Asus P4T533-C & 1066 rdram

[jbond04]

Wow... I'm really sorry about the tardiness of my benchmarks. It sure doesn't help my hard drive that I ordered didn't work (that took up a good 2 hours of my time)...

Anyway, I'm downloading some benchmark applications right now. So far the thing has booted like a charm, so it doesn't look like there's a problem with the Kingston RAM. In about an hour I'll post some more details.

 

[jbond04]

Alright everybody...here's the benchmarks!

First off, I would like to report that my RDRAM runs perfectly at 133MHz FSB, with the "4x" option enabled in the BIOS. Kingston's RDRAM works fine. I have had no instability in my system AT ALL. So, those of you that have doubts--don't. This guinea pig reports that all is well.

I haven't yet had the chance to overclock it yet, but when I do, I'll post those results, too.

And finally, here are some Sandra benchmarks for the 2.53GHz @ 133MHz FSB:

CPU:
4919 MIPS
3210 MFLOPS (SSE2)

Multimedia:
10083 it/s (INT)
12053 it/s (SSE2)

RAM:
1879 MB/s (ALU)
1898 MB/s (FPU)

Please let me know what other benchmarks you want to see. I don't think you'll care about my 3DMark score, since I only have a GeForce 3...

 

[Bozo Galora]

if youre running SiSan 2002, change memory setting in icon below left
(page with pencil) to SSE2 extension mode

 

[Bozo Galora]

damn, still cant d/l manual.
150FSB is tops in BIOS, correct?

well, the bios for the P4T533 is up, that means the board is imminent.

 

[jbond04]

I never even thought to download the lastest version of Sandra...doh!

I ran those benches on Sandra 2001te, but I'll rerun them after I download 2002. Thanks for the tip, bozo galora!

And yes, 150MHz FSB is the most the BIOS will allow. (now only if we could find a BIOS hacker... )

 

[dbal]

Originally posted by: jaybee
There was a popular overclocking article a couple months back (sorry no link) where they had to change out the mobo's clock generators to get from 800 to 1066 MHz.

That was on an ABIT TH7II that didn't implement the ICS13 gens which are validated for 600Mhz freqs....It was just a matter of part picking since some had them (like my ASUS P4T-E) and some didn't...

Originally posted by: jaybee
I'd like to go RDRAM -- it looks like PC1066 and even sometimes PC800 outperforms DDR -- but I'm afraid that no matter what ram I get the mobo will be the limiting factor.

Go for it! I am sure all mobos by ASUS supporting PC1066 or PC4200 will have the ICS13 DCRGs...it's just sheer logic to be so...

Originally posted by: jaybee
My assumption is, regarding overclocking the memory, the newer the mobo the better.

On a P4T533-c or P4T533 with the ICS gens on it for sure u can have your RDRAM working @1200Mhz definitely-want even more? It might even hit it but 1.2 Ghz is almost huge!

 

[jaybee]

dbal -- I dont know about your P4T-E, but the P4T533-C right now only does 150MHz. So, that means if you get a 133 MHz part, your stuck with a maximum CPU overclock of about 13%. I'll probably get a 1.6A up front, but down the road I expect I'll upgrade with a higher fsb CPU. So I don't want the fsb to limit my overclocking.

I'd buy right now if I could just find a mobo that'll do what I need:
1 - Quality vendor/stable board (Asus, Abit are tops imo)
2 - At least 175MHz fsb
3 - High RDRAM potential
4 - Enough divider options to get the frequencies I need.
5 - Would like USB2.0, RAID (mainly for more IDE channels)

jaybee

 

[jaybee]

jbond04 - Have you been able to hit 150MHz yet? What kind of mem/pci dividers do you get at 133MHz and above?

jaybee

 

[Rucsac]

Anyone have a Geforce4 4600 running in the P4T533C?

Does it fit without touching any of the other components?

I am sure others, not just me would love to know...

 

[Rucsac]

Anyone have a Geforce4 4600 running in the P4T533C?

Does it fit without touching any of the other components???????

I am sure others, not just me would love to know...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.mushkin.com/cgi-bin/Mushkin.filereader?3cfa6e02113425562740c0a8010205dc+EN/catalogs/4526

Mushkins, RDRAM Memory page!

 

[don49]

I have the Visiontek Ti 4600. Fits perfectly.

