should i upgrade

[madhatR]

i was pretty much intent on keeping my current system .. in my sig .. until either amd 4x4 or intel quads came out .. but my friend would like to buy my old cpu .. mb and ram from me .. which got me thinking .. dunno whether i should upgrade to a cheap conroe setup until quad comes out ..
like a e6400 or 6300 .. and like a ds3 board and some decent mem .. or should i just say the hell with it and keep my current setup ??

what do u guys think ? also what ddr2 is decent .. ocz ?

thanks

[ronaldo]

If u have a buyer for ur rig, then why not ? U will need to upgrade to DDR2 anyway (or maybe if u wait till DDR3 in few months).
Buy a cheap Conroe till Intel release cheaper quad-core by q1 2007 probably.

[madhatR]

e6300 is not conroe right ?? but e6400 is ?

i was thinking DS3 gigabyte since its only 137$ and maybe an e6300 / 6400 or wut the hell 6600 ..


i just need a ram recommendation ..

[rainless]

i was pretty much intent on keeping my current system .. in my sig .. until either amd 4x4 or intel quads came out .. but my friend would like to buy my old cpu .. mb and ram from me .. which got me thinking .. dunno whether i should upgrade to a cheap conroe setup until quad comes out ..
like a e6400 or 6300 .. and like a ds3 board and some decent mem .. or should i just say the hell with it and keep my current setup ??

what do u guys think ? also what ddr2 is decent .. ocz ?

thanks

If you have a chance to sell, then sell. I only upgraded MY system because I was coached (by greenmaji) into selling my old components. Now I've got what's in my sig and I couldn't be happier. The longer you wait to sell the less money you will get for what you have sold. So if someone's offering you a decent price now... TAKE IT!

The DS3 is a decent board (I hesitated at calling it a "fine" board). It took me all the way up to 520 FSB, and after I ironed out ALL THE MILLIONS OF WRINKLES, it's proved to be fairly stable and reliable. If Matrix Raid interests you then you can get a P5B-E. But since you're just trying to do an inexpensive upgrade I suggest putting that extra money into RAM. No component the P5B has over the DS3 is better than quality ram.

I recommend getting any DDR2 6400 ram that has a lifetime gaurantee. I use Corsair myself. And get the lowest timings you can afford. 4-4-4-12 if you can afford it. 5-5-5-12 if you can't.

Like I said I've done 520x7 for 3.64ghz on my DS3 with an E6400. I edit video for a living and it's done WONDERS for my output.

[ronaldo]

E6300 is the same as E6400, except mhz, but they are called Allendale. But that dont interest u, this is Conroe for most people, and they overclock better than E6600. (With better i mean more % overclock)

[madhatR]

ok so the e6400 is better than the e6600 to get .. i would like around 3.6 .. who knows though

i heard this board is picky with the memory .. like ocz doesnt do so well .. i was gonna try and get some ddr1000 stuff .. any recommendations ??

also does the cache make a difference between the e6400 and e6600 ??

[rainless]

ok so the e6400 is better than the e6600 to get .. i would like around 3.6 .. who knows though

i heard this board is picky with the memory .. like ocz doesnt do so well .. i was gonna try and get some ddr1000 stuff .. any recommendations ??

also does the cache make a difference between the e6400 and e6600 ??

Well if you're overclocking up to 4ghz it seems to make a difference, but I doubt you'll get your E6400 up that high unless you're using phase cooling. DDR1000 would be perfect. Corsair makes some nice DDR1000. That would get you up to 3.6ghz easy. I was running at 3.64 volts at 1.425v, of course it would be easier to hit 3.6ghz on an E6600. But most people that run those run on more expensive motherboards (more stable).

3.6 is almost the non-phase limit on E6400s and 4ghz is about the non-phase limit on E6600s. If you can afford an E6600 I say get one of those.

