P4PE setup for new computer

Hello to all,

Im looking for buying and setup tips for my latest home pc. This one will be built around the recommended requirements for the Matrox RTX10 video editing card. They suggest an Intel based motherboard and a P4 2.4 cpu. This machine needs to be very stable because it will be rendering 24hour time lapse video tapes to dvd's. When im not using Adobe Premiere or Photoshop I will be playing UT 2K3, Ghost Recon & American Army online and thru a LAN. I definately want to increase my memory bandwidth to shorten my rendering times, but loosing several hours of work due to a hiccop would really suck. Another consideration to the perfomance of this computer is going to be heat, because it sits in a small cove under my desk in our TV room so noisey fans are out of the question. Also, during the summer, the room has gotten up to 100 degrees on a few days. I have most of the parts to put this computer togather with the exception of the cpu and memory sticks because I have no idea on how far I can OC a machine thats not going to have very good ventilation. Current indoor temperatures are about 65 degress F. All suggestions, memory settings and experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Scott.

( Im glad I found this forum. It has inadvertantly solved a nasty computer glitch I have had for the past year. My machine has restarted many times for no apparent reason. I have always thought it was buggy drivers and win xp until last week. I downloaded prime95 to test my current heatsink and found that it showed a hardware error after 5 minutes and then restarted on it's own. After troubleshooting I narrowed it down to one of my memory sticks. Prime95 must use a upper function that the other mem testers don't. My memory has always tested ok with the other programs.)


Here's my parts list:


P4PE SERIAL ATA
P4 2.4 b??? c???
AX 478 HS
1GB MEMORY 2700??? 3000??? 3200???
WD40G & 80G HDD
BFG Ti4200 128meg
Audigy2
Matrox RTX10
DSL
56K modem
4 usb ports in use most of the time
WIN XP Pro

OCing in a poorly ventilated room/space is asking for trouble. you want OC and have a quiet machine? short of going with warecooling, you might have to compromise a little to have both. i dont know how much fun you are going to have playing games with that matrox card. you may be only confined to low resolutions (800 x 600) to get a playable frame rate.

Thanks for the reply caboob,

Im modifying my desk with some ducting and a case fan that can be switched on when needed. The graphics card in this computer will be a BFG Ti4200 128meg. The video editing card is the Matrox. Im not sure if you mixed the two up or if you mean that having the Matrox card in this computer will bring my gaming performance down. Could you please clarify this for me.
Thanks, Scott

oops, my bad. i missed the ti4200 card in your list. i stand corrected then.

the ducting should help but in the summer months you may have to restrict your CPU speed. but if it doesnt lock up then there's no problem. you can monitor the temps while OC'd but i usually call it good if it all still runs.

Well, im still not sure whether or not I should buy the cheapest PC2700 RAM & p4 2.4g 400M or 533M cpu and use the savings for speakers while OCing the motherboard a little --- or --- buy PC3200 RAM & a p4 2.4c1 . I would like to know from you P4PE owners, what cpu temps have you experienced at various clock speeds and what do you consider a safe can't go wrong memory and FSB combo. I really want to get my parts ordered by this weekend so I will be watching this thread closely. Thanks for all the info!


Here's my parts list:


P4PE SERIAL ATA
P4 2.4 b??? c???
AX 478 HS
1GB MEMORY 2700??? 3000??? 3200???
WD40G & 80G HDD
BFG Ti4200 128meg
Audigy2
Matrox RTX10
DSL
56K modem
4 usb ports in use most of the time
WIN XP Pro

OC'ing cheap ram can be dangerous - ya could cook it - depends on how far you want to go. If I'm going to continue running 3.02Ghz I have to switch to water cooling - FSB 160 - DDR 400 -
At these speeds I can generate 52C at full load (vcore BIOS setting 1.675 = 1.725ish idle on P4PE) I am even considering Phase Change Cooling - maybe. Remember I have gone to great lengths to maximize Air cooling (in my basement - large case - and 5 case fans - 2 fans on HDD - Volcano7+ - 2 fans in PSU) Heat is our enemy!!! In my experience - in order to run Prime 95 w/ you setup without any - I mean ANY problems I don't think you could OC past 2.8Ghz. Just my opinion.

