JerryD
New member
What is a good motherboard that supports DDR memory?
ASUS CUSl2 doesn't support this type of memory.
ASUS CUSl2 doesn't support this type of memory.
Slackmaster2K
Gone
Look into the Asus CUV266. It's the first socket 370 DDR motherboard I've seen...I have NO idea whether this board is any good...nor have I seen benchmarks with intel processors and DDR. In fact, the Athlon + DDR benchmarks I've seen haven't been incredibly impressive either. Yes it's faster, but not a lot faster. So it's really a risk...you spend more money for the mobo & the memory, risking reliability on a platform that hasn't been put through the paces, for a 6% increase in performance.
Slackmaster 2000
Slackmaster 2000
JerryD
New member
Thanks
Thanks.
I think I will stick with SDRAM.
Thanks.
I think I will stick with SDRAM.
R
RWhite
Well-known member
For those curious, here is a link to a review of the board Slack mentioned:
http://www.gotapex.com/reviews.php?rev=cuv266/index.html
http://www.gotapex.com/reviews.php?rev=cuv266/index.html
tubedude
New member
here
he asus a7m266 motherboard for AMD t-birds... holds up to 2 gigs of DDR... very stable, very reliable, and much better than a 10% increase when you start tweaking it. For 256mb of DDR you will pay about $20 more, well worth the price. The motherboard is a tad bit more expensive than some, but the processor is cheaper. Get the AMD with 266 front side bus. This setup with a 1.3 ghz AMD and DDR outperforms the Pentium 1.7ghz with Rambus on a large number or tasks. Choose wisely, its your money....
he asus a7m266 motherboard for AMD t-birds... holds up to 2 gigs of DDR... very stable, very reliable, and much better than a 10% increase when you start tweaking it. For 256mb of DDR you will pay about $20 more, well worth the price. The motherboard is a tad bit more expensive than some, but the processor is cheaper. Get the AMD with 266 front side bus. This setup with a 1.3 ghz AMD and DDR outperforms the Pentium 1.7ghz with Rambus on a large number or tasks. Choose wisely, its your money....
Slackmaster2K
Gone
I'd like to see some actual results of a greater than 10% increase in performance with DDR. I have yet to see any benchmarks that demonstrate this....in fact, I'm seeing numbers more along the lines of 5%. I'd go even furthur to say that the actual motherboard you chose has more of an impact on performance than DDR vs SDR, as I've seen SDR boards beat DDR boards in real life benchmarking. The only exceptions I've found to the contrary have been memory benchmarks, which of course would apply when running extremely memory-intensive applications.
Rambus had little impact on system performance, and it doesn't shock me that DDR isn't putting up great numbers either. The next step in PC performance technology will not come from faster memory alone.
Slackmaster 2000
Rambus had little impact on system performance, and it doesn't shock me that DDR isn't putting up great numbers either. The next step in PC performance technology will not come from faster memory alone.
Slackmaster 2000
tubedude
New member
Well...
I read an anandtech report recently that placed it ahead of rambus in almost everything, and ahead of Sdram in everything. The major advantage is easing the bottleneck. If the processor can operate at 1ghz, and the memory is stuck at 133, the the processor must continuously wait out clock cycles while the data it needs is retrieved ever so slowly. If you are using pc2100 ddr and the right Tbird chip (266 front side) and you spend some time tweaking the board and getting everything the way it works best with your stuff, you will find an advantage over ANY Pentium 3 system of equal cost. 10% is certainly in range. And if you think about it, how much would even 6% of an advantage be when its 6% increase in performance over a 1.3 ghz processor? That can be decently significant, enough for a few extra tracks maybe, or some extra plug ins. With our resource hungry applications, we want and need all we can get. Plus, the DDR system ends up costing the same as a Pentium system, give or take $20. Why NOT go DDR?
