thank you, guys. 🙂