[Kenshiro]

Hi everyone, I am helping a friend to build a computer. He is interested in getting a pentium and wants to prepare the computer for overclocking. I am not too familar with pentiums. I really appreciate if someone can answer my questions.

(1) What is the best mobo for overclocking?

(2) What memory should he get?

(3) Is there much difference in overclocking ability between the 2.6C and the 2.8C northwood core?

Advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Kenshiro]

bump.............

anyone??????????

[Maxvla]

best mobo is the p4c800 deluxe

best chip is the 3.0c (see sig)

don't get a 2.6c. 2.8's are still a gamble. i have 4 3.0c's and the worst one does 3650mhz.

memory just depends if you want high fsb you need some pc4000 or higher. if you want tight timings find yourself some BH5 ram. kingston hyperx 3200 non-a is bh5 and i think its still available.

[batboy]

Not sure there is any perfectly right answer. The "best" is a matter of opinion depending on the person asked. Certainly the Asus P4C800 is near the top, but so is the Abit IC7 series. As for CPU... I would pass on the 2.6C and get either the 2.8C or 3.0C. Memory is the toughest to recommend. Depends a lot on budget and O/C goals.

[JacK9579]

the best mobo by far is the intel d875pbzlk, with the canterwood chipset, but on a gig of corsair(sp) ps3200 and your set

[Kenshiro]

Originally posted by Maxvla
best mobo is the p4c800 deluxe

best chip is the 3.0c (see sig)

don't get a 2.6c. 2.8's are still a gamble. i have 4 3.0c's and the worst one does 3650mhz.

why is 2.8C a gamble?? I'm not too sure about their stepping code.

[Kenshiro]

Isn't all intel chips locked? Isn't that the reason why we have to get good memory for overclocking?????

[InvisGreenMan]

Yes, but intel can handle the 5:4 ratio better than AMD, so it isn't quiet as big of a deal.

[Maxvla]

Originally posted by JacK9579
the best mobo by far is the intel d875pbzlk, with the canterwood chipset, but on a gig of corsair(sp) ps3200 and your set

afaik you can't oc that board

[Maxvla]

Originally posted by Kenshiro


why is 2.8C a gamble?? I'm not too sure about their stepping code.

there are some that do well and some that do pretty poorly. the 3.0c's are looking pretty good right now. consistently 3500 or better it appears.

[Kenshiro]

ok, so the best current recommended mobo for overclockin in the pentium world is either the ASUS P4C800, or the Abit IC7. The CPU is the catchy issue here.

Base on the system rig i seen in this forum, this is what I concluded. My assumption is that all these CPUs are air cooled, not watercooled.

2.4C oc ~ 3.2
2.6C oc ~ 3.4
2.8C oc ~ 3.4
3.0C oc ~ 3.5 and above.

Please let me know that if my assumption is correct.

[mattspalace]

There's not really a 'best' motherboard. The Asus mentioned above is very good, also the IC7 series, or the AI7.
The AI7 had all the options I was looking for, so that's what I went with - even over IC7-Max3.

I've had EVERY CPU you're considering and here's what I've found..

2.4C will usually do somewhere between 3.2 and 3.6
2.6C seems to do 3.25 and that's it
2.8C will do about 3.5, or just a bit more
3.0C will do about 3.6 or if you're lucky 3.75+

You really have to consider your overclocking goals..

If your goal is the highest GHz possible - then get the 3.0C
If your goal is the highest FSB possible - then get the 2.4C
If your goal is somewhere inbetween - then get the 2.8C

Where possible, I would suggest getting an M0 stepping (for the 2.4C and 2.8C) 3.0C seems to really just be hit and miss... not really a stepping that seems to do better than another.

My .02 cents.

[mattspalace]

Concerning memory, I think I'd go for the Komusa - Adata PC4200 memory for any of the above CPU's. The price is right and this stuff will blow away any other set of PC4000+ that I've seen..

[Kenshiro]

What about the 2.8E? The price is the same as the 2.8C. Do they overclock well too??? Anyone care to eleborate that?????

[mattspalace]

For the most part, Prescott's are VERY hit and miss regarding overclockability, and they also run extremely hot. Once new steppings come out, hopefully they will be a good CPU to O/C, but for now, I wouldn't recommend it.

[batboy]

Good post Matt. You summed it up very nicely.

The 2.8E is the Prescott. It'll be a great CPU when it matures and the new stepping arrives in May. Trouble is that right now it has a few bugs and runs pretty hot. It does overclock well if you invest in really good cooling. The Northwoods will beat it in many benchmarks unless you can get an exceptional overclock out of it. My advice is to wait a little longer before buying the Prescott.

