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First stab at an AMD platform....

M

Matt2

Diamond Member
So I just put together my first AMD platform

Athlon XP 1700+ t-bred rev b
Vantec Aeroflow VA4-C7040
Epox 8RDA+
512MB Geil DDR400
Radeon 9700np 128mb
Liteon 52x burner

Everything is running very smoothly. I just have a few questions.

1. I am using RAGE3D Tweaker to overclock my Radeon 9700np. Right now I have it running at 325/310 (PRO speeds right?) and not a single visual artifact. IS this the best overclocking utility?

2. My Athlon XP is running 3DMARK very smoothly @ 2100+ speed (1760mhz) 11x160, default voltage. I dont know the temp yet, will post when test is done. How far are you guys getting your 1700 processors to go?

3. Is there any merit in using the Omega drivers over catalyst 3.5?

4. I have a SB Audigy-1 just lying here collecting dust. Which should I use, Onboard nForce2 sound or the Audigy. I will be playing games and listening to music.

Will post my first impressions in a little bit, after I collect myself.

 
1. I am using RAGE3D Tweaker to overclock my Radeon 9700np. Right now I have it running at 325/310 (PRO speeds right?) and not a single visual artifact. IS this the best overclocking utility?
Click to expand...

There may be different opinions on this, but I consider it the best.

2. My Athlon XP is running 3DMARK very smoothly @ 2100+ speed (1760mhz) 11x160, default voltage. I dont know the temp yet, will post when test is done. How far are you guys getting your 1700 processors to go?
Click to expand...

Well, if it's one of the good Rev B's..it might hit 2.4Ghz+...even if it isn't one of the good ones, 2Ghz should be all but guaranteed. Are you aware you can freely change the multiplier with the 8RDA+. I would just go for 10 x 200 right off the bat.

3. Is there any merit in using the Omega drivers over catalyst 3.5?
Click to expand...

It's really up to you. The best way to find out is to try both and see if you like one better than the other. The Omega's likely won't be any faster...it's just a more complete package that is tweaked for image quality.

4. I have a SB Audigy-1 just lying here collecting dust. Which should I use, Onboard nForce2 sound or the Audigy. I will be playing games and listening to music.
Click to expand...

I would use the NF sound over the Audigy, but that's just me. The Nforce APU is technically more advanced than the Audigy, but the Audigy sometimes does a little better with EAX in certain games.

Also, make sure to d/l and flash to the latest 8RDA+ bios. You can do in in Windows with the WinFlash
program from Epox.

🙂


 
Thanks for the quick replies.

I bumped the Athlon XP to 2GHZ using 11x182.... no go, completely froze while posting. Now running 2GHZ via 10x200 and no probs as of yet. Will update ina few min.
 
Unless you are running higher end cooling, I find it best to stay around 1.75v-1.8v. Was your 1700+ 1.5v by default or 1.65v?
 
:disgust: 1.65v... does that mean I got rev a and not rev b on accident?

Oh well.

I am running 2GHZ 10x200 @ 1.7v smooth as a baby's bottom, no problem. This was my target for OCing, so I am happy!

:-D

BTW, this Radeon 9700 is a horrible overclocker. 303/305 is as high as it seems to wanna go. (Powercolor, guess that's what i get for $200)
 
Yeah...you got a Rev A. 🙁 They seem to top out around 2Ghz. You get it from Newegg by chance? They just started shipping "A"'s out again..:frown:

Yeah..the 9700NP's are usually not the best o/cers. My ATI OEM one (Sapphire) will do 340core, but the crappy Infineon 3.3ns tops out @ 295. 🙁
 
actually I did get it from Newegg. I checked the site and it said Rev B, and I coulda swore it said rev b, but I checked the site right now and they're rev a processors, damnit!

@2ghz my full load (right after 3dmark) temp is 51C, is that acceptable? I know my P4 2.4 @ 2.8 never got above 45C.

Just outta curiosity, since we have similar rigs, what score do u get in 3dmark 03 insane3d?

 
51C is acceptable

just to go back a clarify a few point: very rarely do 1700+ rev B hit 2.4Ghz on air cooling, there is absolutely no difference when OCing the 9700 pro if you use riva tuner, the reage 3d program or anything else. the onboard is slightly better than audigy 1 (i think 8rda+ has soundstorm), you dont want to exceed 1.8V, MAYBE 1.85V but thats the absolute max. personally, i dont run mine at anything over 1.67 actual volts
 
*UPDATE*

Running Athlon XP 1700+ @ 2.1GHZ!! 1.7v. 51c full load.

I must say that I am impressed. Ive always been an intel guy, but I have to tip my cap to AMD and nVidia (nForce2) for making a great platform.

Now if I can only get more speed out of my Radeon 9700np. 🙁
 
Originally posted by: Matt2




4. I have a SB Audigy-1 just lying here collecting dust. Which should I use, Onboard nForce2 sound or the Audigy. I will be playing games and listening to music.
Click to expand...

