Quick questions on Shuttle SN45G

[figgypower]

Hey,

It's been a while since I've built my last computer and the bus speeds are confusing me. It support DDR400, but for budget reasons I'm going with an Athlon XP 2600+ with a 333 bus. So, the proper RAM to get is PC2700, right? I wish they'd just stick to one numbering system...

Also what kind of cooling would you recommend for the Athlon XP 2600+ inside this little thing? I'm looking for the quitest, adequete cooling, and there won't be any overclocking.

Thanks in advance for all the suggestions and help.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

2700DDR will have you synch at 166mhz so it's a good choice, you could lower your multiplier and raise the fsb to 200mhz since this is a ultra400 chipset and run 3200DDR synchronous for even better performance without increasing the CPU's clockspeed but 333ddr synch will still be fast. The heatpipe cooler it comes with will be an excellent cooling solution for you and you can just change out the exhaust fan for a quiter one if you find it too noisy for you.

 

[dejacky]

I concur with DAPUNISHER regarding the SN45G's heatpipe being excellent. I highly recommend getting PC3200 cas2 or pc3500 memory instead of the regular pc2700. I'm using an athlonxp 1700+, but it's running at 2600+ speeds because I used a 200mhz system bus speed, with multiplier/voltage adjustment, and with Kingston HyperX pc3500 Ram (1GB). The higher speed ram will not cost you that much more. If you really want to save money, get a slower cpu that overclocks reasonably, and spend the extra money on ram.

My cost:

AthlonXP 1700+: $49
1GB Kingston PC3500 Cas 2.0 HyperX Ram: $180 new

u don't have to get such high quality ram that is usually sold at higher prices, but any other compatible 200mhz (pc3200) or 217mhz (pc3500) ram will give you much better system performance without paying extra $.

-dejacky

 

[IgoByte]

I wouldn't actually purchase an SN45G, because as far as I'm aware it won't support any 400Mhz FSB CPUs.

 

[dejacky]

Correction,
the Shuttle SN45G DOES support 400mhz cpu speeds. I've ran my SN45G at 400mhz cpu/fsb with no problems.

-dejacky

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Originally posted by: dejacky

1GB Kingston PC3500 Cas 2.0 HyperX Ram: $180 new

Where!?

 

[dejacky]

ebay ;-)

 

[IgoByte]

Originally posted by: dejacky
Correction,
the Shuttle SN45G DOES support 400mhz cpu speeds. I've ran my SN45G at 400mhz cpu/fsb with no problems.

-dejacky

Sorry, I actually have the SN41G2. Is that one compatible with 400Mhz CPUs, such as the XP3200?

 

[dejacky]

If memory serves correct, SN41G2 is designed to only hand 333mhz system bus, but some people can overclock it to 400mhz with other utilities and bioses.

 

[figgypower]

Many thanks for all the help, and I ended up buying a SN45G, as well as saving some money from not having to buy fan+heatsink.

 

[dejacky]

what is the highest overclock you guys are getting for the system bus (fsb) speed on the SN45G? I can't break 222mhz and it's unstable at that fsb speed, I'm guessing because the power supply is too weak.

 

[Netopia]

I bought cheaper Crucial PC2700 with my SN45G. I coupled it with one of the SWEET overclocking 1700+'s (1466MHz) and here's what I ended up with so far.

Relaxed the memory timings to 7-3-3-3.

Cranked the FSB/Memory to 210MHz and set the multiplier to 10x.

Upped the CPU voltage to 1.55 and the DRAM voltage to 2.7

Been running at 2100MHz (~2900+?) for about a month now without a single hiccup and the system really does run nicely.

I can get it past 2130, but it requires go to 1.6v and up and since I'm happy with this speed and all the games run flawlessly I decided I'd leave it here and enjoy having it run a hair cooler than it otherwise might. Not sure what cool is though... my CPU stays at about 45-46 idle and about 49 under heavy usage in a room that is usually about 30.

Here's a clip from a guy over at SFFTECH's forums who is running his mem at 225:

Oh, and I have the 225 FSB because my RAM timings are extremely loose. 11-5-5-3 currently.

Regarding the 11 part, people have noticed that the systems performed better with the 11 setting due to the way DDR works. Sometimes lower isn't always better for RAM settings I gues...

-------------------------
Damien
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damien@hammerheadtech.net
http://www.hammerheadtech.net
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Insert witty comment here...

I don't know about the timings but that's how he gets 225.

Joe