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Stray Dog Joined: 31 Oct 2002 Posts: 4

This week I replaced my P3 800mHz with an AMD 2100+ Tbred B. I ordered the chip from Newegg after lurking through recent posts in this forum. I installed this into a MSI K7N2 mobo. My question/problem: The startup POST reads that the processor is a 1500+. Also, when I look at the Windoze 2000 system information it too says the chip is a 1500+. I did not look closely at the label on the chip prior to installation as it very small and difficult for me to see (old eyes). Is this normal, did I receive a 1500+ chip, or doI need to configure something in my bios (since everything is new I have not attempted any tweaks)?

Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2003 8:58 am Post subject:

you have to set the multiplier and check to make sure the fsb/ratio is correct. most likely it will say 100/100 100/133 and/or 133/133 you would want the 133/133. I set my dads pc up with a amd 2000 xp amd it thought it was seeing a duron. I set the ratios correctly and bam xp 2000
. You should also see the correct cpu when your system runs the bios as it starts. gl/hf

Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2003 10:11 am Post subject:

13x133 would be the correct settings for that chip. It is a nice chip, was a decent overclocker for me. Now its sitting in the pile of spare parts.

Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2003 11:24 am Post subject:

I expect that your front side bus is running at 100 MHz. This is a common default behavior for NForce2 motherboards. Your processor is probably running at 13 x 100 MHz = 1300 MHz. Enter the BIOS configuration at boot-up and change your FSB to 133 MHz. That should get you back to 13 x 133 MHz = 1733 MHz.

Once you have that working, if you have PC2700 or better memory, you should raise the front side bus speed even further for increased performance. 11 x 166 MHz = 1833 MHz would be a good place to start with that CPU.

Big Dog Joined: 17 Mar 2003 Posts: 3448 Location: KERNOW

smokinAMD wrote:
Now its sitting in the pile of spare parts.

*groan of dismay* ...post to me...pleease...

Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2003 3:44 pm Post subject:

tom what CPU are you looking for? I have a few lying around.

EEps · Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2003 9:22 pm Post subject:

skildude wrote:
bam xp 2000

Did someone call? Big Smile

I'd think I'd like a faster one than that...maybe a XP2500 is in order fer tomorrow. Smile

Toilet Drinker Joined: 10 Jul 2003 Posts: 213

So, right now, today, if you had to go buy a 'VALUE' (read:cheap) AMD system, what CPU/Mobo/RAM combo would be the best buy and give someone the speed to last 2-3 years ?

I gotta confess that right now, the PC I am on 'seems to be' just fine, but it's ancient: ASUS P3V4X mobo, Intel P600EB cpu, 512mb of PC133, and an ATI Rage Fury VC......... I don't do ANY gaming, mainly some VB, some SQL, internet surfing with a cable modem..... etc.

Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2003 3:45 am Post subject:

My cheapest, fastest one:
XP 2500+ Barton =1.83g =$92.00 (retail comes with HSF)
Abit NF7-M Intergrated everything, Video, sound, nic, usb, etc.
Also has an AGP 8/4 slot if you want to upgrade video. =$113.00
Corsair CMX256A-2700C2. 2pcs(for dual channel)@ $56.00 =$112.00
You can use faster/slower memory.
From here= http://www.newegg.com/

Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2003 4:13 am Post subject:

RED1944 wrote:
Corsair CMX256A-2700C2. 2pcs(for dual channel)@ $56.00 =$112.00

That reminds me of something I've been wondering for awhile.

For a typical (possibly overclocked) AMD 2500+ XP system, is it better to have 2 pieces of ram (as you indicated for your system), or one? In other words, if I want 512MB of memory, am I better off with one stick of 512MB or two of 256MB each?

Not only that, but what type of "matching" do I have to worry about with that type of RAM?

Obviously I'd need the right speed such as, for the 2500, I'd need PC2700 or faster memory), but I've seen various other stats. I wasn't sure if I needed to worry about any of that when putting a system together.

Edit: Fixed my fat-fingering of the "two of 512MB", changing it to "two of 256MB" as I'd originally intended

Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2003 4:57 am Post subject:

Alphi wrote:

For a typical (possibly overclocked) AMD 2500+ XP system, is it better to have 2 pieces of ram (as you indicated for your system), or one? In other words, if I want 512MB of memory, am I better off with one stick of 512MB or two of 512MB each?

