mobo + ram for e4300?

[shleepy]

I want to get a core 2 e4300 for the purpose of greatly overclocking it :)

I have a new Thermaltake Big Typhoon lying around that I want to use, hehe; thus, I want to OC the e4300 by as much as possible with air cooling with safe temperatures, and if what I've read is right, then it should be pretty damn overclockable.

Now, unless there are other CPU's that I should consider for ~$100, and I don't think there are, what other components would serve me well? First of all, note that I want to spend as little as possible.

For the motherboard:
- is it worth it to get one with official 1333 FSB support (e.g., if I'd want to do the pin trick that would set the default FSB to that on the CPU)?
- I need to have some alternatives with and without SLI (not sure if I want it)
- 650i & 680i - 16/8 SLI vs. 16/16 SLI - not much of a difference? Good chips for overclocking, in general?
- specific motherboards that have been overclocking well with E4300

For the RAM:
- I want to get some cheap 1066MHz DDR2. Good idea?
- What features should I watch out for? I think I read that 650i doesn't like RAM that's over 1.8v or something like that.


Thank you for your help!

[jordon]

i would recommend conroe b2 over an allendale

[shleepy]

As in e6xxx series? Those are a bit more expensive. Not spending that much because I want the cheapest possible solution, unless I can get a nice eBay deal or something. :)

[Evilsizer]

the only b2's are the 6600+ and 6x20's. the E6300/6400 are now on allendalre dies. The E4300 for the money isnt a bad deal, and you dont need uber ram to oc it either. depending on your board you have some options. The E4300 seems to be toping out around 3-3.2ghz for 24/7 use. now just say the max clock is 3ghz leaving you with a 333fsb now your option is go cheap ddr2-667 with 1:1 and keep the ram in spec. You coud use the 4:5 ratio with some ddr2-800 or ddr2-900 ram with the 333fsb keeping that ram in spec.

it comes down to your goals of oc and how much you have to spend.

post up what you have to spend and what you need. then we can get you setup with a good bang/buck.

[IamPWNT]

The E4300 is a fantastic CPU, I just upgraded myself and it made a world of difference over my old 805D that was OC'd to 3.5Ghz. However I made the mistake of assuming that the mobo I purchased was a better choice because it was the 975x chipset. I should have gone with either the Gigabyte P965P-DS3/Asus P5B or a 680i board for OC'ing as that is what are recommended most. Follow these guys recommendations and stay away from the MSI 975X PUE as it looks good but just does not OC well. As for RAM I would suggest going with DDR2 800 due to the prices it will help you OC a bit higher IMO on the 4300.

[shleepy]

Thanks for your replies so far! I looked into the Gigabyte P965P-DS3 because it was in Jordon's signature, so that looks like a pretty good option. As for the Asus P5B, I see that there are plenty of versions of it. Does it really matter which one to go with, or would the cheapest ones be OK?

The EVGA 680i board was another one that I'm considering, since it's the cheapest 680i. I see that Evilsizer is using it - is it any good (and that goes for anyone, not just evilsizer)?

RAM-wise, I have some DDR2-667 that I'm using right now, and I was thinking of upgrading it to 800+. How much is performance affected by going over a 1:1 ratio, say with ddr2-1000 or 1066 (or whatever the highest ratio the mobo will let me set with that)? I figure it wouldn't be a bad idea to have some faster RAM for the future, anyway.

How much I want to spend: ~$100 for the CPU; $100+/-$15 for a non-SLI mobo, or up to ~$170 for an SLI mobo. RAM - whatever gets me the cheapest RAM for the speed; I'm not gonna be too picky about the price. I figure it'll be around $170 for the cheapest DDR2-1066.

I am still a bit confused about the RAM voltage issue... I have read in several places now that some chipset(s), maybe 965, sets the voltage on 1.8 by default... is that only a problem on specific motherboards or something, or all motherboards on that/those chipset(s)?

PS: THIS (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820146677&ATT=20-146-677&CMP=OTC-pr1c3watch) seems like a great deal (note the rebate). Might I have a problem with that RAM, or should I buy it? I need to choose right away since the rebate will expire VERY soon.

[clo007]

e4300 OEm on ewiz for $100.50 right now

I got the e4300 on a Gigabyte DS3 rev 3.3( $115 at clubit) and 2 gig gskill ram( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231065) $125 shipped at the egg right now.

I love my set-up, got it OC'd to 334x9 with ease...haven't really tried for more, just wanted the 3ghz mark...ram is at 1002mhz at 2.2volts running cas 4-4-4-12 stock :D

[Evilsizer]

i would suggest the 680i for sli setups or if you just like tweaking stuff to get more our of your system. cause there are alot of options in the bios to tweak in the 680i's. as well how much you want to spend and do with you computer.

[batboy]

The E4300 should easily O/C to 3 gig or 333 FSB. Motherboards that are inexpensive but good overclockers include the Gigabyte DS3, Asus P5B, and Abit AB9. I would avoid the 650i like the plague and only get the 680i if you plan to do SLI.

[Evilsizer]

you left out the P965-s3 from gigabyte as well as the new DFI inifinity p965(dark).

[shleepy]

I've ordered some new RAM.

I believe I'll go with the cheapest EVGA 680i board, since a couple sites are running rebates for it now, so I'll order that this weekend. And as for CPU, I'm still thinking about how to shave off $10 or so, but I doubt it'll happen; if I manage to get a nice deal on a e6300 (say, on eBay), would it be any better (given that I have ddr2-1066)? The benchmarks that I've seen have been about the same as the e4300, in terms of overclockability and performance.

[Evilsizer]

get the sspec number off the E6300 on ebay before you buy. cause if you get a E63/64 they will have the same oc ability as the E4300, if they are the Allendale core.

[shleepy]

Really great price showed up for a e4300 on Buy-it-now on eBay, so I just got that. I'll order that 680i board soon, then, and should probably have the whole thing together next week; I'll post how my overclocking trials went. :)

Thanks, everyone!