[madhatR]

so e6600
gigabyte ds3 ( cuz ill prolly switch boards to the rd600 dfi board or soemthing eventually .. )

and for ram .. get the corsair 1000 ?? i heard this board has a problem with any ram that needs more than 1.8-1.9v .. since the ds3 boots at 1.8

[rainless]

so e6600
gigabyte ds3 ( cuz ill prolly switch boards to the rd600 dfi board or soemthing eventually .. )

and for ram .. get the corsair 1000 ?? i heard this board has a problem with any ram that needs more than 1.8-1.9v .. since the ds3 boots at 1.8

That's pretty much a thing of the past. Basically that was a question of a bios update. Chances are any board you buy now will come with at LEAST F3 bios. In which case it will boot any ram just fine. The Corsair am should boot at 1.8 or 1.9 regardless. Either way you can usually boot with one stick or ram, upgrade the bios, then throw in the other stick.

[madhatR]

so maybe ill just a e6400 .. ds 3 and some 1000mhz ddr2 .. the corsair 1066mhz ddr2 is like 400 dollars lol .. what is the decent ddr2 from corsair that will get me decent speeds .. 3.4 would be nice

considering it should smoke my current setup right ?

here is one kit

http://shop4.outpost.com/product/4862510?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

here is the 1066 one .. crazy expensive

http://shop4.outpost.com/product/4862520?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

how about these .. the 1066 just seem to be so expensive

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=85025-6

[Vipasnipa]

G.SKILL ram is another alternative, and I see it very often in DS3 owners sigs. Like rainless said, there were some issues with ram and the DS3, but I bought my DS3 almost two months ago and it came with the F3 BIOS, so I doubt you'll have any issues.

**EDIT**

I should add that when I first bought my original 1GB stick, it was only $99. After I tried to play Company of Heroes, the 2nd 1GB stick was $30 bucks more. We seem to be in a memory price spike at the moment.

[madhatR]

ddr2 prices are off the chart right now .. i heard the 6600s dont like the ds3 or vice versa ..

my goal o/c is like 3.4 .. the cpu and board i have picked out .. its just the ram .. most of the 1066 ddr is almost 400$ ..
found some corsair ddr2 800 4-4-4- 12 or wutever and its like 295 .. would that be decent ?

[rainless]

ddr2 prices are off the chart right now .. i heard the 6600s dont like the ds3 or vice versa ..

my goal o/c is like 3.4 .. the cpu and board i have picked out .. its just the ram .. most of the 1066 ddr is almost 400$ ..
found some corsair ddr2 800 4-4-4- 12 or wutever and its like 295 .. would that be decent ?

The first link you had was DDR2 800 CAS4 and it's only 250. So why not get that?

3.4ghz should be EASY. If I can do it on my crap cooling ANYBODY can do it.

[madhatR]

The first link you had was DDR2 800 CAS4 and it's only 250. So why not get that?

3.4ghz should be EASY. If I can do it on my crap cooling ANYBODY can do it.


sucks out of stock ..

im tempted now to go crazy budget and then swap cpus when quads come out ..

was thinking of going e6300 / ds3 / just trying to pick out some ram

[madhatR]

ok well ordered my new setup .. ill give it a shot ..
e6400
gigabyte DS3
corsair ddr2 1066 2x1gb

[rainless]

ok well ordered my new setup .. ill give it a shot ..
e6400
gigabyte DS3
corsair ddr2 1066 2x1gb

That should get you just about anywhere you want to go. Can't wait to see how far someone with real 1066 ram can go with this thing. 533mhzFSB STANDARD!

[madhatR]

hmm hoping i can hit 3.6 like u lol .. but i never get lucky ...
plus for a few days ill be on stock cooler .. so we shall see ..
the ds3 can be tricky i have heard .. so i guess ill flash to the f6 bios ..

and crank up the fsb to like 500 LOL

[hUMANbEATbOX]

ok well ordered my new setup .. ill give it a shot ..
e6400
gigabyte DS3
corsair ddr2 1066 2x1gb

how much did you pay for those rams if you don't mind my asking?

i would have gone with the G.Skill HZ's...oh wait, i DID go with the G.Skill HZ's... :D

[madhatR]

more than i wanted to

[hUMANbEATbOX]

sorry to hear that, but there are cheaper alternatives, many were mentioned in this thread before you bought. everyone is literally charging an arm and a leg for ddr2-1000, when there are many different ddr2-800's (even some ddr2-667) that will oc that high or higher. my g.skill ddr2-800 does ddr2-1200 no problems, its only around $280 for a 2gb set i think.

