ASRock 4COREDUAL-SATA2 + DDR1 memory

Hey all, I've been recently thinking of upgrading my CPU (since I don't have enough money for a complete upgrade) but for this I have to buy a new motherboard. The only motherboard that can fit my needs atm is an ASRock 4COREDUAL-SATA2. I have 2x1GB DDR500 memory which i just got back in May, and a 7800GS i got back in March (cuz my 6800nu died on me ). I'm thinking of getting this board and the E4600 which has an 800MHz FSB. I want to run the FSB at 1000 (or more) to match my memory's speed and have a 1:1 FBS:memory ratio, but I am not sure if this board is good enough to do this. Now to anyone who has this motherboard with DDR1 memory, how far are u able to overclock and keep the 1:1 ratio? (Does it matter what type of memory I use?) Also any opinions on how you like the motherboard or the limitations would be appreciated

Thanks

 

To do what you want to do the ASRock 4CoreDual-SATA2 will work just fine. As for the E4600, I have the E4500 and I had a 4CoreDual-VSTA and the higher multiplier was actually a problem in the fact I could only get a FSB of 273 which meant my 800mhz RAM was running at 546mhz...ouch.

Overall it is a good intermediate board, but it just had limitations I couldn't live with.

 

With DDR1 memory you will only be able to maintain a fsb:mem ratio of 1:1 up to around 232MHz. Above this level the chipset automatically changes to a 4:3 ratio.

Which unfortunately means that when you overclock the E4600 to 3.2GHz (fsb of 266MHz), your DDR500 memory will only be running at 200MHz (DDR400) ?

 

Hi Deadman93723,

I see that even although you have changed to a Abit AB9 pro mobo, you still show your E4500 at only 3GHz (FSB at 273MHz) ?

Do you have a problem or are you just choosing to limit the overclock as your contribution towards reducing global warming ?

 

My experience is that 4coredual-vsta and 4coredual-sata2 max overclocking is essentially same !

 

I just haven't changed it because I don't have a video card ATM, so the new system isn't operational yet.

I should be up and running in a few days.

 

Well that blows... So what if I bought an E6600 instead of the E4600? Will the 1066 FBS still make the memory 4:3?

Thanks

 

Just curious Jimmor, how does your system perform? If I decide to go on ahead and buy the E4600 and the mobo, well have similar setups. Maybe some benchmarks?

Thanks

 

Since a E6600 defaults to fsb of 266MHz, the mobo chipset will set fsb:mem ratio of 4:3 when using DDR1 type memory. Changing to DDR2 type memory will however allow a 1:1 ratio up to 300 plus levels !

Of course another maybe more important issue if considering going for a E6600 is that your max cpu overclock would probably be limited to around 2.65GHz (9x295); or possibly 2.88GHz (9x320) after at the very least doing hard mods to mobo Vcore and Vagp volts, including extra heatsinking for Northbridge and Vagp volts Mosfet. Whereas the E4600 (12x multiplier) would likely allow 2.8-3GHz levels with no mods ?

 

My overclocked 7800gs/E4400 setup typically achieves 3Dmark05 of 8640 and 3dmark06 of 4730.

 

Interesting... Well, I think I might try to sell my DDR1 to someone and just buy DDR2, I've seen 2GB of DDR2 is dirt cheap these days. Also im quite surprised to see that your E4400 is running at 3.2GHz (320 FSB). I've read that ~300 FSB is the maximum these motherboards can get to. Have you done any hard mods to your mobo?

Also its quite amazing to see your score as high as it is (I know your 7800GS is also modded but still ) I knew my 7800GS has alot more potential but its sad that my P4 is lagging it that much behind (i get around 3300-3400 in 3DMark06 and ~6700 in 3DMark05 clocked at 500/1400, no mods, no delta) I know benches are just synthetic but they still give some idea of realworld performance.

I'm probably going to buy the E4600 and motherboard after some more thought, and later on get DDR2 memory if i manage to sell my DDR1.

Thanks

 

Hard modded Vcore to 1.4v and Vagp to 1.95v. And fixed small ramsink onto Vagp Mosfet and 40mm fan onto Northbridge heatsink.

 

@Jimmor, how can you stand the ASRock 4CoreDual-****???

I hate mine, I have gone to great lengths to get rid of mine, I think I'm going to burn it...lol

@Xeon XT, these boards are good for making a slow change over, but man they can be a bitch.

 

Hahaha, why? What kind of experience have u had with it?
Thats what I kinda want to do, slow change. Its just that most new games (like crysis) dont even run fast as expect even at low resolutions because of this damn P4. Also I'd love to have a better processor for 3D Studio Max rendering which i do occasionally. I'm pretty sure I wont be running my E4600 close to the maximum of this board's ~300 FSB limitation because it has a nice multiplier, I'll probably be running it at 3.2-3.4GHz to begin with. If there are any other problems you think I might come across please let me know

To jimmor, how hard were the mods you performed and maybe you can give me some tutorial links for future reference?

Also could someone be kind enough to give me a list of the settings I can change in the BIOS? Like RAM latency, RAM voltage, the different frequencies, and so on.

Thanks guys

 

I had a lot of Vista compatability issues, mostly with my video card. I had a 7950GT AGP and it gave me driver issues. I never got past 3.0ghz with a 273FSB and my 800mhz RAM was only running at 546mhz. I didn't do any hard mods, but like I said it's a "good for now" board.

I totally know where you are coming from with the P4, the difference between a P4 and Core 2 Duo is HUGE. Good luck!!!

 

Bitter/Sweet experience

Hi new to this forum,

Purchased the 4CoreDual-SATA2 yesterday. For the life of me I could not install Vista 32bit on a SATA2 drive. I tried everything (not a noob, built many systems). I had to switch over to a Maxtor SATA drive to install (The SATA2 drives are detected in OS and run well), both my SATA2 drives are WD 200Gig...anyone hear of issues with WD?? SATA drivers for VIA chipset at fault?...anyone have any ideas?? Tried RAID0 with the two WD's with the Via Raid drivers and no way could I get Vista to detect. And what is up with the manual?? Both H/C and CD version is well...useless!! Anyway....got it all up and running, very very very stable with E6600@stock/MSI NX8600GT OC/2Gig PC2 4200/ Enermax NoiseTaker 480W. Get 9448 3DMark05 and 4553 3DMark06What BIOS should I stick with to get some serious O/C going?? Using 1.60 now. Cheers!!!

 

Welcome to the forums Ajimboalogo!
I'm sorry I can't help you out since I've decided to hold off on the upgrade because the motherboard doesnt have a lot of options in the BIOS. I really like my current motherboard since it has alot of good options in the BIOS and I dont have to reset the cmos or whatever you have to do when you have a bad overclock (never had to do that since this is my first motherboard that I've overclocked). I have a feeling I'm going to get really frustrated with the ASRock board (can't even adjust the CPU voltage...). I'm going to save up and hopefully get a laptop which I've always wanted.

In the mean time I bought the Scythe Mugen (used to be called Infinity) cooler for a kickass price (40 bucks CDN) and going to slap this baby on my CPU and OC like hell to see what the limit of this machine really is (cuz we all know thats fun! )