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best motherboard for budget overclocking

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oldgooseberry

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Jan 12, 2010
hi everybody

I'm looking to build a system under a lean budget. I want to maximise my budget by overclocking as much as I can so need a motherboard that'll let me do it.

I'll be re-using my old packard bell case and getting the rest from dabs.com

-Gigabyte S774 Intel G41 DDR2 mATX A L GA-G41M-ES2L
-Intel CELERON E1500 2.2GHZ S775
-Zalman CNPS8700-NT Low-profile Heatpipe Flower Cooler
-XFX ATI Radeon 4650 HD 650Mhz 512MB PCI-E DVI (XXX)
-Crucial 2GB 800MHz DDR2 PC2-6400

My concern is the motherboard, I've read loads of review and there's loads that say it might arrive doa, the second memory slot won't work and opinion seems divided whether its good for overclocking. I'm new to overclocking and this will be my first real build, so will appreciate some advice

thanks
ken
 
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No experience with that board, sorry. But I cant imagine such a budget board will be a great overclocker. You should really get something in the P45 if you want to overclock well. But those may be out of your budget.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/NewPr...372&cm_re=gigabyte_p45-_-13-128-372-_-Product

^^ Would be great, but not sure if your require mATX form factor either.

Also, what Power Supply do you plan on using?
 
the board Earthdog recommended is a great one. and cheap! let us know more about your setup + budget.
 
IMO, since the E1500 is a low FSB chip you should be fine with a "not-so-good" OCer. If the board can do 333-400MHz FSB, then you'll be good. It will be tough for a 200 FSB chip to get to 400 FSB, 300 FSB would be good.

For example, I have a E5200 (200 FSB) and a horrible OCing board (650i), but I can still get the E5200 to 3.8GHz since my FSB doesn't need to be high.

If you do decide to get a new mobo, P45 is the best.
 
Thanks for the replies.

I might opt for e3200 as it seems to have more oc gains than the e1500, it's only slightly more expensive so might be worth it? Also I'd like in five years or so to upgrade to a quad when the price drops enough, so I am willing to invest a little more for a board that could oc both.

Asus S775 Intel P45 ATX A L PCI-E, P5Q SE2, is the cheapest on dabs, newegg has given it some really positive oc reviews, so could go for this instead?

MattNo5ss, the gigabyte board has a Max Bus Speed 1333 MHz. However the asus has a max bus speed of 1600 and it's a p45 with better oc options. The gigabyte matches my budget and if it can oc then is it really worth my while getting the asus?

Tanderson, I have a really tight budget but would be willing to spend a little more if the gains are big! I'm using it for flight sims mostly and hopefully street figher 4.

EarthDog, I've just installed a 450w psu. I don't mind getting a budget case but would prefer to stick with the mATX case I already have, if possible.
 
oldgooseberry said:
Thanks for the replies.

I might opt for e3200 as it seems to have more oc gains than the e1500, it's only slightly more expensive so might be worth it? Also I'd like in five years or so to upgrade to a quad when the price drops enough, so I am willing to invest a little more for a board that could oc both.

Asus S775 Intel P45 ATX A L PCI-E, P5Q SE2, is the cheapest on dabs, newegg has given it some really positive oc reviews, so could go for this instead?

MattNo5ss, the gigabyte board has a Max Bus Speed 1333 MHz. However the asus has a max bus speed of 1600 and it's a p45 with better oc options. The gigabyte matches my budget and if it can oc then is it really worth my while getting the asus?

Tanderson, I have a really tight budget but would be willing to spend a little more if the gains are big! I'm using it for flight sims mostly and hopefully street figher 4.

EarthDog, I've just installed a 450w psu. I don't mind getting a budget case but would prefer to stick with the mATX case I already have, if possible.
Click to expand...

You should go with the E3200, I mean $3 more for twice the cache and +1 to your multiplier is a great value. For OCing quads P45 is king. So, basically just get a P45 and you'll be set.

I would really go with the Gigabyte over that Asus, I've had both brands and I really like Gigabyte; a lot more OC options than the older Asus. The Gigabyte supports 1600 FSB, based on NewEgg (I doubt the E1500/E3200 will get that high anyway). I'm pretty sure that Asus board has the 24pin power connector in the middle of the board...that's enough to turn me off.

