Gave up on KT400 MB's SWITCHING TO NVIDIA2 MB's

[mmx]

i bought an gigabyte 7vxp, abit at max2 and both were horrible experience. Heard great things from nvidia boards, gonna try this week.

 

[CraigRT]

Originally posted by: mmx
i bought an gigabyte 7vxp, abit at max2 and both were horrible experience. Heard great things from nvidia boards, gonna try this week.

not surprised. KT400 is ass.

should have gone KT333, as far as I can tell, it's even faster than the 400.

EPoX 8K5A3+ is a great example of a sweet KT333 board. I'd buy that right now over any KT400 board!

 

[Iron Woode]

I have now finished building 2 systems based around KT400 chipsets, and they work great. Most KT400 boards beat KT333 boards when using the same ram and performamce settings. My MSI KT4VL is kicking serious butt in everyday tasks as well as games. Very fast, smooth and rock stable. My DFI AD77 Infinity is the same. They are not as bad as people claim. Gigabyte seems to be having the most problems and Abit is having quality control problems too.

Epox, MSI and others are making fine boards. KT400A boards should be very interesting.

 

[Adul]

check out AT round up

but the Epox is looking good has well has the asus.

 

[DoubleL]

I to just got done with a KT400 build, Epox 8K9A2+, Can't find anything not to like about this board, Not mine but The thing is super fast and stable and with the new 4in1445 that just toped it off, The nforce2 might beat it but like they say it better bring it's lunch, If the KT400A's are better than this I will upgrade my computer or one of them anyway

 

[osage]

I don't have any KT333 boards, I skipped from KT266a to KT400.
That being said, I like my MSI KT4VL..had it for a month now and it is very solid and trouble free. I really like being able to run 166mhz or better without trashing my drives. Yes , know some of the KT333 have the 1/5 divider as well, and I'm sure the Epox is a great board...too many very good reviews for it not to be.
I just don't think it is right to say all KT400 boards are crap. The NV2 boards do look like the way to go now, but they were few and far between a month ago.....

 

[yodayoda]

to each his own... i've got a KT266a board, the KT333 were a waste of time, the KT400 are ok i guess. i am just waiting for hammer myself =) i am having too much damn fun making SFF comps with Epias and uATX boards that i haven't really cared to upgrade. as long as i can still play CS i am happy, hehehe.

 

[dannybin1742]

WHY MAKE A KT400 CHIPSET IF THE CHIPSET WILL NEVER HAVE 1/6 DIVIDERS and the processor only uses 2100 or 2700 bandwidth, what does the extra bandwidth get you, NOTHING?


thats why i think most people think that the board is crap. i'd have to agree, i'm definately going with an asus nforce2. i have a kt333 with 1/5 dividers, so i run my agoia @166fsb

one word PCI LOCKING

200fsb is easily attainable

 

[Parja]

Originally posted by: dannybin1742
one word PCI LOCKING

That's actually...umm...two words.

 

[mmx]

unbeliveable board. This nvidia 2 chipset rocks. I got my asus a7n8x stable as a baby.

SPECS:
Asus a7n8x(non deluxe), 2 corsair XMS pc3500 cas2 mem, athlon xp(1600, 2100 both locked trying to see which will be better for me) and etc...

I love this board, i didn't get the deluxe because they were sold out, and i didn't need the firewire, but this board didn't ome with the USB slot adapter, so only the four usb on the plate are available, but if yo have an extra slot usb there is an header on the mb.

i'm averaging about 2100 on sis sandras mem testing. with default at 133mhz SYNC with fsb/mem, about 250 point higher than the via kt400 boards i had before.

Few gripes. Problem with updating the BIOS on the board, few other things. however this board is rock solid.

Questions: How would you burn the cpu to see if you can clock higher? who has this board? Also i tried many articles on unlocking the 2100xp, but is there a really good with pics on the process? is it worth it? or should i trade both cpus for a 2400xp and have the nvidia chipset unlock it automatically?

 

[mmx]

I'm running now:

an agoia 1600xp at 160mhz using themltake tornado 9, usind speed control at medium high fan.
mem i set to 133% so the mem i got it at 211mhz DDR.

sandra i get avg 2500+ I got it to 166, but it crashes, with a bit more cooling it working fine, but i don't want that much sound from fans.

My 2100xps o/c in mhz higher than the 1600xps, but i think the mem bandwidth difference makes up for the mhz.

How do i burn my cpu for better o/c?

 

[SFang]

Wow.. Hold on.. You can only get higher Memory bandwidth with Double DDR if you put "sync" mode in the BIOS. Do NOT change it to 133% or any other percentage, make CPU:Memory = 1:1 (Sync) will give you more bandwidth than your current due to the Double DDR even at 133FSB.

Try Sandra Memory test to see the difference in different settings. Should boost another 200points, to 2300 or above.

BTW, put one stick in the 2nd, one stick in the 3rd DIMM socket, gives you the highest bandwidth, as recommended by Asus. Read the Manual to find out how to utilize Double DDR.

 

[Technonut]

Also i tried many articles on unlocking the 2100xp, but is there a really good with pics on the process? is it worth it? or should i trade both cpus for a 2400xp and have the nvidia chipset unlock it automatically?

Have you read This? I used the conductive paint method instead of the wire to unlock my XP 2100s. I have been able to run most of them @ 2.0GHz. (1.90V)

EDIT: Fixed link.

 

[Parja]

Originally posted by: mmx
How do i burn my cpu for better o/c?

It's actually called "burn-in". Some swear by it...some call it non-existant Voodoo magic.

Anyway, what you do is just increase the voltage on the CPU (I'd probably go as high as your mobo will allow that is less than or equal to 2.0V) to get it to run hotter, then stress it with a program like Prime95 for a couple of days on end.

Personally, I believe the ability to overclock a CPU higher after "burn-in" is due to the thermal paste thinning and filling in the crevices between the CPU and heatsink/waterblock better. But hey, if it works, it works.