Best CPU to overclock?

For my new rig i was looking at a Northwood P4..unless someone can stray me towards AMD. In your opinion, whats the best pentium class chip to OC and whats the best AMD? Thanks for your help and info

-steve-

Strange no one replied to this one. So I will.

Everyone loves the P4C 2.4ghz processor. You really have to make sure that you get a good stepping though, if you want to OC it to your full potential.

The higher end P4Cs can overclock somewhat higher. But I would rather spend a bit less, and get a much higher FSB(always go for the FSB).

AMD looks like they have good mobiles going on right now. If you want an Athlon, look for a mobile Athlon 2500, or something to that effect.

Don't forget about the wonderful world of duallies though. Nothing like a Dual Athlon-M 2500. Or maybe a Dual Xeon. Or a Dual P3.

Remember, things don't overclock as well in dual, but then again, you have double the processors.

Yea, i've been looking at different solutions here and there. Dual processors really aren't for me. I was talking in a rathe lengthy thread about it and i decided its really not for me. Someone encoding video, using photoshop, and feels the need to play some games at the same time might benefit from dualies, but one fast processor would be better for my use.

I think i'm going to go with Pentium becuase thats really all i know. AMDs are much cheaper....but why? I also was thinking of puttin in a Swiftech WC pelt.

I really have to think about this one, but i think i'm going to get really low temps, especially with the peltier, so i want something that i can OC to the max, and still get stability.

Thanks for asnwering btw

-steve-

Actually, AMD is not cheaper nowadays if you consider high end systems. To get an AMD rig that will match an Intel rig, you need at least the A64. For example: at newegg.com the A64 3200+ is $282 and the P-4 3.0C is $220. The 3.0C is the darling of the overclocking world right now. They are often hitting 3.6 to 3.8 gig on air.

batboy said:

The 3.0C is the darling of the overclocking world right now. .

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hear hear

If you went AMD, I'd have to suggest a Mobile Barton (relatively inexpensive) or an A64 (not cheap). ALL things considered, AMD and Intel are basically equal right now. A64's are performing better than P4's at stock speed, but the latest P4's are overclocking like crazy on air cooling and thus able to exceed...

It's a back and forth match that basically comes down to your own preference. I still firmly believe that, unless Intel pulls a rabbit out of their posterior orifice, I'll likely be an A64 customer for my next major upgrade in a year or so. But that's just my personal preference; I happen to think AMD is onto something. Others will disagree (and rightly so.)

If you go Intel, I'd suggest a 3.0C with a decent overclock. There were some killer overclocking 2.4C's out there, but they all require some SERIOUS front side bus speed. Even the best-of-the-best motherboards often have intermittent issues getting to those kinds of FSB. I went through four identical motherboards, and basically ALL of them stopped at between 284 and 288FSB. I voltmodded one of them and got it stable to about 296...

My 3.0C needs "only" a 250FSB and some good ram; most motherboards out there today can easily attain this speed. I find the 3.0C gives you a great combination of good FSB (1000mhz), good memory speed options (500 in 1:1, 400 in 5:4, or even 333 in 3:2) and LOTS of processor speed (3.75ghz, woohoo!)

You can get a 3.0C for around $200 USD, and a good motherboard for $130 or less. Buy some decent ram (you decide: PC3200 at 5:4 tight timings, or PC4000 at 1:1 high speed) and a good video card and you're done.

I'm really in a boggle. I could go with a 3.0c rig and OC the hell out of that. I want to do something different like "pioneering" for me atleast. I would probably put a wc peltier on that. With evernthing there its going to cost me over a grand at least.

The other thing i was wondering about was building a cheap dualie. Using two AMD XP1700s. I know one P4 3.0c will be much better than the XP1700s that i can probably oc to like 2.0 or 2.3gigs just on air i've hard, but it will give me better multitasking capabilities.

So i can go extremely expensive new rig, with increadbily ocable P4 3.0c with a pelt. Or, i can go with dual XP1700s and get multitasking, and something i've never done before, setting up a rig with two CPUs.

