Mobo upgrade question

~~bobbytomorow~~ · Mar 4, 2006, 02:44 AM

I have been offered a mobo that is better than mine. But I will be building a new rig in a few months. What I'm wondering is will I see much of a boost in game performance to make it worthwhile switching boards if I'm building a new one in a few months anyway?

These are my current specs:

amd xp 2500+ @2.1Ghz
ecs 741gx-m mobo (shitty mobo with no dual channel support)
2x 512mb ddr400 RAM
250gb 8mb buffer HD 7200rpm
x800pro

The mobo offered is a Asus a7n8x deluxe. It has Nforce2 chipset and dual channel support. Will the adition of dual channel and a better chipset yield better performance gamewise? And if so by how much? I also know I'll be able to o\c a little more too.

soloz2 · Mar 4, 2006, 11:44 AM

yes, you will see an increase in performance by running dual channel over single channel. while in gaming it may not be a huge difference you could probably safely expect to see roughly a 5% increase in fps.

just a note... when switching mobo's you will need to back up all your data first. you may be able to do a windows repair but if that doesn't work you will need to reinstall windows

~~bobbytomorow~~ · Mar 4, 2006, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by soloz2

yes, you will see an increase in performance by running dual channel over single channel. while in gaming it may not be a huge difference you could probably safely expect to see roughly a 5% increase in fps.

just a note... when switching mobo's you will need to back up all your data first. you may be able to do a windows repair but if that doesn't work you will need to reinstall windows

Wow, only about a %5 increase in performance, thats hardly worth it. I might as well wait until I build my new rig. And yeah I know about the Windows stuff. I do a clean install a few times a year anyway. I thought it would amount to more of an increase than just that, what with a better chipset, dual channel and what have you.

Thanks

[hobo]eclipse · Mar 4, 2006, 03:02 PM

wat chipset does that board have? u might see 5% goin to the very reliable nforce2 platform then another boost running duel channel

wee017 · Mar 4, 2006, 03:44 PM

I think it would be more than 5%, it depends how good the other mobo is. I never heard of ECS, but switching to an ASUS mobo will be a very nice update. Also, don't think about the increase in performance only, think how long it will last for future updates.

mario620 · Mar 4, 2006, 03:50 PM

If your moving on to a new rig very quickly, then I would not upgrade the mobo right now. Since installing xp would be a hassel to do it twice. If you don't mind installing win then go ahead and upgrade. I'm sure you will see more than a 5% increase in gaming. Try tighting the memory timmings for a little more of a boost.

~~bobbytomorow~~ · Mar 4, 2006, 10:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mario620

If your moving on to a new rig very quickly, then I would not upgrade the mobo right now. Since installing xp would be a hassel to do it twice. If you don't mind installing win then go ahead and upgrade. I'm sure you will see more than a 5% increase in gaming. Try tighting the memory timmings for a little more of a boost.

I don't mind re-installing windows, I do all the time anyway. The hassle to me would be the actual installation of the hardware. Not much of a big deal, but if I will see say a %15+ boost in game performance I'd switch for sure, but only %5 I don't think thats enough to justify the switch.

My current mobo is really shitty its ECS (or Elite Group), very value. I have no experience with dual channel or Nforce chipset, so thats why I'm asking would a better chipset and the addition of dual channel Ram, not to mention the ability to change RAM timings and o\c a little more really yield a big diference in game performance or should I just wait until I build my new RIG?

mario620 · Mar 4, 2006, 10:40 PM

If your memory is really great with overclocks, then go ahead and give it a go. With the tight memory settings and latest drivers for everything. I'm sure you will do better than the 5%. It all depends on how far you can push your hardware. You can also try to push your video card a little too ie. core and memory. Since you don't mind dealing with a installing xp then give it a go. Also install the latest bios for your mobo.

