I have 2100+ 266Mhz FSB (obviously) and Corsair DDR400. Right now I have FSB at 133 and the ram at 133. I already know running the ram at 200 is dumb, but is running it at 166 (and putting the timings out of sync) better than running at 133 (and keeping it N'Sync)? I don't overclock (because my graphics card radeon8500 SUX) and I have a Soyo Dragon KT400 Ultra Platinum.

Also, I just ordered a 2600+ 333Mhz and 512 more of the same ram. What should my FSB and memory timings be then? Thanks for all your help.

You should always keep your RAM and CPU in sync for XP processors for best performance. Are your multipliers unlocked? If you feel your higher-rated RAM is being wasted, lower your CPU multiplyer and increase the CPU frequency to match the RAM. You may have to unlock your processor manually (which can be dangerous) if your motherboard doesn't allow it. Otherwise, it's not to big of a deal running DDR400 at 333Mhz with your new CPU.

I'm afraid to do anything with multipliers or increases in FSB because of my temperature problem (which I am researching right now) I've read all over about "safe, normal, and too high" temps, but I can't find what numbers are being looked at. My Soyo monitor in Bios says that my "on die" temperature is around 65-69 C all the time. The other 2 temperatures are considerably lower. I'm just not sure what temperature I should be looking at (I'll check when I reboot) Maybe the heat is why randomly my computer will report my 2100+ running at 887 Mhz in WinXP Control Panel.
Does increasing the FSB to match ram and lowering the multiplier (to a total frequency of less than or equal to stock) increase heat? If so, guess I already have a problem...thanks again.

"Does increasing the FSB to match ram and lowering the multiplier (to a total frequency of less than or equal to stock) increase heat?"

No. The only difference is better performance due to bandwidth even though the cpu is at the same speed. The cpu gets no hotter. The northbridge may get a shade hotter but that's not a problem. I guess the cpu might get a shade hotter because it may run at higher utilitization because it is not bandwidth constrained. But do it anyway. Low temps due to a constrained cpu are not a good thing.

"My Soyo monitor in Bios says that my "on die" temperature is around 65-69 C all the time."

On-die will reports a temp of 10c-15c hotter than what most of us have which is a sensor beneath the cpu socket. You are still a little high but nothing to worry about. Could be your sink is lame or your paste is uneven due to the sink being bumped.

"Maybe the heat is why randomly my computer will report my 2100+ running at 887 Mhz in WinXP Control Panel."

no idea what that is from, but heat will only cause lock ups on your machine, not slowdowns.

If you have mutlipler and fsb control in bios, you want to always run at the max fsb that is in synch with your memory. For a cpu at 1.73ghz and a mobo like yours this will be somewhere around 8.5x200 or 8x215. Or you may have to settle for 10x175.

"I'm just not sure what temperature I should be looking at"

Speedfan and mbm5 and all other temperature reporting software needs to know what mobo sensor to report to you. For your board you have two choices for the cpu:

LM90 for on-die cpu diode
SIS950/ITE705F 2 for cpu socket sensor

Try mbm5 from livewire and try each setting.

Thanks for all the help, but last night I set my FSB to 166 and my ram to 166 and lowered the multiplier to 9 (just to see if it works) and my computer wouldn't even post. Everyone talks about "if your computer won't post, just reset the CMOS" well "just" doing that is a pain. I hate redoing all my settings. BTW I have a 2100+ old model 6, so I guess I'd have to unlock it before I tried any of that. I'll mess with this chip more when I get my 2600+ in a couple days.