Update my rig

[KaiserSoze]

Hey,

This is just another update topic as i am thinking of upgrading my rig.

Mob:
Which chipset should one get, Via's 266A, ALi MAGiK1 or Nforce 420-D
I was thinking of the Asus KT266A mob but now it seems as the Nforce once are comming out.
I read somewhere that the Nforce will boost the AGP port to appear to be 6x AGP, true?
Heard that getting an Nforce mob with a GF3, the GF3 card will use some functionallity fron the integrated chip, like memmory addressing and such, is that true?
I want to get a mob that supports DDR333, ATA/133, 1/5th, 1/6th PCI dividers and 2/5th and 1/3rd AGP dividers, will i have to wait long?
Will todays KT266A boards support the up and comming Thoroughbred CPU and DDR333?
How much will i gain from the up and comming 8x AGP??
When will ATA/133 come out and what will one gain from today ATA/100?

I am thinking about a rig that looks like this.
Asus or MSI 266A
AMD +1800
1 x 512 Mb PC2400
GF3 (overclock it of course) or mabye a GF3Ti200 and oc that one?

Please comment on the above as i am going crazy on what to get!
Thanx

 

[Jiggz]

First, DDR333 is not officially supported yet although some ppl are already reporting stable and fast system oc'ing EPOX KT266A mobo. AGP 6X, only a handful of programs are even taking advantage of the 4x still so I do not expect the 6X so come out soon. So don't even think about the 8X yet. I don't see a noticeable performance on hdd using the ATA 133 compare to the presentl ATA 100. Today's HDD are not even saturating the capability of ATA 100. Sure ATA 133 sounds like a good marketing trick like the old MX on the classic Pentium. If you really want a fast HDD sub system use the SCSI 15K hdd. I don't know what your present system is, but you do not sound like you need an upgrade at the present unless of course you have $$$ burning in your pockets that you want to unload.

 

[KaiserSoze]

Jiggz,

Well my rig today is a P3 500 on a BX Mob and a GF 2GTS gxcard.

Maby you are absolutly right, Iwill's new mob supporting DDR333 and ATA/133 is just a maketing trick, and aftre talking it over with a few of my buddies i belive ATA/133 is not worth the pennies, since the disc itself can only buffer and transfer the data to the buffer at a certain rate. I think i will go for some nice SCSI disc's
I do however find the DDR333 memmory support to sound quite nice. I know PC2400 is great but i want a board that has performed as ell as my BX has up till today.
The need of 8xAGP might be in the future of gaming and graphics card industry but i dont want to buy a card today and then tomorrow a 8xAGP mob will appear. Isnt it the transfer speed in the port that is important, not the game itself.
How about the CPU... Should one wait until the Thoroughbred CPU and will the KT266A mos support those CPU's.
Which chipset should one get, Via's 266A, ALi MAGiK1 or Nforce 420-D

Thanx!

 

[Athlon4all]

<< Which chipset should one get, Via's 266A, ALi MAGiK1 or Nforce 420-D >>

Depends. MAGiK is 10% slower than 266A/nForce. I wouldn't get it. 266A is probably perfect for you because you have a decent vid card (or will be getting a new one). nForce is only good if you allready have a bad vid card/sound card.

<< I was thinking of the Asus KT266A mob but now it seems as the Nforce once are comming out. >>

Forget Asus. They are overpriced boards that offer nothing special over the competition. Get an EPoX 8KHA+ (266A) or Shuttle AK31A (266A also)

<< I read somewhere that the Nforce will boost the AGP port to appear to be 6x AGP, true? >>

Nope. Only when using the Integrated video do you get AGP 6x, and no it doens't matter much, the integrated still isn't as fast as a normal MX.

<< Heard that getting an Nforce mob with a GF3, the GF3 card will use some functionallity fron the integrated chip, like memmory addressing and such, is that true? >>

Again nope.

<< I want to get a mob that supports DDR333, ATA/133, 1/5th, 1/6th PCI dividers and 2/5th and 1/3rd AGP dividers, will i have to wait long? >>

Well there are rumors about EPoX 8KHA+ and other 266A boards having PCI and AGP Divider SUPPORT in the clcok generators, but there's no telling weather the mobo makers will provide BIOS support. IWill's XP333 is while a solid board, because it uses MAGiK, it can can only keep up with 266A when overclocked to 166fsb. I couldn't tell you about DDR333. In a few weeks SiS will probably sending out samples of SiS 745 which features the improved mem controller of SiS 645 (including DDR333) support. ATA/133 Will creep up into some boards, but it probably won't be common place. There will be a Shuttle AK31A with ATA/133+RAID though.

<< Will todays KT266A boards support the up and comming Thoroughbred CPU and DDR333? >>

Thoroughbred most likely with a BIOS update, DDR333 nope.

<< How much will i gain from the up and comming 8x AGP?? >>

Nothing until games use it. Forget it.

<< When will ATA/133 come out and what will one gain from today ATA/100? >>

Again nothing. ATA/133 is only providing support for Big Drive (Meaning drives over 120GB).

To sum it up;

Since u want ATA/133 support, wait and get the Shuttle AK31A that will have ATA/133+RAID. ak31a is a great board, best price/performance in terms of KT266A.
Go ahead and get an XP 1800+. Thoroughbred won't be here until March next year.
Get Crucial PC2100. It ocs just as well as PC2400, but is much cheaper.
Get a GF3Ti200. It probably will oc fine, and once oced will be up to GF3.