Intel D975XBX2 vs. the ASUS P5B deluxe….P965 vs. 975X

[Babrbarossa]

I'm not sure about the exact performance difference (would be a good comparison to do), but when you can get 2GB of pc6400 ocz platinum ddr2 for 199, it seems like it's worth it unless you can you get 667 alot cheaper. If you ever decide to overclock, you're limiting yourself by buying slower memory too.

 

[philmar]

I scoured the internet & computer forums for info on the performance at stock of RAM at different frequencies and have found nothing but people's opinions. People ASSUME that there is a significant performance increase from using 533 to 667 to 800 MHz RAM but nobody knows how much. Those who have experimented have anecdotal 'evidence' that the improvement is small but none of thes people did any controlled measurable benchmark studies. I did read a review in AnandTech that suggested that value RAM performed almost as well as performance/overclocking RAM on the Conroe motherboards but this is not of interest to me because my question is about performance at STOCK, not overclocked.
I gave up looking - I do want to know, but not THAT bad.
Thanks for your help!

 

[Babrbarossa]

I wold say that if you aren't loooking to overclock, then 667 is fine- for more info read this:
http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&number=4&artpage=1965&articID=472

 

[sswilson]

I wonder how that works for OC?

Does the performance hit taken for using a divider/multipler disapear if you increase your fsb to the point where the mem is running @ what it's rated for?

(IE.... if you buy ddr2 800, but set the mem to run it as ddr2 667 and then up the fsb to bring it to ddr 800 speeds........).

I wonder too if this requirement to run async is why ddr2 took so long to surpass DDR1.

 

[philmar]

Well I guess lady luck was smiling on me.
A friend of a friend recently purchased 2 x 1 GB of OCZ DDR2 PC2-8500 SLI-Ready Edition Dual Channel RAM and for some reason was unable to return it to TigerDirect. I hear they have a lousey return policy. Well I got it from her at a good price and purchased 2 more GBs from Canada Computers (they had a $30 rebate). So now I have 4 GBs of OCZ DDR2 8500 RAM!!!!! My new rig is lightning fast and works like a charm. It's not hooked up to the net so I don't have to worry about it slowing down with internet debris, registry crap or layers of anti-this and anti-that software. I have been totally engrossed in redoing some of the photos I have processed with my old PC. In fact I have had little or no time to bother learning about overclocking as this rig's speed far exceeded my expectations. well that's not totally true. I HAVE tried to bone up about OC'ing but the topic tires my brain cell out. I usually end up processing and reprocessing old photos instead (my real passion). Just wanted to thank ALL of you who helped me in the past - great fun - great advice and great forum.

I have read some articles about Overclocking but they are mainly about AMD systems or ASUS boards with Pentiums...I suspect overclocking a Badaxe2, an E6600 and 4 GBs of DDR2 1067 RAM is different.

Whenever I read about the OC process it bothers me. I don't want to deal with a mobo that won't boot or crashes as I try to find an optimum voltage or whatever. With this RAM and mobo is there a simple and easy OC I can do that will not increase system instability? This PC is not a gamer PC - it has some irreplaceable photos and data.
But is there a simple and easy oc I can do that will improve performance? Something that doesn't require alot of effort, risk or voltage changes?
I will oc in the future when I learn more about it. Just a little twaek here and there to wet the appeteite for oc'ing later? Now that I have my computer I am spending my time with my real passion - photography. So I've little time or inclination to learn about overclocking at this moment. I am having too much fun doing other things ...

Any easy, simple performance enhancing tricks for a Badaxe2, E6600 and fat DDR2 800 RAM that a noob like me can do? If not, I'll wait until the novelty of the new PC has worm off and I am able to focus properly on the oc'ing task.

Thankful to all - as usual.

 

[philmar]

Intel Core 2: Is high speed memory worth its price? - Madshrimps Forum Madness
So obviously the RAM I bought will be a total waste if I don't oc. Just need a simple easy oc to wet my appetite.

 

[Babrbarossa]

Great system- how much did you pay for the memory??

For the overclock- you should be able to enter the bios and at the stock 9X multiplier- you can just change the fsb from 266 to 355 which will give you a cpu speed of 3200 (9 X 355)- at the same time you change your fsb memory ratio to 3:1 so that your memory is at 1066 (3 X 355). I don't know the badaxe bios- misoprostol does so you could PM him for details, otherwise you can wait for me to look into the exatc how-to of it.

You should reach that overclock without any voltage tweaking at all (as long as the volatge of your ram is running as specified by OCZ, but you can check that in the bios to make sure)

EDIT- all the settings you need ar ein the Performance menu in the bios- the FSB frequency over-ride is where you go to crank it up. I'm not sure if you can adjust the memory multiplier on those boards or not - I'm looking around right now. In the mean-time if anyone knows this bios, chime in

 

[philmar]

For the overclock- you should be able to enter the bios and at the stock 9X multiplier- you can just change the fsb from 266 to 355 which will give you a cpu speed of 3200 (9 X 355)- at the same time you change your fsb memory ratio to 3:1 so that your memory is at 1066 (3 X 355). I don't know the badaxe bios- misoprostol does so you could PM him for details, otherwise you can wait for me to look into the exatc how-to of it.

You should reach that overclock without any voltage tweaking at all (as long as the volatge of your ram is running as specified by OCZ, but you can check that in the bios to make sure)

EDIT- all the settings you need ar ein the Performance menu in the bios- the FSB frequency over-ride is where you go to crank it up. I'm not sure if you can adjust the memory multiplier on those boards or not - I'm looking around right now. In the mean-time if anyone knows this bios, chime in

Thanks!! Looks easy enough....


though...."looks easy enough" were no doubt many a man's last words....
I'll wait a while first and see if any Badaxers chime in.

 

[Babrbarossa]

Well- I wouldn't expect you to suddenly start listening to me now....

 

[Misoprostol]

It's been a little while since I've used the Bad Axe 2 unfortunately. I still remember that my experience with it was very positive, but I don't remember specifics like where to find memory dividers, etc.