Hey guys,

I'm kinda getting tired of my slow @$$ Celeron 1.3Ghz, so I'm looking for something a bit more speedy to do my 3DFX gaming. :)

I still have a working XP2400, which I know can overclock very nicely, so......
I also have 2 sticks of 256MB PC3200 from micron, so that's not a problem either.

What would you suggest for motherboard?? I heard the A7V333 is a good one?? Any other boards?? cheapest I can find at the moment is 40 euros, but gonna search some more.

Cheers

Pim

Depends on what Voodoo you're talking about.

Technically, an AthlonXP 2400+ is a very good CPU even for a Voodoo5 (no overclocking needed).

The best Board I had with a Voodoo was indeed the ASUS A7V-333 (3.3V AGP capable) KT333a. One has to be careful not to get the latest Versions, however, as the latest incarnation of the KT333a (labeled "CF" if I member correctly) was 1.5V AGP only.

Otherwise, the Shuttle AK-35GT2 also worked like a champ (KT333a as well).

With the latest BIOS, the Boards ran upto AthlonXP 3000+, which really is as fast as it gets.

The cheapest way would be EBay (expect less than 10$)

thanks for the info.

Found this one:

http://cgi.ebay.nl/ASUS-A7V333-X-Mainboard-Motherboard-Sockel-A-462_W0QQitemZ280102748831QQihZ018QQcategoryZ131923QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD2VQQcmdZViewItem

with the following chipsets, or so he says:

Chipsatz VIA KT600
VIA VT8237

Would that be ok??

No, the VIA KT600 - being the latest VIA SocketA Chipset - is a 4x/8x AGP @ 0.8/1.5V only device.

KT333a is the latest you can go there (excluding the mentioned CF, which was the latest KT333a Version)

Technically, you could also go for the KT266a, which supports the XP 2400+ as well, and (e.g. in form of the ASUS A7V-266E) was known as well as a lightning fast Board for Voodoo's. Its only shortcoming would be the limitation to PC266 RAM speeds (the KT333/a can run it async at PC333, which yields a few % higher performance)

Getting the right (= an older) Model of the A7V-333 off Ebay might be a tad difficult, as the seller has to know and tell whether it is the CF or the original Version.

I'm not sure which Board revisions were affected, the ASUS Website might reveal that. If not, Hardware Reviews from that time should indicate the Board and Chipset Revision. From there, you should be able to pinpoint what Board Revisions hold the original KT333a that you need.

Ok, thanks.

I will keep looking for a good model.

So the KT266a would be a 100% safe bet?? I'll try and find a good KT333a, as I will be overclocking if I can, have the ram and cpu for it, so why not. :)

Found this one:

http://cgi.ebay.nl/Asus-A7V333-rev1-Oem-Raid-Socket-462_W0QQitemZ200098968736QQihZ010QQcategoryZ31496QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD2VQQcmdZViewItem

It's a revision 1.0 board with the KT333 board, but it also lists this:

Expansion Slots Total (Free):

1 ( 1 ) x AGP Pro ( 1.5 V )

I thought the AGPPro slot was 3.3V instead of 1.5

Too bad most games won't use a 2nd cpu when present, else I would've made my Dual P3 1.0Ghz a dual boot with XP and put my voodoo in there. :)

Would this mobo do??

http://www.epox.nl/products/view.php?product_id=388

best  setup IMO...

XP-M 2600+ (low voltage...good for higher clocks)
EPoX EP-8K5A2/3+ (2 = RAID-CTL, 3 = 2x RAID-CTL)
1 or 2 GB PC3200 CL2 RAM
and a good PSU!!!

this should be the best setup because it's stable (ask some people here...like tm30) and very fast...

