KT333-based system upgrade options?

[Megatomic]

I have an Epox 8K3A+ with the KT333/8233A chipset combo. The latest BIOS is installed (11/1/02). Running on this board is an AthlonXP 1900+ (Palomino) and 1x512MB Mushkin High Perf. PC2100. I am hoping to upgrade this system one last time before I gut my system and do a complete rebuild. I have seen that my board supports DDR333 memory but I can find no official word on whether or not it will support a 333MHz FSB cpu. So what are my options?

Can I use an AthlonXP Tbred at 2700+ or faster? Will it support an AthlonXP Barton (if that chip ever sees the light of day)?

Since Dual channel DDR has been less than remarkable on AMD systems, is there a truly compelling reason for me to replace this board now? I was thinking of decking this board out with 1GB of Mushkin/Corsair DDR333 and an AthlonXP 2800+. Is this a fruitless idea? I was also thinking of laying out the BIG green for a Granite Bay motherboard and a HT enabled P4 and buying another stick of Mushkin PC2100 (for 1GB total). Would this be a more practical upgrade?

LMK your thoughts/ideas. Thanks.

Edited title.

 

[touchmyichi]

I think you can probably put a 333 fsb athlon in there. Most KT333 boards won't have a problem with them. But I'd go for one of those tbred b athlon 2100+'s. According to various reports on this site they can easily do 2.2 ghz. I wouldn't get a gig of ram, its pretty unneccessary. 256 is fine, but if you upgrade to a dual channel solution 2x 256 would be the way to go. Your system might have a hard time with barton since it runs at the 400 fsb, so I would just get a good t bred b. Alright I hoped that helped.

 

[Noid]

I have a XP2600 in my KX7-333

Im realhappy with my OC ... (check my AMD box)

But !!

My BIOS wont allow over 12.5 ... cuz I bought the 333 version

I Emailed Abit .. and they said 'double check that you dont have the 333 chip'

So ... If I bought the 266 version I probably would only have 5.5 to 12.5 and 16 as mults.. (still wouldnt have 13 thru 15.5)
(Even though I unlocked the chip)

Soo... I guess before you buy it ... see what the MB BIOS will support.

 

[Megatomic]

Thanks for the replies guys.

touchmyichi, I out grew overclocking for the most part. I am overclocking my GF4 but that's another story... Anyways, I really want a CPU that is rated for 333MHz FSB if possible. As for RAM, I'll admit it - I'm a RAM wh0re. I am not the typical user (internet, email, Word, solitaire), many of the things I do or plan to do in the near future do better in machines with lots of RAM. 512MB is what I have now and sometimes it is almost not enough. So I will go with 1GB eventually.

Noid, thanks for the heads up on CPU multipliers. I will check my system out and see what it gives me.


Anyone have any thoughts on my desire(?) to try a Granite Bay/P4 HT system?

 

[CraigRT]

I'd try and use what you got with a TBred, that's a nice mobo.. the KT333 isn't dead, they are still good... better than the KT400 overall IMO... live it out..
I'd be using a TBred 1700+ in my KT266A board but it won't take it, the board is just a bit too old...

 

[Megatomic]

I'm excited about my board all over again. I just did a check on the FSB and multiplier settings I can dial in on this mobo and I have a 15x multiplier and I can set FSB from 100 to 255 in 1MHz steps. It looks like I can do Tbreds easily and maybe even Bartons if Epox releases a BIOS fix that will recognize the Barton's CPU string.

 

[Megatomic]

I guess the KT333 just isn't as exciting to talk about as the nForce2.

 

[Noid]

well ... not many are doing what I did...
(face it ... $275 dollar chip in a 85 dollar board?)

I initially bought a Asus NF1 and set it back immedialty... I had terrible performance with it. So I bought a KT333
(the KT400 was out but had issues ,, and after I had problems with NF1 ,,, I wasnt going NF2)

I first put my 1.2 T-bird in it and Boom! ... I was running it at 189 FSB also.
Then I put my 1.4 T-bird in and it ran 189.
Then I put a One of 2 XP1600's I bought in there (only 50 bucks a piece) , but I had problems with my chip stability, and the other had sudden death.

I dropped this XP2600 in and some XMS memory ,,, from X-mas money.
And I flashed the BIOS to support it.

And whamo ... Im faster than the P4 2.8 ... Im off the chart in Sandra.

(it took some re-mounting of cooling on the MB thou ... I always check the NB now)
I'm also waiting for some crytal orbs ... I want to put it on my NB ... (I'm hoping to be stable at 193 then)
(yes .. I can go that high... but I had occational BSOD .. even thou Prime and 3dmark ran fine at the same time during testing)

 

[Megatomic]

When I was digging around in my BIOS last night I found that my board will run a 333Mhz FSB chip up to 2490MHz! That is going to be fast enough for me for a while I think. But it is very cool to see how versatile the KT333 is. Noid, you are having incredible luck overclocking your Athlons. I can't wait to upgrade now, I might even try overclocking again (even though my system will be ridiculously fast as it is).

 

[Brian48]

The 8k3a+ is still an excellent board. You can still run any of the 333mhz AthlonXPs on it. 333mhz is not a problem with this board. At 166mhz FSB, the BIOS kicks in with a 1/5 divider so everything else should be normal.

I'm running currently running my 8k3a with a Thoroughbred B 1700XP@11x166 setting right now. Works just great. Prior to that, I was running my 2400XP at 12.5x166 until I moved it into an A7N8X.