P4 2.8/PC3500 or 2.6/PC4000

[thebone]

will be buying a new machine this weekend and can't decide on this subject. I will be getting the Abit IC7-MAX3 motherboard with a Thermalright SP-94 for cooling. I do plan on overclocking, but cant decide which way to go...faster FSB or faster CPU.
I plan on doing quite a bit of gaming and some video encoding.

P4 2.8 with 1GB of OCZ PC3500 Platinum
or
P4 2.6 with 1GB of Geil Ultra PC4000.

If it is common to get a 2.8 up to 1000FSB, I will go with that and the PC4000, but I dont know how likely that is.

Please give your suggestions.

Thanks.
thebone

[Heatsinkguy]

A 2.6ghz overclocked to 3.4ghz beats a 2.8ghz overclocked to 3.4ghz. Why? Because the 2.6ghz will have a higher FSB than the 2.8ghz overclocked meaning more bandwith etc. As for the ram iam not sure. Hope this helps

[DaveB]

Well, I had both CPUs. My P4 2.6C would only run Prime95 stable up to 3.3 GHz while the P4 2.8C would do 3.5 GHz. Contrary to popular belief, there are differences in the OC capability of these chips. The better ones are binned for the higher models.

A lot of the guys reporting extreme overclocks don't run Prime95 for 20 hours or so to ensure total stability. Just running a couple of quick benchmarks isn't enough to claim stability. You don't want your system crashing in the middle of a complex task after it's been running a couple of hours. But, if you're just gaming, who cares.

[sp00L]

Excellent advice DaveB. Usually people only post their extreme oc's and never mention:

1) Dual Prime95 stable for 12+ hours
2) 5 Loop minimum stable in Memtest86
3) Do they have to give it more than 1.65 vcore
4) What vdimm
5) Any other relevant settings, ie GAT, Bios Cacheable, ratio's

I've had to "Q" 2.6's that maxed at 3.25 with 1.675 vcore. One 2.8 that could barely do 3.25. My theory is that the higher quality chips are branded 3.0 & 3.2 and sold for a premium. I've sent back 2 sets of RAM as well. What you should do is get ram that will work and see how far the chip goes. If the ram maxes before the chip, swap ram (rma or whatever) and get ram that best suites your system. The real kicker with oc'ing is that it is almost as bad as gambling. You never know what you'll get when you start. And by all means ignore these outrageous oc claims. See what YOUR system can do. Personally, I don't think the 2.6 is worth it. If money is tight, go for the 2.4. If money isn't so tight, go with a 3.0 or 3.2.

- sp00L out

[batboy]

I'd go PC3500 RAM with the 2.6C if you're on a bit of a budget. Probably over half the 2.8C will do 250 FSB.

[itizme]

Originally posted by DaveB
But, if you're just gaming, who cares.

I imagine the GPU manufacturers don't think of this

I am however guessing that most people overclock for gaming though, I would love to see a poll on this one

Would also like to see a standard that says minimum requirements though. Sure I overclock, test very little when I do ie:
a few passes on memtest86
sisoft results
3dmark etc
But never a burn in or 24 hours of whatever
On the lighter side I definately do test playing several games, AA, UT2K3,MP2, sometimes F-1 and Moto gp as well, should gameplay be part of this testing?

BTW, so far as the PC parts go, the best you can afford to buy, as high as you can for the cpu.

[hawtrawkr]

i ordered a 2.8c 2 weeks ago it wouldnt do 250 unless i gave it 1.72 vcore anything less and id fail prime after a couple hours

i ordered a 2.8c 1 week ago it will do 250 on 1.65 vcore and can probably go higher but i havent had more time to see

just a guessing game i would agree with what daveb said when he mentioned that not all 2.6 will do the oc the 2.8 can. batboys probably pretty close to hitting the nail on the head too when he said that probably over half the 2.8c's out there will hit 250 theres a poll of people with 2.8c speed theyve gotten and it looks like alot of people are in the 3.4 to 3.6 range