266A - Who will be the first??

[SARGE]

Just wondering who will be first around here to get the new 266A, or if anyone plans to. Would love to see some results.

[Statica]

The VIA KT266A?

[Xayd]

Considering you got a wife who wants a new machine Sarge, my money's on you, enjoy your guinea pig status .

[Statica]

I've been using the KT266A for abt 2 weeks now .. I have abt a 15-20% increase in perf vs. a verbatim system on a KT266, so its well worth it.
Am using the EP-8KHA+ w/Athlon XP 1600+

[SARGE]

Xayd, I've been wondering about being the guinea pig with no one around to help However, since Statica has the mobo and chip I was already looking at, things aren't so bleak. The Epox is much the same as before, just the northbridge changed natch, but you already know that.

Hmmm, 15-20 % difference from 266 verbatim. Don't seem like much unless used for Quake, etc.

[Xayd]

Even at that, games don't require that much memory bandwidth.

Maybe a bit of an improvement in games like Sacrifice that have enormous maps, but otherwise it's not gonna make much difference.

[Statica]

It doesnt warrant an upgrade of an existing system, but if building a new one then its definitely the way to go.

[SARGE]

Statica, I showed HER your post and SHE said you were comparing the increase (15-20%) over your 266, NOT her Gateway PII-450. She thinks there would be a much bigger increase over hers. She doesn't play any games (at least with her pc ) so I suggested there probably would be zero+ difference between hers and the 266A, speed-wise.

She has her mind made up I can put one together that will "perform". Geez, she's even picked out a case (aluminum Lian-Li PC 60) and wants rounded cables. She can't decide on colors of cables (oh brother). She likes the Soyo Dragon Plus (because it's pretty). I need to keep her away from these forums and reviews at other joints. At this point we can't agree at all and I'm caught between a rock and a hard spot. I want to save $$ and she wants to spend it (as usual). She knows more about the 266a and the XP architecure of the new cpus than some reviewers she claims. 2 weeks ago she didn't know difference between Intel and AMD.

I've unleashed a monster, thanks to PCMech. I told her to get her own handle and post here.

[glc]

Sarge: DragonLady is available for a handle

Go for it - the Dragon Plus just has to be a great board with all the stuff it has, and AMD is dropping prices I think next Monday?

[Statica]

Sarge!
Yeah the whole computer building addiction can be shared, and its all the more fun. Now burn your $ twice as fast. Or how abt the MP chipset and 2 Athlons!!!

Btw .. have her check out MSI's KT266A version, it looks pretty in red as well.
The EPoX is just absolutely great. 6-PCI slots .. none of that whole CNR/AMR nonsense.

And no more listening to the beeps, the D-LED is one cool looking thingamabob, which runs through the ROM/POST codes for you right on the mobo on an LED display. Worth cutting up the board or having a glass display board

Yeah I am comparing it with a % change over the KT266, which was an excellent performer anyway .. never mind the old benchmarking scenarios and people telling me that it wasnt worth the cost of DDR. There wasn't much diff in price for me to go with a losing technology. the 266A is simply great. I dont know raw benchmarks because I never believe in them... I can roughly guage the performance by image rastering on some heavy duty 3-dimensional maps, and of course by the ever popular kernel compilation and others... pure egg-head/nerd stuff.

The MSI/SOYO would be better as they sport IDE RAID .. if you are into it .. I like my IDE vanilla and my RAID on SCSI

[LawyerRon]

The Dragon supports IDE Raid.

[troysvihl]

She can't decide on colors of cables (oh brother). She likes the Soyo Dragon Plus (because it's pretty).

OMFG, that's funny.

[SARGE]

glc, I suggested "Dragon Lady" to her and she looked up from another review on the Dragon Plus mobo, and just smiled and might consider it. She's now on other pc, thanks to Statica, and looking up the definitions of CNR and AMR. At this rate, she thinks she wants the MCSE. This is what happens when the nest is almost empty.

troy, I agree with you about her criteria for cables & mobo. As you know, women like things to look at and men like things that perform. Looks like the Soyo may win this battle. I don't care to spend $150 for a case especially with no psu, though. Any ideas on a "pretty" heat sink?

[troysvihl]

Any ideas on a "pretty" heat sink?

The Golden Orb of course! (or whatever color their newest "Orb" is nowdays)


I know exactly what you mean Sarge. My GF is always pestering me about having the top of my case off and various cables jutting out the sides. She says it's too "messy", while I fail to see the point of ever putting the case top back on since I'm just going to have to take it off again. (acctually, I'm begining to doubt the need for a case at all. I think an old wood cutting board and a power supply should be sufficient. lol. And cooler too!) I have a similar philosiphy with raking leaves (they'll decompose all by themselves!), mowing the lawn (why? it just grows back), washing my car (it just gets dirty again), and shovelling snow (I prefer to shovel it in July).

[Dragon Lady]

Hello, guys, it will be a Soyo Dragon for sure. sarge bet me I wouldn't do a post here, especially using the name GLC gave me. He lost. More later.

[LawyerRon]

Dragon Lady,
You should retain me as soon as possible. That will preclude SARGE from using my services.

RE: The Soyo Dragon. Good choice. You gotta love the box too.