I'm going to be building a system for my brother. We're trying to go fairly budget (trying to stay < $1K for just the system) but still want pretty high-end performance. I've heard you guys talking about being able to overclock the AMD processors and that this chip would be good to do so. If that's the case, what mobo should I be looking at to do that? Also, any suggestions for other hardware and overclocking tips would be well appreciated. Thanks in advance.

a Tyan will do a great job. Asus and Msi are my second choice.

raul

My recommendation is the MSI K7N2 ILSR. You'll want an Nforce 2 chipset for best performance, which that mobo has. I just got an MSI K7N2 Delta-L and it's been great. $87, a steal. I swear by MSI, their boards from my experience are extremely stable and trouble-free.

What chip do you use for the Delta-L?

i just bought a athlon 2500 today...then i got a mobo...it was an A7V8X-X pretty good..VIA KT 400 chipset...until i found out that u cant use 333 FSB while using ram at 400mhz...can any one tell me which mobo can use 333FSB while using a freq of 400mhz on the ram?

So this mobo supports the 333 FSB right? I'm pretty sure it does, but I just wanted to double check with you guys.

i'm interested in your problem calvin i have ordered the same mobo and cpu as you, having in mind to be able to operate at 333 all the way with no bottlenecks.. now i have ordered the "Corsair 256MB DDR333 32MX64 Value PC333" ram , thinking this would match perfectly with the 333fsb of the asus a7v8x-x and the athlon xp 2500 barton. Now does your problem mean that instead of the ddr333/pc333 ram, you have ddr400/pc400 ? (or how can you see the mhz?) and thereby your entire system runs at a fsb lower then 333 ? (how is this possible?) will i be able to operate at 333fsb or not ?

and there's something else, too. have a look at

http://ftp.pcgames.de/_0new3cbox/documents/_JK54jki3455jk/UZ_3...litaet.pdf

it shows that the asus a7v8x is only barton compatible if the mobo version is 1.04 ...does this mean i might still not be able to operate at 333fsb ??

kind thx in advance

i meant that the Barton is running at 333Mhz and my RAM is DDR400.
but they can't both be used at the same time at their maximum stats.

The Delta L comes with either the nForce 2 Ultra or Ultra 400.

so your total system is running at 333fsb then ?


anyone know about the aus a7v8x-x not being ready for barton in early versions ?

MSI is rock solid and the 6570 (K7n2 Delta - L) offers superior overclocking functions. Agree that it's a steal at under $90. It will support 333 so the barton is a fit, and in case you want to upgrade when the XP3200 drops in price, you can maximize on it's 400/400 support. Soltek SL75frn2 is also an excellent choice and is pretty cheap (sub $100) Both have nforce2. Word of advice though, nforce2 seems to be picky when it comes to RAM compatibility. So far, stick to Corsair, Corsair XMS, OCZ, Kingston, and Mushkin

_/\_

I have an abit NF7-M with a 2700XP+ witha pair of Corsiar 256 PC2700..........it runs GREAT!!!!!!!

I would go 4 an ASUS A7V8X-X or an A7N8X-X. They tend to work quite well and i have never heard a BAd review about them

That is wat i have w/ my 2500 and it is l33t 4 gaming

Ken,
Good chart, thanks.

With that being said look at the chart for my board Abit (KD7).

This is an excellent board and I have documented that I have overclocked my XP2100+ (1.47GHz) to a XP2400 (2.00GHz) with no problem.

I do plan to try the XP2500+ Barton as I have been some really great reviews on that chip and the overclocking ability with it.

Good luck in whatever direction you go.

Jay

I chose the MSI KT4V and find it very stable with my XP 2500+. I didn't go above the KT4V, as I have a Gainward Golden Sample Ti/450 TV 128MB DDR (GeForce 3 Ti 200). I saw no need to duplicate the graphics acceleration. I also have 2 Kingston 512MB PC2700 DDR RAM.

As i have found from experience the AMD XP2500 barton core goes well with the MSI-6570-ILSR-K7N2-Delta... running 768Mb PC2700 ram and the MSI-FX5600-VTDR128 graphics card as not only do your main chip-sets match but so do your secondary chip sets from board to vid card... the system runs best at 333FSB they did have to begin with some memory timing problems but a simple bios flash fixed that so if u order a new board u might get the one with the updated bios ... i made that machine for a friend but i currently run the following:
MSI-6570-ILSR-K7N2-Delta
AMD XP2600+
Thermaltake Volcano 11+ Xaser edition CPU fan
768 DDR 333
FX-5600 VTDR128
CD-RW + CD-Rom
40Gb segate baracuda
20Gb segate baracuda
350W P4 PS
(Had a Leadtech TI4200) killed it in a matter of weeks ... yes im a gamer!!

lol Crap someone remind me to alter profile so it dont print twice !!!! to tired... lack of sleep .. sorry

Im using a a A7N8X-UAY -REV 2 $99.00 AT newegg.My barton-2500 runs incredibly smooth.This board is great.Theres alot of people who have problems with the board.But its all in the setup.If you read the forums, do your homework and have half a brain cell left in your melon you can make this board dance.Good memory,setting the jumpers,strong power supply[400 or over] and knowing your way around the bios will get this puppy hummin.I took a chance and glad i did.Theres better boards if you can dis out big $$$$$$$$$.But in very satisfied.

Good post Kevin, I couldn't have said it better about the set-up process.
Jay