Which combination of bus speeds is best for performance???

[Fun Guy]

I don't have a lot of options on this board - AOpen MX3S-T with a 1.26Mhz 512KB Tualatin - but am wondering which would be better performance-wise. The following seem to be the most stable clockings.

- 133Mhz System bus, 133Mhz memory bus, 33Mhz PCI bus with a 1.266Ghz CPU speed
- 160Mhz System bus, 120Mhz memory bus, 40Mhz PCI bus with a 1.520Ghz CPU speed

The second number is best from a raw CPU standpoint, but the memory is clocked at a lower speed. Is this a big deal?

I left the RAM at 2-2-2 and haven't even begun to play with that yet. If I do decide to play with the RAM, I have a few settings in the BIOS. If any of you have suggestions as to which to play with, please let me know:

- SDRAM CAS Latency Time - 2 or 3 ..... (I have 2 selected)
- SDRAM Cycle Tras/Trc - 5/7 or 7/9 ..... (I have 5/7 selected)
- SDRAM RAS-to-CAS Delay - 2 or 3 ..... (I have 2 selected)
- SDRAM RAS Precharge Time - 2 or 3 ..... (I have 2 selected)

 

[Freshbrain]

Probably the one with 133mem bus would perform better. Setting all memory timings to the lowest will improve bandwith a little, do it if possible. You should test both of those configs. Maybe with a 3d benchmark like 3dmark or something. You must also consider that at 40mhz PCI bus some peripherals may start to fail. Maybe there is another possible setting in your board. Like 144/144/36/1368?

 

[Fun Guy]

Okay, another question, in addition to the one above - Does anyone know of a benchmark that would help me gauge overall system performance, so I could pick the best combination of memory bus and system bus?