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i have 1gb of ddr ram installed currently. my friend is selling a stick of 512mb ram at half the normal price of a new piece. how much performance gain can i expect with an additional 512mb of ram ?
AMD athlon 2500+
Abit NF7-S mainboard
1gb corsair ddr400 ram
ati 9600xt 256mb vgais it worth the upgrade?
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The 3rd stick will knock you out of dual channel mode, but dual channel is useless on a socket A system anyway.
If you're running your 2500+ at stock speed (11 x 166MHz), you should underclock your RAM to 166MHz (DDR333) to match. CPU/DRAM ratio of 1:1 gives optimal performance.
Have you considered overclocking the CPU? *Most* 2500+ have no problem running at 3200+ speed (2.2GHz). All you'd need to do is increase the FSB from 166MHz(333) to 200MHz(400) & set your PC3200 RAM to run at it's default speed (200MHz/DDR400) to match. A CPU voltage increase *may* be necessary to stabilize the overclock.
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"...*Most* 2500+ have no problem running at 3200+ speed (2.2GHz)..."
Unfortunately, the most i can reach is around 175mhz(fsb) no matter what i try. i've since googling around for infos on overclocking the moment i got these combo, but it just won't work for me(trust me, i've done EVERYTHING)...lol
So....with a clock speed at 1925mhz(11 x 175mhz), does that mean an additional 512mb will deem worthless for my desktop?
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Go ahead & add the extra 512MB, but make sure your RAM is configured to run at 175MHz, not 200MHz.
I don't have the time right now, but I'll post back later with recommended BIOS settings to get your CPU to run at 2.2GHz (I've gotta download your manual & read thru the BIOS section 1st).
BTW, does your board support 200MHz/400FSB?
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"Unfortunately, the most i can reach is around 175mhz(fsb) no matter what i try."
This is sorta intriguing considering you have the arguably famous NF7-S, that board was one of the most sought after back when the Barton 2500+ was every overclocker's prized CPU.
Do you have rev 2.0 for the board?
What type of ram - is it some really generic stuff?
Also what type of PSU is in the rig?
As mentioned by jam you should have been able to coax the 2500+ into running as 3200+ just by raising the FSB from 166MHz to 200MHz. I had the same configuration (NF7-S v2.0) back then & that overclock was a breeze.
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"dual channeluseless on a socket A system anyway"
Unless you are running 2 sticks of DDR 2100. hehe.
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ OC 2.7ghz
4GB Dual Channel DDR 3200
Nvidia 7900GT
SATA II 2x 320gig 7200rpm 16mb cache RAID-0+1
Gigabyte Nforce 4 SLI
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"The 3rd stick will knock you out of dual channel mode, but dual channel is useless on a socket A system anyway."
He could actually run dual channel if he uses 2x 512M sticks and a 1GB stick. Still agreed, the performance difference between dual and single channel on NForce2 Ultra motherboards won't exactly set the world on fire.
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Hats off & applause to rogues & evolution!
The ripple effect is too good not to mention.
If you’re not affected, you’re not paying attention!"
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jam,
"does your board support 200MHz/400FSB?"
yes, it does.
Sabertooth,
"Do you have rev 2.0 for the board?
What type of ram - is it some really generic stuff?
Also what type of PSU is in the rig?"
Yes, i've got it proved by Everest Home Edition...(rev 2.0)
erm..Corsair PC3200 Valueselect?? is that generic stuff?
As for the power supply, it's 1 of those cheap generic one...+12v@18A. It came with the desktop casing when i bought it. I'll have to check on its brand and post back later cause the pc is not with me right now.
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Yeah...just for your info. I've tried the "wiring" trick on the cpu socket, upping the vcore to a dangerously high level of 1.85v with stock cooling, disabling cpu throttle....etc.
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I suppose the stock cooling is your weak link here, I recall having a Thermalright SLK-900(A) full copper heatsink coupled with an 80mm Vantec tornado fan that spun back then @ 5625RPM.
Yeah! talk about sleeping & waking up next to a boeing 737 when I had that configuration - I guess it sorta replaced my then ex.
http://www.viperlair.com/reviews/cp...
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"I suppose the stock cooling is your weak link here"
here's the current bios setting :
soft menu
=========cpu operation speed - user define
external clock - 176mhz
multiplier - x 11.0
agp frequency - 66mhz
cpu fsb/dram ratio - 3/3 (352mhz)
cpu interface - enabledpower supply controller
=======================
cpu core voltage - 1.675v
ddr sdram voltage - 2.65v
chipset voltage - 1.6v
agp voltage - 1.5vcpu over temp. protect - 65 c
advance chipset features
========================
memory timing - optimal
row-active delay - 8
ras-to-cas delay - 3
row-precharge delay - 3system bios cacheable - disabled
video ram cacheable - disabled
agp aperture size - 128m
fsb spread spectrum - disabled
agp spread spectrum - disabled
cpu thermal throttling - disabled
enhance pci performance - enabled
cpu disconnect function - enabled
agp data transfer rate - 8x
agp fast write capability - enabledpc health status
================shutdown when cpufan fail - enabled
cpu shutdwon temp. - 65c / 149f
cpu warning temp - 64c/147f
system temp - 36c/96f
cpu temp. - 53c/127f
cpufan speed - 3879rpm
chafan speed - 0 rpm
pwrfan speed - 0 rpm
cpu core voltage - 1.675vvcc voltage (+2.5v) - 2.62v
I/O voltage (+3.3v) - 3.26v
+5v - 4.94v
+12v - 11.97v
-12v - (-12.11)
-5v - (-5.30v)
3.3v dual voltage - 3.50v
standby voltage - 4.89vpc power supply
===============brand/model - Azido ATX-400
output
------+12v - 18A max
+5v - 40A max
+3.3v - 28A max
-5v - 0.5A max
-12v - 0.5A max
+5v/sb - 1.5A maxthat's all i've gathered. the cpu temperature looks OK to me. and i've seem ppl overclock to 3200+ using stock cooling over the net. till today, i still couldn't figure what when wrong??
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I agree with Sabertooth that the Abit NF7-S was one of the hottest boards to have for the socket A & overclocking.
Looking at what you posted above, I did spot one error:
"cpu interface - enabled"
It should be DISABLED. Also 53C doesn't look all that good to me...especially if it's at idle. Maybe this article will help:
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hmm...well, look like both the experts(Sabertooth & Jam) agreed that the problem lies on the stock heatsink. i'll take note of that. i think i shall try hunting for a used copper heat sink and some new thermal grease before i try overclocking it to 3200+.
Thanks, guys.
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