P4 memory/performance issue, please HELP!

[ErikaeanLogic]

hi

Thugsrook made an excellent suggestion to me the other day, recommending the P4B533, which I love. My problem is the I have a c1 stepping P4 2.5 (does 3.0GHz at default) but since it is a 400MHz part, even at 3:4 mem ratio I am "only" running mem at 160x2 MHz. I have the Corsair XMS3200c2 stuff, which I know can whip ass, and I would love to run a P4S533 for the 3:5 or even 3:6 multiplier, but since there is no PCI/AGP lock on this board I am shot out at 40/80MHz PCI/AGP at my current speed, and even more screwed once I increase the fsb on the P4S, right? My question to you, then, is how likely would a Radeon9700, WD 80GB JB, and a Seismic Edge sound card stand up to 40+MHz PCI/AGP? My memory bandwidth is killing me; before, with an AthlonXP @2GHz (166fsb) my 3DMark2001 score was 15,100 and now it's "only" 15,500, which sucks hard considering the cost and effort I've put into this P4 rig. I'm waiting for the P4 top to my Spir@l waterblock so this is going to be a really big deal to me pretty soon.

I did do homework before posting. I looked at the databases for P4 overclocks at overclockers.com to see if anyone was running their P4S at/over 40MHz PCI and there were very few folks doing that, and only at 39/40MHz PCI. I have searched the AnandTech forums and the Asusboards forums, too, looking for information which could help me decide what to do. I just built this system last night, and am going to test my rig at the 40MHz+ PCI ratings (I can set these manually on the P4B533) to see if my parts will tolerate the overclock, but will this fault tolerance carry over to the P4S? I opted for the 2.5/400fsb part because of the guaranteed c1 stepping which would get me 3GHz+. Well, I'm there and it's not what I hoped for, lol:Q. What can I do to optimize my performance given my current cpu/RAM?



update: so now I'm up to 3150MHz, 126fsb(168mem), 1.7Vcore, Sandra memory: 2593/2590, 3DMark2001SE: 16,189, UT2003 demo(1600x1200): 127(flyby)/70(botmatch), memory timings: 2-2-2-6

all on Intel stock cooler air

 

[oldfart]

3.0 GHz DDR320 is not all that bad! I assume you are using the most aggressive CAS timings. Since you can do 3 GHz @ default Vcore, bump up the speed some more if you can. Every 1 Mhz FSB increase = 2.67 increase in DDR speed.

Another thought. You are a good candidate for an RDRAM setup! You will be able to keep your 3 GHz speed and get the mem BW from the RDRAM.

DDR setups are best with a high FSB/low multipler such as 16 x 150, 2.4 GHz, DDR400. This is PC3200, or 3.2 GB/s mem Bandwidth.
On your rig. 25 x 120 = 3 GHz (very nice BTW), you are at DDR320, or PC2560, 2.56 GB/s mem BW

RDRAM setups are good when you are running high multiplier/low FSB.
With your CPU running RDRAM 120 FSB, you would be running PC960, or 3.8 GB/s mem BW.

This would be you fastest setup with the CPU you have. Its probably not what you wanted to hear since you just bought the mobo and DDR ram.

 

[ErikaeanLogic]

thanks for responding, oldfart

I am still confused by the lackluster performance of this rig when compared to my AthlonXP@2GHz (166fsb) rig. My memory timings are 2-2-2-5, can't get better than that, right?

please keep the feedback coming folks!



thanks,

Erik

 

[wicktron]

Memory timings at high speed DDR makes little to no difference. I suggest you use the slowest timings, and increase the speed of the RAM, that will give you more of a performance gain then say, trying to run a lower FSB with fast timings.

 

[oldfart]

What other benches have you run besides 3DMark? I don't put much stock in that thing. 15K is an impressive number either way I guess. How about video or audio MPEG encoding? How about UT2003 demo? I assume you didn't put this together for a 3DMark benching tool.

 

[ErikaeanLogic]

wixt0r: my memory speed is currently max'ed out due to my stock cooling limitation; the mem is clocked/tweaked as high as it will go for now until I use higher-voltage/cooler-cooling.

oldfart: I hear what you're saying about 3DMark2001, and it's not that I'm out to impress anybody with my 15,000+ score; I have always used it to bench relative performance of a system to itself or others I've had. It's a bit mysterious to me that, given that the memory bandwidth/timings of the AMD and Intel systems I've benched this week are equal, my P4 @3GHz is benching within a stone's throw of my AthlonXP @2GHz (AthlonXP 2400+?). Does this seem odd to you, too?

 

[oldfart]

Maybe you are hitting the 9700's limit. Maybe its a 3DMark limitation, who knows. That is why I suggest a different test. How about a 640 x 480 & 1600 x 1200 test with both systems? How about UT2003? Downloadable demo if you dont have it already. You cant base system performance on 1 bench that is known to be less than perfect.

 

[ErikaeanLogic]

oldfart: agreed, I'll take a look at the UT2003 demo results. I no longer have the 2GHz AMD setup installed (parted out and sold already) but I can remember what my results were at 1600x1200 (102/62, flyby/botmatch) so I'll compare those scores. I seriously doubt the the Radeon9700 is the weak link in my performance. Reviews I've seen around the 'net suggest that I ought to be looking at a much higher 3DMark2001 score. Here, for example, is the unoverclocked Radeon9700/P4 2.66GHz score of 14653 on a DDR system, which is what I get with my card at default core/mem. My cpu is running 333MHz faster:Q, so what gives? I agree that 3DMark2001 is not perfect but, as I said earlier, it's what I use to gauge my system performance against itself and other systems I've owned, which embodies the very essence of what a benchmark is (to me). I'm beginning to wonder if I made the right choice with my 2.5GHz/400fsb part

. Now, once I watercool if I can get 'er up to 133fsb, 3325MHz(!), then I can look at the P4S533 and the superior memory options it offers (3:5 and 3:6 memory ratios, unofficial DDR400 support) but I can't go there until then because of the lack of a PCI/AGP lock on that board.

Better planning next time, Erik, better planning.

Thanks to all who are helping me, both through this thread and via PM.