PC133 vs PC100 vs CPU speed

[Riktar]

My quest for maximum "Bang-for-the-Buck" power leaves me at a crossroad for memory and CPU choices.
I am looking at upgrading my celeron to a Coppermine processor and bumping my memory up to 256MB. I already have 2 sticks of 64meg "Garden variety" PC100 memory. I have had moderate sucess OC'ing my celeron but I am wondering how well they will hold up with the higher busspeeds my Soyo 7VCA can achieve. Should I go for good quality PC100 that has a cas2 rating and a 600e processor or should I go for PC133 and back down my processor choice to a 550e? Has anyone done any testing to see what the real-world differences are having the extra 33mhz memory speed vs. the extra processor speed?
I am aware of the memory speed options I can use on my 7VCA (-33, +33, etc).
Thanks for any answers.

[wyvrn]

I have not ever o/c my bus past 100 for any length of time, but many people report their PC100 memory able to handle 133 Mhz bus speeds. You might try testing your memory out to see if it makes the grade, and if so go with the 600 chip to get the best of both worlds.

[skywalker[TSG]]

well if u run your PC-100 ram @133 then they will be PC-133

there is no performance gaine in using PC-133ram if u dont use a 133mhz FSB

unless u have a VIA board then u can run the RAM @100 and the CPU @133 or whatever you want

my 2cent
i hope that u wont be too confused
now im going to bed i feel sleepy http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif

[Biff]

Tough call Rikta, my pc 100 only went to 124 before failing, I like the idea of a higher multiplyer, I'd go for 600e over the 550 myself, your milage may vary. Who knows with the price of ram changing pc 133 may be in the budget later on eh! Maybe trade in your ram and just get 128meg pc133 for now. Check things out, you could start at the cpu database http://www.overclockers.com/ and get an idea on what others are doing. Hoped this helped!
Biff http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif

[Riktar]

Thanks for all the replies. My question still stands what is the better combination:

1. P-III 600e Oc'd to 800 (6x133) with Cas2 PC100 memory running at 100Mhz. I can do this with my mobo since the 694 chipset allows running the memory 33 Mhz below CPU bus

2. P-III 550e Oc'd to 733 (5.5x133) with Cas2 Pc133 memory running at 133Mhz.

Money wise it seems to be an even wash whichever I choose. Since I am at my budget ceiling on this I have to pick one or the other.

[Tom Pico]

I got the 550E w/PC133 RAM. I am running it at 803MHz on an Abit BE6-II (146FSB). I can boot and run most programs at 150FSB (825+/-Mhz) but 3D graphics games (Mech Warrior3) lock up. So I run at 803MHz. The lock-ups are (I think) due to my AGP video card (Matrox G400Max) not being able to handle operating at 100MHz.

So, I think you are better off with the 600E at higher multiplier so as to be able to keep your AGP/PCI devices at speeds closer to their spec's.

[madthumbs]

I don't think you have to run a processor at 133 just because it supports it. I also don't think that the bus speed is gonna affect how games play as much as CPU speed will. (If it does at all).

[scotter]

there is a diff is how well your system will run on PC-100 memory as compared to PC-133 memory. And not all PC-100 memory will do 133MHZ infact most will only make it to 112 to 115 MHZ and even then they can get flakey
do your self a favor and get the PC-133 it will last a lot longer run a lot better and give you a lot more options in what you can do with your system. and the price diff right now is almost $ 0.00
another thing is upgrading later down the road sooner or later your gona have to get it anyway http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif