1.6a or XP for oc'ing?

[Haunter9X]

I am currently running an old celeron 300a @ 464MHz with 128mb of cas 2 memory. I really need to upgrade and I think it's finally time to bite the bullet. I must say that in the three years since I bought this set up it's performed quite admirably and solidly for being oc'd it's entire life. So, I'm tempted to buy a pretested 1.6a combo that runs at 2.2-2.4ghz as I know Intel chips can last at higher speeds. However, I've noticed that Athlons consistently beat the p4 processors at non oc'd speeds. Any suggestions on how I should resolve this dillema? Also, what motherboard is best for XP or P4 oc'ing? I've been looking at the Abit AT7/IT7 because of the plethora of ports that I want. Any help on this matter is greatly appreciated.
-Haunter

 

[Oreo]

If you want to clock get the P4 if you don't, get the Athlon.

 

[THUGSROOK]

you dont need a pretested cpu - the P4As are that good.

 

[dougp]

thugz, remember that when I'm PMing u on Friday when I get mine and it don't go above 2.0

 

[oldfart]

Thugs is right. While most wont do his insane overclock, 1.6A @ 2.2 is a given. 2.4 is pretty easy and common. Over that...luck of the draw.

 

[MisterBombastic]

Don't forget that the Athlons are about the same speed as a 300MHz to 400MHz faster Pentium 4 in the first place.

 

[Haunter9X]

Thanks guys... The AMDs seem to require more physical work to oc, which I'd rather do through a bios. Newegg seems to be fairly reputable from what I've read. Are they still the ones to go with? I'm not so much concerned about the price as getting a good chip from a good company. Also, on the heatsink, is the thermaltake volcano 7 worth the money? Or would I be better off with an alpha w/ the 80cfm delta fan?

 

[CubicZirconia]

The AMDs seem to require more physical work to oc

Get a jumperless mobo, like the 8kha+ (or its newer versions) and everything is done in bios.

 

[leezard]

i'll go for Athlon Xp !!! =P

 

[Steppy76]

Originally posted by: CubicZirconia

The AMDs seem to require more physical work to oc

Get a jumperless mobo, like the 8kha+ (or its newer versions) and everything is done in bios.

I believe the "physical" work he's talking about is the unlocking process.

 

[Blain]

The lowest price for a 1.6GHz listed at Pricewatch is about $137 shipped from Googlegear.
Advanced Design of Kentucky has a 2.4+GHz OC'd Northwood for $206 (2% discount for e-check), plus shipping charge ($??). Their OC'd CPU's come with the stock Intel HS/fan and 1yr. warranty on the OC along with the Intel 3yr. I guess the 3yr. is worthless because of the OC'd state of the CPU. ADK says that they won't use core voltage past .3 over stock.

Is the $75ish premium worth it for these Northwoods, or is it just a waste?

 

[jsm0net]

Originally posted by: Blain
The lowest price for a 1.6GHz listed at Pricewatch is about $137 shipped from Googlegear.
Advanced Design of Kentucky has a 2.4+GHz OC'd Northwood for $206 (2% discount for e-check), plus shipping charge ($??). Their OC'd CPU's come with the stock Intel HS/fan and 1yr. warranty on the OC along with the Intel 3yr. I guess the 3yr. is worthless because of the OC'd state of the CPU. ADK says that they won't use core voltage past .3 over stock.

Is the $75ish premium worth it for these Northwoods, or is it just a waste?

no, not at all. save the 75 bucks. just get a 1.6a, a good mobo, some good ram (corsair is my preference) and clock it yourself. without pushing the core voltage too much you can acheive 2.4ghz without much problem. I did it on a p4b266 using crucial ddr2100. I'm thinking i should hit 2.6 or so stable with the ddr3000 i'm getting in a few days.

 

[Blain]

Thanks for the info. Are you using the stock Intel HS/fan?
It looks like these 1.6a's are the OC kings

 

[oldfart]

I've built two 1.6A's. Both are running @ 2.4 GHz stock HS/Fan. One needs 1.65 Vcore, the other 1.675. Both will do 2.2 GHz stock Vcore. People have got chips that will do 2.4 @ stock Vcore (I'm never that lucky). I would not spend the extra $75. For ram, go with Samsung PC2700. For a mobo, you want an Intel i845 based board. Be sure it supports a PCI/AGP lock, and 3:4 and/or 4:5 mem ratio (845G only) @ high FSB speeds. This will get you maximum performance out of the system.

 

[Blain]

Thanks.
I was planning on an Abit IT7 Max for the lock and other onboard goodies.
The memory I was thinking about was some 2700-3000, Kingmax, Mushkin, Corsair or Samsung. I don't plan on any crazy-wild FSB, but I want the fastest memory settings I can get.

 

[oldfart]

There was a test done recently and the Samsung PC2700 came out on top. Kingmax was on the bottom.

 

[Haunter9X]

Yah, how are those IT7s for overclocking? They look really nice in the specs, but would issues arise out of having usb 2.0 on the board with the max stable fsb i can reach? If not, who makes a board with the 845G on it? I've also been looking at the abit bd7r, but again I'm hesitant about the stability of the raid controller with a upped fsb on it...
-Haunter9x

 

[CoDerEd]

i see that abit and msi make board for 845G

bd7 has lock pci/agp so don't worry about the stability

 

[Blain]

ROCK ON Hard OCP!

 

[sonoran]

Originally posted by: Haunter9X
I am currently running an old celeron 300a @ 464MHz with 128mb of cas 2 memory. I really need to upgrade and I think it's finally time to bite the bullet. I must say that in the three years since I bought this set up it's performed quite admirably and solidly for being oc'd it's entire life. So, I'm tempted to buy a pretested 1.6a combo that runs at 2.2-2.4ghz as I know Intel chips can last at higher speeds. However, I've noticed that Athlons consistently beat the p4 processors at non oc'd speeds. Any suggestions on how I should resolve this dillema? Also, what motherboard is best for XP or P4 oc'ing? I've been looking at the Abit AT7/IT7 because of the plethora of ports that I want. Any help on this matter is greatly appreciated.
-Haunter

Why not get an overclocked 1.6a for now, then in a year, using the same motherboard, you can upgrade to an overclocked 3GHz on the cheap? And BTW, the 1.6's and 3.0's are essentially made from the same materials (same silicon wafers, same chemical processes, etc - primarily just a different circuit mask). As long as you don't seriously overheat the processor, I'd expect it to last as well as your 300a has.