I would definitely recommend the Audigy 1 over the onboard, although the nForce techinically has better hardware features, the Realtek codec they have on the EpoX board is absolute rubbish. I did a comparison between my epox onboard vs my fortissimo II soundcard, and the onboard solution sounded very muffled and dull... but it all depends on your speakers! *hugs his bose sound system*

 
Originally posted by: JeremiahTheGreat
Originally posted by: Matt2




4. I have a SB Audigy-1 just lying here collecting dust. Which should I use, Onboard nForce2 sound or the Audigy. I will be playing games and listening to music.
Click to expand...

I would definitely recommend the Audigy 1 over the onboard, although the nForce techinically has better hardware features, the Realtek codec they have on the EpoX board is absolute rubbish. I did a comparison between my epox onboard vs my fortissimo II soundcard, and the onboard solution sounded very muffled and dull... but it all depends on your speakers! *hugs his bose sound system*
Click to expand...

I agree... if you had gone with the Asus A7N8X Deluxe which has the SoundStorm audio, then I'd say use it's onboard sound... CPU utilization is almost nothing, and it sounds great.
Use the Audigy instead of onboard.
 
You can buy the optical connector board from EPoX and thus have the same sound system as the ASUS A7N8X Deluxe - provided your speakers take an optical input. If I ever get speakers that use optical I will spend the $20 to get the board.
 
Originally posted by: JeremiahTheGreat
Originally posted by: Matt2




4. I have a SB Audigy-1 just lying here collecting dust. Which should I use, Onboard nForce2 sound or the Audigy. I will be playing games and listening to music.
Click to expand...

I would definitely recommend the Audigy 1 over the onboard, although the nForce techinically has better hardware features, the Realtek codec they have on the EpoX board is absolute rubbish. I did a comparison between my epox onboard vs my fortissimo II soundcard, and the onboard solution sounded very muffled and dull... but it all depends on your speakers! *hugs his bose sound system*
Click to expand...

It's not that bad. Sounds great with my 8.2 Promedia setup. Also, you are all aware that all NF2 boards that have Nforce sound use the same Realtek CODEC to interface the APU and output a analog signal right?

 
Originally posted by: Jeff7181
Originally posted by: JeremiahTheGreat
Originally posted by: Matt2




4. I have a SB Audigy-1 just lying here collecting dust. Which should I use, Onboard nForce2 sound or the Audigy. I will be playing games and listening to music.
Click to expand...

I would definitely recommend the Audigy 1 over the onboard, although the nForce techinically has better hardware features, the Realtek codec they have on the EpoX board is absolute rubbish. I did a comparison between my epox onboard vs my fortissimo II soundcard, and the onboard solution sounded very muffled and dull... but it all depends on your speakers! *hugs his bose sound system*
Click to expand...

I agree... if you had gone with the Asus A7N8X Deluxe which has the SoundStorm audio, then I'd say use it's onboard sound... CPU utilization is almost nothing, and it sounds great.
Use the Audigy instead of onboard.
Click to expand...

First off, if you want to get technical, Asus was dropped from the Soundstorm certification list. The only boards that carry Soundstorm certification are the Abit and the MSI. Secondly, the Asus uses the same Realtek CODEC, as does every other NF2 board with the Nvidia sound. On any NF2 board with the MCP-T southbridge, you can easily bypass the Realtek codec completely by using a digital output. C'mon people...let's not start spreading FUD now...research! 😉 🙂
 
I have a 1700+ rev B and I stopped mine at 2315. It will go a little higher but I dont want to exceed 1.85V. As for temps. I have an Alpha 8045 w/ a vantec tornado. It is pretty damn loud, but the cpu never breaks 42C under load.

As for drivers, some people said they dont think you will get a lot outta the omega drivers. I disagree with this. First off, the omega drivers allow you to overclock from the control panel. It also comes with a program to test for artifacts. And as for speed, I saw 500 points in 3dmark2k3 and 1100 points in 3dmark2k1 just after installing the drivers. Seems like a decent boost to me.

As for sound, I would use the Audigy. I have never liked on board sound, even to this day. Using on board sound robs your CPU of cycles (which can be seen in performance benchmarks) and right now it isnt critical but when its time for Doom3 and even more importantly HL2 (cuz it will rock) you will want all the cycles you can get. Also, I have just never liked intergrated peripherials...

-doug
 
As for sound, I would use the Audigy. I have never liked on board sound, even to this day. Using on board sound robs your CPU of cycles (which can be seen in performance benchmarks) and right now it isnt critical but when its time for Doom3 and even more importantly HL2 (cuz it will rock) you will want all the cycles you can get. Also, I have just never liked intergrated peripherials...

-doug
Click to expand...

This used to be the case, but increasingly is no longer. The APU of the nForce2 chipset is integrated into the MCP-T southbridge, and has a dedicated high speed bus to use. The current audio drivers for the APU also are stable and perform well, and don't use much if any CPU overhead. An Audigy has a dedicated APU as well, but it sits on the PCI bus, so in some cases, it can have higher utilization than the NF2.


🙂
 
Personally, I would just say to use either one. I have heard the Audigy 1 (I have one) and nForce2 audio and they are both as good as the other. Its up to if you want to use that audigy or use onboard audio. Creative's support in linux is very very high, so I personally will most likely be using the Audigy I still have when my NF7-S comes. I don't like onboard audio either, but the nForce2's APU isn't bad and no need to try and get technical when i'm admitting it is very good 🙂.

Try both and see which one you like more.
 
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