[CHOICE] AI7 / MAX3 / MAx II

[Mr.Guvernment]

YUP! another one of these threads!!! - experts! i need your help (like the other 50 million threads in here)


I decided i a want a new mobo..lol (nice to be able to make that decision!)

right now i got a Work computer with a crap Asus P4S8X-X that has no agp /pci lock and i only hit 2700 on my 2.4b :( that i know can hit 3ghz easy (did on my Abit BH7 before i sold that system)


My gaming rig was going to be a 2.6c in my Asus P4P800 - but i figure take the P4P800 and make it my work rig and get a new mobo for my 2.6c and my x800PRO on the way and sell this P4S8X-X to a work m8 of mine for like $40 - $50 :D


So here is the dilly yo..lol (i plan to run a 2.6C and hope to O/C well to 3ghz with some high end Air cooling..... will have an x800PRO O/C'd - Serial ATA hard drives ( 2 x 250g) and 1g dual channel DDR - likely pc4000)

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What are the main differences between these boards? AI7 / MAX3 / MAx II
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I read that if you dont want to have to mod a board - get the AI7 as it can do 290 FSB and is better or more stable on the volttage for the ram?.... - what about the MAX II ? I have not seen much written about the Max II


What is the dff. between the Max III and Max II in terms of overclocking?


Does the Max II Just have more features like 3 IEEE and such?


All this reading on the various boards has left me rather confused!!


So , help me get on the right path por favorrrrrr


grassy-ass :D

[Evilsizer]

i would vote on the AI7 as i have one.... but from reading around there is no o/c difference between the max2 and 3. max3 seems to add mofset cooling. out of the box overclocking AI7 is best with no mods .... i just got a 3.0c running at 3.6ghz @ 1.55v. waiting for my wc stuff it arrive *drooles* if your in do modding your mobo though then get the max3 as it's a monster for overclocking when modded... *see stickys*

[Mr.Guvernment]

^^^ yup have now done ALOT of readying and seems i am going to go with the AI7 :)

I just want to slap in my 2.6c - hopefully get over 3g and be happy :d and game like mad on it :D

[Evilsizer]

maybe if you lucky, what ram you going to use? i would say you would have more of a chance with the 2.8c.... just from reading though.... when i got the 3.0c i was hoping for 3.6 on air maybe 3.8 but no go with the zalman cooler hot to the touch... thought i mounted it wrong..... but i didint i redid it 3 times :( i think its getting to hot either freezes or it restarts sometimes.... but in a few hours :burn:

[batboy]

The IC7-G Max2 has a max vdimm of 2.8v, but does have two more SATA channels than the AI7. The Max3 has up to 6 SATA channels and vdimm of up to 3.2v, although you really should do a VTT mod to run stable above 2.8v. The Max3 is far more expensive and has a fancy OTES cooling setup which will probably not help much with a 2.6C. The AI7 has 2 SATA channels and vdimm that works up to 3.2v with no problem.

The Max2 and AI7 have one IEEE port and the Max 3 has two rear IEEE ports. I was thinking that they all have mobo headers for another 2 IEEE connectors. I have both the AI7 and Max2. The AI7 is best if you want to maximize your RAM. The Max2 or Max3 will be a better choice if you ever decide to upgrade to a Prescott in the future. The 2.6C is not the best overclocker, but most will do at least close to 3.2 gig with good cooling and a bump in vcore.

[Mr.Guvernment]

^^ thanks for the details - i will be content with 3.01ghz even - i just want above 3ghz.

i had won this 2.6c on Ebay new a few weeks back - taking for darn ever to arrive!! :(

as for ram i am still trying to decided - some said wait till i get the chip home and O/C it with my Hynix pc3200 512 stick to see how far i get it, then decided from there.

[batboy]

Yeah, that's good advice about the RAM. Your current RAM will work ok using the 5:4 ratio, although a single stick will only be single channel and not dual DDR. Your goal of at least 3 gig is 231 FSB and if you make 3.2 gig that's 246 FSB. If you want the 1:1 ratio, that means at least PC3700 although 246 migh be pushing that even unless you find OCZPC3700 Gold. Maybe you should just get another stick to match what you have and run it with the 5:4 ratio? If you luck out and make 250 FSB, then get some PC4000 RAM.

[Evilsizer]

hey babtboy one thing i noticed about my ai7 is that the agp/nb voltage. I can now select a higher voltage with the 3.0c in vs with the 2.4b. The max before was 1.6 i now can select 1.65, do you have that option on yours too?

*yea need to update sig soon*

[batboy]

Mine always has a AGP max voltage setting of 1.65v regardless whether I used my 2.4C, 2.8C, 2.8E, or 3.0C. I have never had a 533 bus CPU in my AI7, so I don't know about a 2.4B.

[Mr.Guvernment]

^^^ yuuppers best advice


but would not running say pc4000 @ 231 @ 1:1 be better then running pc3200 @ 5:4 ?

[batboy]

Yes, but it depends on timings. If you have to use relaxed timings at 1:1 and can use tight timings at 5:4, then there isn't much difference. But, generally speaking, you'll get more bandwidth from the 1:1 ratio. There was some fairly cheap PC4000 for sell in the classified ads recently.

[gigabit]

I had a Gigabyte IPE 1000 PRO rev2 mobo and a 2.6c and it did 3.1 with no problems .i didnt have to up the vcore or anything.Frist i had some samung pc3200 that was bad so i used 2x256mb of pc2100.one stick from a hp 533w and one from crucial. it ran daul channel no problem and did 3.1 just as easy as the Geil pc3500 did with a 5:4 ratio .So i have an AI7 now and a 3.0c and I cant break 3.6ghz no matter what i try with this board i wish i would have kept that 2.6c.with the setup i have now i know i could have gotten a fsb of 265 or better.I also have an IS7 for a backup.Hey bat boy which one of your rigs benches better the 3.0c or 3.0e.