Can I assume the obvious and state that two of 512MB (1GB total) would always be better than just one (512MB total)? Or is that just dumb?
Did you mean two or 256MB for the same 512 total?
I'll also have to state I haven't the foggiest what new systems do...

Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2003 5:03 am Post subject:

tecgod13 wrote:
Alphi wrote:

For a typical (possibly overclocked) AMD 2500+ XP system, is it better to have 2 pieces of ram (as you indicated for your system), or one? In other words, if I want 512MB of memory, am I better off with one stick of 512MB or two of 512MB each?

Can I assume the obvious and state that two of 512MB (1GB total) would always be better than just one (512MB total)? Or is that just dumb?
Did you mean two or 256MB for the same 512 total?
I'll also have to state I haven't the foggiest what new systems do...

Stupid fingers... Wink

I meant one 512MB or two 256MB...

Leg Humper Joined: 16 Jan 2002 Posts: 5483

Yes Its better to have 2 sticks in the dual channel setup (in most cases follow the color guide on the memory slots). This allows the memory controller to address 512 Mb of memory in two full speed channels, rather than 512 Mb of memory in one full speed channel.

Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2003 2:55 pm Post subject:

There is a small (<5%) performance gain when using dual-channel memory with the NForce2 Ultra 400 SPP (not to be confused with the single-channel NForce2-400) chipset. The NForce2 SPP northbridge does some DASP prefetching to keep the CPU happy, but the AthlonXP doesn't need much more than a single channel of PC3200.

I recommend getting a single 512MB stick of PC3200 now and waiting to add a second 512MB stick of PC3200 later.

However, if you are using an NForce2 IGP chipset with integrated graphics, the performance difference between single channel and dual channel memory is huge.

With the NForce2 IGP, the CPU and the integrated GeForce4MX ~420 graphics compete for the same memory bandwidth. Doubling that bandwidth with dual channel will bring the CPU' memory performance back up to very close to a system with an AGP video card and will bring the on-board graphics almost up to the (mildly-lame DirectX7-class) GeForce4MX 420 AGP card in performance.

Using the on-board NForce2 IGP graphics with a single memory channel significantly (>10%) slows CPU memory access and clobbers graphics performance, dropping the NForce2 on-board graphics nearly to the crappy realm of SIS integrated graphics. Of course, you can still lord it over the abysmally-poor integrated Intel "Extreme Graphics".

For use with the IGP, I recommend using two 256MB sticks of PC2700 right from the beginning. You can add a 512MB stick of PC2700 later. Two 256MB DIMMs on one channel and a single 512MB DIMM on the other channel will still provide excellent dual-channel performance. There's not as much benefit in getting PC3200 or faster RAM because you cannot overclock the IGP much beyond 166MHz FSB while the on-board graphics are in use.

Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2003 8:40 pm Post subject:

JustAnEngineer wrote:
There is a small (<5%) performance gain when using dual-channel memory with the NForce2 Ultra 400 SPP (not to be confused with the single-channel NForce2-400) chipset. The NForce2 SPP northbridge does some DASP prefetching to keep the CPU happy, but the AthlonXP doesn't need much more than a single channel of PC3200.

I recommend getting a single 512MB stick of PC3200 now and waiting to add a second 512MB stick of PC3200 later.

However, if you are using an NForce2 IGP chipset with integrated graphics, the performance difference between single channel and dual channel memory is huge.

With the NForce2 IGP, the CPU and the integrated GeForce4MX ~420 graphics compete for the same memory bandwidth. Doubling that bandwidth with dual channel will bring the CPU' memory performance back up to very close to a system with an AGP video card and will bring the on-board graphics almost up to the (mildly-lame DirectX7-class) GeForce4MX 420 AGP card in performance.

Using the on-board NForce2 IGP graphics with a single memory channel significantly (>10%) slows CPU memory access and clobbers graphics performance, dropping the NForce2 on-board graphics nearly to the crappy realm of SIS integrated graphics. Of course, you can still lord it over the abysmally-poor integrated Intel "Extreme Graphics".

For use with the IGP, I recommend using two 256MB sticks of PC2700 right from the beginning. You can add a 512MB stick of PC2700 later. Two 256MB DIMMs on one channel and a single 512MB DIMM on the other channel will still provide excellent dual-channel performance. There's not as much benefit in getting PC3200 or faster RAM because you cannot overclock the IGP much beyond 166MHz FSB while the on-board graphics are in use.

Well said.