Unlocked multiplier BIOS
- Thread starter Tannin
- Start date
Buck
Storage? I am Storage!
AMD probably doesn't like it, but they're not in a position to make enemies at the moment.
Groltz
My demeaning user rank is
Buck said:
I've seen it.
I hope Epox implements it in their upcoming nForce2 boards. I won't have to play microsurgeon again with the clear nail polish and silver conductive grease.
CougTek
Hairy Aussie
I saw it too, but like Steve, I would prefer to see it on an nForce 2 motherboard than on a slower KT400. It's good to see that it's possible though.
blakerwry
Storage? I am Storage!
I'm sorry I missed out on the original n'Force boards... I would really be interested in buying an nForce2 board.
Groltz
My demeaning user rank is
LiamC said:I'll third that. T, you don't have an ETA on EPoX nForce2 boards do you? I feel like playing early adopter again (against my better judgement)
It appears that Epox will be somewhat late in getting their nForce2 products out the gate. None of the nForce2 previews/reviews that I have seen were of Epox's boards. Hopefully it won't be much more of a wait.
theSwede
What is this storage?
Tea
Storage? I am Storage!
Hoolie Doolie! That's quite a thread!
Groltz
My demeaning user rank is
Re: Epox nForce2 board
Thanks Swede.
AOA Forums is also the premier source of Epox beta bioses thanks to "EPoX Tech"
Thanks Swede.
AOA Forums is also the premier source of Epox beta bioses thanks to "EPoX Tech"
Tannin
Storage? I am Storage!
Thanks TheSwede, there certainly is some interesting stuff there!
LiamC, excuse me, I didn't see your post till just now. Tea is asleep on the job, same as usual. I'll make some enquiries anout the nForce II Epox boards as soon as I get back from my holidays. (Yes, I'm having a couple of weeks off.)
All: OK, it's very early days yet, but from what I read there it rather looks as though the nForce 2 and 166FSB Athlon could be one of those magic sweep-all-before-it combinations. Something in the same vein as:
OPTi 895 & DX/4
VP-X and 6x86MX
MVP3 and K6-2
BX and Celeron-A
KT-133A and Thunderbird C
KT-266A and XP
nForce 2 and Athlon RT (or whatever stupid letters it gets)
If it lives up to the hype it could be another one. But let us all remember that nVidia are just the best in the business when it comes to hype. Remember the huge wave of expectation that accompanied the original nForce chipset? It was going to stomp it's way right to the top of the tree, be the hottest-selling thing since the 386DX-40, and the unquestioned performance champion. And, of course, it flopped. Well, OK, they sold a few, but it was a few. I have seen exactly one of them, which came to us because the owner couldn't figure out how to make sense of the IDE drivers. Neither could I. Far as I know, he's still running his burner in PIO mode.
nVidia's troubles with the nForce 1 were (a) they didn't get it out into the marketplace: very few board makers bothered with it, and those that did often didn't bother bringing it to the more obscure corners of the world (like Australia), and (2) it didn't have a clear and sensible market position. It was way too dear to compete with the SiS535 or that long-forgotten and rather poxy ALI thing that ASUS seemed to like so much, and still too dear to compete with the KT-266A higher up the food chain. The only thing it was on a par with price-wise was the AMD 760, and the people that bought 760s were, in the main, quality-conscious higher-end buyers who had no use for a board with built-in video.
Now you could argue that the on-board video of the nForce was pretty good, or that it had an AGP slot and there was nothing to stop you buying an nForce board and a Gforce III if you wanted to - but why would anyone in their right mind do that when you could buy an AMD 760 for a good deal less and have peace of mind in the early days, or (a little later) a KT-266A for much less and have a marginally faster board as well? And people who buy on-board video buy one thing and one thing above all: cheap.
What it came down to was that, for the same money, you could have an nForce board (with good on-board sound and mid-range on-board video) or a KT-266A with low-end on-board sound and a real, stand-alone video card and some change, or spend just a tiny bit more and have a decent stand-alone soundcard too. We added the nForce boards to our pricelist, gave them a reasonable plug, came up with situations where they made some sense - and no-one was interested. They needed to be within about US$10 of the KT-266A boards if they were to to be a realistic retail proposition, or US$25 at the most.
Net result: we didn't sell any at all. Oh, I could have pushed them harder, but why should I? With KT-266As selling like crazy, what was the point?
And now we get the same exact approach, or so it seems. A mega hype-fest for an integrated board. Well, hats off to nVidia for trying something different, but they have to have something special if this product is to be a goer. I can see it being a winner if, and only if, (a) it performs somewhere within cooee of the hype, and (b) it really is demonstrably and meaningfully faster than the competition from VIA and SiS. Then they can charge plenty for it, and people will pay up. At this stage it looks as though it will be the fastest chipset on the planet - but so did the nForce 1. Early indications seem to be that it will be a KT-400 killer, just as the nForce 1 was set to be an ALI and KT-266 killer ..... but if VIA do a KT-400A that really cooks, then for nVidia, it's back to video cards again.