 

[dbal]

Originally posted by: jaybee
dbal -- I dont know about your P4T-E, but the P4T533-C right now only does 150MHz. So, that means if you get a 133 MHz part, your stuck with a maximum CPU overclock of about 13%.

You are right regarding the FSB limit-my comments were mostly pointed on RDRAM o/cing

Originally posted by: jaybee
I'd buy right now if I could just find a mobo that'll do what I need:
1 - Quality vendor/stable board (Asus, Abit are tops imo)
2 - At least 175MHz fsb
3 - High RDRAM potential
4 - Enough divider options to get the frequencies I need.
5 - Would like USB2.0, RAID (mainly for more IDE channels)

I like the fact that u have very high standards for your mobo selection-just keep in mind what I discovered from mine (considered the top together with the ABIT TH7II sometime ago)....THERE IS NO PERFECT MOBO OUT THERE The more u search over it after u have bought it, u 'll find characteristics that u don't like but there was no other way to know before giving your money on it....
IMHO, check for ABIT solutions if u plan on o/cing like I see u do....ASUS is extremely stable but not so eager in providing all the options u need to enjoy its legendary stability....

 

[SpaceShot]

I'm not much of an overclocker myself. The Asus board may turn out to be perfect for me. Why? Seems like I could dabble with some minimal oc'ing but not get in over my head. The fact that is has jumpers, dip switches, and BIOS settings is a little intimidating? Let's say I wanted to just try fsb150, do i have to mess with all that? If I didn't want to do ANYTHING, will it just detect stock settings?

I am sooooo glad about jbond's article because it has restored my confidence in getting this setup. I have been reading and planning for over six months. Like jbond, my current setup is dual pii400's with a gef2mx card. You ask, "how is he playing games?!?!" I'm not!! I'm a software developer that spent the last year buried in a big project. Well, gaming and performance left me in the dust.

I'm thinking:
p4t533-c
2x256mb kingstons (same ones jbond got)
asus gef4ti4400 (Asus V8440)
p4 2.24ghz

the rest is gravy choices i figure, hard disk, sound etc. these are performance items, right? (although I am probably going WD800JB)

I have been banking on getting added perf from PC1066 and not a DDR solution. I have been asking myself if I should really get a p4 2.4B but yeah even $100 is $100.

I guess after reading jbond's report I just need to know if that video card fits. I'm sure it does. Now it's just time to pull the trigger... I keep getting hosed up since newegg.com seems to have a different part on my lsit out of stock every day. Looking for a solid out-of-california vendor with these prices and shipping because I hate to lose $100+ just in sales tax.

Thanks all! keep the reports coming and I will report in, as well.

 

[jbond04]

Originally posted by: jaybee
jbond04 - Have you been able to hit 150MHz yet? What kind of mem/pci dividers do you get at 133MHz and above?

jaybee

YES!

Sorry I haven't posted for a while, I've been quite busy with my 3D animation project. Anyway, I overclocked my 2.53GHz to 2.85GHz (memory and all), raising the core voltage to 1.65v, but I don't think it's very stable. It will run windows just fine, but I get application errors every once in a while. I can, however, benchmark it.

I think that by adding a little more vcore and turning up the RPM's on my case fans, I can get there. The problem is that I don't know how high is too high for the vcore. I'm running the stock Intel heatsink; if someone could tell me the limit on what is safe for the core voltage, then I'll overclock it once again.

However, I am running it at 2.66GHz (140MHz) right now (perfectly stable) at default voltage. This thing chews through 3ds Max rendering like a mother! Where my old computer used to take several hours to calculate a global illumination solution and render a frame, this beast takes 9 minutes!

And just as an update, I have had no memory compatibility problems, and I don't think I will, since rendering in 3ds Max uses almost all of my 1GB of RAM (so I'm pretty sure that I would have seen some instability by now).

 

[jbond04]

Spaceshot...LOL

We're in the same boat. I have been planning this rig since June of last year, when I heard about the Northwood revision of the P4. Since then, I have just sat and waited as all of the technologies that I wanted (533MHz FSB, PC1066 RDRAM) fell into place. Now, finally, I went for it. Once get onto the new computer there is no going back. I can't even tolerate my PIII anymore.

