3200+ or 3700+? overclocking potential?

[Malladine]

I could save $180 by going with 2x3200+ vs 2x3700+. However, I want maximum CPU power within my price range ($229 for the 3700+ is the upper limit). I've read of easy overclocks on the AMD stock HSF up to 2.5ghz on the 3200+. Any corroborating reports from ATers?

How about the 3700+?

Thanks!

 

[akshayt]

if you want to oc and don't care of dual care, this maybe a good option get amd 3000 venice + overclockable ram and take the 1.8ghx to 2.4-2.6ghz, buy cooling as well.
spend more on graphic card than on cpu.

 

[Malladine]

that's the thing, i don't want to spend an extra $100 on HSFs to overclock, really. I was more interested in which cpus overclock by 200-600mhz under the stock HSF.

That said, 2x3000+ is only $210...what HSF would you recommend for achieving 2.4-2.6 on the 3000+? And would it be a bunch of messing around or a few simple changes in the bios? I'm looking at the asus a8n5x motherboard, if that matters. Cheap and asus is usually quality.

 

[Twsmit]

My 3200+ Venice hit around 2.5ghz on the stock cooler. When I added my $30 XP-90 heatsink I was able to raise that to 2.6ghz and lower my temps significantly.

 

[Malladine]

Cool...though i can't find the 90, only the 120 @ newegg for $55. So i'd be spending $380 on the cpus and HSFs and HOPEFULLY achieving 2.4-2.6ghz.

That seems a better idea than either 2x3500+ for $370 or 2x3700+ for $458. What do you think? Will the 120 work just as well and should I be looking for a specific 3200+ or will the ones on newegg suffice?

 

[m1ldslide1]

2730 with my 3700+ with the setup in my sig. I got 2750 with stock cooling on my asus a8n-sli deluxe. That board had some issues, so I switched to the abit and the zalman9500 at the same time, and only got up to 2730. However, weird issues resolved and my 3dmark went up so who cares?

Moral of the story: 3700+ with stock cooling and average mobo/RAM = 500+mhz overclock NP.

Never owned a 3000/3200.

 

[Malladine]

Interesting...that's a massive overclock for $80 more. Hmmmm.

 

[Noubourne]

3000+ Venice here using the $35 Zalman 6000b-Cu cooler. The 3000+ cost $146 when I bought it about a month after it was released. I took it to 2.6Ghz almost immediately, and I idle in the mid 30s and load in the high 40s. It took some work, but it was worth it.

You can get a 7000B-AlCu which performs about the same for $30 from Newegg. I think a Big Typhoon or XP-90/XP-120 or a Scythe would be worthy cooling competitors. They cost a bit more, but they also cool better. Not sure about noise though. The 6000 is really quiet, and that's a biggie for me.