ram for overclocking an xp-m

[TerminalVertigo]

hi guys

trying to figure out if i would see any benefit from buying a pc4000 mushkin redline or crucial ballistix 2gb kit for my althlon xp-m. since i have an unlocked multi, would i be able to push the board to 250 or so fsb? because with a 12 multi thats ~3ghz.

i have koolance watercooling so cooling is not a huge deal.

what would the best ram for this setup, and also excellent ram for a s939 upgradein the future?

looking for a 2gbkit for bf2,q4 hl2 and so on

even buying a stick now and then another in the future is a possibility.


thanks
Andrew

 

[crankydan]

I don’t know if your north bridge chipset will be compatible with the 3200 ram. Another thing, you having an unlocked multi has nothing to do with being able to achieve 200 MHz or greater. All CPU’s can be under clocked (if adjustable in BIOS) by lowering the multi in order to obtain a higher FSB. The mushkin ram you speak of is pretty picky about being overclocked without the voltage to supply it. There is some excellent reading in DFI-Street Forum concerning overclocking the XP Mobile.

 

[TerminalVertigo]

maybe we need more info

im on a asus a7n8x with a 2500 mobile

it boots nice at 12, but doesnt like 12.5 and above.

if i buy ram which will run say, 500mhz (so 250 single) will my mobo support a fsb that high? it has the overclocking options, i just dont want to but overclocking ram if the board wont get any use from it.

thats explain it any better?

 

[Poisonsnak]

crankydan: With AthlonXPs if they are multiplier locked you can't change the multiplier either way, it's different than Athlon64s where you can always change the multiplier to a lower number.

terminalvertigo: I would be surprised to see the A7N8X do 250MHz, sorry but the only board that can reliably pull that speed off seems to be the DFI Lanparty nF2 Ultra-B. Most other boards like the Abit NF-7 which is supposed to be a great overclocker hit their limit at around 220 - 230. Shoot for something like 230x11.

For nForce2 boards generally Winbond BH and CH based memory works the best (this may be hard to find nowadays though but UTT memory should provide similar performance), you then give it lots of voltage (warranty voiding 3.3V works great) and crank up the FSB. Also with nForce2 boards I would not recommend running a RAM divider (always use 1:1) or you can get BIOS corruption and have to hotflash.

The Athlon64s generally seem to like Samsung TCCD memory but the module size is at most 512MB so for you to get up to 2GB like your goal I would get 2x1GB modules and then the choice is up in the air - W1zzard has reviewed a couple of nice 2x1GB kits on the site lately though so check them out.