amd 64 system

[oobe]

this is my first post here to start of i would like to say hello all
here are the components i have chosen for my next upgrade
1 x Abit AV8-3RDEYE, Socket 939 = $190.00
1 x Corsair 1024MB TWINX-4000 (500 MHz) DDR RAM (2 x 512MB) = $415
AMD Athlon64 3500+ Retail - Socket 939 = $440> >
or saving money on a AMD Athlon64 3200+ Retail (Boxed) - S939 for $305.00

they are australian dollors not US so im not getting ripped off i hope

I am plainng on OCing however i am an OC newb am patient wont rush it prepared to read etc. first but need to check b4 i buy my stuff I have the following questions

1. will it be possible to OC the 3200+ to 2.5Ghz with those specs

2. Im looking for a good HSF that will allow me to over clock am considering the Zalman CNPS7000-AlCu has anyone had good experiences with it or have any other suggestions im not willing to go with water cooling just yet .

3. will the corsiar memory run at 200Mhz htt giving it a 400mhz underclock speed with a 2x multiplier and when i increase the htt to 250 it will run at 500Mhz or do i have to get 400mhz pc3200 ram to run at stock speeds

4. if i add more memory later can i still use dual channel memory mode

at present this is what i hope to be doing going with the above mobo and memory and buying the 3200+ and OCing it to 2500Mhz

 

[drpootums]

1. Probably

2. If the TT Venus 12 is compatable with skt939 i'd go with that, it's only $30

3. huh? If i think i understand what u mean, then Corsair pc3200 or 400mhz memory will run stock at 200HTT, and if u bring the HTT to 250, u just take the HTT x the multiplier to get ur speed. Corsair XMS may be able to run at those speeds, but i'm not sure. I'd just get the PDP Patriot stuff in my sig. It's very good at oc'ing and only costs $180

4. Yes, but u can either have 2 or 4 sticks (i think)

 

[effee]

My comment, just stay far away from MSI.

 

[oobe]

Im seriously considering getting this cooler the Zalman CNPS7000-AlCu will it be cool enough to OC my cpu up to 2500Mhz also in my 3rd question I was just asking if its ok to under clock my ddr500 memory to 400Mhz till i raise the HTT to 250 im not planning on just doing it straight away

 

[Rhagz]

yes you can underclock your ram, it wont hurt anything.
the 3500 chip is great, but if you need to save the money then get the 3200.. the 3500 will overclock higher in most cases tho.
the zalman is good, so is lots ofo others, i use a Tt venus12 at 2900rpm (its dead silent at this speed) and my load temps are 48-50 at 2.6Ghz

 

[oobe]

I have just been reading on the abit forums that this board wont boot with 90mm winchester chips without a bios update so if i buy this board i probably wont beable to update the bios with the 3200+ unless it already has a newer bios so i may go with the 3500+ I sent my supplier an email but i dont know if they will beable to find out the answer as to what revision the bios is its a pity cause the 3200 would of been enough for me

 

[Rhagz]

i ordered my mobo from newegg, my cpu from monarch.. booted up on the first try, i think it came with the 1.2 bios installed

 

[Appledrop]

if ocing i dont really see it necessary to get a 3500+.. i think the winchesters seem to clock just about 2.6ghzzzzzzzzz. (mine in sig). dont knoww hat to say about the mobo tho, get an asus a8v maybe, they will boot for sure, and is a nice, stable overclocking board (tho the older ones need to be booted with 1 stick of ram, then update bios)

 

[oobe]

can i see your proccessor specs CPUA64-3200-939-BOX AMD Athlon64 3200 Processor, Socket 939, HTSB 2Ghz, 512KB L2 Cache, Boxed that is what i plan on ordering

from what i have read it may have trouble as a winchester chip here is a link http://forum.abit-usa.com/show...e=15&pagenumber=10

 

[oobe]

Originally posted by: Rhagz
i ordered my mobo from newegg, my cpu from monarch.. booted up on the first try, i think it came with the 1.2 bios installed

what memory modules are you using do they work ok in dual channel and run ok at ddr 400 or higher

 

[bytor33]

For the least amount of trouble go with the tried and true. An MSI neo2 board with ocz 3200 plat rev2 and the 3200 winchester. You have an almost 100% chance of hitting over 2.5 ghz, while the 2.6 ghz mark is kind of a hit or miss depending on your luck with the processor. If the board doesn't come with the 1.2 or 1.3 bios, just boot with one stick of ram, load the 1.36 bios (best one so far), and then you'll be set. This combo has been one of the easiest overclocking experiences for me yet and I haven't overclocked since the pentium 2 days. The reason I believe to choose the 3200 over the 3000 IS because of the 10 multiplier. To get over 2500 mhz with a 9 multiplier you have to have about a 280 mhz fsb which can create problems of it's own and not work with all motherboards, some batches do better than others. With a 10 multiplier you'll be right in the sweet spot in the 250 to 260 fsb range which is easily obtainable and super stable.

