To pinky and ol'man

[tainice]

Hard time deciding amount Abit ST6-r (or not), VH6T, and GA-60XET (or xet-c). Since you guys own those boards, so could u give me some advises? It is not me tho...It is for my friend who has 300 to spend, and ask me for help. He is looking for extreme ocing with stability, and needless to say, the board has to be fast and reliable.) by the way, now none of my friends will let me even touch their computers.........(i ruin enough things already:(

[Pinky]

I cannot form an opinion on the ST6 or Gigabyte boards. For mine I needed a good cooler and to wrap wire around PINs to get above 1480mhz. If your friend's fine with 1400 and change overclock with retail hsf, then just get the VH6T. I never played with the other boards.

[ol' man]

Originally posted by tainice
Hard time deciding amount Abit ST6-r (or not), VH6T, and GA-60XET (or xet-c). Since you guys own those boards, so could u give me some advises? It is not me tho...It is for my friend who has 300 to spend, and ask me for help. He is looking for extreme ocing with stability, and needless to say, the board has to be fast and reliable.) by the way, now none of my friends will let me even touch their computers.........(i ruin enough things already:(

Well I guess it depends on which chip he is getting. I fhe is getting a celery .13u then either the ST6 or GB board would be decent but if he is getting a .13u PIII then I would go with the GB board as it has the turbo pLL and at 160+ fsb's you theoretically should be able to keep your PCI in spec.

[Flu!d]

I've got the Gigabyte GA-60XET and I find it to be a great board....

-Duel bios as standard.
-6 pci slots
-AGP slot with 'hold down' clip.
-4 DIMM slots (for versatility....NOT extra memory capacity).
-Full voltage adjustment between the ranges of 1.050 - 1.825 volts no matter what the chip (Cumine or Tualatin).
-AGP voltage adjustment.
-DIMM voltage adjustment.
-The ability to set the 'base' pci/agp PLL bus speed and have the bios select the nessecary dividers- keep your pci/agp bus in spec no matter what the FSB speed!
-AGP 4X no matter what the FSB speed.
-CAS 2 no matter what pci divider is selected.
-max of 200 mhz FSB!
-Cool blue colour with cool blue CPU socket!
-Totally stable (in my experience).

*Make sure you flash to the latest beta bios off Gigabytes web site!

[batboy]

Lots of pros and cons with all the boards listed. For only $85 the Abit ST6 is quite a bargain (I have the SA6 which is the same except without Tualatin support and it's been a great mobo). Don't know much about the Gigabyte board, but sure hope they're better now than they used to be.

[Flu!d]

Due to the fact that Gigabyte supply boards to many of the OEM's (I know IBM use them in their Aptiva range) there is definatly nothing wrong with their quality, in fact they are very well made boards - I've had 3 Gigabyte mobo's and never had a single problem with them....I had an Abit BE6-II and it was a pos - seems some Abit boards just seem to slip through quality control...Not the case with the Gigabyte boards that I have had.

Also a better featured board for overclocking....

But in the end it's up to you....Have fun!

[tainice]

thanx all.

one last thing have to know.....what is highest fsb possible for each board..and vcore..yeah, count that one in too. thanx. damn, then i have to know divider for each board...thanx X 3

[Flu!d]

I mentioned all this information on the Gigabyte board in my post above....Max FSB....200mhz....

Have fun!

[Yodums]

I think the Abit ST6 is a better board since it does have a 1/4 divider option, the only thing I like about Gigabyte is there PCI/AGP bus set option so there never out of spec.

Abit ST6 has more overclocking feature and is a stable board many people who have the ST6 usually get it to 1.6! Some did some extra and got to 1.7gig or close or 1.65 gig.

[Flu!d]

Sorry dude....The ST-6 does not have more overclocking features, especially when used with a tualatin based chip as it does not allow voltage adjustment, and the GA-60XET (gigabyte) does have a 1/4 pci divider....The difference is that you can 'also' set the pci / agp PLL clock....

:)

[tainice]

i understand so far that GA has better oc features over abit, but is it a fast and stable board? my friend will get a PIII-S, so it is for sure that his fsb will be extremely high, so he needs a board that is reliable under high fsb, and of course, the board itself must perform a degree of excellence..i mean fast. thanx

[Flu!d]

Well right now my tualatin is running @ 1.5 gig at a mere 1.575 volts rock stable....Haven't even attempted 1.6 gig yet but I can't see why I would have any troubles. So yes, the board is very stable....Had a Gigabyte GA-60XE before this board (same board but not tualatin compatible) and it too was rock stable....