PS: the EP-8K3AE is KT333CF AFAIK...1,5v vagp only...

good mainboards from epox with 3,3v vagp are:

EP-8K3A+
EP-8K5A2
EP-8K5A2+
EP-8K5A3+

heh the EPoX EP-8K3A+ series are the best boards for the Voodoo 5 6000 and all other 3dfx AGP cards.

my best 3dfx setup was the following:

AMD AthlonXP 2700+
EPoX EP-8K3A+
1x 512MB PC 2700  
3dfx Voodoo 5 6000 AGP 128MB SDR Rev.A 3700
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live 1024 5.1

Dual Boot of:
Windows 98 Second Edition + UnOfficial Service Pack 2.03 NL +
Windows 2000 Professional + Service Pack 4 & Rollup 1 for Service Pack 4
DirectX 9.0c

For the dirvers:
For Win98SE + UOSP 2.03NL:
3dfx Voodoo4/5 V1.04.00 + the 3dfx Tools Control Panel from AmigaMerlin 2.9

For Win2K Pro + SP4 & RU1 for SP4:
AmigaMerlin 3.1 R11

and for a setup for no Voodoo 5 6000 get this setup:

AMD AthlonXP 2700+
ASUS A7V333-R Rev 1.02
1x 512MB PC 2700
3dfx Voodoo 5 5500 AGP 64MB SDR Rev.A 2500
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live 1024 5.1

For the dirvers:
For Win98SE + UOSP 2.03NL:
AmigaMerlin 2.9

For Win2K Pro + SP4 & RU1 for SP4:
AmigaMerlin 3.1 R11

And for a bit of everything I now have this setup:

AMD AthlonXP 2700+
ASUS A7V333-R Rev 1.02
3x 512MB PC 2700
ASUS AX800XT Platinum Edition AGP 256MB GDDR3 Rev.B 0441
3dfx Voodoo 5 5500 PCI 64MB SDR Rev.A1 2900
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live 1024 5.1

Windows 2000 Professional + Service Pack 4 & Rollup 1 for Service Pack 4
DirectX 9.0c

For the Radeon:
Omega Catalyst 6.03 +ATI WDM 6.3 & ATi H.264 Decoder 6.3

For the Voodoo 5
AmigaMerlin 3.1 R11


The 8K3A+ is out of service since 7 of it's main Cappacitors are leaked. the 8K5A2+ is ready to get built into my new LianLi Casing which will eb arriving shortly, that will be my main 3dfx Voodoo 5 6000 test run system, for the CPU I have a Barton 2800+ laying here but I dunno if it works , oh well there are enough Bartons out on ebay could also ask a friend of mine he has plently of old hardware :)

hey guys,

I found on a dutch site:

Asus A7V266-E with AMD Athlon X1600, getting it for 35 euros, so that's not too bad.

Gonna put in the XP2400 and then I'm set to go. Also have enough ram for it, and a nice 200Gb harddisk. :)
Gonna make a triple boot, win98se, win2k and winxp.

the P180b has been ordered, I also made a request to the site for the 3dfx stickers, so kinda hoping they'll do that. :)

Unfortunately the motherboard only supports 266Mhz fsb, but I won't worry about that, since I can always run it a bit outta specs, via chipsets are pretty decent if I remember correctly.

And I'll also be unlocking the cpu, so I have the ability to raise the multiplier, so......

As it looks now, the rig will be:

Asus KT266a
AMD XP2400+ @???
2 x 256MB PC3200
Voodoo 5 5500 AGP primarily
WD 200Gb ata100 7200rpm 8MB cache
Diamond Monstersound MX300 (aureal vortex2 chip)

Will ofcourse provide pictures when it's complete.

Nice machine..

Who knows, maybe some day you'll upgrade the V5 to a V6K. Then it will be the perfect machine. Just wait for the opportunity, it will come your way in time ;)

wrote on 13.04.07 at 16:19:39:

Nice machine.. Who knows, maybe some day you'll upgrade the V5 to a V6K. Then it will be the perfect machine. Just wait for the opportunity, it will come your way in time ;)

well A V6K would prefer another Mobo ;) the ASUS A7V266 is on the DO NOT BUY for V6K list.

An EPoX EP-8K5A2+ or EP-8K3A+ based motherboard would be alot better and much safer for a V6K setup 8)

@ ultima:

The AthlonXP 2400+ Thoroughbred-A runs @ 2000Mhz and has 256KB L2 Cache and a FSB of 266Mhz, this is the CPU your mobo probably would have because of it's 266Mhz FSB 8)

The AthlonXP 2400+ Thoroughbred-B runs @ 1883Mhz and has 256KB L2 Cache and a FSB of 333Mhz

wrote on 13.04.07 at 16:42:23:

