Which MB and E6300 or E6400 on my budget?

[voigts]

I am looking at buying CORSAIR XMS2 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 used from a forum for $90. I can't afford 2gb right now.

I am trying to keep my MB cost under $130 or so. I don't really care about SLI as I really can't afford it and game only every now and then. I have narrowed down my prospects so far to:

-AsRockConroeXFire-eSataII
-Gigabyte GA965PS3 P965
-Asus P5B-E (froogle finds a really good price on this board-I'm going to call tomorrow to see if it is for real or not- this also has the ICH8R chip which if I read correctly has the Matrix option)- if price is not real, then this is probably going to be too expensive
-Asus P5B
-BIOSTAR TForce965PT P965 Express

I then have to decide between the E6300 or E6400. I have pretty much ruled out the E4300, and I can't really afford the extra $75 above the E6400 for the E6600 (although I would like to).

I have a very good water setup that I like mainly for the silence, but this setup will cool anything and then some. I figured it is about time to learn how to overclock and get my money's worth out of this or I may as well go back to air. I am not worried about max possible overclock. I need a stable overclock as I use this computer for business as well as personal use and need it to be stable more than anything. I say this because although I have read a good bit, I still am somewhat confused as to how you actually overclock, and haven't seemed to find a good "idiots guide" to actually how you overclock.

My daughter won $350 in a school fundraiser towards a new computer, so I am going to put my Asrock, current DDR RAM, and AMDx2 4600 into hers and upgrade mine with the Conroe. They want to see her new computer, so I can't wait until later in the year for the price drops.

I have spent hours upon hours this weekend (had strep followed by acute sinusitis anyway and couldn't do much else) trying to find options out there on a limited budget.

Of the options above (or others I may not have listed), what are the best recommendations? Thank you!

[greenmaji]

Consider the Abit AB9-Pro and the E6400 (or Xeon 3050)

[voigts]

Consider the Abit AB9-Pro and the E6400 (or Xeon 3050)

I've read where you recommend this MB on several other threads, but the cheapest price I can come up with is just over $150. The closer I can stay to $100 the better especially if I go for the E6400 over the E6300 (which I am inclined to do).

[Vulcan]

I've read where you recommend this MB on several other threads, but the cheapest price I can come up with is just over $150. The closer I can stay to $100 the better especially if I go for the E6400 over the E6300 (which I am inclined to do).
At that price point, the biostar 965pt should be your number one choice.

I've been quite happy with mine. I'm at 500x7 at the moment. I wish I would have gone for the e6400 though.

[greenmaji]

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?p=MB-AB9-PRO&c=fr&pid=52d40f2082f2c80cc3d66b1d735793c292666c716af682 727bb78022c59a3204

well.. I was able to find it for $142.00 :shrug:

The E6300 makes things too diffiuclt IMHO but I personaly think that having the option for matrix raid makes the motherboard worth the extra investement (last time I checked it was the cheapest 965P motherboard that overclocked for beans that has the ICH8R southbridge)

[lokie]

I think your best bet would be a Ds3 and E6300. Thats what im running with one gig of pqi 533 turbo and this is the most stable and fastest setup i have ever built. Plus no BSODS at all. As soon as my Pc8500 gets here this baby is going to get jacked up. I just bought a new Ds3 for a friend of mine off ebay for a new build and it only cost $112.00 bucks.http://valid.x86-secret.com/show_oc.php?id=160741

[chinky714]

From the list of mobos that you have, I would say the S3, and the Biostar is probably the best bet for your budget range. Other members here will tell you to not get the P5B-e because of the memory voltage limit. The s3, is basically the same as DS3 except for the solid state capacitors. The biostar from what i hear can clock just as high.

[voigts]

I think I agree that either the S3 or the Biostar is the way to go. Newegg has the Biostar open box right now for $71.99 + tax (living in TN stinks with newegg) which makes it very tempting. Retail, the two boards cost about the same.

I am a little concerned on the Biostar as people on newegg say that Biostar has no tech support to speak of. I also am unsure as to whether or not I can meet the 15 day open box requirement to get everything up and running. I also don't care for the location of the ATX connector below the CPU socket and right on top of the PCI-E slot.

I think Gigabyte has better customer service and support. But the open box price at $30 less is tempting.

Any more thoughts? And which CPU (E6300/E6400) is the better way to go with these boards?

[Evilsizer]

well to keep from haveing to buy pricy ram just to get ocing to descent level with the E63. i say nab a E64 or even since they are a bit cheaper now the E4300. if you buy the cpu from newegg you get GRAW for free with it. if the amount of money for the mobo is $100 no dought get the biostar.

what kind of clocks are you wanting/expecting to get from this rig?

[voigts]

well to keep from haveing to buy pricy ram just to get ocing to descent level with the E63. i say nab a E64 or even since they are a bit cheaper now the E4300. if you buy the cpu from newegg you get GRAW for free with it. if the amount of money for the mobo is $100 no dought get the biostar.

what kind of clocks are you wanting/expecting to get from this rig?

