Is it worth upgrading from 845D to 845PE ?

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SpeedyGonzales

Member
Aug 15, 2002
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Hello,

am I wondering if I should upgrade my currently 845D base mobo (the first chipset from Intel supporting DDRAM) to a 845pe. Does anybody know, if besides the additional features of the 845pe there is any speed advantage over the 845D (beside that I can run CPUs with higher FSB) ?

Cheers
Speedy
 
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Vegito

Diamond Member
Oct 16, 1999
8,329
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Just a little.. but i wait for the dual ddr if you want some speed.. cost a bit more but well worth it :)

heck i would even wait for intel's native support for sata..

most mobo are using promise sata controller.. intel's got their own but it's only available on certain mobo.. i wait for it.
 
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oldfart

Lifer
Dec 2, 1999
10,207
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845D is still a very good chipset. It depends on what mobo you have.
besides the additional features of the 845pe there is any speed advantage over the 845D (beside that I can run CPUs with higher FSB) ?
Click to expand...
The 845D is perfectly capable of running higher FSB speeds. What speed do you mean? 533 and higher FSB is not a problem.
 
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SpeedyGonzales

Member
Aug 15, 2002
184
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76
Hi Oldfart,

It is an Abit BD7 motherboard. I can run it up to 580FSB, but then Prime95 starts producing errors, most probably due to limitations of my RAM (Kingston PC2100). The PC still boots into XP at 600FSB, but with Prime95 producing errors even earlier.

All in all I am very happy with the Abit, I am just unsure, if going with some Corsair sticks will allow me to go higher with the FSB, or if the Chipset is holding me back (it is not the CPU).

Cheers
Speedy
 
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oldfart

Lifer
Dec 2, 1999
10,207
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Get a single 512 Meg stick of Corsair XMS PC3000, 3200 or 3500. Many say the 300o is as good as the others and costs less.

The BD7 has 4:3, 1:1, and 3:4 mem ratios, right? Where is it set now? As a test, set your mem to the slowest setting (4:3), slowest timing (2.5, 3, 3, 7) and see how high the CPU will go. Do this test with only 1 stick installed.
 
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Odeen

Diamond Member
Aug 4, 2000
4,892
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I recently tried out the latest Intel INF drivers and discovered that the i845PE uses the faster memory controller that debuted with the i845G.

You actually WILL gain a decent performance boost (roughly one CPU speed grade worth) in most benchmarks from better DDR speed. However, it may limit your overclocking ability slightly, since the DDR is utilized "more".

Given that the difference between the most expensive P4 and the second most expensive P4 is about three hundred bucks, last time I checked, it's well worth your while to get a PE board.
 
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SpeedyGonzales

Member
Aug 15, 2002
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The BD7 has only 3:4 and 1:1.

At the moment I am running my (very old) 1.8a at 128/128 (the CPU can not go higher, it is from 2001). But did test the mem up to 150 (see previous mail) using the 3:4 switch (stable only up to 145). I will remove the 1.8a and replace it by a brandnew...2.26 (?), hm the 2.26 is no more available, need to think this through again. Maybe I have to go with a 2.4b. Still not sure which RAM to take. Price difference between PC333 and PC400 is around 10Euros for 512Mb. But the PC433 is another 40 Euros more, seems a lot to me. G.E.I.L is cheaper, but I have no idea if they are good.

Any suggestions ?

Speedy
 
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oldfart

Lifer
Dec 2, 1999
10,207
0
0
I recently tried out the latest Intel INF drivers and discovered that the i845PE uses the faster memory controller that debuted with the i845G.

You actually WILL gain a decent performance boost (roughly one CPU speed grade worth) in most benchmarks from better DDR speed. However, it may limit your overclocking ability slightly, since the DDR is utilized "more".
Click to expand...
The speed gain is very minimal. Most sites dont realize that 845D/E have a 3:4 mem ratio. They bench a 845D/E 1:1 against a 845G/PE 4:5 or 3:4. The 845D/E when running 3:4 is right up there. Not enough of a difference to change. In fact, the 845D/E Northbridge (they are the same) are proving to be better overclockers than 845PE.

For a new CPU, the 2.4B is hard to beat I guess. An easy overclock to 150 FSB = 2.7 GHz. With the 3:4 you would need ram that is good for DDR400 (PC3200).
 
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SpeedyGonzales

Member
Aug 15, 2002
184
0
76
Update:

CPU and RAM arrived today and I spent 3 hours of testing the stuff, after WinXP gave me some headaches in the first hour. Machine is:

Abit BD-7 i845D chipset
Radeon 9700pro (non-overclocked)
Intel 2.4b C1 Stepping
Corsair XMS 3200 C2

Tests:

CPU Memory 3DMark2001SE

2,53Ghz 140Mhz 13.894
2,61Ghz 145Mhz 14.231
2,70Ghz 150Mhz 14.469
2.80Ghz 156Mhz 15.040 (CPU voltage up to 1.6)
2.88Ghz 160Mhz Windows failed booting, even at 1.7V
2.70Ghz 200Mhz 14.987 (using 3:4 setting)
2.80Ghz 208Mhz 15.322

ok, so far so good. I will stop here for now and run a lot of Prime95 on the weekend. I am not sure, if the limit I have reached between 2.8Ghz and 2.9Ghz is really CPU related. However, I do not plan to go much further.

@Oldfart

Thx for your input. It seems to work and I am quite happy with the result.

Cheers
Speedy

P.S.: I apologize, that my tests and the result table are not as exhaustive, as the ones from Thugs, Mikki, Duvie etc. But as I am not breaking any records here, it is not worth the effort.
 
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CraigRT

Lifer
Jun 16, 2000
31,440
5
0
yeah looks good for sure! nice work there. :D
I have a 2.4B coming, as well as some Hyper-X PC3500...
I am running on a 845PE so we'll see how that goes. :D
 
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