Best mobo for winchester ?

[Hulkster316]

Which motherboard is the best for using with the new winchester AMD s ? Making a new build with a 3500+ winchester and was wondering which motherboard will be work straight off , Cheers for any help

[StormPC]

I'd say the MSI NEO2 is the best socket 939 motherboard. I have not tried one yet however. I can highly recommend the ASUS A8V however. Just make sure you have a newer one. You want a REV 2.0 for sure. Most of them are Rev 2.0 now.

[Byron]

I'll second the MSI as well

[8bit]

forgive the n00b question but what is the advantage of Winchester over the current core? I understand it uses a different process (is it 90nm?) but what difference will I see on my screen, better performance? Lower temperatures? Higher sex appeal?

[Spooky]

forgive the n00b question but what is the advantage of Winchester over the current core? I understand it uses a different process (is it 90nm?) but what difference will I see on my screen, better performance? Lower temperatures? Higher sex appeal?

It seems that the 0.9nm allows it to run cooler and so run faster. I think that the 3000+ Winchester(1.8GHz) runs a little faster than the 3000+ Newcastle (2GHz). You can see that the Intel ratings are the same in spite of the different speed rating. It also offers dual channel memory which helps make the machine faster.

The 3000+ Winchester also overclocks very well. From 1.8 to 2.6 is not unusual. I tested my cpu out and found I could reach 2.6GHz quit easily.

The MSI K8N Neo2 has a few quirks which can make it awkward to overclock - until you find out what they are. There is a lot of help, however, over on the MSI forums and around the Net. Using that you can sort most problems out. OCing with the AMD chips is certainly quite different from simply upping the FSB and/or multiplier. Good fun though.

[Stewart]

90nm CPUs are *slightly* faster than the Newcastle core ones at the same clock speed (a few % nothing more), run cooler, overclock better and as you say, attract more girls with their sex appeal.

2.6ghz is what I've put my one at as well, I seem to have more head room, but I'll not push my luck with it. As for the mobo, providing you avoid the rev1.2 and get a rev2.0, you will not do better than the Asus A8V deluxe.

[8bit]

thx guys, i was thinking about the Asus mobo and a 3500+, is there a winchester version of the 3500+ now or soon? if so and i get the winchester one, I'll need the rev2.0 Asus mobo, is that right? If I wind up with a previous revision board, will I be able to flash it up to 2.0? Sorry about all the questions!

[Stewart]

Yes, there are 3500+ Winchesters, no you wont be able to flash a rev1.2 to a rev2.0, the PCI\AGP locks are not working on the rev1.2

Also, you will need the mobo to ship with the 1007 BIOS or later to work with the Wincheser out of the box.