Anyway, does anyone know the answer to my "how high is too high" vcore question? I would appreciate knowing, so that I can see if I can stablize my computer at 2.85...

And Jaybee, after 133FSB, you get the option to use the 1/5 divider. I think that up to 140FSB, you get the 1/4 divder, then at 140, you get to use the 1/4 or 1/5, then, above 140, you get the 1/5 divider. These are just from memory, but the next time I'm on, give you all of the options.

Hope all of this has helped everyone!

 

[Rucsac]

[Jbond04]

Excellent updates! Seems we all have been waiting SO long for the Northwood, and it will be so nice to return to Intel, from AMD shores!

Hope u get da voltage info u need soon!

I am not going to sleep tonight!!

Even @ 2.7Ghz and RDRAM close to 1200 I'd be happy! And stable too!
: -)

Yahoo!

[don49]

Thanks for the 4600 info! Nice to know my £300+ outlay will actually slot into the Mobo!

At the mo, my purchase and build of new PC is waiting for me to see RDRAM@1066 in the UK.

Well done guys! Hope your guniue pig cheeks are full!!

L8r

 

[Bozo Galora]

as far as voltages go, 1.72 - 1.725 should be fine - just keep an eye on temps.(I'm guessing 1.75 max in bios?)
before upping vcore more, I would try the RDRAM voltage up one notch
Guys are even doing the P4 pin "wire mod" to get up to 1.85V
When things get out of hand, you'll know it.
you should D/L MBM for temp readings as ASUS boards are flakey on temp readouts - i would be more comfy with several "opinions"
here
link
This is DDR board, but concepts the same

 

[jaybee]

My _opinion_ (insert disclaimer here) regarding voltage is: run it as high as you need to without getting temperature-related lockups. Those are pretty easy to diagnose. Run the same benchmark; if you're getting heat lockups they should occur at about the same point. Of course different room temps will change the duration.

One more thing regarding voltage: if you're running around 1.8v, don't be surprised if the cpu starts acting up down the road (1-2 years). I have heard a few stories about celerons with upped voltage going buggy after a while. And regarding the P4, supposedly the smaller the process, the greater the risk of electromigration.

Anyway, I'm getting too technical and too far over my head. Expect a chip with additional voltage applied to have a shorter life. No one knows how long these will last at high voltage, but I think people may see a reduced life over 1.8v.

jaybee

 

[HotWire]

<~~ wiping the drool off the table....BOY seems like a couple days ago I was building my P4T 1.7 with 512 Mgs of RDram and I was in heaven.....now don't know if it's worth the money to upgrade based on the percentage of improvement the P4T533-C will show me when added to the increased CPU power I will have to add to complete the system.....I envy u guys now wishing I was in your shoes, but I will have to wait for the old comparision tests to come out before I wet my noodle.....GREAT JOBS! Keep the reports coming I for one will be watching...and drooling

 

[Rucsac]

[ jbond04 ]

Hey, hope you are getting outdoors since building the new love of your life!!
: - )

Any chance you could benchmark some game frame-rates, as std Cpu/Mem and as an overclock system too??

http://www.madonion.com/ - Can you use something like the "3DMark2001 Second Edition" (Link to free download....)

Runs a series of tests and reports framerates and fill-rates at the end too!
: - )

It may be nice for you to see the difference too!

If you have the time to get this for us o/c's here that'd be gr8! You can try 1280x1024 (32Bit) / Zbuff 16Bit / Frame Buffer "Double" and F.S.A.A = Off

I still can't see RDRam @ 1066 in UK, so these tests will help me while I wait, and wait, and wait!
:- (

No probs if you can't dude.....

L8r!

P4 is the King!

 

[jbond04]

First off, thanks for the voltage info. I was wondering exactly how far I should push it, since the P4T533-C goes FAR PAST 1.75 volts... If my memory serves me correctly (I'm at work right now, I'll check later tonight), the BIOS allows options for up to 2.2v!!! I know that the Northwood isn't supposed to run even close to that high. And I don't think that I need to do the wire trick, since I can increase the voltage in the BIOS and MBM5, Asus Probe, and Sandra will all report it correctly.

I guess I'll post some 3DMark benches, but I only have a GeForce 3, so they shouldn't be too impressive. The last time I checked, I think I was hitting around 8000, but those were with the 23.10 drivers and no tweaks to any options.

