MoBo + CPU + memory combo advice please!

[patrickmacdonald]

I am planning to buy the following setup

ASUS A7N8X Deluxe nForce2
AMD Barton XP2500+ 333FSB
OCZ512MB PC3200 Performance EL-DDR CAS2

Total Cost = £416 incl.Vat

On the issue of memory.... what kind of performance hit would I get if I went for the cheaper TwinMOS 512MB DDR CAS2.5 or the CORSAIR 512Mb DDR XMS3200 Platinum CAS 2. I am quite keen to OC the system as much as I can, whilst keeping the dB level down ( I plan to use a zalmann butterfly cooler )

Any advice on selecting memory much appreciated....

I will be using this rig for 3d rendering, and compositing.
If I go for the cheaper OCZ memory, I will probably get 1Gb.

I read somewhere that if you use two mem cards in the two channels on the mb, you get 128bit memory access rather than 64bit ( I can't remember where I read this, so it might be irrelevant to this mobo. or it may be specific to a dual processor system.... can anyone shed any light on this topic ?)

Thanks all!

 

[Confused]

From what I've heard, keep away from the OCZ memory. Go for the Corsair 512MB. The TwinMOS is a pair of 256MB sticks, which will limit your upgradeability in the future. Go for the single Corsair 512MB stick, then you can always add another later. The nForce2 boards, although dual channel, really only see a benifit when using the onboard graphics, which that board doesn't have. You may see about a 5% increase by using dual channel DDR on a non-integrated graphics board.



Confused

 

[patrickmacdonald]

Thanks for the reply....
I've specced up a comparative Dual processor system.... which one would you recommend for 3d rendering and video editing ?
I would think the dual-system would offer best improvements for all the long processes such as encoding and rendering....

but for 3d modelling and day-to-day use the SP system would be better.....

Basically..... does the limited memory bandwidth of the dual processor system reduce system performance to that of a faster specced single system ?

Multi-Processor System - effectively 4Ghz for rendering ? ::--
£79 - 1x Asus A7M266 DDR (Socket A) Motherboard **B-GRADE**
£60 - 2x Zalman ZM80-HP 'flower'
£233 - 2 x AMD MP2000
£78 - 1 x Corsair 512Mb DDR XMS2700 Platinum CAS2
Total = £528 (incl VAT)

Single Processor System - effectively 2.5Ghz for rendering ? ::--
£108 - 1 x Corsair 512MB DDR XMS3200 Platinum CAS2
£139 - 1 x AMD Athlon "Barton" XP2500+ 333FSB (Socket A) CPU
£99 - 1 x Asus A7N8X Deluxe nForce2 (Socket A)
£30 - 1 x Zalman ZM80-HP 'flower'
Total = £441 (incl VAT)

 

[AtomicDude512]

Originally posted by: patrickmacdonald
Thanks for the reply....
I've specced up a comparative Dual processor system.... which one would you recommend for 3d rendering and video editing ?
I would think the dual-system would offer best improvements for all the long processes such as encoding and rendering....

but for 3d modelling and day-to-day use the SP system would be better.....

Basically..... does the limited memory bandwidth of the dual processor system reduce system performance to that of a faster specced single system ?

Multi-Processor System - effectively 4Ghz for rendering ? ::--
£79 - 1x Asus A7M266 DDR (Socket A) Motherboard **B-GRADE**
£60 - 2x Zalman ZM80-HP 'flower'
£233 - 2 x AMD MP2000
£78 - 1 x Corsair 512Mb DDR XMS2700 Platinum CAS2
Total = £528 (incl VAT)

Single Processor System - effectively 2.5Ghz for rendering ? ::--
£108 - 1 x Corsair 512MB DDR XMS3200 Platinum CAS2
£139 - 1 x AMD Athlon "Barton" XP2500+ 333FSB (Socket A) CPU
£99 - 1 x Asus A7N8X Deluxe nForce2 (Socket A)
£30 - 1 x Zalman ZM80-HP 'flower'
Total = £441 (incl VAT)

Dual-CPU is better for rendering and games that support it. Unless the rumored nForceFX Dual-CPU chipset comes out your system will be slightly limited by both CPUs having to share bandwidth. The choice is yours.