The 2.8C is a good price and fits a variety of RAM solutions. You can use more expensive PC4000 RAM and run it with the 1:1 ratio or get cheaper PC3200 RAM and use the 5:4 ratio. If you are on a budget, then get the 2.8C with good PC3200 RAM. A feature rich budget mobo that overclocks well would be the Abit AI7.

[Kenshiro]

Mushkin 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-4000 - Retail
Specification
Manufacturer: Mushkin
Speed: DDR500(PC4000)
Type: 184 Pin DDR SDRAM
Error Checking: Non-ECC
Registered/Unbuffered: Unbuffered
Cas Latency: 3-4-4
Support Voltage: 2.5V-2.8V
Bandwidth: 4.0GB/s
Organization: 64M x 64 -Bit
Warranty: Lifetime more info>
N82E16820146312 $116.00
$232.00

Motherboards - Intel
ABIT i875P Chipset Motherboard for Intel Socket 478 CPU, Model "IC7" -RETAIL
Specifications:
Supported CPU: Intel Pentium 4(Hyper Threading) Processors
Chipset: Intel 875P + ICH5R
FSB: 800/533MHz
RAM: 4x DIMM support Dual-Channel DDR400/333/266 Max 4GB(ECC)
IDE: 2x ATA 100 up to 4 Devices
Slots: 1x AGP Pro 8X/4X(0.8/1.5V), 5x PCI
Ports: 2xPS2,1xLPT,1xCOM,SPDIF Out,3xIEEE1394a(Rear 1),8xUSB2.0(Rear 4),Audio Ports
Onboard Audio: 6-Channel AC97 Codec
Onboard 1394: 3 Ports
Onboard SATA/RAID: 2x Serial ATA, RAID 0/1
Form Factor: ATX more info>
N82E16813127153 $123.00
$123.00

Processors
Intel Pentium 4/ 2.8C GHz 800MHz FSB, 512K Cache, Hyper Threading Technology - Retail
Specification
Model: Intel Pentium 4 2.8C w/ Hyper Threading
Core: Northwood
Operating Frequency: 2.8GHz
FSB: 800MHz
Cache: L1/12K+8K; L2/512K
Voltage: 1.525V
Process: 0.13Micron
Socket: Socket 478
Multimedia Instruction: MMX, SSE, SSE2
Warranty: 3-year MFG
Packaging: Retail box (with Heatsink and Fan) more info>
N82E16819116161


These are the major components I picked for my friend under newegg. Please let me know if they are ok??? Thanks.

[batboy]

Looks like my 2.8C system that I have... except I'm using Cosair XMS PC4000 Pro RAM instead of Mushkin.... looks good to me. Mushkin is good, I have a pair of PC3500 level 2 Mushkin in one of my other systems and I like it. The only thing else I can add is the regular IC7 does not have on-board LAN, so if your friend has broadband, he'll need to get an ethernet card.

[mattspalace]

Looks like a good combo to me. You might consider the AI7 instead of the IC7 though. The AI7 has onboard LAN - the IC7 does not. The IC7 vDimm maxes at 2.8v I believe, the AI7 maxes out the vDimm at 3.2v. But the IC7 has the canterwood chipset and the AI7 has the springdale. Just some things to consider, but those are all quality parts and you should be happy with them.

[Kenshiro]

How about this mobo????
I heard good reviews about this and people have nice overclock results also.


ABIT i865PE Chipset Motherboard for Intel Socket 478 CPU, Model "AI7" -RETAIL

Specifications:
Supported CPU: Socket 478 Intel Pentium 4 Processors (Prescott Ready)
Chipset: Intel 865PE + ICH5R
FSB: 800/533/400MHz
RAM: 4x DIMM Support DDR400/333/266 Max 4GB
IDE: 2x ATA 100 up to 4 Devices
Slots: 1x AGP 8X/4X(0.8/1.5V), 5x PCI
Ports: 2xPS/2,1xCOM,1xLPT,8xUSB2.0(Rear 4),1xLAN,3xIEEE1394(Rear 1),SPDIF In/Out, Audio Ports
Onboard Audio: Realtek ALC658 6-Channel Codec
Onboard LAN: 10/100Mbps Fast Ethernet
Onboard SATA/RAID: 2x Serial ATA, RAID 0/1
Onboard 1394: 3 Ports
Form Factor: ATX