smcleod007 said:

Well, im still not sure whether or not I should buy the cheapest PC2700 RAM & p4 2.4g 400M or 533M cpu and use the savings for speakers while OCing the motherboard a little --- or --- buy PC3200 RAM & a p4 2.4c1 . I would like to know from you P4PE owners, what cpu temps have you experienced at various clock speeds and what do you consider a safe can't go wrong memory and FSB combo. I really want to get my parts ordered by this weekend so I will be watching this thread closely. Thanks for all the info!


Here's my parts list:


P4PE SERIAL ATA
P4 2.4 b??? c???
AX 478 HS
1GB MEMORY 2700??? 3000??? 3200???
WD40G & 80G HDD
BFG Ti4200 128meg
Audigy2
Matrox RTX10
DSL
56K modem
4 usb ports in use most of the time
WIN XP Pro

Click to expand...

let me tell you what I can do at this time....

at 426 mem speed, 2.7vmem, I can do 2,3,3,7
this is at 160fsb and 3/4 ratio.

what I would do if I was you is, get the xms3200......
at the very worst, you just OC to 150 or so, at better timeings.

then if you ever get a springdale mobo, you can run it at 150fsb again with great timeings, and drop dead great bandwith.

don't get the xms3500....yet don't get slower memory eather.
if you get lucky like me, you wont be fighting heat as much as you think. ( I can do 158fsb at stock voltage, not what I would call a bad OC, and no heat problem.)

mica

Thanks for all the replies. My final question on a slightly OCed system is which cpu should I get with my xms3200 memory. The 400MHz or 533MHz P4 2.4 . Not generating a lot of heat is my primary goal. I hear the 533 runs cooler, but the 400MHz might run better while using PC3200 memory

smcleod007 said:

Thanks for all the replies. My final question on a slightly OCed system is which cpu should I get with my xms3200 memory. The 400MHz or 533MHz P4 2.4 . Not generating a lot of heat is my primary goal. I hear the 533 runs cooler, but the 400MHz might run better while using PC3200 memory

Click to expand...

not true.....

you want the 2.4b....low multipler, and faster FSB from the start.
that makes less heat to boot. (nice)

then run it at 150fsb or better.....now at 150fsb and 3/4 mem ratio, you now have pc800 rdram speeds minimum.

2.4b...faster fsb, better mem bandwith, faster system, and lower heat.
it's the only way to fly.

mica

Thanks Mica,

My final parts will be ordered shortly. I looked up what you were using for cooling and found myself spending the last 5 hours researching watercooling designs and going through my shop downstairs rummaging for parts. This always happens with these high performance web site forums. I start out wanting a little extra performance and end up wanting to build a monster. Thats how my little 1974 Capri went from 105 horsepower to a V8 with 500HP, LOL.

Originally posted by smcleod007 Thats how my little 1974 Capri went from 105 horsepower to a V8 with 500HP, LOL.

Click to expand...

Okay then - how in the world did you get a unibody Capri to withstand a 500 horsepower V8? Not alone what transmission, driveline and differential you're using, and how you were somehow able to hook THEM up to a unibody behind a 500 hp V8 without leaving parts on the blacktop...

(torque x rpm divided by 5252 = horsepower)

Steve

I started out reseaching turbocharging for the V6 for solo 1&2 racing and within a couple of months and $15K later little my project car turned into a blueprinted 302V8 with NOS, a super T10, a narrowed ford 9" rearend, a Townsend frontend, surrounded by a full sub frame and a 10 point roll cage. Needless to say, I got a little sidetracked due to my love for torque! I going to redesign the steering this summer. The knuckles bind. Very scary.