Best Motherboard + Processor combo for overclocking...

[Futher]

What's a great motherboard and processor that can be easily overclocked... Lets put a $350-$400 price cap. Thanks

 

[Futher]

Also, I have 1.5 gigz of PC 2700 Ram. Would that work ok with overclocking this processor? Or should I sell that and get about a gig of PC3200....

 

[thatsright]

Well thats really a dilly of a pickle. And it's not so much of the MB & CPU, but it's really your MB and the RAM you get. If you want the biggest potential overclock go with a P4c 2.4 Retail Boxed CPU. I've seen many with the 2.4c get up to the 3.2 range with Air Cooling and even a few go up to 3.4Ghz with some beefy Heatsinks and some very good case ventilation ( but thats not very often). If you get a 2.4C and a good board and good RAM (which is VERY EASY to do) its a safe bet you'll OC to at least 3Ghz.

As for motherboard, the best one's to go with are the: ABIT IC7 (for about $125) & the new IC7-MAX3 (which runs about $220, but has OTES). Or the IS7 or IS7-G. Also take a look at the better ASUS 865 or 875 boards. Read a few motherboard reviews of the above mentioned, and then settle on the one you want.

But your overall success I think will mostly depend on what RAM you get. I would offer a few suggestions, but really, the choices are endless. Read reviews of Kingston HyperX or Corsair. I'm not really a big fan of Corsair (as it's very overpriced, not saying it's not worth it though.) or PC4000 ram. As with PC4000 ram your paying a big premium and your going to be running the RAM at very slow timings.

Hope this helps, if not PM me.

 

[Corporate Thug]

right now: 2500+ and NF7-s for AMD
2.4C and IS7/IC7 or p4p800/p4c800 for intel


get rid of your pc2700 and put that money towards pc3200 if u go amd or pc3500/3700 if you go intel

 

[Futher]

I was looking at Gigabyte boards, which I have now. I'm liking the Gigabyte GA-8KNXP (Link). I read through the reviews somewhere that Crucial or Kingston Ram is the best to use for that board. Do either of those companies have 3500/3700 pc ram to support that motherboard? I looked on the sites but I didn't see any. Also I was thinking of getting a 2.8. How high could I get that with a nice HSF? 3.4ish maybe? I don't know... but please help me by giving me some links or names of RAM that would work in that motherboard. Thanks a lot

 

[billyjak]

I have the Gigabyte GA-8KNXP and use Kingston Hyperx pc 3500 , bought 1 Gig from Newegg.
I have a 3.0 processor and can go to 3.4 and higher
A 2.4 or 2.8 would be a good choice, to get 3.0 and higher
I love this board as I'm running 6 Hard drives in it
Look at my sig to see what I have in it.

The GA-8KNXP runs best with Kingston Hyperx pc 3500, recommended by Gigabyte themselves.
It scores as good as the Abit boards or better in benches, confirmed.

 

[Ionizer86]

You have tons of $, so a 2500+ or a 2.4c would be right. If you want to start off with something cheap and have the thrill of pushing it up, an Athlon XP 1700+ Tbred B starts at 1.47GHz, and I had mine at 2600+ (2.083GHz) stable with some PC2100 Crucial Others have gotten the 1700+ to 2.3GHz or more, but with mine at 2.083, that's a 42% overclock; reminds me of the Celery 300a days.

2500+ starts at 1.83GHz and easily gets to 2.20Ghz (+20%), though you can push it up more. 2.4c starts at 2.4 (obviously) and gets to 3.0 with ease, though you can push it up more (+25%).

 

[Sid59]

i'd have to agree abour the Abit / Barton 2500+ .. so easy to get 400 MHZ CLOCK SPEED out of it.
i've never tried ona 2.4c (mainly the cost behind getting an intel rig) but they do very well too.

 

[Futher]

I changed my mind, going with the ABIT IC7-Max3 instead. Does Kingston or Crucial make 3700 Ram for that motherboard? If so, can I have a link? If they don't make 3700, link the best 3500. Thanks a lot

 

[Futher]

anyone know if the Zalman 7000 Cu will work with that motherboard? Their compat. list isn't working for me.