~~bobbytomorow~~ · Mar 5, 2006, 03:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mario620

If your memory is really great with overclocks, then go ahead and give it a go. With the tight memory settings and latest drivers for everything. I'm sure you will do better than the 5%. It all depends on how far you can push your hardware. You can also try to push your video card a little too ie. core and memory. Since you don't mind dealing with a installing xp then give it a go. Also install the latest bios for your mobo.

Thanks! ;-)

I think I will give it a go. I'm waiting for the "AM2" boards to come out, and I'll most likely go with Nvidea based chipset and ASUS mobo, so if anything I guess I'll get some exp with it by getting this older one.

~~bobbytomorow~~ · Apr 16, 2006, 09:05 PM

O.K., I finally put it together. I got an MSI K7N2 mobo. I put everything together, did a clean install of windows, DL'd the lates drivers for the mobo and my video card etc... But I'm having major gaming problems. I can only play games for about 15mins then the computer crashes. And while im playing the game is really choppy\stuttering. How come?

Also the mobo is running my RAM in single channel rather than dual channel and I have a matching pair. Any help would be appreciated.

My specs:
2500+ Barton
MSI K7N2
512mb x 2 Samsung DDR400
400psu
250gb maxtor HD 8mb buffer
Sapphire x800pro

Thanks in advance.

cozumel · Apr 16, 2006, 09:56 PM

For dual channel Put one stick in slot and the other in slot 2. Don't use slot 3 but check mobo manual first cos I never used mobo.

Read your manual to ensure you have all correct settings for BIOS. If you don't have manual go to http://www.msi.com.tw/program/suppor...UID=436&kind=1 for downloadable pdf version. You can download BIOS update from the same site.

When your system crashes do you get any error msgs? What are they?

mario620 · Apr 16, 2006, 10:26 PM

If your overclocking anything, set it back to default. Make sure that everything is sitted correctly ie, cpu, memory, vid card, and also make sure that your vid card has the power supply connectiion to it as well. Did you apply thermal paste to the cpu before mounting the heatsink? When you install drivers, install in this order. Chipset drivers first ie mobo drivers, vid card drivers, sound card drivers, and then nic card drivers. Then the rest. If you did it like this, then I don't think that is the problem. Check your device manager to make sure that the drivers have been installed correctly. IE no yellow !'s.

~~bobbytomorow~~ · Apr 17, 2006, 12:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mario620

If your overclocking anything, set it back to default. Make sure that everything is sitted correctly ie, cpu, memory, vid card, and also make sure that your vid card has the power supply connectiion to it as well. Did you apply thermal paste to the cpu before mounting the heatsink? When you install drivers, install in this order. Chipset drivers first ie mobo drivers, vid card drivers, sound card drivers, and then nic card drivers. Then the rest. If you did it like this, then I don't think that is the problem. Check your device manager to make sure that the drivers have been installed correctly. IE no yellow !'s.

Yeah I did everything in that order. At first I overclocked, then when I had game problems I set everything to default and still had the same problems. The only yellow in device manager I get is multimedia audio controller so I disabled it, cause I have a sound card anyway and put its drivers in. I'm thinking start all over again but that'll suck. What else could cause the games to studder and crash? I'm using the latest Omegadrivers. And I wonder why my RAM won't run in dual channel?

cozumel · Apr 17, 2006, 07:22 AM

Does that mean you saying on-board audio controller not disabled on BIOS? You must do so if you are using your own audio card.

For dual channel I meant to say previously, put one stick in slot 1 and the other in slot 2 and not use slot 3. (typographical error - sorry)

Have you checked all BIOS settings?

~~bobbytomorow~~ · Apr 17, 2006, 06:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cozumel

Does that mean you saying on-board audio controller not disabled on BIOS? You must do so if you are using your own audio card.

For dual channel I meant to say previously, put one stick in slot 1 and the other in slot 2 and not use slot 3. (typographical error - sorry)

Have you checked all BIOS settings?

I got it! I think I messed up installing win, I remember a few files couldn't be installed correctly, so I started from the top. Re-seated everythng, installed windows, then drivers. Now it seems completely stable. Thanks all.