I'm lost

-steve-

Don't need a pelt on a P-4 for a great overclock. Hyperthreading is good for multitasking too.

batboy said:

Don't need a pelt on a P-4 for a great overclock. Hyperthreading is good for multitasking too.

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Thats what i thought, i just didnt bother to mention the P4's HT technology. I really dont know what to do though. I wanted to do something different, like using a pelt, or buildin a system with two processors. What do you think i should do? The rig is just going to be used as a main rig, a little bit of gaming, and of course i'll be folding, and using aim, and a bunch of other common place stuff. What do you think I should do?

-steve-

Well, unfortunately "it's all been done!" Lots of people went the route of the 3.0C, probably a few less (but still plenty) went the route of dual AMD's. And Peltiers are long since overdone, mostly because most current processors create far more heat than a peltier can efficiently deal with.

Hate to pee in your cheerios like that hehehe A dual system will truly multitask better than a single HT system, but it won't game as well by a large margin. Multiprocessor systems have a different sort of bottleneck when gaming, specifically at the actual processor bus itself rather than the CPU or the video card. That is the unfortunate nature of the beast.

Hyperthreaded procs do pump out more workunits than a single processor system, but not as many as a true dual setup. However, for what you're describing, an Intel HT setup is probably going to give you the best of all worlds.

It isn't the best answer for everyone, but seems to fit what you're asking for.

Albuquerque said:

Well, unfortunately "it's all been done!" Lots of people went the route of the 3.0C, probably a few less (but still plenty) went the route of dual AMD's. And Peltiers are long since overdone, mostly because most current processors create far more heat than a peltier can efficiently deal with.

Hate to pee in your cheerios like that hehehe A dual system will truly multitask better than a single HT system, but it won't game as well by a large margin. Multiprocessor systems have a different sort of bottleneck when gaming, specifically at the actual processor bus itself rather than the CPU or the video card. That is the unfortunate nature of the beast.

Hyperthreaded procs do pump out more workunits than a single processor system, but not as many as a true dual setup. However, for what you're describing, an Intel HT setup is probably going to give you the best of all worlds.

It isn't the best answer for everyone, but seems to fit what you're asking for.

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Yea, i understand everything has been done before, i meant something that was new to me, that I havent done before. I'm still alittle undecided. If i go the route of the P4 3.0c, i'm looking at well over a grand. Between the video card (probably 9800 pro) the processor, the HDD (probably 10,000rpm with an 8mb buffer). The dual AMD i can build over under $700 probably. The dualie will play games ok though right? Just not as good as the P4? I dont really play that many hardware intensive games (ie: Far Cry, and Doom3 when it comes out) i play CounterStrike, and another online game called Tibia, but mostly CounterStrike. Becuase i'd be doing so many things, i'd like the multitasking capabilities of a dualie, but i can get basically the same thing with a P4. I'm not made of money, so i might go the AMD dualie route. I dont know :O(

-steve-

-steve-

Hey, it's all up to you. A dual machine may require ECC ram which could add to the cost, dunno for sure. Dual motherboards aren't the cheapest either, nor is purchasing two processors. I would bet that a dual processor AMD board will be very similar in price to a decent P4 motherboard -- that's a wash. The Intel board would use non-ECC ram, there's a potential wash if the dual AMD rig requires ECC (although I can't say that as a certainty, I could be mistaken)

So really, you'll save about $20-30 on buying two AMD's versus a single Intel 3.0... Figure in the cost for cooling and you may be back at a wash again. Then all the supporting hardware (drive, video, etc) will all be equal between the two.

The net result is, you'd likely be at a similar pricepoint with an AMD dualie versus a 3.0C single. There's definately room for error in my oversimplified calculations, but I'm betting that if a 3.0C costs you $1000, a dual AMD of otherwise equal parts will probably be $900 or thereabouts.

Edit
I did a quick perusal through NewEgg and Pricewatch -- seems that dual processor AMD motherboards are a lot more expensive than I realized. You can get a decent P4 motherboard for $100 or less; you can't find an AMD dual processor board for much under $200. (I found one for like $189...)

