Choosing a new MOBO (New Zealand)

[Lunchie]

Hey OC

hope you guys are all having a great night

I am about to buy this computer

http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/systems/systemdetail.asp?systypeid=4

But changing to the x4 955 Black edition

and the gigabyte GTX 460 1GB

All I am looking to do is OC it to around 3.8ghz

Is the Mobo listed going to be ok?

If not can you link one (From this site) that you would recommend instead and why

Thanks for you help as I am about to buy this system

 

[QuietIce]

If the power will hold up it should do fine. Since you have a BE you don't have to worry how high the board clock will go. And you're not going too high on the overclock so you should be OK - but no guarantee's, of course.

The alternative is another $100 ...
http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/components/componentview.asp?partid=12077

 

[Lunchie]

If the power will hold up it should do fine. Since you have a BE you don't have to worry how high the board clock will go. And you're not going too high on the overclock so you should be OK - but no guarantee's, of course.

The alternative is another $100 ...
http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/components/componentview.asp?partid=12077

what would the advantage of the better board be?

I have been doing lots of reading on MOBO's but the only differences I could really see is the clock speed they could run the ram, 1333, 1600 2000 etc?

Can you explain how an "ok" board differs from a "good" board

 

[xoke]

what would the advantage of the better board be?

I have been doing lots of reading on MOBO's but the only differences I could really see is the clock speed they could run the ram, 1333, 1600 2000 etc?

Can you explain how an "ok" board differs from a "good" board

Better chipset (870 vs. 890) allows for potentially more overclockability, and better cooling. You will notice the more expensive of the two listed above has a heatsink on the mosfets (power regulation stuff) to the left of the CPU socket. As a really general rule...the better the chipset the better the motherboard. At a glance, anything that doesn't have a heatsink on the mosfets wasn't designed to be overclocked hard. (Not to say it won't, just to say the other is better equipped for overclocking.)

 

[Lunchie]

Better chipset (870 vs. 890) allows for potentially more overclockability, and better cooling. You will notice the more expensive of the two listed above has a heatsink on the mosfets (power regulation stuff) to the left of the CPU socket. As a really general rule...the better the chipset the better the motherboard. At a glance, anything that doesn't have a heatsink on the mosfets wasn't designed to be overclocked hard. (Not to say it won't, just to say the other is better equipped for overclocking.)

ah ok thanks, that really helps a lot. I am beggining to get an idea of how MOBOs differ now, I guess since I am only looking at 3.8 max I hope I should be ok, the problem with NZ is the prices, I started out at $1200 and have already hit $2000 so I am trying to keep the prices down since I'm still a Uni Student

 

[xoke]

ah ok thanks, that really helps a lot. I am beggining to get an idea of how MOBOs differ now, I guess since I am only looking at 3.8 max I hope I should be ok, the problem with NZ is the prices, I started out at $1200 and have already hit $2000 so I am trying to keep the prices down since I'm still a Uni Student

Can you build it cheaper?

 

[Lunchie]

Can you build it cheaper?

the build price s $60 bucks, so for the sake of 1 hours worth of labour I'll let them put it together

 

[QuietIce]

ah ok thanks, that really helps a lot. I am beggining to get an idea of how MOBOs differ now, I guess since I am only looking at 3.8 max I hope I should be ok, the problem with NZ is the prices, I started out at $1200 and have already hit $2000 so I am trying to keep the prices down since I'm still a Uni Student

I've seen a lot of 955BE's over-clock to 3.8 GHz with almost no voltage bump above stock. If yours ends up as one of these then the board you linked should be fine. If you have to go a lot higher with the voltage then you may run into problems. Personally, if I were in your position looking for roughly that speed I'd stick with the build you listed and not worry about the better motherboard. If it doesn't make 3.8 GHz I doubt it will miss it by much and you might get a better-than-average chip and board and end up with more ...

 

[Lunchie]

I've seen a lot of 955BE's over-clock to 3.8 GHz with almost no voltage bump above stock. If yours ends up as one of these then the board you linked should be fine. If you have to go a lot higher with the voltage then you may run into problems. Personally, if I were in your position looking for roughly that speed I'd stick with the build you listed and not worry about the better motherboard. If it doesn't make 3.8 GHz I doubt it will miss it by much and you might get a better-than-average chip and board and end up with more ...

Cheers man appreciate the feedback, has set my mind at ease.

Thanks man.

Would you be able to recommend me a decent/cheap cooler for the CPU from the site?

 

[QuietIce]

None of my favorite coolers in the budget category are listed.
Here are a couple in my high-end category. They're some of the best available but not cheap:

http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/components/componentview.asp?partid=13524
http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/components/componentview.asp?partid=8226


Here's a good list of coolers you can use as a guide to find something a little less expensive that suits your taste:

http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=2521&page=4


Hope that helps.


PS
Because of the 'EX' on the end of the model number I'm not sure this is the same heatsink as the "CNPS10X" ...
http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/components/componentview.asp?partid=10089

 

[Lunchie]

wow QI, way to make me poorer!

Thanks for list though lol

 

[QuietIce]

I warned that they weren't cheap. LOL! The good news is, almost everything else is cheaper - in most cases much cheaper.

The budget coolers I recommend run $25-38 USD shipped to continental US ...

 

[Lunchie]

Thought i might let you know I have asked my computer guy to include this cooler

THERMALRIGHT ULTRA-120 EXTREME

rated highly by quite a few reviews including frostytech

Costing me about $120 which isnt THAT bad in NZ

To put it in perspective a big mach combo costs us around $10 NZD

But then our medium income is just on $40,000 NZD so I guess it balances out?

 

[QuietIce]

That's a great cooler - and somewhere up the line, if you need better cooling all you have to do is add better fans. That heatsink is over-designed enough to use them ...