AMD's DDR-Capable 760 Chipset Reviewed X3 103
An unnamed correspondent writes: "The Tech Report has posted a review of AMD's 760 chipset. This is the one that includes a 133 MHz DDR bus, with support for 133 MHz DDR (a.k.a. PC2100) SDRAM. Benchmarks were done using a 1.2 GHz Athlon, and include everything from memory bandwidth tests to a variety of Quake III scores; they even attempted Linux tests, but Linux and the 760 wouldn't play nice." For another point of view, Fr0child writes "Today is the day that AMD officially announces their DDR SDRAM supporting chipset, the AMD 760. They promise "Increasing Memory Data Rate by Up to 100 Percent," which is quite promising to say the least. Of course, who would sit back and believe what a manufacturer says without verification? Anandtech has taken an in depth look at all the performance and features of the AMD 760. Looks like the combination of DDR + Athlon easily topples the RDRAM + Intel platforms out there."
And on the other, other hand, romeomustdie writes: "According to this [Sharky Extreme] piece, AMD is finally debuting the 760 DDR capable chipset, which is, for the most part, an evolutionary step up from the 750 chipset which has been out for the past year. Boasting a faster system bus, support for DDR memory, and a brand new South Bridge, AMD has set themselves up to not only surpass their first-generation offering, but also the current performance Athlon chipset, VIA's KT133. DDR is finally here to stay."
Re:I guess RAMBUS is doomed . . . (Score:4)
Also, for the kind of work that the memory does, RDRAM trumps SDRAM. Read about how it works into the PS2 model on Ars. <a href="http://arstechnica.com/paedia/3dtech.html">
OMG, Sony is using RDRAM for what it is supposed to be used for!!!
/me faints.
-inq
Re:Pretty Inexpensive... (Score:2)
Abit KT7-RAID, top of the line, 150$, Add 760 chipset, add 15$ price. Lose the Highpoint controller, lose 20$ (?) price. Of course, you lose the RAID, but you keep the ATA-100.
Then again, it might be cheaper just to use the Via southbridge than it would be to use the AMD 766... that might shave another 5$ off the price or so, and I would expect that you would lose a little disk performance under win2k because of the driver support.
-inq
Re:Pretty Inexpensive... (Score:1)
Evolutionary Step? (Score:1)
Re:Should we trust this report? (Score:2)
You've got to be kidding me. He put that poll up pretty recently, and for several weeks before it he was asking "what is the most innovative feature of the P4?" He's giving equal time to both sides there.
Re:What about the P4? (Score:1)
Re:I'm no hardware guru,... (Score:1)
More like Linux doesn't support *this* (Score:2)
It's understandable that AMD's first priority would be to get Windows up and running. That's where the big money is (for now). You'd better believe that they'll make sure Linux runs on it as well, though. They are quite interested in providing a solid platform for Linux.
--Lenny
Re:Pretty Inexpensive... (Score:1)
Re:But AMD chips are NOT fully Intel compatible! (Score:1)
Athlons don't run cooler, they run hotter.
Re:But AMD chips are NOT fully Intel compatible! (Score:1)
Prices? (Score:2)
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If Bill Gates had a nickel for every time Windows crashed...
Re:Athlon is leaping ahead (Score:1)
There'll be stuff along the road that'll make use of it.. and then make people want to upgrade further when it starts to struggle..
--
Re:What about... (Score:1)
--
Re:Linux IS supported -- it's a known bug (Score:1)
Explain this then: Data Loss Threatens Fast Windows Systems [pcworld.com]
To make it sweeter, you can't even get the patch unless you are an OEM. Imagine, because of licensing and copyright it may be ILLEGAL to run your operating system in a functioning manner.
If you ask me, "Every day is a showstopper" -- if you run windows. At least the Linux workaround mentioned earlier is availiable to the general public. Microsoft... well... they have an "image" to preserve.
Re:But AMD chips are NOT fully Intel compatible! (Score:1)
Re:But AMD chips are NOT fully Intel compatible! (Score:1)
blessings,
Re:Not Redhat, but (old) Linux Problem (Score:1)
If you can't tell, I've done this a number of times.
---GEEK CODE---
Ver: 3.12
GCS/S d- s++: a-- C++++ UBCL+++ P+ L++
W+++ PS+ Y+ R+ b+++ h+(++) r++ y+
Re:Linux IS supported -- it's a known bug (Score:1)
In a nut shell, better memory performance does not affect a bit. So we must wait for better benchmarks.
