Help! New budget Conroe OC upgrade

[smn198]

I'm buying new innards for my current Athlon 64 but please let me know if you have any suggestions for improving it; particularly on whether it is worth getting DDR2-900MHz rather than DDR2-800MHz and my choice of mobo. I wanted 2GB of RAM but DDR2 is so expensive. Would I hurt performance much buying one 1GB stick and then hoping to buy another matching stick later?

GPU
Unbranded GeForce 7900 GS 256MB
£117.50
RAM
OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) PC2-7200 Dual Channel EPP XTC Series DDR2 - OCZ2N9002GK
£211.50
OR
KINGSTON 2GB KIT 800MHz DDR2 Low-Latency CL4 (4-4-4-12) DIMM - KHX6400D2LLK2/2G or similar
Around £170.00
OR
just one, 1GB stick for now
CPU
E6300 Core 2 Duo *OEM* 1.86GHz 1066FSB 2MB Cache
£122.00
HDD
Hitachi Deskstar T7K250 NCQ 250GB
£54.00
CPU FAN
Thermaltake Big Typhoon 4 in 1 Heatpipe
£29.00
Motherboard
Asus P5B Deluxe (Would I really need the deluxe?)
£141.00
OR
Gigabyte GA 965P DS3 - I've heard the Gigabyte has better capacitors and it is a lot cheaper!
£96.50
Case
Existing Coolermaster ATC-200
Free!
PSU
Existing Antec True Power 430
Will this work with both the core 2 duo mobos?
Free!

 

[smn198]

Forgot to ask: Is it worth paying more for RAM to try and keep a 1:1 divider? Would DDR2-900MHz be fast enough for OCing a e6300? Does it slow it down much if I don't use a 1:1 divider. I'm most interested in gaming performance so would I be better off getting a X2 3800 and a faster GPU?

 

[Exterous]

IIRC its not worth going faster than ddr800 because that is what gives you the 1:1 ratio

Also, most OEM CPUs don't have a very good warrenty - it varies but its usually around 30 days. For only a little bit more you can usually get a retail version with a 1 year warrenty

I myself have the GA-965P-DS3 and love it. It was very easy to OC (esp considering I had never done it before). The downside is no SLI or Crossfire. If you don't plan on that then I would go with the DS3 (FYI: I got the DS3 w/ my ram - which is inferior to either of your RAM choices - to 3.1Ghz with the E6400)

The PSU will probably work ok (Check out the PSU calculator Here) but you can do alot better - there also isn't alot of extra room for upgrades. As I mentioned in another thread I am alittle rough on PSUs so hopefully someone else will chime in, but I would look into getting a new one

 

[smn198]

Thanks for the advice Exterous.

IIRC its not worth going faster than ddr800 because that is what gives you the 1:1 ratio

Would overclocking the FSB require me to use faster than 800MHz RAM? If I want to get to a 450MHz FSB I would need 900MHz RAM wouldn't I?

I've only ever bought OEM CPUs and never had a problem. Might go retail for the longer warranty and also so I can see if it was worth getting a new CPU heatsink and fan.

Thanks for the power usage calculator. That is a good idea. Apparently I would be OK with a 240W PSU so I'll see how I do with my 430W Antec TruePower first but if the voltages are looking low then I'll consider an upgrade.

 

[Exterous]

Originally posted by: smn198
Thanks for the advice Exterous.

IIRC its not worth going faster than ddr800 because that is what gives you the 1:1 ratio

Would overclocking the FSB require me to use faster than 800MHz RAM? If I want to get to a 450MHz FSB I would need 900MHz RAM wouldn't I?

Heh, seeing as how I just got into Overclocking a few weeks ago I don't think I have the knowledge to answer that one - sorry

 

[smn198]

Heh, seeing as how I just got into Overclocking a few weeks ago I don't think I have the knowledge to answer that one - sorry

No worries. Sure someone on here would know.

So everyone, what is the performance impact of not running 1:1? Can I get away with PC2-6400 or would I be better with PC2-7200? I can't stretch to PC2-8000 unless I just get a 1GB DIMM and then get another later when (if) they go down in price?

 

[Effect]

Some PC2-6400 RAM will go to and beyond PC2-7200, so if you pick the right kit, you'll be fine. AFAIK most (if not all) C2D mobos don't support a divider less than 1:1 (i might be wrong, i have only read up on a few C2D motherboards), so not running ram 1:1 mightn't be an issue. Look for G.Skill 6400PHU2-2GBHZ if the price is right, i believe it's based on the same Micron IC's as a few PC2-8000 kits (albeit binned lower), and shouldn't limit your overclock. Either that or Team Xtreem PC2-6400 4-4-4/PC2-5300 3-3-3 or A-Data Vitesta Extreme PC2-6400 4-4-4, i believe they're based on the same Micron chips (it'd be best to do your own research before choosing though, my memory/ability to research isn't always the best - check out XtremeSystems.org).