Buy now, or later?

[Chaos_Being]

Ok, I've been reading these boards and researching on what I want to get for a couple of months. My initial plan was to wait until October and cash in on the price drop of the C processors (and hopefully I'd have more money by then.) However, a few things that have been happening lately have started to make me wonder if now would be better than later:

-it looks like the price drop is going to be minor
-BH-5 winbond is getting hard to find, being replaced mostly by the not as overclockable CH-5
-Intel is going to be hardware blocking the ability to enable PAT on Springdale boards soon (actually i'm not sure if this would affect an overclock all that much, but the idea of a chipset that has been specially "crippled" turns me away.)

I was planning on probably getting a 2.6c with an IS7 (maaaybe a IC7 if budget permits,) some buffalo winbond, new 8mb cache HD, antec case and psu, etc.

If I bought now, I'd be able to afford a 2.4c, IS7 or IS7-E, probably the pc3700 buffalo (as it still uses BH-5,) and I'd have to re-use my old 40gb drive. All in all it would cost around $600-650.

Are the concerns I brought up valid enough to buy now, or am I just overreacting, and should wait to see what really happens?

(I know the gut reaction of most is probably going to be BUY NOW!, but I am really mostly concerned about getting the most for my dollar. I'm more than willing to wait until October- that's when FFXI comes out anyways :D And other games that won't run on my current pc, heh.)

Prescott is going to be way out of my price range, so I'm not waiting for that. One step below top of the line all the way.


I'm replacing a p3 733mhz :o

[JimmyZzzzz]

Hey, I'm in the same boat as you-a P3 700 :o that just isn't cutting it anymore. I too am thinking IC7/IS7 with Buffalo PC3700.

I may not be able to help you much with the decision, but I've gotten the idea from reading around, especially at Abit's forums, that the problems with CH-5 memory isn't going away with some simple BIOS fix. If it could, why wouldn't some mobo maker have done it already? :-/ Especially Abit since they have many unhappy IC7/IS7 owners at their forums! That's why I would guess it might take a mobo revision in order to clear this mess up. But I've not heard rumors of any revisions coming out to address this issue.

While I am also getting a new rig for the new fall games and don't need it right now, I am leaning toward doing it soon, just so that I can get the BH-5 with an overclockable rig.

So, I have the same questions as you, but I'd also add:

Does anyone know of any mobo revisions or BIOS fixes that are supposed to allow you to overclock with the 5/4 and 3/2 dividers and CH-5 memory?

[ozzy0627]

I upgraded from an xp2400 and it was the best move I have done:). I doubt the price drop will be very significant for the total set of pieces...maybe 35 bucks. To me 35 bucks is worth having something to mess with 3 months sooner :).

I got an 2.4c, asus p4p deluxe, hyper 3200 matched pair for 415 total.

[Chaos_Being]

Well, I guess its good to hear I'm not alone ;)

I've read the same gripes about the CH-5 on the Abit boards as well- that, and the general consensus on this board as well as others that the CH-5 in general on all boards isn't as good is what got me worried about it.

I haven't heard of any sort of solution for it, bios or hardware revision either...other than dont' use CH-5 of course :p

If I buy now though its really going to be pushing it...think I can get a 3-3.2 ghz overclock out of the stock heatsink and some ceramique? That would save me $30 or so if I don't buy that Zalman heatsink I want. Although I'm a bit edgy on overclocking with a stock heatsink...this'll be my first oc setup, and I don't want to fry anything :p

[ozzy0627]

Im runing at 225 fsb at really low temps with stock hs. I can hit 3ghz at 250 fsb with about 6 c more temps. But I put it back to 225 for burning in. I am burning in now at 225 and going up 10 fsb a week just to be on the safe side.

[texasfit]

Originally posted by Chaos_Being
I was planning on probably getting a 2.6c with an IS7 (maaaybe a IC7 if budget permits,) some buffalo winbond, new 8mb cache HD, antec case and psu, etc.

If I bought now, I'd be able to afford a 2.4c, IS7 or IS7-E, probably the pc3700 buffalo (as it still uses BH-5,) and I'd have to re-use my old 40gb drive. All in all it would cost around $600-650.
I would suggest that you get the 2.6C/IC7 even if you have to wait. The 13 multipier will give you a much better overclock and keep the memory down to a more reasonable level. My 2.6C is still the best overall in comparison to my 2.4C and 2.8C setups.

[Chaos_Being]

Yes the 2.6 is definitley much better. I just don't know what will be available for decent, *cheap* ram in a couple of months. I kind of had my heart set on buffalo, and its going the way of ch-5 unfortunately. But you are definitely right- and I'd much rather have a 2.6 than a 2.4. Even though it is "only" a 200mhz difference...the oc'ing just seems so much better. Argh, decisions! ;)

Guess there's always ocz or kingston, or even crucial- but that's more in the realm of the ram thread I started in Memory :p

[texasfit]

You could always buy the ram now and wait for the rest. ;)

[JimmyZzzzz]

Oh great, we can now add this into the mix:

http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/mainboards/display/20030712011416.html

[Chaos_Being]

Actually I seriously thought about buying ram (or any part actually) now and slowly getting everything- but what if I got some bum ram? I'd have to see how long I could wait before I did an RMA- I'd hate to get stuck with bad hardware because I held onto it too long.

Guess I'll have to read Newegg's RMA policy- oh and that sucks about the prescott support. That and Abit is supposed to have a 2nd revision of their boards out *sometime* that fixes the onboard sound/mic problem...argh maybe I should just wait. And chance the ram :rolleyes: I mean, there has to be something available that'll still overclock well in a couple of months.

-ok now I see that Newegg has a 1 year RMA policy (if that is what "1 year warranty" means anyways)- I thought I had heard that before. That's pretty darn nice...maybe I will grab some ram early after all.

[Chaos_Being]

Ok just registered with Newegg, will be order 2x512 of buffalo pc3700 first thing Monday, once I set up an alternate ship-to address with my credit card company.

Its going to be hard waiting for the rest knowing that I have ram sitting in my house :D But it'll be a lot easier on my wallet, and with luck I'll be able to buy better components to go with it come October.

[texasfit]

Originally posted by Chaos_Being
Ok just registered with Newegg, will be order 2x512 of buffalo pc3700 first thing Monday, once I set up an alternate ship-to address with my credit card company.

Its going to be hard waiting for the rest knowing that I have ram sitting in my house :D But it'll be a lot easier on my wallet, and with luck I'll be able to buy better components to go with it come October.
WOW, talk about patience. I would be :bang head for 3 months.

[Chaos_Being]

Haha yeah no kidding...I actually am not that patient, but I must bow to the price of rent and bills :p

Ah well...it will be even more sweet when I can stop using this old dell and have something decent :D