Jari Mustonen
Re:But AMD chips are NOT fully Intel compatible! (Score:1)
Re:I'm no hardware guru,... (Score:1)
-inq
Re:fp (Score:1)
Re:I got the joke (Score:1)
My karma was indeed dropping, I just lost my +2 ability, so I decided to post some obvious redundant semi-explaining stuff and indeed, moderators did bite.
The joke's on you!
Re:But can you actually *BUY* one of these gems? (Score:1)
Linux IS supported -- it's a known bug (Score:5)
The 760 is NOT at fault. The Linux error he reported is a known bug -- see Red Hat bugzilla ID 19535 (I added the workaround this morning, after realizing that we hadn't put anything up about this on our website). It is basically the kernel trying to disable the P3 serial number -- on the Athlon processor. (oops) It only affects Thunderbird-core Athlons and Durons. It has been fixed in all 2.2.16 and later kernels. I emailed damage to let him know about -- hopefully we'll get to see some benchmarks.
After installation, at the LILO boot: prompt use this command:
linux x86_serial_nr=1That'll get you booted, and you can upgrade/recompile/append to lilo.conf from there. There was supposed to be a Gotcha added for this, but obviously it isn't up yet. I'll track things down today and get it added to the Gotchas page for 6.2
AetiusRe:What Linux not supported? (Score:1)
Re:I'm no hardware guru,... (Score:2)
Of course, knowing AMD, they DO have an ace up their sleeve... they might pull the same stunt that they did when Intel was releasing their first ghz chip. Now THAT was a laugh. Intel ate crow for that one
My prediction: on the p4 launch date, AMD will announce something BIG, like
1) Athlon SMP chipset, with benchmarks showing that a cheaper Athlon DDR SMP rig will RAIL UPON a p4 rig,
2) Mustang (mmmm, 2MB on die cache)
3) TBird in 1.6, 1.5, 1.4, and 1.3 ghz flavors
-inq
Re:What about... (Score:3)
HHell let make things more interesting and start up staroffice!!!
That Linux problem is not a problem (Score:2)
I had the same thing with my Duron and RH-6.2, it's just an option they have turned on in their kernel (not the install kernel, apparently). Just recompile the kernel with the option turned off and it worked. I don't see why that fix wouldn't work with this new chipset.
This means that you have to install from CD, then boot 'linux rescue' from CD, mount your newly installed system, chroot, and compile/install a new kernel, but it works. Maybe RH should provide kernels specially compiled for AMDs.
Re:My humble musings... (Score:1)
Re:Athlon is leaping ahead (Score:1)
why linux install fails (Score:1)
installing redhat 6.2 on my AMD Athlon Thunderbird
system (ASUS A7V board). The trouble is that
the redhat installer thinks a PIII CPU
is present. And then a kernel is installed which
tries to disable the PIII CPUID, resulting in
a panic during booting after a succesfull install.
I solved this to rebuild the redhat kernel tree
on a different box but then choosing a
different CPU ID Type : PPro/6x86MX/PII
instead of PIII/Xeon/Deschutes . I notice here
that these options including the
Disable the PII/PIII Serial Number at bootup
option have been included by RedHat themselves.
A normal ftp.kernel.org kernel like 2.2.17
wouldn't have these problems. So I think
RedHat certainly has to fix some things in their
redhat 6.2 installation iso's, with respect
to the AMD Athlon family of CPU's. So I'd rather
have RedHat release redhat 6.2b or redhat 6.3
than redhat 7.1.
Robert
Re:Not Redhat, but (old) Linux Problem (Score:1)
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Re:Pretty Inexpensive... (Score:2)
I'd like the performance boost, but the price better come down, since I need a lot of memory.
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Re:But AMD chips are NOT fully Intel compatible! (Score:1)
Re:But AMD chips are NOT fully Intel compatible! (Score:3)
...ETS
A quote from the webpage:
"AMD Athlon processors with certain chipset combinations will cause problems for the Dazzle Digital Video Creator II"
What matters: certain chipset combinations. Not the processor.
I think what they are trying to say is that one of the current Athlon Chipsets (either the AMD one or the VIA one) is not compatible. But the Athlon CPU itself is perfectly compatible.
>And no, this is not a case of bribed or lazy programmers favoring Intel or "not writing in AMD compatibility".
It's likely a case of poor hardware. Either the chipset is at fault (which is what I'll believe, I know how poor the VIA KT133 chipset is firsthand... I owned a Vortex 2 soundcard and an ATI Radeon, ouch!) or the card is.
>AMD itself doesn't know what's going on
Only if the AMD chipset is the broken item. Not the processor.
