KT266A vs nForce 2? How much better?

[Lonyo]

If everything was equal except for the chipset, how much better would the nForce2 be over the KT266A?

I have a KT266A board at the moment and am looking to upgrade, probably should have put that initially, sorry folks.

 

[dunkster]

PCI bus locked at 133MHz for overclocking stability.
AGP bus can be locked at 66MHz (or adjusted) for overclocking stability and/or flexibility.
Support 200MHz FSB.
Support DDR400 memory frequency.
Superior memory bandwidth in dual-channel synchronous mode.

The list could go on for some time, including things like USB2 support and IEEE 1394 support, etc.

I'm missing something here. Surely, with 2916 posts, you understand this.

Hope this helps!

 

[3sixes]

Maybe this will give you some perspective.

Iwill kk266 plus
512 kingmax tiny bga pc150 (killer ram)
xp1600 palamino

Sandra memory bench= 983/986


Fast forward to today:

Gigabyte 7n400pro
512 Corsair 3200 XMS C2 running 11-2-2-2.5, dual channel, 400fsb
xp1700 dut3c

Sandra memory bench=3016/2844

Any other questions


__________________
Gigabyte 7n400pro
xp1700axoa dut3c juhhb0302xpmw
11x200=2205.
Albatron Ti4200p 128mb
WD120gb, WD40gb
LiteOn 52x burner
Pioneer 10x dvd
(2) corsair 3200 xms 256@ 11-2-2-2.5
coolermaster hhc-001 heat pipe
650watts of psu 400for sys/ 250 for fans
19" Komodo monitor
Altec Lansing 5.1 speakers
Leadtek tv2000xp tv/fm radio card

 

[Excelsior]

Originally posted by: 3sixes
Maybe this will give you some perspective.

Iwill kk266 plus
512 kingmax tiny bga pc150 (killer ram)
xp1600 palamino

Sandra memory bench= 983/986


Fast forward to today:

Gigabyte 7n400pro
512 Corsair 3200 XMS C2 running 11-2-2-2.5, dual channel, 400fsb
xp1700 dut3c

Sandra memory bench=3016/2844

Any other questions

Yeah..why the hell are you comparing the kt133a chipset to the nforce2?! He asked about the 266A chipset. Get it right. There is a massive difference between the two.

 

[3sixes]

My bad, was thinking of something else. But to the contrary there was never a massive difference between the two.

In any event if youre thinking nforce 2 compared to your current via platform, you would be quite happy with a nforce.

 

[Peter]

There is enough difference between KT266 and KT266A DDR chipsets to write home about - don't even attempt to tell us they both weren't any better than the KT133 SDR chipset.

 

[touchmyichi]

Nforce 2 is the way to go.

 

[poohbear]

look buddy, u can get a budget version of the nf2 (A7N8X-X) for $82. U can get the abit nf7-s rev 2.0 (prolly the best athlon xp mobo ever developed, don't think any amd user familiar with it will argue with that) for $110, and it includes all the features u want plus soundstorm audio technology. (better than an audigy2) @ $110 that's a friggin steal. I don't know what else u want? U'll be wasting your money on a kt266a, if u want budget, go with the a7n8x-x, u won't be disappointed and it's only ~$80.

 

[yodayoda]

Originally posted by: poohbear
look buddy, u can get a budget version of the nf2 (A7N8X-X) for $82. U can get the abit nf7-s rev 2.0 (prolly the best athlon xp mobo ever developed, don't think any amd user familiar with it will argue with that) for $110, and it includes all the features u want plus soundstorm audio technology. (better than an audigy2) @ $110 that's a friggin steal. I don't know what else u want? U'll be wasting your money on a kt266a, if u want budget, go with the a7n8x-x, u won't be disappointed and it's only ~$80.

i concur with my colleague. the FIC AU13 is also an excellent board and is even available at fry's on special with a retail 2600+ chip for $159. that is a nice nice setup there--the AU13 has firewire, soundstorm, lots of USB 2.0, dual channel DDR, and very very stable and OC friendly.

 

[Peter]

Well, with KT266A boards from ASRock and Syntax being below $40, your $80 suggestions aren't quite budget anymore. When you're building a budget computer, this is a lot of money.

 

[Lonyo]

I have a KT266A board (Abit KR7A) at the moment, and the computer as a whole is quite sluggish (ie: it seems to underperform), so I'm thinking of getting a new mobo/CPU/RAM, I know that's not keeping all things equal, but I was just wondering how much better the chipset alone would be. Driver updates and reinstalling Windows hasn't ever seemed to help.

I have an Audigy that might go if I do get an nForce2, as they supposedly have superior sound than the Audigy(1), anyone have firsthand experience?

I'm from the UK, so no newegg or whatever suggestions, but I can afford:
Abit NF7 v2.0 (NOT the S version)
MSI K7N2 DELTA-L
EPoX EP-8RDA3
Asus A7N8X-X

I don't need RAID, SATA, multiple network ports (on dialup, 1 PC), just a board that will overclock nicely, and maybe look nice too.

 

[Megatomic]

Originally posted by: Lonyo
EPoX EP-8RDA3

Make that an Epox 8RDA+ and you'll be all set. You can get one for $79 USD at Newegg, I can't imagine it'd be too much more across the pond.

Oh, and the difference between my wife's KT266A (used to be mine of course) and my nForce2 is like night and day. My board smokes hers in every conceivable manner. I say budget be damned, get a solid nForce2 and be done with it.

 

[Compellor]

A KT266A mobo is, by today's standards, a relic. If you're going to go VIA at least go for a KT400 mobo. These can be had dirt cheap and are more competitive with nForce 2 boards. But, nForce 2/AMD Barton all the way for the best performance setup.

 

[Mem]

I have an Audigy that might go if I do get an nForce2, as they supposedly have superior sound than the Audigy(1), anyone have firsthand experience?

It`s down to your ears,I know somebody that prefers his SB Live sound rather then the nForce sound on his Epox 8RDA+,so it depends on the user in question.

The KT266A is not a bad board(I`m still using one and I`m not going to upgrade until the Athlon 64 boards are here for my next major upgrade) and going nForce 2 will give you some improvement,it`s really down to how much you want to spend ,in my case I was using a GF2 Ti in my KT266A board and just stuck a 9700NP in my board for a big improvement which`ll keep me going for awhile.

Few sites to try for prices,
OcUK

Dabs

Overclock.co.uk

Komplett



CCL Computers