PIII 700 Mhz /100 MHz Bus - ASUS P3V4X Question

[blclay23]

Hello,
I got this baby running with ASUS P3V4X 133/100 for almost 5 months already using PC100 SDRAM ( 256), I just then realized that it supports the 133, but the Intel Pentium III (box) says that 700 MHz/100 MHz bus, now my question is, can I use PC133 SDRAM instead of PC100 SDRAM? is there any difference in speed? performance?

I also notice that my ABIT BH6 was faster to load some of my applications like photoshop 5.5, illustrator 9.0 etc..using PII 400 MHz before with 128SDRAM... any ideas why? The only thing changed is my game speed, when I changed my video card to ASUS GeForce V6800 32mb-(blazing speed makes me dizzy sometime).

System Specs:
PIII 700Mhz
Asus P3V4X 1005
Asus GeForce V6800
Win 2000 Pro
Maxtor 7200 20GB
Soundblaster Live
HP CDwriter
52X CDrom
256 PC100 SDRAM

Primary Master - Maxtor (hard disk)
Primary Slave - 52X CDrom
Secondary Master - LS 120
Secondary Slave - HP CDwriter

Do I need to make changes in my setup?

Thank you in advance..........

Mike

 

[AL77]

Hi blclay23,

When you say that you've been running the p3v4x/700E at 133/100, do you mean you've been overclocking the cpu to 933 (7.0 multiplier X 133MHz FSB). I gather from your system specs and the rest of your post that you are not overclocking.

1. You can certainly use PC133 memory instead of PC100. This Via 133a-based MB supports what is known as an asynchronous bus. The FSB (Front Side Bus) and the memory bus speeds do not have to be equal. You should see an improvement in performance, but IMO, it's not worth replacing your 256MB of RAM for. If you feel adventurous or want to experiment, you can also set the memory bus (in the BIOS) to 133MHz anyway to test out the performance gain, in effect running your memory past its specification. It might not work though.

2. The 700E with the p3v4x and 256MB of memory should be faster than your PII 400 all other things being equal. Don't know why it's slower.

3. Some suggest moving CD-Writers to Secondary Master with CD-ROMs as Secondary Slave to give the Writer priority as well as having your CD-ROM on a separate channel from the HD, for more efficient CD-ROM to HD transfers.

Just a note: the FSB is the path from your cpu to the north bridge of your chipset. The memory bus is the pathway between your memory modules and the above mentioned north bridge.

 

[wolf550e]

wow! same system specs as me (almost...)
yes you can run pc133 ram with 100mhz bus like AL77 said, since via apollo pro 133a is asyncronius (sp)
u r not overclocking, right?
i too dont think there is much to be ganied by spending the money on 256mb pc133 ram, unless your current dimms can do 133... which is unlikely and risky.
about the speed, the bx is faster then via, but p3 700 has to be faster than p2 400...
and i would have switched the ls120 with the burner

 

[blclay23]

Thanks!

AL77, Ooops, what I mean with 133/100 is the mobo is compatible either PC133 or PC100, no, my system is not overclocked! I'm scared, I might screw up my pc...... I tried once up to 805MHz running smooth......but worried I might mess the processor, can't afford yet to upgrade a new one.

Thanks again.