[ol' man]

Originally posted by Flu!d
Well right now my tualatin is running @ 1.5 gig at a mere 1.575 volts rock stable....Haven't even attempted 1.6 gig yet but I can't see why I would have any troubles. So yes, the board is very stable....Had a Gigabyte GA-60XE before this board (same board but not tualatin compatible) and it too was rock stable....

Well fluid as soon as I get my PIII .13u back I am planning on getting the GB board you have. If I were to get another celery I may simply stick with the ST6 cause of the good luck I have had with it and at $85 you can't hardly beat the price.

[Flu!d]

What happened to your PIII?

[Bonka]

What are the differences between the 60XET and the 60XET-C? Do both of them have onboard audio? For some reason, I'm having a heck of a time loading the gigabyte page.

[tainice]

Originally posted by Bonka
What are the differences between the 60XET and the 60XET-C? Do both of them have onboard audio? For some reason, I'm having a heck of a time loading the gigabyte page.

From GA site, and i quote, "Another model is also available : GA-6OXET-C
All specification are the same with GA-6OXET, except w/ 3DIMMs, w/ AC97, w/single BIOS, w/o STR,CNR and CT5880."

[tainice]

After a talk with my friend, he decides to go with GA-60XET, but we cannot find it anywhere!! I can only find XET-C (and it is only 85 dollars!! I guess ST6 and XET-C is in the same range..:D) Anyway, where to buy XET?

[ol' man]

Originally posted by tainice
After a talk with my friend, he decides to go with GA-60XET, but we cannot find it anywhere!! I can only find XET-C (and it is only 85 dollars!! I guess ST6 and XET-C is in the same range..:D) Anyway, where to buy XET?

You want the xet-c I guess. Will be nice to know how well it performs:)

[muddocktor]

Axion Technologies had the GA-60XET about 2 weeks ago when I ordered it from them. It was $115 and change shipped UPS ground. I found them on pricewatch and their rating at resellerratings.com was pretty good. They shipped the next morning after placing my order and it came in OK.

I just looked at the axiontech site and they don't have it in stock now, just the GA-60XET-C.:( The only place I found on pricewatch with a GA-60XET was some place called computerhq.com and their resellerrating is a 3.1/7.0, read some of the comments and it sounds like a bad place to do business with.

[Sempei]

tainice, Directron.com lists the xet for $109. I'm gettin' one for Xmas!

[tainice]

My friend has purchased his XET at http://www.cpu-elements.com
for 119...damn:eek: expensive. Thanks ya all, it is great to know that one can always be welcomed at such hearty place with enumorus support:D

[ol' man]

Whoa, I am sorry I thought it was the GA60XET-c that was the good one. It seems the GA60XET is what fluid is using. Would be nice to know if the -c version allows the same bios to be used.

[muddocktor]

ol' man,
I looked at the gigabyte bios update page and they have the same bios listed for both versions of the board. I think the only differences between the boards is that the C version loses the separate hardware sound chip, the loss of 1 dimm slot and only a single bios chip instead of the dual bios setup.

[Bonka]

Originally posted by muddocktor
ol' man,
I looked at the gigabyte bios update page and they have the same bios listed for both versions of the board. I think the only differences between the boards is that the C version loses the separate hardware sound chip, the loss of 1 dimm slot and only a single bios chip instead of the dual bios setup.

Damnit, I'm already regretting getting the ST6 :mad: If the XET-C retains the same features such as the vcore adjust up to 1.825 WITHOUT the wiretrick, I think I'll return my ABit for the XET-C. XET's seem to be scarce north of the border. I want to OC with the least amount of trouble.

[ol' man]

Originally posted by Bonka


Damnit, I'm already regretting getting the ST6 :mad: If the XET-C retains the same features such as the vcore adjust up to 1.825 WITHOUT the wiretrick, I think I'll return my ABit for the XET-C. XET's seem to be scarce north of the border. I want to OC with the least amount of trouble.

Trouble shmuble, make a u this size--------->U<--------- with hair fine copper wire and insert into the proper holes and be done with it. You shouldn't need 1.825v anyway. It is too easy! Look at all the unlocking people have to do with the AMD chips and many bitch about having to do this very simple mod. WHat ever man:rolleyes: Hardly a reason to return a board!

You have vcore adjustments to 1.6v with the ST6 and if you have the right chip you may not need all that vcore. In fact if you can hit 1.6GHz on 1.6v or lower then I would simply leave it there! You can ask many far and wide the less heat you have to deal with the better. Don't fret man, what are you scared of!

