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The near future for Athlon chips,mobos and RAM?

X

Xain

Member
What's the chipset/CPU and mobo roadmaps for the next few months?

I'm intending to do a major upgrade soonish. I'm currently leaning towards an Athlon XP 1800+, Asus A7V266-E and 512Mb DDR2100 Crucial RAM. By the time I buy this stuff an Athlon XP 1900+ is quite likely. However, this is all assuming there is no big changes coming up.

One of my main reasons for upgrading is for stability. In view of this, I think the Via KT266a is the best choice. The nForce looks impressive enough, but I doubt that it's perfect considering that it's the company's first CPU chipset. Other than that, the Via one looks like the best for stability and performance. Another reason for not getting the nForce is all the onboard junk. I don't want a soundcard onboard, I've already got a GT XP. I don't want a GF2 onboard, I've already got a GF3. I don't want to pay extra for a load of stuff that is no use and could cause problems - although I belive nForce mobos can be got without these.

I'm hearing about 333 chipsets - why? Are these for overclockers only? Or is the T'bred going to be 2x166? Reading past reviews and articles I see that Via's first attempt at a new chipset isn't impressive and the subsequent A version is a big improvement. How long did it take them to go from KT133 to KT133a and from KT266 to KT266a? In view of my need for stability over a few extra 3DMark points, I don't think the non-revised board is for me - and I don't intend to overclock much so unless future AMD CPUs are 2x166, I don't see a KT333 mobo being interesting to me.

Is there any upcoming released or events that could change prices? I've heard Intel are planning a price cut soon - will AMD respond with reductions? They could hardly get much cheaper! Also, what RAM prices? I was quite surprised when I saw that price of SDRAM has doubled recently - has SDRAM fallen out of the market or did something happen that I didn't hear about? I could be mistaken, having not followed the DDR market a lot, but I get the impression that DDR RAM has also increased in price, albeit a slight increase. Is this likely to drop significantly soon? I presume the 333 chipsets will lower the price of the 266 ones slightly.
 
Does anyone know when the rumoured Intel price cuts will be? I hope to get this kit fairly soon so I'd like to know if I should hold off for AMD's reaction cuts.
 
KT333 and KT333A Will support PC2700 DDR memory. So the memory bus will actually run at that speed. Intel pricecuts are a week from today.
 
Will DDR2400 or DDR2700 work with a KT266 mobo? Obivously I won't get the extra speed, but will it work at DDR2100? Just wondering if I can buy RAM soon with will last longer...

Price cuts around Monday. Any word on how major these will be? How long after until AMD reduce their's? How long after that until online dealer's reduce their prices?
 


<< Will DDR2400 or DDR2700 work with a KT266 mobo? Obivously I won't get the extra speed, but will it work at DDR2100? >>

Yep. PC2700/PC2400 will run in a 266 or 266A for that matter just at PC2100.
 
Well in the 2nd quarter of this year the next Athlon made with the .13 micron process, which will reduce heat and allow them to ramp up the speed once again. At the end of the year they will begin producing the hammer chips which add SOI and will debut at performance rating 3400+. DDR just like sdram is backwards compatible so the 2700 will work as 2100 until you get a 333 board. I would, just like you said, wait a while until the 333a version comes from via. I however would not reccomend your board. I would say the epox 8kha+ would be the best as it does not have anything extra (except crappy sound) and is near the top in performance, not to mention it's about $90. The epox is also one of the better overclockers. Btw if you get pc2400 ram it will easily overclock to 2700, but I'd get the 2700 if the price isn't too much different. Also the ddr ram should go back down a little in price by late Feb. I have heard. Most makers have stopped producing single sdram and a couple makers folded so the prices went up in both departments. Not to mention the demand for ddr well exceeded what they thought it would.

Intel's price cuts are/were supposed to be in Jan., but it's gettin kinda late.
 
Turkey22 --

>hammer chips which add SOI and will debut at performance rating 3400+. DDR

what's SOI ?

and won't the new hammer cpu require a new motherboard ?

if you need a new MB anyway, is there much of a point in getting a new, somewhat more stable 333a board now if it's "obsolete" within a year ? I'd think it's better to go w/ the epox 8kha+ you recommened.

just curious, as I'm in the same boat looking to upgrade fairly soon.

thanks!
 


<<

<< The near future for Athlon chips,mobos and RAM? >>



All in the gutter. Pentium 4 is becoming more and more attractive every day, baby. >>



Quiet Candoman, you're being a troll.
 
Yep, seems to me one should wait for the .13 XPs which should begin at PR 2000/2200. Also PC2700 DDR chipset motherboards, though I'm not convinced the performance over PC2100 will be all that great. By then the GF4s will appear and you can check those out, too. And Intel should have 533 mhz fsb Northwoodies ready for action. Looks like March/April for all of this stuff.
 


<<

<<

<< The near future for Athlon chips,mobos and RAM? >>



All in the gutter. Pentium 4 is becoming more and more attractive every day, baby. >>



Quiet Candoman, you're being a troll. >>




There is no secret about it, AGodspeed. I have AMD system and I love it very much. But I feel the same way too..... esp after someone posted pics of Northwood at 3.8 GHz. 😀
 
What makes the Epox better than the Asus? Lack of onboard things is a fair point - I dislike having my mobo filled with junk that I have way better versions on in a PCI or AGP slot. Is that the only reason for it being cheaper? There seems to be quite a difference in price, around £30 - I don't mind spending a bit more for a better motherboard - within reason, price isn't a consideration.

Performance wise they seem neck and neck - the Epox wins some, the Asus wins others. I've just finished reading a review on templintech.com and it critiszes the Epox because XP chips (which I'm getting) have booting problems. ALthough I don't know if I trust them as they list as a con that it's unstable at over 160Mhz FSB. Well duh. Sure, some people can get more than that, but I'd hardly call it a flaw in the motherboard if you can't - especialy as it could be the chip, the RAM or anything else 🙂

There are also issues with the Epox and the Alpha PAL8045. ALthough there is also a capacitor in the way on the Asus, newer revisions have sorted it.
 
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