Upgrading my CPU/Mobo

[Furyofevil]

Hello AnandTech users. I was browsing these forums, and thought that this site could be of some assistance with its knowledgeable users. I'm seeking an upgrade because my motherboard's BIOS is locked, and doesn't allow me to overclock my 860 past the stock level of 2.8GHz. I'm currently using a ATI Radeon HD 7870 GPU; I'm mentioning this because the information could be helpful in the decision. I'm uncertain of whether or not I should buy a completely new CPU/Mobo, or upgrade my motherboard so that I can OC my 860. If you manage to determine which would be more appropriate for me, then could you please provide me with some suggestions for which products I should replace my PC components with?

Budget: ~450$

 

[jimpz]

Do you have an OEM PC (i.e HP, dell, Acer, etc?), if so, that would explain why your bios is locked; as they generally do not aloow OC'ing on their systems. IF you do have an OEM system & replace the mobo, you will have to buy a new OS as the OEM OS is tied to the mobe & can't be transfered to a 'new' system.

Jim

 

[Furyofevil]

Do you have an OEM PC (i.e HP, dell, Acer, etc?), if so, that would explain why your bios is locked; as they generally do not aloow OC'ing on their systems. IF you do have an OEM system & replace the mobo, you will have to buy a new OS as the OEM OS is tied to the mobe & can't be transfered to a 'new' system.

Jim

I'm sure that I could burn a Windows 7 ISO, and use my current key, as it is legitimate, so that shouldn't be an issue.

 

[dpk33]

I think you'll do fine with a solid P55 mobo. They go for ~$100 on the BST forums.

 

[2is]

Do you have an OEM PC (i.e HP, dell, Acer, etc?), if so, that would explain why your bios is locked; as they generally do not aloow OC'ing on their systems. IF you do have an OEM system & replace the mobo, you will have to buy a new OS as the OEM OS is tied to the mobe & can't be transfered to a 'new' system.

Jim

Pretty much true, though I had a Lenovo once with a Core 2 Duo and found this nifty little utility called SetFSB. I just had to identify the clock generator chip which wasn't too difficult and set that in the software which allowed me to overclock an OEM computer. The caveat is you can't adjust voltage, so you're limited to the highest OC you can get at stock voltages.