Fortunately they don't require ECC ram, though it is suggested. Unfortunately, they also don't support very high speed ram either so you're in questionable territory when you start overclocking very high.

The best dual AMD mobo on the market (the one i'd use) is the MSI K7D Master which is around $180. And yes, it does require registered ECC PC2700 RAM, which does add to the price.

The CPUs i'd use are AMD Athalon XP1700s T-bred B's which are about $50 a piece. To mod the multiplier i'd have to short out the L5 bridge, so i can get them to about 2.0gigs on air, using two 120mm fans.

I think i'm leaning more towards the P4. We'll have to see.

-steve-

I don't know why they recommend the 3.0C. I had a 2.8C that hit 3.53 on default Vcore. This of course was before I spilled water all over it. The 2.8C is only $175. The Abit IS7 is $95. For memory I recommed Komusa so you can run 1:1 timmings at cas 2.5 @ 250 Mhz bus.

I wish I had the money for another setup like this because it was much faster than barton, but my dad says "that's enough computer spending". when I do multiple tasks it's night and day with HT. Running Azurious, SETI, web browser, and playing serious sam 2nd encounter together can bog me down now a bit now.

Yes the moblie barton is about half as much if you get a board like the shuttle and it's about 3/4 the chip.

JMO

Edit and another thing is don't forget about 3yr warranty you will get with the C instead of 30days with MB.

BeerHunter said:

I don't know why they recommend the 3.0C. I had a 2.8C that hit 3.53 on default Vcore. This of course was before I spilled water all over it. The 2.8C is only $175. The Abit IS7 is $95. For memory I recommed Komusa so you can run 1:1 timmings at cas 2.5 @ 250 Mhz bus.

I wish I had the money for another setup like this because it was much faster than barton. when I do multiple tasks it's night and day with HT. Running Azurious, SETI, web browser, and playing serious sam can bog me down now a bit now.

Yes the moblie barton is about half as much if you get a board like the shuttle and it's about 3/4 the chip.

JMO

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Yes, i love Komusa. It was recomended to me by Flapperhead, and i bought my RDRAM for my current rig there. RDRAM is usually very expensive, i picked it up cheap however.

-steve-

0-one,

You can't seem to decide, so I'll decide for you.

Get yourself a 3.0c of a good stepping, a good board (I recommend Asus) a nifty water cooling system, some good RAM, and overclock the stuffings out of that CPU. You'll have a blast tweaking the CPU and RAM. Oh yea, and if you draw a "slow" CPU that can only hit 3.4 or so, it's still no sweat. Those HT Northwoods run as smooth as butter!

I'm another fan of Komusa; the pair in my current rig can also do 292 1:1 with my 2.4c at 3.5ghz... It's too bad the actual board isn't stable that speed when running 3D apps

bobad said:

0-one,

You can't seem to decide, so I'll decide for you.

Get yourself a 3.0c of a good stepping, a good board (I recommend Asus) a nifty water cooling system, some good RAM, and overclock the stuffings out of that CPU. You'll have a blast tweaking the CPU and RAM. Oh yea, and if you draw a "slow" CPU that can only hit 3.4 or so, it's still no sweat. Those HT Northwoods run as smooth as butter!

Click to expand...

Lol, thank you. I guess that's my best bet, becuase if i really wanted to get the most out of the dual AMDs i'd have to destroy the L5 bridge, and the L3 bridge, and its just a pain in the butt.

If i do get the Northwood P4 though, i'll probably use a watercooled peltier instead of just water cooling (just to be a bit adventerous ).

Another thing i'm having trouble with, can someone explain RAM timings to me? If I need i'll just post it in the memory thread, but since we're on the subject here i'll just go ahead and ask. Thanks everyone.

-steve-

For AMD I would say the Mobile Barton's -- especially the new 1.35v ones on sale at excaliberpc.com right now....

For Intel I have to say either the 2.4C or the 3.0C, cant beat those two.... all you need is a good stepping and you'll have a pretty sweet OC

What about the new 3.0E with D-0 stepping? This thread is great:

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=293795

hehe