>But I simply cannot afford to "take a chance" that all kinds of stuff I need to do won't run on "mostly compatible" AMD chips.
I have only ever heard of a single "major" error in AMD CPUs (there may be more...) that affected the K6 CPU when a jump larger than 32 MB was executed.
I have also heard of major errors on Intel's part, making them incompatible with Intel specs (haha) or just broken. Like the FDIV bug and the F00F bug for example.
You take a chance on whatever you buy. If you want a totally error free processor, you need to buy a 486. That way any errors that exist are very likely known and accounted for (and workarounds enabled). Why do you think NASA didn't put a PIII in the Hubble Telescope? Because it isn't tested well enough.
But don't take my word for it. You really have to decide for yourself.
Re:My humble musings... (Score:1)
that might be the source of your woes
good luck
Re:I'm no hardware guru,... (Score:1)
boo! (Score:1)
Re:What about the P4? (Score:1)
ata controlers (Score:1)
Re:boo! (Score:1)
Wasn't that a matter of Red H*t's borken kernel image, mistaking an Athlon for a P!!!? That sounds more like a software issue than a chipset issue. Since people are running Linux on Athlons (not me, yet...fastest I have is a 450-MHz K6-III), you would think the reviewers would've done whatever it is these other people are doing. (Recompiled kernel? Kernel hack?)
Re:Lets head for 2 GHz! (Score:2)
Another Good Review (Score:4)
Re:Prices? (Score:2)
My humble musings... (Score:3)
What Linux not supported? (Score:2)
No Linux support, those engineers need to work with this somemore.
-RedElf
Re:Evolutionary Step? (Score:2)
I guess RAMBUS is doomed . . . (Score:2)
(One of the things that irritate me about the PS2, by the way, is that it uses RDRAM. I'm sure the price of the console would be a lot cheaper if it used DDR SDRAm instead . .
Micron PC: Athlon DDR Yes, Pentium IV No (Score:1)
Interesting as their parent company is heavily supportive of DDR-SDRAM and are currently being sued by Rambus...
Athlon is leaping ahead (Score:1)
Most people I know have already jumped ship.
I dont look forward to buying new RAM, a new motherboard and a new processor when the time comes though.
What about... (Score:5)
Its not what it is, its something else.
Not Redhat, but (old) Linux Problem (Score:5)
Unfortunately it triggers for non-Intel hardware too, so later revisions (x >= 16) check first. Kernel boot line overrides it (see previous posts)
This bit me on a hand-built kernel with same old disks but a new MB, Duron 700, etc.
Booting a rescue kernel buys you an opportunity to check the solutions database, find the magic bootline and install a fixed kernel. Bingo.
Temporary copy of NT4 survived this switch (but doesn't do ATA66, USB, etc.)
On a friend's upgrade Win95 (98?) went haywire and now refuses to see USB or work properly with his Dual Head G400.
someone give them a new kernel! (Score:1)
i would do it, but i'm already compiling mozilla. then i want to play a game of unreal tournament and pre-order my PSX2. so i have no time left (unless i stop reading slashdot).
Re:My humble musings... (Score:1)
Be better then the BSOD (blue sky of death) we have now!
Re:I guess RAMBUS is doomed . . . (Score:3)
Re:I got the joke (Score:2)
DDR = Deutsche Demokratische Republik (yeah right!) aka East Germany
BRD = Bundesrepublik Deutschland (federal republic of Germany) aka West Germany
I hope this DDR (the RAM) will do better than the other DDR, which is no longer.
Re:What about... (Score:3)
--
Re:I'm no hardware guru... (Score:1)
... and the fastest athlons are made in DDR (Score:1)
which belonged to DDR before the merger.
So system with DDR memory and CPU made in DDR
Re:What about the P4? (Score:1)
One word (Score:1)
Re:Athlon is leaping ahead (Score:1)
bsless review (Score:1)
Sorry! (Score:1)
I also checked some of the discussion refered on the side of this page: woaw! they are quite high-level (betwee guys who apparently know what they're talking about!)
So I have totally reversed my mind about this website, bookmarked.
And thanks again for correcting me.
Re:Athlon is leaping ahead (Score:1)
Not everybody has the same amount of money as you. Some of us
So even ONE Athlon is exotic.
Cheers,
Re:What about the P4? (Score:1)
Just gimme (Score:1)
Re:That Linux problem is not a problem (Score:1)
At the LILO prompt, type
LILO: linux x86_serial_nr=1
and it will boot fine. Then add
append "x86_serial_nr=1"
to the
That's all there is to it.
S.