*edit* nm, they have really gone up, now at $314 according to newegg. i got mine for $299 canadian, and even then it was a bit high compared to what it was available for in the states.

[madhatR]

i have 30 days to return .. so ill try em out .. if i dont like them they are going back and ill look for something else

lol zzf has corsair ddr2 1111 or wutever at 4-4-4-12 for like 659 and they are sold out LOL

[madhatR]

what are the max temps i should look out for ?
im gonna be runnin gthe stock intel cooler for a few days ..

i know to download coretemp to get the right temps but what is the highest temp that is safe ?


anything i need to know about setting up the ds3 .. i know update the bios to f6 after i install windows ..

up the mch to .1 and the ddr to .2 ?

then just go to 7x500fsb LOL

[hUMANbEATbOX]

with c2d's, i would say keep it under what ever temps you are comfortable with.

they seem to be fine at any temperature, as long as its stable, let'er rip. ;) most seem to try to stay under 65c, usually if it gets much higher than that, its not too stable anyhow.

[madhatR]

installing windows right now .. wouldnt give me video with the ram sticks in the yellow slots .. moved them to red and no problems .. didnt mess with anything in the bios ... just installing windows .. then ill mess around ..
currently im just using the stock cooler with the thermal pads lol ..

ill see how it goes .. i have a ninja here from my opty but i lost the 775 adapters .. so i might pick up a zalman 9500 since i can get it local .. and see my luck ..

ill see how far i can go with the stock cooler and thermal pad .. didnt wanna take it off because im not sure if im gonna keep it or not for right now ..

k so remind me .. what volts do i change ? mch to +1 and what is the other thing ?? then all i do is drop the multi to 7x and change the fsb to like 500 LOL ..

also should i upgrade the bios .. i dont know the revision of the board or the bios .. it just said 8/11/06 .. so i guess ill check once windows is installed


F4 bios i have

is there a way to upgrade bios thru windows ? like with the dfi board .. no floppy here

[greenmaji]

the zalman is expensive and doesn't perform as well as some of the high end alternatives with aftermarket fans. I'd see if I couldn't snag the 775 adapters from someone that has one on there AMD rig and never plans on going 775.

Update the bios to at least the current non beta release, F6.

[madhatR]

the zalman is expensive and doesn't perform as well as some of the high end alternatives with aftermarket fans. I'd see if I couldn't snag the 775 adapters from someone that has one on there AMD rig and never plans on going 775.

Update the bios to at least the current non beta release, F6.


is there a way to do it without a floppy .. i dont have one ..

also right now at stock my cpu idles at 37-39 on both cores using core temp ..


i guess maybe ill get another ninja or something .. and sell the one i have ..

also .. i tried doing the 400x7 .. +1 to mch and +2 to ddr2 .. and nada ..

[greenmaji]

is there a way to do it without a floppy .. i dont have one ..

also right now at stock my cpu idles at 37-39 on both cores using core temp ..


i guess maybe ill get another ninja or something .. and sell the one i have ..

also .. i tried doing the 400x7 .. +1 to mch and +2 to ddr2 .. and nada ..

It may be possible to flash from CD or USB disk, burning a ISO and booting from the CD might work.
It would be easier to bumb a floppy off another system to be honest.
...
core temp gives you the temperature of the actual core, thermal spec. for the CPU is the top center of the IHS nothing is going to give you that temp.
....
I'd PM a diehard AMD user that has a ninja in there sig and ask if they would be intrested in selling the 775 hardware, within the rules of course (in the classies)
.....
you likely need a newer version of the bios

[madhatR]

i used to use winflash with the dfi .. maybe ill give it a go with this board