 

[oobe]

I cancelled my order for the abit av8 and am still ordering the zalman 7000 3200 winchester and TWINX1024-4000 I am limited in what sort of memory i can order as I heard people are having trouble running stable at 400mhz for memory and have to push it back to 333mhz will i have probs if i order a MSI neo2 k8n platnum board and twinx 4000 memory of course i am planning on running it in dual channel mode

 

[oobe]

bump

 

[Icepick]

The MSI board will run in dual channel mode. As bytor33 commented, you might need to boot it with only one DIMM installed and then use MSI's Live Update software to upgrade the BIOS to at least version 1.3. Then you'll be able to install the second DIMM in slot 2 and run in dual channel. Worked for me.

 

[Super6]

Two sticks of memory running dual channel will be fine at 200/400. It's only when you use all four memory slots that some MB's force 333MHz and/or 2T in the memory srttings. You'll be fine.

I have the Abit AV8 and it would not boot with the shipping bios. Couldn't get my hands on a Newcastle so I spent $15.00 on a bios chip with the latest release...problem solved.

Super6

 

[Thermalrock]

Originally posted by: effee
My comment, just stay far away from MSI.

word. couldnt have said it better.

why corsair tho? get ocz platinum 3200 rev 2 and oc it. gonna be faster and doesnt cost as much either.

 

[oobe]

Originally posted by: Thermalrock

Originally posted by: effee
My comment, just stay far away from MSI.

word. couldnt have said it better.

why corsair tho? get ocz platinum 3200 rev 2 and oc it. gonna be faster and doesnt cost as much either.

in australia where I am corsiar 4000 memory is still cheaper than ocz platinum 3200 the thing that scares me away most of the abit av8 is having to wait for a bios chip are all the 3200+ 939 CPUs winchester 90nm chips

abit will now ship for free a replacement bios chip

"Dear Customer,

The AV8(- 3rd Eye) & KV8 Pro (-3rd Eye) motherboard models require a the
newest bios version to support

the new AMD 64 CPU Core (see list below) with 90 nanometer Process
Technology, Codename ' Winchester '.

The description of this occurring issue (without the latest bios
version) with its common symptoms :

The Motherboard doesn't boot up, but the fans and other hardware begins
to start. The Monitor screen stays blank / without any signal. And the 2
x 7 segments Code Display on the motherboard displays CODE 90 when the
systems stops. (Sometimes it boots up until CODE 45 when you are using
only 1 memory Module but than it stops.)

The fastest solution is to temporally install an AMD 64 CPU Core (see
list below) with 130 nanometer Process Technology, Codename ' Newcastle
' and to flash the bios to latest version.

If you are not able to flash the bios by yourself or by your (local)
retailer, ABIT offers you a replacement of the bios chip with the newest
bios version for free.

Please send your request by email to e-mail to

orderparts@abit.nl <mailtorderparts@abit.nl?subject=Requesting
replacement AV8 / KV8 Pro Bios Chip> with:

1) Your shipping address .

2) Serial Number of your ABIT product."





one more thing was it hard to pop the bios chip out and add the new one
"

 

[Thermalrock]

ive seen several corsair dimms not running at its specified mhz with the 2-2-2 timings they promise. i dont like it. then you have to go 2-3-2 or 2-3-3 tho you paid for 2-2-2 ram its bs. sometimes you cant even rma it cuz they say its just a problem on some motherboards and crap. if you send ocz back you get new ram. one guy on here said he sent it back to ocz 'cuz it oced badly' and said they sent him new. now i dont know if thats true cuz if never seen ocz not work or oc badly so i never had to rma any. sometimes corsair does make the 2-2-2 timings tho, well yours wont i guess cuz its bandwith and not latency optimized and i never went with ddr > 400 so maybe that stuff is fine. i just find it odd that a brand who does rather average 'high performance' memory get prolly the widest recognition for quality dimms when there are way better rams out there.

 

[oobe]

Originally posted by: Thermalrock
well yours wont i guess cuz its bandwith and not latency optimized and i never went with ddr > 400 so maybe that stuff is fine.e.

so would I be better off getting corsiar xl 3200 and ocing it
i can get 1GB Corsair TWINX-3200XL for around the same price

 

[oobe]

Originally posted by: effee
My comment, just stay far away from MSI.

WHY

 

[eagle101]

Originally posted by: oobe
I cancelled my order for the abit av8 and am still ordering the zalman 7000 3200 winchester and TWINX1024-4000 I am limited in what sort of memory i can order as I heard people are having trouble running stable at 400mhz for memory and have to push it back to 333mhz will i have probs if i order a MSI neo2 k8n platnum board and twinx 4000 memory of course i am planning on running it in dual channel mode

make sure you get the new: neo2 ultra nforce3 platinum.....works excellient