Re:More like Linux doesn't support *this* (Score:4)
Misinformation is running rampant here lately...
REDHAT shipped with the "Disable CPU serial number at boot" kernel option enabled. disable_x86_serial_nr=1 passed to LILO gets over this.
On with my rant.... just because REDHAT jacks something up does NOT mean tht Linux is fucked up.
Sorry abou tgetting all heated but really people use your heads and a search engine every once in a while.
Re:But AMD chips are NOT fully Intel compatible! (Score:1)
Those all seem to be CAS3 (Score:2)
You should know what you're comparing. CAS3 PC133 will be slow as hell compared to a PC2100 CAS2.5 (I don't think the CAS2 DDR modules are out yet).
Re:Linux IS supported -- it's a known bug (Score:1)
Re:But AMD chips are NOT fully Intel compatible! (Score:1)
Need to change clock multipliers? (Score:2)
Re:boo! (Score:1)
Re:Not Redhat, but (old) Linux Problem (Score:1)
Re:But AMD chips are NOT fully Intel compatible! (Score:1)
Dell pulls P4 system out of shootout vs Athlon DDR (Score:5)
Re:But AMD chips are NOT fully Intel compatible! (Score:1)
Re:Athlon is leaping ahead (Score:2)
Sheesh. Life in the slow lane, huh? I'll settle for nothing less that dual 1.5 Gig Athlons; and we're not talking anything exotic here.
--
Re:Need to change clock multipliers? (Score:1)
I've never truely understood the athlon bus speed though, nor why you need a 300W PSU, new memory etc. etc.
Re:What about the P4? (Score:2)
Whats the point of living if the next generation is being born round us every day? Damn I shouldn't have gotten out of bed this morning. And with everything already being invented and all, whats the point of me going on!
Re:I guess RAMBUS is doomed . . . (Score:1)
whoops, sorry for the messed up link.
linkified [arstechnica.com]
-inq
Re:Pretty Inexpensive... (Score:1)
AMD will price the 760 chipset at US$39 in 1K quantities.
I don't know how much other chipsets such as the kt133 cost, but even if they're free, a 760 based motherboard won't be THAT much more expensive. Woo woo!
Re:Linux IS supported -- it's a known bug (Score:2)
Re:I'm no hardware guru... (Score:1)
-inq
Should we trust this report? (Score:2)
at the right of the frontpage, there is a poll which asks "what is the most negative downside of the P4?".
Urg! The P4 is not even released so how can you benchmark your application on the P4 and see where is the bottleneck!!
And now just looking at the spec of a processor is NOT ENOUGH to say: this is the bottleneck/downside...
So me,I will take this website with a "grain of salt"...
Another review (Score:1)
Actually, I hope it's exactly like the DDR (Score:2)
Re:why linux install fails (Score:1)
About the Dual Motherboard posts (Score:2)
Why don't we just get some kind of petition together and go to the various motherboard manfacturers saying "if you build an SMP Athlon board, (Linux and FreeBSD compatible) you will NOT BE ABLE TO KEEP IT ON THE SHELVES."
Which is true...
Instead of legitimately complaining these options aren't available, why not pound on marketing at these various companies until the clue train finally arrives at the station?
Re:Those all seem to be CAS3 (Score:2)
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Wait for AMD Mustang (Score:3)
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Tom does it too (Score:1)
Tom gives an excellent overview of DDR ram and also the AMD 760. I generally prefer Tom's articles to Anand's, and this one is no exception.
Truffle
Re:But AMD chips are NOT fully Intel compatible! (Score:1)
Re:My humble musings... (Score:1)
Re:Linux IS supported -- it's a known bug (Score:2)
Here's the 1-line patch (change in bold):
It seems to work fine with Pentium, Pro, II, III chips and AMD Athlon, Duron and Thunderbird -- trying to disable in the former, skipping the code in the later. The kernel panic results from the disable opcodes running different instructions that trash the Athlons (especially the newer Duron/Thunderbirds). Have not tried the code on older 386/486-class CPUs, but it probably will work fine on them too.
In a nutshell, anyone who compiles in the PIII S/N disabled by default should patch their kernel with this 1-line change!
-- Bryan "TheBS" Smith
Actually.. (Score:2)
RDram is supposedly easier to fabric for integration on the mothermoard, and that is probably the case with PS2.
This would make RDram cheaper.
In addition, the PS2 could have other requirements than a PC.
I got the joke (Score:4)
This is about DDR being the abbreviation for East Germany, and BRD West Germany, isn't it?
I'll remember to set my chip to Eastern-bloc mode.