I noticed you said you have a mATX case, does the case even support regular ATX motherboards? If you have to have mATX, then the DFI LanParty Jr P45-T2RS (link is to an open box item) will be your best bet.

What's the amperage on the +12v rails of that PSU?
 
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I've just done some numbers and going for the e3200 makes sense.

CIT 450W Gold 12Cm Silent Atx Power Supply, it doesn't mention the amerage anywhere?

My mATX wouldn't support a full size ATX so I'll have to get a new case too. I am tempted to get a p45 board but with the case it's going to be about a 30% budget increase. Both the gigabyte p45 and the DFI LanParty Jr are a bit steep for me.
 
For mATX the Gigabyte G41M-ES2L you have listed would be my second choice behind the DFI LanParty Jr P45.

BTW, what is your budget? Will you only be reusing the case, what about HDD and DVD/CD?
 
yeah that's good to hear. I'll be keeping the case, the hd ide 80gb and also the dvd drive. I know it's an old disk but I don't imagine it being much of a bottle neck.

That's pretty much my budget there, I'd go over by 10-15% if there was a significant gain, but I just feel that that it's a good balanced combination at the moment and within five years it lets me do a fair amount of upgrades.

From what I can gather, the gigabyte g41 is capable of a 333fsb and getting 4ghz on the e3200 and I don't see why it can't do some oc on the quads. I'm hard pushed to invest in the p45 as it's only a benefit in the long term. I'm pretty convinced that I'll get g41.
 
In 5 years that PC will be horrifically slow...to me at least. Its slow now. And to upgrade to a S775 quad in 5 years is likely going to cost you and it would be worth it to get an entirely new system.

The HDD is the biggest bottleneck in any system. An old 80GB IDE HDD is quite slow. In fact its currently an entire standard behind (SATA2/3 being current) It will of course work just fine, but dont kid yourself into thinking its not a bottleneck.

Personally, I would sit on the money you have and save more for a more significant upgrade in a couple months.

What system do you currently have?

EDIT: I would also check out the front page article "Is there life in S775?" that I happened to write. It is of the opinion of most that it isnt good to upgrade to that socket when coming from something pretty old like I am guessing you are. But then again, budget considerations are key in this case. I would still hold off personally. You need to get on the curve at some point...
 
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Ditch that cooler and get a Xigmatek HDT-s1283, cut a hole in the side of the case if you have to.
Also, definitely get the e3300 over the e1500.
 
That's funny, I've got s478 pentium 4 2.53ghz with a geforce 4mx440! Well I guess the difference is I'm not looking to shell out for a new rig, with a little investment I can get this old girl to flight sim and breath some new life in to her.

I understand the hdd is the slowest part of any system, but I'm still not convinced that x plane needs it. I'll see how it goes and if I notice a lot of hdd slow down then I'll move onto sata.

I've read your article and the i7 is definitely the way to go for a new rig, but I can't justify spending that much unless I'm doing some high end gaming. This upgrade is cheap and it'll get me through the next few years.

I'm new to overclocking, but I'm hoping to get 4ghz out of the e3200, what kind of performance should I expect? how does real world performance compare to the midrange core 2 duo's?

thanks
 
oldgooseberry said:
I'm new to overclocking, but I'm hoping to get 4ghz out of the e3200, what kind of performance should I expect? how does real world performance compare to the midrange core 2 duo's?

thanks
Click to expand...

I highly doubt you'll be able to get 4GHz out of that chip. 3.6-3.8GHz is more realistic for a low FSB chip.

If the clocks are the same, the main difference in the mid-range C2D is they have more cache. You probably wouldn't notice much of a difference, if any.
 
oldgooseberry said:
That's funny, I've got s478 pentium 4 2.53ghz with a geforce 4mx440! Well I guess the difference is I'm not looking to shell out for a new rig, with a little investment I can get this old girl to flight sim and breath some new life in to her.

I understand the hdd is the slowest part of any system, but I'm still not convinced that x plane needs it. I'll see how it goes and if I notice a lot of hdd slow down then I'll move onto sata.

