WoW PCIe upgrade...help!!

[overclocked_enthusiasm]

Quick question for you gents:

There is a setting in the BIOS "DRAM Frequency" on the Asus P5E x38 mobo that needs to be changed if I install DDR2-1066. Since the memory that I purchased is DDR2-1000 should I overclock it to 1066 and use this BIOS setting? If yes, do I just change the frequency from 500 to 533 at the same voltage?

*edit* Reading thru the Newegg reviews it seems that this is stable at 1066 5-5-5-15 at 2.0-2.1 v. Once I get the BIOS fired up next week I'll have a better idea how to get this setting.

 

[Blazkowicz]

you'd better use XP 64bit with 4GB ram.

 

[overclocked_enthusiasm]

Why? I understand the motherboard will only recognize 3.0-3.5 gigs or DRAM. Does this cause compatability or stability issues? If it does, I can just use (1) 2GB stick of DRAM on the board according to what I know about the mobo.

If you had to buy an OS for gaming...specifically WoW...what would you choose and why?

Thanks for the help.

 

[Skrying]

I can't tell a difference between WoW on XP 32 vs Vista 64, so there you go. System is almost identical performance wise to the one you've just purchased.

 

[overclocked_enthusiasm]

I decided to go cheap...XP Home 32 OEM. Once some compelling 64 bit titles come out or Vista SP1 is OMG...then I will switch.

Does this make sense to anyone concerning the max readable RAM limits of 32 bit OS?


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How To: Set the /3GB Switch

Even if you don't have 3 GB or more of memory, the /3GB switch can still help XSI get more memory to use and allow XSI to allocate larger contiguous blocks of memory. This can help, for example, if you are trying to render large images.


To add the /3GB switch as a separate boot option:



Click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.
Click the Advanced tab.
Under Startup and Recovery, click the Settings button.
Under System Startup, click Edit to edit the BOOT.INI file.
Find the current boot entry, which typically looks like this:

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect

Copy this line and paste it at the end of the BOOT.INI file, and change it along these lines:

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional 3GB Switch" /fastdetect /3GB

This lets you choose between a conventional boot entry and the /3GB boot entry. If something goes wrong when you use /3GB, you can always boot back into the original configuration.

Save and close BOOT.INI.
Click OK to close the Startup and Recovery dialog box.
Click Settings again, and in the Default operating systems list, click the new boot entry that has the /3GB switch. Then click OK.
Restart your computer to use the new profile.
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Has anyone here had success with this? Any simple instructions on how to do it?

 

[BRiT]

There's another extensive thread on this forum discussing the 3 or 4 Gig barrier with 32bit Maximum Addressable Memory. Read it.

 

[overclocked_enthusiasm]

Final stable system settings:

E6850 3.0 GHz OCd to 3.7 GHz 1.55 Vcore with .07 vdrop under load
Asus P5E Beta BIOS 0610 with 1.41 V Northbridge
EVGA 8800 GTS 512 Forceware 169.21 670/972 OCd to 749/1049
G-skill DRAM PC 1000 set to 5-5-5-15 1T at 987MHz 2.1 V
XP Home SP3

3dmark06 score of 14444

That is like 10000 better than my old rig!!!