Living in TN kills buying from Newegg as I get hit with 9.25% tax on everything.

As for clocks, I honestly don't know. Although I am an experienced system builder and troubleshooter, I haven't messed with overclocking at all thus far. So for me overclocking is new water, even though I have been on water for 2 years now. I know what I am doing with water, I don't when it comes to overclocking.
I just know that I am not worried about pushing a system to its limits as I need this machine to be stable. I just want to get my money's worth out of my cooling since I spent the money to get it.

BTW, does anyone have a good link to a beginner's guide to OCing? I have looked and not really found one that to me is simple, to the point, and says exactly what to to.

[Vulcan]

If you have the money, get the e6400. I'm hitting the wall of my board at 500mhz FSB, which on an 8x multi probably wouldn't be a concern.

[greenmaji]

If your getting state sales tax at newegg, try mwave or ewiz

[Evilsizer]

hey voigt check out this thread here on the biostar. while it is the dlx and no dlx is in the usa yet. the ones for sale in the usa use the same PCB as the DLX just minus the extra sata ports and ich8r. it packs a big punch in ocing for a $100 board.
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=110106

[greenmaji]

When will the deluxe be availbe in the states :-/
seems like its been months :(

[Evilsizer]

yea it was suppose to but i keep reading they are validating it for quad-cores...thats all i know/read..

*edit*
voigt despite the taxes from newegg if you get this openbox here
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813138037R
it will only cost ya $78 with tax.. you get free shipping!

[voigts]

yea it was suppose to but i keep reading they are validating it for quad-cores...thats all i know/read..

*edit*
voigt despite the taxes from newegg if you get this openbox here
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813138037R
it will only cost ya $78 with tax.. you get free shipping!

I saw that post in the cyberdeals section and I must say that i am very tempted. I'm not completely sure though of the open boxed thing.

I saw that Biostar has a deluxe version of this board but also couldn't find it for sale anywhere in the US.

I've been doing all of my price shopping through Froogle, so even with tax Newegg still has the best price outright for it.

My question about the Biostar is not just how high it will clock as that is not the major concern for me. The important question is how stable it is going to be. And everyone I read says Biostar's support is non-existent.

[Evilsizer]

dunno biostar might have some problems but dont know in what area's. as for open box items. even though they say OEM they come with everything the retail box comes with. Newegg does not take returns/refunds with out all the orginal stuff the item came with. i have bought a few Open box items from newegg, no problems with any of the stuff. course my first open box item from them still working to this day is a Abit ST-7 skt-370 with Tually 1.2ghz.

[voigts]

Well ClubIt has a weekend special on the DS3 so I decided to push the button for $131.49 shipped. I was going to just get the PS3, but for only $15 more, why not? I looked at the Abit AB9 Pro, but all of the reviews and from what I can see of the pics it really is laid out kind of crummy, and I don't plan on getting another drive just to use the raid. I also think from reading that I am going to spend a few bucks more on the E6400 than the E6300 as from what I am reading, the E6400 overclocks easier.

[greenmaji]

Try to get the E6400.. the DS3 has issues with D9
http://www.overclockers.com/articles1403

[voigts]

greenmaji-
I already got the Ram and it is corsair XMS2-6400, CM2X512A-6400 (xms6405 v4.1) 5.5.5.12. Does this use D9 chips (which is what I am assuming is the case by your post)?

[Evilsizer]

greenmaji-
I already got the Ram and it is corsair XMS2-6400, CM2X512A-6400 (xms6405 v4.1) 5.5.5.12. Does this use D9 chips (which is what I am assuming is the case by your post)?
as seen here is a list of ic's on which sticks...
http://ramlist.ath.cx/ddr2
just so happends i thought my 6400-c4's where D9's when the are not.:mad: it was in fact the reason why i bought them.

your sticks are not d9's they are
PC6400 Rev 4.1 & 4.2 & 4.3 | 5.0-5-5-12 @ 1.9V |Infineon B/C

[greenmaji]

I was posting that to let you know that even if you had D9's you might have trouble getting the most out of a E6300 (D9GMH normaly being the IC's that will have the FSB to overclock the E6300) but since you have Infineon IC's that makes the E6400 even a better choice (hopefully getting 450FSB out of your ram)

[voigts]

Thanks Evilsizer and greenmaji. I had looked around but couldn't find that chip information. I will go with the E6400 as you suggested. And hopefully with a little more reading I will get a better handle on what numbers to adjust, etc. to figure this out.

[greenmaji]

For future referance.. Corsair IC information can be found here
http://www.houseofhelp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=279023&postcount=1
And if your revision isn't listed you have to ask in the thread.

[lowfat]

I suggest a P5N-E SLI. Best bang for your buck IMO. I have no problem runnng 500FSB 1:1 with an E6400, and it is a good $60CAD cheaper than a P5B-D.

[greenmaji]

@lowfat.. what multiplier?
And if its the stock one.. what cooling? And orthose SS ;)

[(Clanger)(DOA)]

@lowfat.. what multiplier?
And if its the stock one.. what cooling? And orthose SS ;)

i wanna c 2