My money quote is correct, by the way... I've spent hours and hours jamming this part with that, trying to find the cheapest way to get the best performance. I truly believe its worth it. Whats $20 or so? I think you can even end up cheaper than a PIII sdram setup if you try hard enough. Very very possible. Again, 256mb of DDR can be had for $110. Thats pretty good, and not too pricey at all, considering the price of SDRAM about 2 years ago, or less. All I can say is, I think its worth it, and I think its silly not to go ahead and jump. If not, you'll be wishing you did a year from now. Opinions will vary, of course, but I hope whatever you get works out great.
Peace,
Paul
I read an anandtech report recently that placed it ahead of rambus in almost everything, and ahead of Sdram in everything. The major advantage is easing the bottleneck. If the processor can operate at 1ghz, and the memory is stuck at 133, the the processor must continuously wait out clock cycles while the data it needs is retrieved ever so slowly. If you are using pc2100 ddr and the right Tbird chip (266 front side) and you spend some time tweaking the board and getting everything the way it works best with your stuff, you will find an advantage over ANY Pentium 3 system of equal cost. 10% is certainly in range. And if you think about it, how much would even 6% of an advantage be when its 6% increase in performance over a 1.3 ghz processor? That can be decently significant, enough for a few extra tracks maybe, or some extra plug ins. With our resource hungry applications, we want and need all we can get. Plus, the DDR system ends up costing the same as a Pentium system, give or take $20. Why NOT go DDR?
My money quote is correct, by the way... I've spent hours and hours jamming this part with that, trying to find the cheapest way to get the best performance. I truly believe its worth it. Whats $20 or so? I think you can even end up cheaper than a PIII sdram setup if you try hard enough. Very very possible. Again, 256mb of DDR can be had for $110. Thats pretty good, and not too pricey at all, considering the price of SDRAM about 2 years ago, or less. All I can say is, I think its worth it, and I think its silly not to go ahead and jump. If not, you'll be wishing you did a year from now. Opinions will vary, of course, but I hope whatever you get works out great.
Peace,
Paul
JerryD
New member
Thanks.
Thanks guys.
Sounds like you guys are right on.
Tubedude is pro performance.
SLKM2000 is pro stability.
So the question is can you have stability and performance.
It is worth researching anyway. I agree with SLKM2000 about
being cautious. Sounds like one would need to do their own
research and see what's right for them.
I wonder what tomshardware site says about it?
What O/S are you running tubedude?
Thanks guys.
Sounds like you guys are right on.
Tubedude is pro performance.
SLKM2000 is pro stability.
So the question is can you have stability and performance.
It is worth researching anyway. I agree with SLKM2000 about
being cautious. Sounds like one would need to do their own
research and see what's right for them.
I wonder what tomshardware site says about it?
What O/S are you running tubedude?
Slackmaster2K
Gone
tubedude, I've thought it over and I agree with you to a point. You're right, at $20 more per DIMM, DDR memory is probably worth it, especially if the motherborads aren't any more expensive. I also agree that 5% can be a noticable improvement, especially with faster processors.
However, I won't recommend that somebody go out and buy the CUV266 right now (I know this isn't what you were recommending). I have heard very little information about DDR socket 370 boards...as far as I know this could be the first one. Now, on an Athlon platform, I'd be much more comfortable since there is plenty of documentation on various boards in regards to stability/speed. At tomshardware there's a good review of DDR boards, and I think it's worth considering, especially since some of the SDR boards beat the poorer quality DDR boards (hence my reluctancey to recommend a brand spanking new board).
Jerry D, you should definately check out tomshardware and look for the DDR roundup. I believe Asus is the current champion for stability and speed (no suprise). These are Althlon/Duron boards though, but the latest news on AMD boards is that they should work fine for most DAW setups. If you go this route, consult various messageboards and usenet about the motherboard in question, and consult your soundcard's manufacturer (or the man. of the soundcard you plan to purchase in the future) on compatibility issues with the chipset used on that particular mobo. If you plan to stick with Intel, then I'd be very cautious about a DDR motherboard because a) Intel chipsets are the standard for Intel processors, and a DDR board will have a VIA chipset...lord knows we have had enough shitty VIA Pentium chipsets b) the Socket 370 DDR boards are new to the market....the minimal increase in performance is not worth the risk at this point.