@ ultima: The AthlonXP 2400+ Thoroughbred-A runs @ 2000Mhz and has 256KB L2 Cache and a FSB of 266Mhz, this is the CPU your mobo probably would have because of it's 266Mhz FSB 8) The AthlonXP 2400+ Thoroughbred-B runs @ 1883Mhz and has 256KB L2 Cache and a FSB of 333Mhz

The AMD Athlon XP 2400+ Thoroughbred runs at 2000MHz with an 133MHz FSB (DDR266). The AMD Athlon XP running at 1833MHz is an AMD Athlon XP 2500+. That one uses a Barton core which has 256KB L2 cache more then a Thoroughbred model.  :)
Besides the cache difference the AMD Athlon XP 2500+ uses an 166MHz (DDR333) FSB.

Thanks for the info.

But the ??? was actually more for the part that I didn't know how far I would be overclocking it. :)

and as far as I know, the only XP cpu's that come in different speeds are the 2600 and 2800, they come in both 333 and 266 flavour.

But the mobo I'm getting has the XP1600 Tbred-A in it, 1st gonna see how far I can clock that baby. :)

wrote on 13.04.07 at 16:53:27:

Thanks for the info. But the ??? was actually more for the part that I didn't know how far I would be overclocking it. :) and as far as I know, the only XP cpu's that come in different speeds are the 2600 and 2800, they come in both 333 and 266 flavour. But the mobo I'm getting has the XP1600 Tbred-A in it, 1st gonna see how far I can clock that baby. :)

The AMD Athlon XP 2600+ exists in five versions. Two 166MHz (DDR333) versions and one 133MHz (DDR266) FSB version. One of the 166MHz FSB versions has 512KB L2 cache and uses a Barton core. The 2800+ exists in three versions as well. Two 166MHz FSB versions. One with 512KB L2 cache (barton) and one with 256KB L2 cache (Thoroughbred). The 133MHz FSB part uses a Barton core too; thus having 512KB L2. There are also Thorthon versions, those are available in the same configurations as the Thoroughbred models which is 133MHz and 166MHz FSB with 256KB L2 cache. (Thorhon = Barton with 50% L2 Cache enabled)
_{Shown above are only desktop CPU's, there are mobile version too. Those are AMD Athlon XP-M CPU's.}

Besides the 2600+ and 2800+ there are other models which have the same rating number but different clock frequencies and FSB's. For example the 3000+ which is available with 166MHz and 200MHz FSB. The same goes for the 3200+ model.

About overclocking the Thoroughbred A. My experience is that a normal Thoroughbred A will reach about 2GHz. Above it is possible but will require more voltage so the ideal clock will still be somewhere near 2GHz. But, since every CPU is different (and every motherboard and even the overclocker itselves :P) it's hard to tell how fast your chip is going to be ;).

wrote on 13.04.07 at 16:49:10:

The AMD Athlon XP 2400+ Thoroughbred runs at 2000MHz with an 133MHz FSB (DDR266). The AMD Athlon XP running at 1833MHz is an AMD Athlon XP 2500+. That one uses a Barton core which has 256KB L2 cache more then a Thoroughbred model.  :) Besides the cache difference the AMD Athlon XP 2500+ uses an 166MHz (DDR333) FSB.

well like I mentioned the Thoroubred A runs @ 2000Mhz , has 256KB L2 & 266Mhz FSB the other QthlonXP 2400+ core is based on a castrated Barton core aka the Thorton Core which also runs @ 2000Mhz and has 256KB L2 and a 266Mhz FSB.

the AthlonXP 2500+ is indeed a Barton @ 1867Mhz , 266Mhz FSB & 512KB L2

and also a Barton @ 1833Mhz + 333Mhz FSB & 512KB L2.

This sitepage shows all the info of all the K7 based CPU's :)
http://balusc.xs4all.nl/srv/har-cpu-amd-k7.php

here the site's main CPU list of all the CPU's made:
http://balusc.xs4all.nl/srv/har-cpu.html

wrote on 13.04.07 at 17:24:55:

well like I mentioned the Thoroubred A runs @ 2000Mhz , has 256KB L2 & 266Mhz FSB the other QthlonXP 2400+

Almost correct. The AMD Athlon XP 2400+ only exists as an Thoroughbred B CPU ;).
The Thoroughbred A version didn't scale well and wasn't suitable for the high clock frequency the XP2400+ requires.