And yes, I get outside quite often. I'm going hiking tonight and tomorrow, so if you want to try to steal my system, now would be the time.

This weekend I'll make a concerted effort to get stable at 2.85GHz. I'll update then.

 

[Rucsac]

[ jbond04 ]

Thanks a million, don't forget you may have an old GF3- as such, but remember some of us so keen to follow your adventure have older kit than that in their PC!!


(E.G. My trusty Geforce2 Ultra!)

I'd just love to know the difference from 2.5Ghz and the overclocked results including your RDRAM!!!

While the whole of my new system purchase waits for the 1066RDram to come to UK suppliers, it can give me something to drool over!!


(PS) Mushkin have gone "back order on their US site!"


Anywayz, will look forward to the framerates you can send in, as it's the FPS I'd love to see, not so much the overall score!

Hope the Hiking went well!

B4now

 

[MrFritz44]

I see you're running a very similar setup to what I just bought. Could you please read my problem and relate any relevant information you may have as how I can solve it?

P4 2.53 Retail
512MB Kingston PC1066 Non-ECC RETAIL in two 256MB sticks (has been installed in the recommended configuration per the manual)
Gainward Ti4600 XP/750 BIOS is latest version (I have it configured with dual monitors using the extended desktop feature in Windows)
Tekram Ultra 160 SCSI adapter BIOS version 4.19 (latest)
Seagate Cheetah 15,000 RPM 36.7GB hardrive
Soundblaster Audigy Gamer
3COM 10/100 NIC
Diamond Supramax V.92 modem

I am running Windows XP with all of the latest updates.

After I shut down my system through "Windows shut down" and turn it back on, my monitor never initializes and the light remains amber. There is a limited amount of hardrive activity at first that then stops. After I hit and hold the power button for about 4 seconds, it shuts off the "hard" way, I turn it back on and everything works fine again.

Thanks, Fritz44
:disgust:

 

[Den]

I am not certain if XP defaults to do this or not, but it sounds like you are suspend (and then failing to revive) instead of a shutdown. Check the XP options and make sure it is a real shutdown. If you do restart, does that work? If so try doing a restart then hit the power button (to shutdown) when the bios screen comes up. I am running a very similar config, but I have win2k...

Originally posted by: MrFritz44
I see you're running a very similar setup to what I just bought. Could you please read my problem and relate any relevant information you may have as how I can solve it?

...snip...

I am running Windows XP with all of the latest updates.

After I shut down my system through "Windows shut down" and turn it back on, my monitor never initializes and the light remains amber. There is a limited amount of hardrive activity at first that then stops. After I hit and hold the power button for about 4 seconds, it shuts off the "hard" way, I turn it back on and everything works fine again.

Thanks, Fritz44
:disgust:

 

[jbond04]

Yay! I just graduated high school today!!!! Anyway, here are the promised updates, albeit a little late (as usual ):

Rucsac, my 3DMark2001 score, using the WHQL 29.42 drivers is 8120.

I am currently running my P4 at 2.7GHz, 142FSB (1/4 divider) and my memory is running at PC1136 (568MHz) speeds, all at default voltage. I still can't manage to get stable at 2.85GHz, and I think the problem lies in my processor's heatsink/fan combo. While I can reliably pass the POST everytime, WindowsXP Pro is usually unstable, and it doesn't get very far before I have to reboot, or it reboots itself. In order to POST at 2.85, I have to increase my voltage to 1.75v, and I think that is a little too much for the stock heatsink (at least in my case), which is why Windows will reboot automatically. So, I will try to inch it further than 2.7, but I don't think I will end up hitting 2.85GHz.

Everyone also may have heard of people who have been having POST problems with the Asus P4T533-C, PC1066 RDRAM, and the P4B processors. Right now, no one knows really what causes the problem, but I am relieved to report that I have experienced nothing abnormal from my system. As far as we can tell, the problem is not caused by the manufacturer of the RAM (both Kingston and Samsung have been in culprit systems), and it is not limited to any specific processor frequency (2.26, 2.4, and 2.53 are all affected alike). The only thing that we can conclude is that the problem most likely lies in the motherboard.

Once again, I have to stress that I have NOT had any of these problems, and there are others who have no problems, either. Just be aware that there are issues out there right now, but we (Anandtech) are working hard to resolve them.