Slackmaster 2000
However, I won't recommend that somebody go out and buy the CUV266 right now (I know this isn't what you were recommending). I have heard very little information about DDR socket 370 boards...as far as I know this could be the first one. Now, on an Athlon platform, I'd be much more comfortable since there is plenty of documentation on various boards in regards to stability/speed. At tomshardware there's a good review of DDR boards, and I think it's worth considering, especially since some of the SDR boards beat the poorer quality DDR boards (hence my reluctancey to recommend a brand spanking new board).
Jerry D, you should definately check out tomshardware and look for the DDR roundup. I believe Asus is the current champion for stability and speed (no suprise). These are Althlon/Duron boards though, but the latest news on AMD boards is that they should work fine for most DAW setups. If you go this route, consult various messageboards and usenet about the motherboard in question, and consult your soundcard's manufacturer (or the man. of the soundcard you plan to purchase in the future) on compatibility issues with the chipset used on that particular mobo. If you plan to stick with Intel, then I'd be very cautious about a DDR motherboard because a) Intel chipsets are the standard for Intel processors, and a DDR board will have a VIA chipset...lord knows we have had enough shitty VIA Pentium chipsets b) the Socket 370 DDR boards are new to the market....the minimal increase in performance is not worth the risk at this point.
Slackmaster 2000
JerryD
New member
Re: here
You meant A7A266 on that MOBO right?
tubedude said:
You meant A7A266 on that MOBO right?
R
RWhite
Well-known member
There is an A7A266 board (ALI chipset) and a A7V266 (Via chipset). People keep slamming the VIA chipset; I say show me the proof. My VIA boards work fine.
I agree $20 for 10% is well worth it. I just wish they would can all these damn magazine adds saying "DDR RAM, up to 10 times faster!" which is a big crock of crap. All non-real world bench marks should be viewed with suspicion.
I agree $20 for 10% is well worth it. I just wish they would can all these damn magazine adds saying "DDR RAM, up to 10 times faster!" which is a big crock of crap. All non-real world bench marks should be viewed with suspicion.
Slackmaster2K
Gone
Nobody has slammed Via chipsets in this thread. Many of their Pentium-class chipsets up to last year were crap compared to more stable and fast Intel chipsets like the 440BX. No reason to puss and moan about that.
Slackmaster 2000
Slackmaster 2000
tubedude
New member
123
No sir, its the a7m266, with an M in there.... its based on the actual AMD 760 northbridge, which is practically guaranteed to work with all your stuff. That way you dont get the strange VIA chipset troubles. It is, however, still a Via southbridge, but it doesnt pose the same problems as the VIA northbridge does, and the AMD 760 chipset works perfectly with, what else... AMD processors!
Avoid at all costs the AMD 750 chipset. Not compatible with many cards.
Happy hunting!
Paul
No sir, its the a7m266, with an M in there.... its based on the actual AMD 760 northbridge, which is practically guaranteed to work with all your stuff. That way you dont get the strange VIA chipset troubles. It is, however, still a Via southbridge, but it doesnt pose the same problems as the VIA northbridge does, and the AMD 760 chipset works perfectly with, what else... AMD processors!
Avoid at all costs the AMD 750 chipset. Not compatible with many cards.
Happy hunting!
Paul
JerryD
New member
Where did you buy your board and memory at?
Where did you buy your board and memory at?
I wonder if there is a bare bone systems with case
, a7m266, and DDR memory already in the box.
I bet you built yours from scratch?
Where did you buy your motherboard from?
Where did you buy your board and memory at?
I wonder if there is a bare bone systems with case
, a7m266, and DDR memory already in the box.
I bet you built yours from scratch?
Where did you buy your motherboard from?
K
Kaydis
New member
The fact that DDR only provides a small increase in many benchmarks means that in those benchmarks memory bandwidth is not the bottleneck. The question is how much do audio applications resemble the benchmarks being used. Is it possible audio apps are more dependent on the rate at which you can blast data in and out of memory. If so, then DDR might be more valiable than benchmarks would lead you to believe.
So where did you get the A7M motherboard?
So where did you get the A7M motherboard?