NF7 vs NF7-S

[mmonnin]

How well does the NF7 overclock compared to the NF7-S ignoring the other factors of CPU, RAM and PSU. I was thinking about getting another one but I wont need the SATA or Soundstorm for a secondary rig.

But on the other hand I can hope that I get a better OCing mobo than I have now. And I think I will want the SATA adapter and cable that comes with it.

Anybody tested one of the NF7s? Or heard about it?

[Black Hawk]

I would think it would perform the same except sound, cause the AC97 can use up to 30% of the cpu.

[mmonnin]

It wouldnt be playing any sound. It wouldnt have a sound card at all. Just as another folding machine. Headless.

[Mt_Goat]

If the sound is disabled and you don't need the extras the NF7 (plain vanilla version) would make a great board for cheap for what you want and the rest of the components perform the same. Do it!!!

[muddocktor]

No personal experience with the regular NF7 myself, but I would concur with mtgoat also.

[mmonnin]

Ok so if I get another one of these could I run async? Run the CPU faster than the RAM so I can get more GHz since all it will do is fold? I wont care about the performance hit from running but being able to get to a higher FSB with cheaper RAM definitely be a benefit.

Since its only going to be a folding machine I dont really want to buy some PC3500 or greater just to get a higher FSB unless I can find some cheap.

[muddocktor]

Sounds like a good plan to me, Marc. It's hard to justify some expensive ram for a folding-only box.

You can try out that Kreton ddr3200 at Newegg though. It's $40 for a 256 MB stick and I've had no problems with it on my A7N8X 1.04 at 180 fsb. It won't do 2-2-2-11 timings at that speed however, I have it running by spd which is 2.5-4-4-7.

[mmonnin]

Yeah the timings wont effect the FAH speed as much as pure MHz will. I think I will get the same Buffalo stick then that I got for my other box since their sight says its supposed to be winbond chips.

[Mt_Goat]

If you are real picky you can find decent enough low priced no-name PC3200 that will most likely run cas 2.5/3/5/7 or so and do much better than running async. I have found some at Fry's for $70.00 per 512mb stick and had to exchange some because it was bad but once I had a good stick it was good to go. Just my $.02.

[mmonnin]

I dont want/need a 512 stick. All my headless machines run 2k and I might look into Linux for one maybe. So 256 MB will do. And $70 on RAM is too much for folding only machine on a budget where I should be saving money for college.

[GHoosdum]

Marc, stick with 2K - I haven't heard that the Linux client has caught up to the Windows client for speed.

[GnomeWizardd]

I just got a matched pair of corsair 256 sticks for a folding box for 81 at new egg dual channel plus corsair !!! 512 should be more than enough for folding

[mmonnin]

How far could I get with some PC2700? There is a rebate for some Kingston PC2700 for $35. To get 200FSB that would have to be a 5:6 divider or 6:5. 221 would be a 3:4 combo. And this is considering the RAM at stock speeds.

[Straight_Man]

I dont want/need a 512 stick. All my headless machines run 2k and I might look into Linux for one maybe. So 256 MB will do. And $70 on RAM is too much for folding only machine on a budget where I should be saving money for college.

Understand all you said except the Linux part.... IF you want a lower RAM box, use BSD instead, but if you want a Linux GUI (especially KDE 3.1 and up) then run more RAM than 256 MB. I run a GIG in my Linux box. It RAM buffers one heck of a lot of stuff, swaps to HD one heck of a LOT LESS than 98 or XP does-- faster process bring-up that way for various tiny modules.

John.

[mmonnin]

Uhhhh no. Thats completely idiotic. Thats a complete WASTE of money. Linux would use less memory than my XP system. I wouldnt install all the server stuff and all it would do is fold so it wouldnt need a lot of RAM.

Think about the application I would be using this before you post.