taking the OC'ing plunge!!! 1.6 ---> 2.???

[tkim]

ok doods. im about to do it. the question is now......what do i need?

i need a mobo, ram, and a 1.6a chip. what kind of mobo and ram should i get (rd or ddr)? i want HIGH quality ram and a mobo that can support ide raid. also, it would be nice if the mobo had the most up to date features.

this will be my first time to OC so all advice is welcomed!!!!!!

 

[oldfart]

Here is what you need:

1.6A retail
EPOX 4BDA2+
Samsung PC2700

With this setup, I run 2.4 GHz, 400 MHz DDR (PC3200). The EPOX is the only i845 board that I know of that allows 3:4 mem ratio above 133 FSB t get the high mem speeds.

SiSoft benches of this setup.

 

[tkim]

ok...here are a few lame questions.......

can someone breakdown the 4:3 ration thingy?
how hard is all of this to do?
what is the pin trick that i am hearing about that lets you overclock higher? is it safe and should i think about it?

is samsung ram good? is there better? how is epox as a brand and does it offer raid?

thanks!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[oldfart]

can someone breakdown the 4:3 ration thingy?
it allows you to run the mem speed @ 1.333 X DDR speed. Ex: Overclock to 133 FSB, which is 266 DDR speed. 266 x 1.333 = 355 DDR. More mem BW for your P4. 150 FSB = DDR400. The EPOX 4BDA board allows you to use that 3:4 mem ratio @ any FSB. Other i845 boards go to 1:1 @ 133 and above
how hard is all of this to do?
Not hard with the right mobo good ram, good CPU
what is the pin trick that i am hearing about that lets you overclock higher? is it safe and should i think about it?
Dont need it unless you have a mobo with a cold boot issue
is samsung ram good? is there better? how is epox as a brand and does it offer raid?
Epox 4BDA2+ is the best i845 board out there. The 2+ version has RAID. The Samsung DDR333 mem I have does DDR400

 

[John]

oldfart speaks the truth. He turned me on to the Epox 4BDA2+. It is a more feature rich, stable, and faster board compared to the Asus P4B266-c series. I am also using the famed Samsung original PC2700 @ 200MHz.

 

[FrustratedUser]

:Q 50% OC!!

Damnit, I need a new rig.

 

[rockhard]

Looking at your current rig (P3 1gig + GF2 GTS) i would be inclined to forget the processor upgrade and maybe look at doing your graphics card first.
If your a gamer you would probably get more gratification from spending on a GF4 maybe?
Ive seen some pretty lowly specced CPU rigs with fast graphics cards kick ass in games.
YMMV though
That P3's should do you proud till the end of the year when Hammer et al will be near availabilty.

Just trying to help you keep some of that hard earned cash which is oh so easy to spend but so damn hard to gather.

 

[HikkiFan]

If you really want optimize performance for your p4 go with rambus

th7II-raid
2x samsung 800mhz rambus

 

[tkim]

thanks for the feedback guys!! been in vegas the last few days so wasnt able to keep up with AT.....

now that i have some opinions, i am at a dilemma......should i go the 1.6 p4 way or just spend my money on a better video card??

what do you guys think?


oh btw, how much did you 1.6 oc'ers pay for your setup?? mobo + chip + ram???

 

[farns]

Im in the exact same position as tkim,Im looking for a p4 1.6A mobo and what DDR to get,aiming for 2.4 ghz OC.
Im just a noob and know little about puters but I have learnt that most games are more 3d card reliant than cpu reliant,in fact your benchies go maybe 10% worse if at all with a machine like yours compared to the latest p4 2.4.
Check out the anandtech review of sub-$200 vidcards for great graphs showing cpu-scaling as well as the normal benchies.
Id go with what rockhard said,ur cpu is fast enough for a while yet but u will need a faster card for future games. A Gf4 ti4200 is the best value and will run new and future stuff at 1600x1200 even. If u have a 17 monitor or less and want to save a few bucks,get a Gf3 ti200 instead which is still plenty fast.

BTW how does an epox 4SDA mobo compare to the EPOX 4BDA2+ and others? Its a lot cheaper, will I get 2.4 ghz out of it?

 

[oldfart]

Stick with the EPOX 4BDA/(2+) i845 board. Why I like it:
Only i845 board that has 3:4 mem ratio @ any FSB
1.4 - 1.85 Vcore
PCI/AGP 33/66 Lock setting
No cold/warm boot issues
Great Intel chipset performance/stability
Cool stuff like boot from USB

What this setup costs:
4BDA ~ $100 / 4BDA2+ ~ $120
P4 1.6A ~ $130
512 Meg Samsung PC2700 ~ $130