KT333 not going to run FSB at 333?

[026TB4U]

I read that the KT333 will not run fsb at 333mhz, just the ram.

133fsb + 166ram= minimal performance gain over KT266A.


Is this true or is this only for the first revision? What have you guys read?

[Alakazam]

I'm sure I'll get corrected if wrong but my understanding about the new boards are that they add DDR333 support, but not a 333MHz FSB. This means the memory will run asynchronously with the bus, and a lot of potential performance benefits go unrealized.

There's a short article at the Inquirer (http://www.theinquirer.net/31010208.htm) regarding the new boards

[AmStoned]

Well, I wouldn't be suprise since I haven't heard of any 333 AMD chips yet.

[prod]

They dont officially support the 166 FSB, but they conveniently included the extra PCI divider on at least some of the boards, so 166 is an easy overclock :)

Edit : WRONG. SCRATCH THAT. I stand corrected. From all the reviews of KT333 boards that have been hitting the net, I have not seen any mention of the higher PCI dividers. Looks like only the Ali 333 chipset has the 5 or 6 dividers.
But you guys probably figured that out already. :hhead:

[026TB4U]

Now that the KT333 has been officially released we see the lackluster performance gain over the KT266A. Anandtech has a good article comparing it to other chipsets.

Also at http://www.xbitlabs.com/mainboards/via-kt333/ they are showing the upcoming KT400 running the fsb at 133 (266) like the KT266A . I thought for sure it would run the fsb at 166 (333). Another reason not to wait around when looking for a motherboard :D.

[Pigflipper]

So from what you are saying there is no real reason to go with the kt333 chipset or at least I see no reason to go with it.

[prod]

I stand corrected AGAIN

The article from TomsHardware dated Feb 20:

"A further aspect is related to the Front Side Bus of the AMD Athlon XP: for the first time, the VIA KT333 is capable of asynchronous as well as synchronous operation of the system clock with 166 MHz. This makes it possible to run an Athlon XP at 166 MHz FSB clock, if AMD allows for it. The advantages here are the higher transfer rates of the Northbridge and the Southbridge, as well as a synchronous connection to the memory bus. We are definitely all for the introduction of a 166 MHz FSB clock for the AMD Athlon XP! "

There is also a pic of the MSI KT3 Ultra showing FSB jumper settings of 100,133 AND 166.
The Athlon XP does not officially support 166 FSB, but from what I have seen, the 133 version may be able to handle the overclock.