AMD User seeking info to build new Intel system!

[Amair_sc]

Hello guys and gals!

I finnally got sick of my old Thunderbird and am now looking to upgrade. Since intel have the most OC and performance friendly cpu's right now I thought I would make the switch.

I will have a vapo here in a little while, so I want a chip that has the potential to OC nicely. I read a few threads and the 1.8A and 2.26B look like they have a high chance of yielding a very decent overclock. I was wondering if the difference in FSB for those 2 proc had a very high impact on performance at higher speeds (I would be aiming for 3Ghz + on both chips)? I know the logical answer would be yes, but I thought I would ask the Intel experts. I realise my only option for High Mhz increase is DDR; corsair 3200 it will probably be (unless something hotter is on the market). I was wondering which DDR chipset was best for Ocing the Northwoods, I've heard SIS was actually not bad for Intel but I would like to know which one is definately the best. I might look into RAID but that is just gravy on any Mobo.

Thanks for your time, I look forward to reading your suggestions!

 

[Buzzdog]

Amair_sc,

First, Welcome to the Intel side. You are looking at the right area for a CPU, the 1.8a and the 2.26 are both great choices. If you are not in a hurry, I would wait for both of these chips to be available with the C1 stepping. You will have a greater chance of hitting 3+GHz with a C1 step chip. The general school of thought would be that you will end up with a higher fsb with the 2.26 since it is a x17 mulitplier. Your total OC will not be as high as starting with a 1.8 since your fsb starts at 133 with the 2.26. The only chipsets that I am familiar with on the Intel side are the 845e and the 850 chipsets. If you are going to go with a DDR system I would go for the lowest mulitplier that you can get. If RDRAM is your choice then you can go with a little higher multiplier but you will not end up with as high of a FSB. If you are willing to wait for Granite Bay chipset to hit the streets then you should get RDRAM performance using 2 sticks of DDR. For a choice of motherboards, I have had great experience with my Abit IT7. It has almost all of the OC features you would want out of a motherboard. You can lock the PCI/AGP bus. It has the 3:4 memory divider. You can get up to 2.9 vrimm, but with the modded bios's out there you can go higher. Using the pin mod you can take your vcore up also. Just remember, Northwoods do not like alot of vcore, the rule of thumb is keep it at no more then 1.7 actual vcore to keep it on the safe side. I would recomend that you wait until Granite Bay is out and the 2.26 is available in C1 stepping before you make the jump to Intel. With your vapo case it should end up being a very nice combination. Also by going with Granite Bay you will not have to get the really highend DDR to go with it. The highest memory speed I would go with would be CorsairXMS3200-cas2 memory sticks. I can vouch that they are more then capable of cas2 at above their rating. You actually could get by with getting some 2700 cas2 sticks. Good luck in your OC.


Buzzdog

 

[Neo_peter]

save your money and wait till the 3.06 comes out, cause they'll drop the price on the other cpus. btw vapo is very bad for P4 it seems. krag another guy on this forum has killed several due to vapo, so you should becareful. 2.26 is great, but over 3 is hard... even if the vapo didn't kill the P4s. you should also want for the chipsets with granite bay which support Dual DDR, they'll be out by the end of the month...