The fastest AMD Athlon XP CPU with an Thoroughbred A core runs at 1800MHz and is better known as the XP2200+. (Which is only one step faster then the fastest Palomino :X). Luckily AMD managed to revise the Thoroughbred since the original one (escpecially the very first ones) didn't scale better then the best Palomino cores.

wrote on 13.04.07 at 17:40:48:

Almost correct. The AMD Athlon XP 2400+ only exists as an Thoroughbred B CPU ;). The Thoroughbred A version didn't scale well and wasn't suitable for the high clock frequency the XP2400+ requires. The fastest AMD Athlon XP CPU with an Thoroughbred A core runs at 1800MHz and is better known as the XP2200+. (Which is only one step faster then the fastest Palomino :X). Luckily AMD managed to revise the Thoroughbred since the original one (escpecially the very first ones) didn't scale better then the best Palomino cores.

nope the AXP 2400+ consists of a Thoroughbred -B CPU as Thorton CPU:
http://quickload.hostingvision.com/images/2735AXP2400.jpg
that BaliusC site is the most reliable CPU source in The BeNeLuX area, the owner of that Site is also a Moderator of the largest hardware site of The Netherlands / Belgium aka Tweakers.net
http://tweakers.net/

His info is hardly false ;), the only mistake he made is the DDR sppeds of the FSB heh, 166Mhz DDR should bet 333Mhz DDR or 166Mhz Physical heh, nobody is perfect ;)

I got mixed up with the AthlonXP /MP 2200+ which is  indeed a T-Bred A heh.

The CPU I have is an AMD AthlonXP Thoroughbred-B 2700+ CPU which runs @ 2167Mhz, it has a 333Mhz DDR aka 166Mhz Physical FSB and has an L2 of 256KB.
http://quickload.hostingvision.com/images/8781AXP2700.jpg
http://quickload.hostingvision.com/thumbs/4429AXP2700setup.jpg http://quickload.hostingvision.com/thumbs/7794AXP2700setup%20cache.jpg
http://quickload.hostingvision.com/thumbs/2038AXP2700setup%20mobo.jpg http://quickload.hostingvision.com/thumbs/4239AXP2700setup%20ram.jpg

I meant only the Thoroughbred B instead of Thoroughbred A/B and forgot the Thorton ^^. But indeed, it's Thoroughbred B and Thorton.

About the FSB's, they seem correct to me. It's a 133MHz DDR bus. Otherwise it would be DDR333? ;). After all 166MHz DDR is not 333MHz but still 166MHz (333MT/s).

wrote on 13.04.07 at 18:32:31:

I meant only the Thoroughbred B instead of Thoroughbred A/B and forgot the Thorton ^^. But indeed, it's Thoroughbred B and Thorton. About the FSB's, they seem correct to me. It's a 133MHz DDR bus. Otherwise it would be DDR333? ;). After all 166MHz DDR is not 333MHz but still 166MHz (333MT/s).

oh yeah got mixxed up there hahaha gonna have Dinner now :-X

hey guys,

just found another board, called the MSI KT3 Ultra 2
MSI Part No.MS-6380E

It has the following chipset:

Chipset
• VIA® KT333 Chipset
- FSB @200/266/333 MHz
- AGP 4X and PCI Advanced high performance memory controller
• VIA® VT8235 Chipset
- Integrated Direct Sound AC'97 audio
- Dual channel Ultra DMA 33/66/100/133 master mode EIDE controller
- ACPI
- Integrated USB 2.0 controller


Is that the good chipset for 333Mhz fsb athlonXpP / voodoo5 combo??

DDR333 is nice :) aka PC-2700.

The MSI KT3 Ultra2 isn't an advised Mobo for a Voodoo 5 6000 setup for all the other cards it's a safe one.

The VIA Apollo KT333 chipset is like I said the best chipset for all 3dfx AGP x2/x4 as PCI cards it's als the best chipset for Voodoo4/5 AGP cards.

Only not all VIA Apollo KT333 chipset based Mobo's are V6K safe, for that part read this V6K FAQ before go'n for a V6K it's self :)
http://www.thedodgegarage.com/3dfx/v6k_faq.htm

But if a V6K setup isn't your thing that MSI will do fine.