I've read your article and the i7 is definitely the way to go for a new rig, but I can't justify spending that much unless I'm doing some high end gaming. This upgrade is cheap and it'll get me through the next few years.

I'm new to overclocking, but I'm hoping to get 4ghz out of the e3200, what kind of performance should I expect? how does real world performance compare to the midrange core 2 duo's?

thanks
Click to expand...
I didnt know you were speaking in the context of X plane for your HDD. :bday:

It just appears we have different goals for a PC. What you have listed will be fine for your uses even if its on the trailing edge of the curve. I personally would just hold off and get more for my money and I thought that was a goal to begin with.

Post back some results of your build when its done!!! :cool:
 
I've changed the ram to corsair xms2, it's the same price as crucial's stuff and it should let me overclock my cpu more? I don't know if this board can reduce the memory ratio or is that a feature limited to the p45's??

and EarthDog, yes I'll be posting my results and I'm sure I'll have a lot more questions on how to overclock too:)

--
So, anyone have any more comments on this setup or my good to go?

Xigmatek HDT-S1283 (H.D.T.) 120mm PWM Fan x3 Heat-pipe LGA775/K8/AM2 Cpu cooler Quad Core Ready
2GB Corsair XMS2, DDR2 PC2-6400 (800), 240 Pins, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 5-5-5-18
Gigabyte GA-G41M-ES2L, Intel G41, S 775, PCI-E (x16), DDR2 1333, SATA 3Gbps, MicroATX, Onboard VGA
Intel Celeron Dual Core E3200, Socket 775, 2.4GHz, 1MB Cache,, 65W, Retail
512MB XFX HD4650 XXX, PCI-E 2.0 (x16), 1000MHz GDDR2, GPU 650MHz, 320 Cores, DVI-I/D-Sub
 
oldgooseberry said:
I've changed the ram to corsair xms2, it's the same price as crucial's stuff and it should let me overclock my cpu more? I don't know if this board can reduce the memory ratio or is that a feature limited to the p45's??

and EarthDog, yes I'll be posting my results and I'm sure I'll have a lot more questions on how to overclock too:)

--
So, anyone have any more comments on this setup or my good to go?

Xigmatek HDT-S1283 (H.D.T.) 120mm PWM Fan x3 Heat-pipe LGA775/K8/AM2 Cpu cooler Quad Core Ready
2GB Corsair XMS2, DDR2 PC2-6400 (800), 240 Pins, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 5-5-5-18
Gigabyte GA-G41M-ES2L, Intel G41, S 775, PCI-E (x16), DDR2 1333, SATA 3Gbps, MicroATX, Onboard VGA
Intel Celeron Dual Core E3200, Socket 775, 2.4GHz, 1MB Cache,, 65W, Retail
512MB XFX HD4650 XXX, PCI-E 2.0 (x16), 1000MHz GDDR2, GPU 650MHz, 320 Cores, DVI-I/D-Sub
Click to expand...

Changing the RAM wouldn't help you OC a E3200 more because won't get the CPU running at a FSB that's as fast as the RAM. You'll be able to change the FSB:RAM ratio. Just keep it at 1:1 while you OC, then when you're done OCing the CPU, increase it to get your RAM up to DDR2-800.

Everything looks good to go, and as EarthDog said, don't forget to post up results.
 
Hi everyone,I'm now considering getting the cpu and gpu from ebay

There's a used 8800 gt and http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/ says it has double the performance, but it's only got 128 shaders as opposed to the 4650 with 320 shaders, I sort of understand what shaders do but are my still better getting a used 8800 gt

How about a Intel Core 2 Duo E6750, 2.66 GHz, it's a 65mm that can clock to 3.8ghz. Does overclcoking a 65mm run hotter or is it harder to do? Should I stick with the e3200?

I was also wondering if buying overclocked cpu/gpu from ebay is a good idea, are they likely to have shorter lifespans because they have been overclocked?

thanks again all
 
so went ahead as planned, have the e3200 sitting in at 2.88ghz from 2.4 at fsb 239, if i go any higher the blasted thing won't boot. i'll try raising the voltage and see how that goes.
 
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