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Nforce2 + DDR

T

thylantyr

Limp Gawd
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Messages
157
I haven't built a system in a long time. I have a general question
regarding the Nforce2 and DDR. I thinking of getting the $60
'low end' Nforce2 based board and these boards only support
single channel DDR mode which is fine for me.

Will one stick of 256 meg be adequate for WinXP Pro in
a non-gaming application?

DDR - can you only populate 1 memory slot or do you
need to populate two slots at a time ?
 
256MB is "enough" to run windows xp pro but its choppy and will take a while to boot. 512MB is pretty much bare minimum now adays.

With DDR you can just populate one DIMM slot. You dont have to populate two unless your trying to enable dual channel on the board which is useles for Athlon XP boards cause it doesn't really affect performance at all.
 
To keep cost down, do you think the Asus A7N8X-X for $60
will do well ? I need to build two systems for my kids for
a non gaming application and cost is a factor -- lol

Initial thoughts are;

CPU
Athlon XP 2000 (1.6ghz) - $57

Hard Drive
Western Digitial 40g Special Edition - $59

CD-RW/DVD ROM - Lite-On LTC48161H - $46
 
Yea that looks fine.

Buy your RAM from Mushkin, Kingston, or Corsair though. Samsung or Crucial would be alright too since your not overclocking and they are good products. Dont buy any real generic stuff.

Do you have a case/psu for these two systems? Make sure you put a quality PSU in it. It wont need to be more then a 250-300w PSU at the most though. Maybe look into an Antec or Fortron PSU.
 
If its a non gaming machine, and you're using the nf2 onboard video make sure to check the ddr compatability list.

Most brands arent officially compatable with gf4 igp.
 
Originally posted by burningrave101
256MB is "enough" to run windows xp pro but its choppy and will take a while to boot. 512MB is pretty much bare minimum now adays.
Click to expand...

For a non-gaming machine? Not quite... 256MB will be fine (64MB is actually the bare minimum ;) ); Windows may take an extra 10~15 seconds to boot, and you may have to wait a few seconds longer to load a program like Photoshop or the like, but the difference is definitely bearable. Choppy? Never in my experience, at least not if everything is done right.

Also, even if you're only using 256MB or RAM and the nForce2 IGP, you'll still be able to play some older games quite well (Counter-Strike 'n such), just not something like Far Cry ;)
 
I'm with TwiceSliced about the RAM. 512 is by no means a bare minimum for non-gamers. I'm a repair tech. and I work on xp machines that run 128 or 256 all the time. They're a bit slow on boot, but not at all bad in the desktop environment.
 
Where are you located? If you're in the US you can get the 80GB WD SE drive for only $10 more at Newegg. Also, you can get a Lite-On 52X CDRW for under $40.
 
Yea 256MB is fine or non gaming machines that are used for web browseing. But if you get into much work with applications you need that 512MB. Machines with only 128MB of RAM take forever to boot Windows XP. Windows XP is a resource hog. It takes 256MB at least for descent operation and thats right now. Computers have been stuck with just 128-256MB of RAM on OEM machines for a long time now. They are now starting to go with 512MB normally because applications are requiring more memory every day to run smoothly.

A 512MB stick is not alot more then a 256MB stick and its worth the extra price. You can get 512MB sticks for $80 or less from even Mushkin, Kingston, and Corsair.
 
Originally posted by thylantyr
To keep cost down, do you think the Asus A7N8X-X for $60
will do well ? I need to build two systems for my kids for
a non gaming application and cost is a factor
Click to expand...

KM266 w/onboard audio, video, LAN - $40 each, shipped

Nforce2 is the only chipset for gaming/power users, but for casual users there are several choices.

Samsung 40gb/2mb w/FDB motors $56.50 shipped
Western digital drives are so loud I can hardly stand it. They aren't exactly performance kings anyway.

AS far as memory, 512mb is the bare minimum for gaming/power users, but for casual users 256 is the minimum. Remember we are talking about kids here, not you or me. Personally I'd never have less than 512 but I could definitely get by on 256mb if I had to.

If they end up needing more memory, you can always add it later.
 
my Shuttle an35n Ultra board cost me $65 is nforce2 and supports dual channel DDR. :)
 
256 should be fine, but 512 is preferable.

My laptop runs Windows XP Pro with 192MB and a 700mhz Celeron and it works fine. Its a little slow at times but its really not that bad for average use.



Lucky kids... :D
 
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