Dothan on the Desktop

[jbh129]

There was an article awhile back about DFI bringing the DOthan to the desktop but I havent heard anything since. Has anyone heard any new info?

 

[stevty2889]

...Here is the DFI board, and http://usa.aopen.com/products/mb/i855GMEm-LFS.htm">here</a> is the Aopen board...

 

[Zap]

Both these boards are already available for purchase, at around $270 each.

DFI "855GME-MGF" i855GME Chipset Motherboard Socket 479 CPU

Aopen "i855GMEm-LFS" i855GME Chipset Motherboard Socket 479 CPU

I know the AOpen has FSB adjustments, but don't think it has Vcore. The DFI may or may not. I like the AOpen board better for one reason - it can use a standard socket 478 HSF.

 

[RalfHutter]

Originally posted by: Zap
Both these boards are already available for purchase, at around $270 each.

DFI "855GME-MGF" i855GME Chipset Motherboard Socket 479 CPU

Aopen "i855GMEm-LFS" i855GME Chipset Motherboard Socket 479 CPU

I know the AOpen has FSB adjustments, but don't think it has Vcore. The DFI may or may not. I like the AOpen board better for one reason - it can use a standard socket 478 HSF.

I have both of those boards and a 755 (2GHz) Dothan to play with.

The AOpen board does have FSB OCing available (with locked multipliers) but has no Vcore adjustment beyond the default voltage.

I haven't played with the DFI board yet, but it uses a small proprietary heatsink with a whiny 40mm fan on it. Apparently the heatsink hole pattern is the same size as used for Intel Northbridge heatsink so you could replace it with something like that Swiftech 159, but that's about it. Seems like sort of a dead-end for anything other than default (or slightly OC'ed) FSB.

 

[Mloot]

RalfHutter, have you tried overclocking your Dothan on the AOpen board, and if so, how high have you been able to get it (stable)?

 

[RalfHutter]

Originally posted by: Mloot
RalfHutter, have you tried overclocking your Dothan on the AOpen board, and if so, how high have you been able to get it (stable)?

Not seriously. This board is for a "Quiet PC" so I have it setup with a very quiet HSF combo, it's not setup for max CFMs. I did have it up to a 15% OC (115MHz), Prime95 stable during my thermal calibration routine, but that's as high as I've tried it so far. CPUBurn load temps were in the mid/high 60°C range at that speed so if I was going to push it much faster I'd want to increase the cooling to it.

 

[jbh129]

Would the 4x AGP slot pose any problems with a high-end GPU? I dont think that they use the bandwidth of 8x AGP but I wasnt sure. Would it be a waste to build a gaming/htpc rig out of one of these? I would like something quiet in my HT and this seems to fit the bill.

 

[arcas]

RalfHutter, how much did you spend total? Dorthan CPUs are still quite expensive, no?

 

[jbh129]

Is the lack of FSB speed the reason that this set up is not that popular?

 

[Fun Guy]

Originally posted by: RalfHutter

Originally posted by: Mloot
RalfHutter, have you tried overclocking your Dothan on the AOpen board, and if so, how high have you been able to get it (stable)?

Not seriously. This board is for a "Quiet PC" so I have it setup with a very quiet HSF combo, it's not setup for max CFMs. I did have it up to a 15% OC (115MHz), Prime95 stable during my thermal calibration routine, but that's as high as I've tried it so far. CPUBurn load temps were in the mid/high 60°C range at that speed so if I was going to push it much faster I'd want to increase the cooling to it.

Can you give us the entire config of this machine, including video, RAM, HSF, case, etc.?