ASUS P4T533 mobo with RT.X100?

[Tom Burgess]

The RT.X100 Validated Motherboards website page lists the Asus P4T533-C as validated, but does not mention the newer P4T533(no C) board.

The new board uses the same Intel chipset as the older board, but employs a faster system bus and dual channel RIMM4200 memory.

I'm ready to build, but would like to hear from someone who is already using the newer P4T533 board with the RT.X100.

Thanks,
Tom Burgess

[Elie]

I know someone using the same board, I will have him post his experiences on this forum by tomorrow.

You may also want to ask the question on the official Matrox RT.X100 forum here...

http://forum.matrox.com/cgi-bin/rtx100/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=forum;f=24

This is the pre-sales section of the forum, just ask the same question there and Matox sales or someone with the same mobo will answer.

Regards
Elie

[Tom Burgess]

Hi, Elie ==

I'm on the edge of my seat waiting to read your friend's comments. Thank you.

As for the Matrox User Group PreSales area, "been there, done that" as the saying goes. As is usually the case when asking about an as-yet-untested mobo, the moderator's official response was rather timid and made no real assurances.

So I'll be looking for those comments you mentioned.

Thanks again!
Tom Burgess

[Tom Burgess]

In fact, here is the response from Matrox RT.X100 PreSales Moderator member #82:

"This particular motherboard has not been tested as of yet. While this does not mean it is incompatible, it would first have to be tested in order for us to provide a complete guarantee. However, since that particular chipset is recommendable, and an earlier version was validated, it is more than likely that this motherboard is compatible as well. "

Encouraging but still pretty iffy when you figure I have to buy and build an entire system with my fingers crossed. I'd appreciate any/all comments/insights.

Thanks,
Tom Burgess

[Dr Mordrid]

That's as close to an "all clear" as you're going to get without one of the betas or Matrox themselves testing the board.

Dr. Mordrid

[Tom Burgess]

Dr Morbid ==

At 2362 posts, I'm going to consider you "the voice of experience".

I agree that what I got is "as close to an all clear" as I'll get at this point, but in your opinion, does such a response actually indicate a tentative but likely "all clear" or is it simply an encouraging *non-commitment* - and as such, should I hold off until I hear something truly SOLID? (long question - sorry)

I *hate* the way video capture/editing board mfrs (and 'mfrs' can mean 'manufactures' or something else...) test several motherboards at the outset and then test few or no more. After a few short months, users are forced to build out-of-date systems or risk endless inexplicable problems when trying "more modern" system boards. Grrrrrr.

Thanks for your input,
Tom Burgess

[Dr Mordrid]

Well...I have to be a little careful since I'm on Matrox's RT.X100 beta team.

*Officially* we usually refer people to the "approved" list, but unoficially I'd be very suprised if that board gave you problems.

Another new board you might want to look into is Asus's new SiS 648/693 based mainboard: the P4S8X. The mainboard makers are VERY hot over the SiS 648 as it's shown to be even faster than Intels P4 chipsets in many situations, and particularly when high bandwidth devices are on the PCI bus.

The new SiS 963 Southbridge (which is being used with the SiS 648 in the P4S8X) has a 1 GB/s bus that gives each PCI slot it's own DMA channel, which makes PCI bus contentions pretty much a thing of the past. Boards with this southbridge also have SerialATA & AGP8x and a few even have onboard IEEE-1394

The SiS chipsets, both for the P4 and the AthlonXP, have been VERY stable at running the RT.X100 and have PCI bandwidth to burn, which is something it needs. This is why the VIA chipsets are specifically excluded from the "accepted" list: not enough PCI bandwidth.

I've run my RT.X100 in an el'cheapo ECS K7S6A SiS 745 board ($60) with an AthlonXP 2000+ ($135) and it worked just terriffic. Before that I used it on an ECS K7S5A ($50) with the SiS 735 chipset. Same result: ran like Secretariat.

You would probably be suprised at the percentage of RT.X100 betas that are running SiS chipped boards. The only reason I'm not now is that I'm using the K7S6A in another system for a different series of hardware tests....but that's another story

Dr. Mordrid

[PETERLEE]

showing your age now Dr M next you`ll be mentioning
MAN O` WAR

[Dr Mordrid]

Nope, not quite that old. Man O' War was my fathers favorite though

Dr. Mordrid

[Tom Burgess]

Dr Mordrid ==

Many thanks for your in-depth and straight-forward reply regarding my original question and regarding the new SiS chipset -- and a thousand pardons for referring to you as "Dr Morbid" rather than Dr Mordrid.

Sheeeesh. I assure you it was NOT an attempt at humor. I simply misread your online identity and have grown so accustomed to unusual logon names that it seemed perfectly natrual to me. I meant no offense and appreciate your comments very much (and thanks for not mentioning it in your reply post). It was more the result of overburdened eyesight than of overloaded intellect, I hope.

I'll be checking out the Asus P4S8X as soon as I get a break.

Thanks very much,
Tom Burgess

[PETERLEE]

My dad used to give all His Money to sick horses, trouble is He bet to Win!

[Dr Mordrid]

PETERLEE:

Big mistake unless there is only one healty nag in the field

As for Toms typo;

Don't worry about it. There are guys on this forum that have been corresponding with me for years that make the same mistake

Dr. Mordrid

[imagin]

Hi Tom,

I'm the friend that Elie was talking about, and I'm really sorry but I'm using the ASUS P4T533-C with the RT.x100 so I can't be too sure about the new motherboard... What I can tell you is that I am very pleased with the performance the P4T533-C is giving...the RT.x100 runs like a champ on it...I have not encountered any major glitches or problems...everything just works...

Even though I cannot advise you with complete confidence as to whether or not the ASUS P4T533 without the C will work with the RT.x100, it probably will...the most important thing for the RT.x100 is the chipset on the motherboard (which is the same as on the C model) and the PCI bandwith, which, from the sounds of it would be more than adequate...

Matrox tends to be very cautious about advising on which motherboard to use, especially if the motherboard has not been officially validated...again and again, however, I have heard from Matrox that the chipset and pci bandwith is the most important thing...and since the motherboard you're considering fits into those categories just fine, you'll probably be ok with it...

Another possibility, of course, is that you go with the P4T533-C (I'm assuming they're still making it) since it works really well with the RT.x100...and with a fast CPU it is blazingly fast....

Cheers,

Ronen

[Tom Burgess]

Ronen ==

Thanks for commiting your thoughts/experiences to writing. I appreciate it very much. Can you answer a few questions for me?

The write-up on the P4T533-C in the Matrox Validated Mobo's section provides instructions on how to uninstall the Asustek USB 2.0 drivers and replace with the proper NEC drivers.

1) Did you perform that operation as spec'd by Matrox?

2) Did the replacement NEC USB 2.0 dirvers install correctly?

3) How do they appear in the SYSTEM > DEVICE MGR list?

4) From where did you download them - from the MS Windows Update Site *or* from the AsusTek Updates Site?

Many thanks,
Tom Burgess

[imagin]

Hi Tom,

Actually, if you're doing a clean installation of Windows XP you do not have to uninstall the Asustek USB 2.0 drivers...no drivers will be installed with a clean installation and what you will see in device manager will be an exclamation mark where the USB 2.0 drivers should be...

In order to install the drivers, all you need to do is use the Windows update function. This will properly install the correct USB 2.0 drivers right from Microsoft...these default drivers work very well, I have two USB devices on my machine...the installation of drivers is a breeze, I did not encounter any problems whatsoever...

Cheers,

Ronen