LiamC, excuse me, I didn't see your post till just now. Tea is asleep on the job, same as usual. I'll make some enquiries anout the nForce II Epox boards as soon as I get back from my holidays. (Yes, I'm having a couple of weeks off.)
All: OK, it's very early days yet, but from what I read there it rather looks as though the nForce 2 and 166FSB Athlon could be one of those magic sweep-all-before-it combinations. Something in the same vein as:
OPTi 895 & DX/4
VP-X and 6x86MX
MVP3 and K6-2
BX and Celeron-A
KT-133A and Thunderbird C
KT-266A and XP
nForce 2 and Athlon RT (or whatever stupid letters it gets)
If it lives up to the hype it could be another one. But let us all remember that nVidia are just the best in the business when it comes to hype. Remember the huge wave of expectation that accompanied the original nForce chipset? It was going to stomp it's way right to the top of the tree, be the hottest-selling thing since the 386DX-40, and the unquestioned performance champion. And, of course, it flopped. Well, OK, they sold a few, but it was a few. I have seen exactly one of them, which came to us because the owner couldn't figure out how to make sense of the IDE drivers. Neither could I. Far as I know, he's still running his burner in PIO mode.
nVidia's troubles with the nForce 1 were (a) they didn't get it out into the marketplace: very few board makers bothered with it, and those that did often didn't bother bringing it to the more obscure corners of the world (like Australia), and (2) it didn't have a clear and sensible market position. It was way too dear to compete with the SiS535 or that long-forgotten and rather poxy ALI thing that ASUS seemed to like so much, and still too dear to compete with the KT-266A higher up the food chain. The only thing it was on a par with price-wise was the AMD 760, and the people that bought 760s were, in the main, quality-conscious higher-end buyers who had no use for a board with built-in video.
Now you could argue that the on-board video of the nForce was pretty good, or that it had an AGP slot and there was nothing to stop you buying an nForce board and a Gforce III if you wanted to - but why would anyone in their right mind do that when you could buy an AMD 760 for a good deal less and have peace of mind in the early days, or (a little later) a KT-266A for much less and have a marginally faster board as well? And people who buy on-board video buy one thing and one thing above all: cheap.
What it came down to was that, for the same money, you could have an nForce board (with good on-board sound and mid-range on-board video) or a KT-266A with low-end on-board sound and a real, stand-alone video card and some change, or spend just a tiny bit more and have a decent stand-alone soundcard too. We added the nForce boards to our pricelist, gave them a reasonable plug, came up with situations where they made some sense - and no-one was interested. They needed to be within about US$10 of the KT-266A boards if they were to to be a realistic retail proposition, or US$25 at the most.
Net result: we didn't sell any at all. Oh, I could have pushed them harder, but why should I? With KT-266As selling like crazy, what was the point?
And now we get the same exact approach, or so it seems. A mega hype-fest for an integrated board. Well, hats off to nVidia for trying something different, but they have to have something special if this product is to be a goer. I can see it being a winner if, and only if, (a) it performs somewhere within cooee of the hype, and (b) it really is demonstrably and meaningfully faster than the competition from VIA and SiS. Then they can charge plenty for it, and people will pay up. At this stage it looks as though it will be the fastest chipset on the planet - but so did the nForce 1. Early indications seem to be that it will be a KT-400 killer, just as the nForce 1 was set to be an ALI and KT-266 killer ..... but if VIA do a KT-400A that really cooks, then for nVidia, it's back to video cards again.
blakerwry
Storage? I am Storage!
did anybody else notice the audio conenctors on the 8RDA+???
3 jacks.... that's it? Hey... I want ... err rather nequire a mic, headphone, line in, and front/rear audio outs simultaneously....
mic/headphone for headset used in gaming
front/rear output for 4.1 sound
line in used for TV audio from cable box
suposedly this thing is using 3 connectors only.... so you have your choice of 2 situations (5.1 sound OR standard speaker, line-in and mic)
I bet alot of people are going to be dissapointed if they have nice speakers and want to use a headset for voice communication in games and such...
Does any one else think this is acceptable?
3 jacks.... that's it? Hey... I want ... err rather nequire a mic, headphone, line in, and front/rear audio outs simultaneously....
mic/headphone for headset used in gaming
front/rear output for 4.1 sound
line in used for TV audio from cable box
suposedly this thing is using 3 connectors only.... so you have your choice of 2 situations (5.1 sound OR standard speaker, line-in and mic)
I bet alot of people are going to be dissapointed if they have nice speakers and want to use a headset for voice communication in games and such...
Does any one else think this is acceptable?
The Grammar Police
Learning Storage Performance
Maybe tere is an add-on connector on the board, like the ones you get for front audio jacks?
Cliptin
Wannabe Storage Freak
blakerwry said:
It is certainly less convenient but you could get an audio splitter and then make the necessary changes in software.
Cliptin
Wannabe Storage Freak
splitters
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
Gigabyte's high-end boards have a backplate for center/rear and digital output. That's probably what Epox is doing, too.
blakerwry
Storage? I am Storage!
no. Epox sells a backplate... but it only includes the SPDIF conenctors...
Note that I said sells... it does not come with the mobo.
The 8RDA+ mobo also offers conenctions on the baord (basically wire wrap posts) for front audio connectors.. However, according to the manual, when they are used, the back audio outputs are disabled.
splitters you say?
so I should put a splitter on every channel... hook up front audio outputs to front speakers and headphones.... rear audio outputs to rear speakers and input from TV.... sub/center outputs to sub/center and mic...
wait here... that means I cant use my subwoofer while playing counterstrike..... also cant listen to TV or music from additional sources in surround sound....
really not acceptable any way I look at it, however that is the best connection senerio I could come up with unless you pay the extra $$ for the optical connectors and connect it to a compatible speaker setup.
I would just rather get a board like the Asus which comes with all the connectors on board.
Note that I said sells... it does not come with the mobo.
The 8RDA+ mobo also offers conenctions on the baord (basically wire wrap posts) for front audio connectors.. However, according to the manual, when they are used, the back audio outputs are disabled.
splitters you say?
so I should put a splitter on every channel... hook up front audio outputs to front speakers and headphones.... rear audio outputs to rear speakers and input from TV.... sub/center outputs to sub/center and mic...
wait here... that means I cant use my subwoofer while playing counterstrike..... also cant listen to TV or music from additional sources in surround sound....
really not acceptable any way I look at it, however that is the best connection senerio I could come up with unless you pay the extra $$ for the optical connectors and connect it to a compatible speaker setup.
I would just rather get a board like the Asus which comes with all the connectors on board.
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
... or buy a real sound card, like everyone else who wants high-quality sound and gobs of options. A $6 Cmedia or Avance card can do it all, and things only get better from there.
blakerwry
Storage? I am Storage!
My soyo has a "C-Media" chip in it for sound... I used it for about a day and then put in my turtle beach Santa cruz....
the on board sound was terrible in comparison.... it made a poping every time the sound came on or off like it was being muted inbetween sounds....
My latest Shuttle mobo uses AC '97 audio provided by the Via southbridge (8233)... it doesn't exhibit the same popping sound, but it does sound dull and lifeless when compared to the TBSC (which is already considered to not be as rich/full as the competing Sound Blaster cards)
I never considered myself an audiophile, but if that is the way onboard sound sounds.... I am never using anything less than a premium sound card in my main computer. I would, however, use it in a secondary computer where I am less interested in listening to music and more interested in listening to the boring beeps and dings.
I am just hearing so much hype about the N'Force2 audio that I didn't expect a mobo maker to cripple it's capabilities from the git go.
the on board sound was terrible in comparison.... it made a poping every time the sound came on or off like it was being muted inbetween sounds....
My latest Shuttle mobo uses AC '97 audio provided by the Via southbridge (8233)... it doesn't exhibit the same popping sound, but it does sound dull and lifeless when compared to the TBSC (which is already considered to not be as rich/full as the competing Sound Blaster cards)
I never considered myself an audiophile, but if that is the way onboard sound sounds.... I am never using anything less than a premium sound card in my main computer. I would, however, use it in a secondary computer where I am less interested in listening to music and more interested in listening to the boring beeps and dings.
I am just hearing so much hype about the N'Force2 audio that I didn't expect a mobo maker to cripple it's capabilities from the git go.
Newtun
Storage is nice, especially if it doesn't rotate
Back on-topic, I haven't found any confirmation of that Inquirer item on multiplier O/C'ing "locked" Athlons in the past few days.
Has anyone else seen any verification of this information, or even tried it themselves?
Has anyone else seen any verification of this information, or even tried it themselves?
Groltz
My demeaning user rank is
Newtun said:
Yes. Good job.
Newtun said:
I take it you mean the Thoroughbred-B family of Athlons XP's? Supposedly these are unlocked from 13X--up from the factory. I'll be able to say personally in just a few more days.
I have read several reviews where the article's author states being able to access 13X, 13.5X, and higher right from the beginning...The 12.5X down to 5X multipliers are available after one closes the rightmost trace of the L3 bridges.