First off you should assemble your computer first outside of the case to find its stable points and stuff so you don't have to reach in the case if you need to remove the HS. I like to put the HS on my chip first before I even put it into the case. If you put your MOBO into the case first and then try to do the wire trick it will be a little harder for sure.

I wish people would quit making mountains out of mole hills. You looked pi**ed too there bonka for no reason!

You wanted good advice on something that works very well for OC'n these chips well you got mine and pinkys advice! The VHT and ST6 are both very good boards as they allow 1/4 dividers under 133fsb. I still am not sure if the GB board does that. I would not regret something you know not much about there!

Also I see you already got your ST6. You can't handle making a simple U out of wire and inserting it into the holes. You should have done that first thing before you even put it into the case. Many here have done the homework for you all you have to do is follow through. I still think you have the best board available for the .13u celery. When i get the GB board I may change my mind but so far I have only heard 3 reviews about the GB board and 2 of them were not very good but it seemed they did not know what they were doing which I hope is the case. Fluid seems to know what he is talking about. We will see soon what is up with that board.

[Sempei]

Darnnit ol'man you almost make me happy that GA60-EXT was out of stock and am getting an ST6R instead! Seriously I know Abit boards are awesome, every one I've had was. I'm sure this ST6R will not disappoint me either. I too didn't want to mess with vid pinning but as I thought more about it, learning and trying new things are alot of what makes this fun and interesting. I'm now looking forward to adding this little trick to my arsenal in the assault on overclocking.

[ol' man]

Originally posted by Sempei
Darnnit ol'man you almost make me happy that GA60-EXT was out of stock and am getting an ST6R instead! Seriously I know Abit boards are awesome, every one I've had was. I'm sure this ST6R will not disappoint me either. I too didn't want to mess with vid pinning but as I thought more about it, learning and trying new things are alot of what makes this fun and interesting. I'm now looking forward to adding this little trick to my arsenal in the assault on overclocking.

You will not be dissapointed!

[Bonka]

You just took the words out of my mouth :p

Anyways, I know I won't be getting my fsb any further than 133 so I would hope that the wire trick would not be needed, obviously, I would much rather live with less heat to dissipate. But after putting some sense into my brain, all of Fluid's comments concerning the XET's divider specs should only be valid for people OCing into extremities.

At this point, the ST6 is EXACTLY what the ST6 lovers have said. I managed to get 1596 w/ vcore up all the way to 1.6, running with the 1/4 dividers. But high idle temps put me back down to 1.2. This would be fixed with a better hs/fan combo and some case cooling. Mind you, I posted the previous thread before I OC so I should've deleted. Anyways, I would still get the XET or XET-C (permitting that your comments with it are good) since I also plan to get the final tualatin celeron chip Intel decides to make, but I will keep the ST6, no doubt.

Now, concerning the wire trick, I guess there are 2 ways or doing it? Your way seems to be putting the copper strand in the pin holes on the socket, am I correct? And, where would I get this piece of copper strand? I suppose ripping apart a power cord may yield a possible answer?

[Sempei]

Originally posted by Bonka
Now, concerning the wire trick, I guess there are 2 ways or doing it? Your way seems to be putting the copper strand in the pin holes on the socket, am I correct? And, where would I get this piece of copper strand? I suppose ripping apart a power cord may yield a possible answer?

I have a small section of old Monster Cable speaker wire which I've cut apart and pulled a fine strand out of. I would think something like an extension cord or other similar cord would get pretty much the same thing.

[ol' man]

Originally posted by Sempei


I have a small section of old Monster Cable speaker wire which I've cut apart and pulled a fine strand out of. I would think something like an extension cord or other similar cord would get pretty much the same thing.

HAIR THIN and no thicker. I broke out a pin on my older celery which then allowed me to hit higher vcores actually on my ST6 which was in the end 1.825v:D I did this by useing a very thick piece of wire. Find a very thin piece of copper wire as I said about the thickness of a human hair or close to it. I think powercords may be too thick. I got my thin copper wire from a old s-video cable I had lying around here. The copper wires in it are very small and thin and I bet very pure copper too.

I tried monster cable too and I found that it was too thick also! If you have some old VCR cables or something that requires very good copper wire that may be the ticket. If you can't find any I could cut come of my s-video wire and send you some in the mail.

You should be able to slide your chip right into the hole with the wire in it too. If you can't don't force it. Find thinner wire.

[Pinky]

I'm using a strand from speaker wire. Just small enough and good copper.