Biostar M7NCG 400

[mb26]

I would like a Micro-ATX board that will allow me to run a 2500+ as a 3200+ with 400mhz FSB...

i was originally looking at the Asus A7N8X-VM/400 .. but i was having troubles finding that where i live (UK) and i also heard it had no overclocking options, making me believe that i would not be able to o/c a 2500 into a 3200..

Anyway, the only other mATX board i can find that supports 400fsb is the Biostar M7NCG 400.
however this does not support PC3200 with the onboard graphics (major pain), which i would like to use, at least initially.
So, would a 2500 overclocked to 3200, yet running with ram at PC2700 speeds be any faster than a regular 2500? what kind of difference are we talking between the 2500, the '3200 w/ PC2700 ram' and the full 3200?
Also, could i buy PC3200 ram, and set it to run at PC2700 speed whilst i was using the onboard graphics, so when i decide to get an AGP card i can run it at full PC3200 speed?.

also, could somebody reccomend some (not super-expensive) good ram for this setup please?? (i intend to get one stick of 512mb and add another later perhaps)

thank you :)

[Alfie]

Does the board offer multiplier choices?
If it does and the cpu is unlocked,you can keep the fsb at default and up the multiplier.
If the board runs@400 fsb,but only with onboard video disabled,the 3200 memory will run at either speed,in the case of 333 fsb,the memory would be underclocked and @400 fsb,it would run at the rated speed.
I use Geil memory,it's proven to be good quality at affordable prices.

[mb26]

i think it offers multiplier choices.. but i haven't got the CPU yet, and i understand it is hard (and more expensive) to get an unlocked barton 2500+ so i planned on just getting a locked one and using the FSB... (as i dont imagine i'll need to go any higher than 3200 speed)

am i right in thinking that you are saying if i put in PC3200 ram then i could run it at PC2700 speed with no problem...

would a computer run with no video atall?

also 'would a 2500 overclocked to 3200, yet running with ram at PC2700 speeds be any faster than a regular 2500? what kind of difference are we talking between the 2500, the '3200 w/ PC2700 ram' and the full 3200?'

thanks :)

[Cricket]

Originally posted by mb26
am i right in thinking that you are saying if i put in PC3200 ram then i could run it at PC2700 speed with no problem...Yes, PC3200 run on the 166MHz motherboard FSB speed will run like PC2700 DDR RAM.Originally posted by mb26
would a computer run with no video at all? No. When you boot up, you'll get BIOS beeps indicating something is wrong with the video card and the system will halt.Originally posted by mb26
also 'would a 2500 overclocked to 3200, yet running with ram at PC2700 speeds be any faster than a regular 2500? what kind of difference are we talking between the 2500, the '3200 w/ PC2700 ram' and the full 3200?'There'll be a performance increase no matter if you're using PC2700 or PC3200 DDR...but, you'll be overclocking the PC2700 and you might have stability issues. Going with PC3200 makes more sense if you're going to overclock.

:) Cricket

[mb26]

Originally posted by Cricket
There'll be a performance increase no matter if you're using PC2700 or PC3200 DDR...but, you'll be overclocking the PC2700 and you might have stability issues. Going with PC3200 makes more sense if you're going to overclock.

:) Cricket

u read me wrong a little...
the board (stupidly) only supports PC3200 ram when there is no on-board graphics enabled.. yet it still supports 400fsb.

so, my ideal aim would be to overclock the 2500 to 400fsb like a 3200...

however initally i would like to use the onboard video.. until prices lower/ games advance enough that i can justify the cost a bit more.. in the long term i would get a AGP card and have the whole system at 400mhz

so would i have to leave the 2500 at stock speed, or could i still overclock the 2500 to 400fsb (like 3200) whilst using ram at 333mhz (the ram would physically be pc3200, but it would only be able to run as if it were pc2700 to comply with the onboard video)

so; could i run the 2500 at 400mhz fsb (as a 3200) but with ram at 333mhz (as pc2700)?

and as i said before, how would the performance differ between the 2500 all at 333, the 2500 at 400 with the ram at 333, and both being at 400. ?

[Alfie]

You want the cpu and ram to run at the same speed,so get 3200 memory,run it at 333 fsb,same as the cpu.
When you get a video card and you can run it at 400fsb,change it then.

[mb26]

is it not possible to run ram and cpu at diff speeds?

[MaxRat]

I run Biostar board and in the Bios you can run the setting different for the ram ,cpu and the agp....

Biostar M7 VIP pro
AMD xp 2400
thermaltake 9 w/coolmod
pc2100 ddr
geforce fx 5200
60 gig hd
cpu temp 42 deg all round

[glc]

Yes, you *can* run the ram and CPU at different speeds, but you do not WANT to with a NForce chipset, it hurts performance.

[mb26]

i have recently discovered the mobile 2500+:cool: .. which would allow me to run around '3200' speeds with 333 fsb:) (more if i can get the multi to go higher than 12.5.. they are unlocked) and with a graphics card and 400+ fsb it would be a beast. i think the board only supports a max of 12.5 for the multi thou:( i heard u can mod the chip or something to 'fix' this? anyone know more? )

also how 'fast' is this motherboard.. or would all NF2 mobo's (rated at 400fsb) be roughly the same speed, and the differences are in other places? if not then what makes different makes faster? (with same chipset and fsb speed)