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Convince Me...

I

imported_inspire

Senior member
I'll be building a new box about a month from now. I currently have:

Athlon 2000+ XP
1 GB DDR333
GeForce 4200 Ti (128MB DDR @ AGP 4x)
60 GB WD ATA/100
17" LCD

I'll be buying a KVM switch so I can still use my old box. My old box is over 3 years old.

I like AMD - mostly because I've built AMD before and I'm comfortable with it. I like to play games, but in a year, I'll be out of grad school, and it's likely I'll be using my new computer for mathematical / data analysis (which Conroe sports the largest advantage over an A64 X2). I want to get a decent Overclock (At least 600 MHz) and I don't see the need for SLi. My brain says, 'Build Conroe.'

I'm just a little hesitant. I want a nice box, but I've never fooled with Intel. I remember those massive ducts inside the cases for some of the P4's. I don't know jack about Intel Chipsets or Mobos, either, and I'm just a little lost. I know the memory and HD and other stuff will be the same.

Can you guys help me out here? What chipsets are good? Will I need an aftermarket cooling solution to get that kind of OC?
 
It's the best CPU for the money. That's all you need to know.

People are getting pretty nice OCs with the stock HSF (and stock voltage), these are cool running chips.

I'd pick up a board using the mid-range 965 chipset, or the high-end 975 chipset.
Very few 965 MBs are available now, at inflated prices to boot.
 
Read anandtech's article for conroe motherboards out today. The asrock dual vsta is the best value with the most updrade options. Not as fast performance wise, but very cheap. Check pricewatch for conroe in about a month, and see what's available. I personally wouldn't spend more than $250 on the e6300 if you can find it. The low end conroe's will be in high demand. If you can't find a cheap conroe, then am2 is the second best choice in the dual core 3800 model (about $150).
 
Thanks guys - I read Anand's review, and I feel a lot better about all this. I think the Biostar TForce P965 Deluxe is calling my name, and I'd like to drop an E6600 (What is the multiplier on the E6600?) into it and hit about 3.5 GHz (Sounds like BIOS revisions may allow more headroom - up to 500MHz FSB right now) with either a Scythe Ninja or a Tuniq Tower.

Now, I have a big question about memory - I've never OC'ed before, so this may sound dumb. How does memory speed / timings factor into an OC where the CPU multiplier is locked (like Conroe)? I know that memory speed and timings vary inversely with one another, but will I have to mess with anything else if I'm OC'ing?
 
Sorry for the double, but I went back through the last 6 pages of threads first and didn't want to start a new one. What are the differences between the E6300, E6400, E6600, and E6700? If it's just clockspeed - I should have the the same absolute OC headroom and performance (at the same frequency) out of a E6700 as an E6300, right?
 
BUY AMD.
why. cuz amd rocks. cheap highly OCing mobos easily found for <70 bucks.
S939 is a tried and tested platform and hasd most of its issues solved. where as conreo is not even out yet.
buy conroe next year.

besides next we'll have kentsfield that will blow away any conroe you buy. and from the previews its aleady been OCed to 3+ GHz.

mmm 4 cores of conroe, at 3 GHz
 
Originally posted by: tanishalfelven
BUY AMD.
why. cuz amd rocks. cheap highly OCing mobos easily found for <70 bucks.
S939 is a tried and tested platform and hasd most of its issues solved. where as conreo is not even out yet.
buy conroe next year.

besides next we'll have kentsfield that will blow away any conroe you buy. and from the previews its aleady been OCed to 3+ GHz.

mmm 4 cores of conroe, at 3 GHz
Click to expand...

I don't buy a new computer every year and s939 is dead and I wouldn't OC with a Mobo that costed less than $70. The review that Anand released today was good enough to convince me that Conroe OC'ing will go beyond A64 X2 OC'ing. I appreciate the advice, but I've already weighed that issue carefully and it doesn't answer any of my questions.

 
Originally posted by: inspire
Originally posted by: keeleysam
E6300 and E6400 have 2x1MB Cache
E6600 and E6700 have 2x2MB Cache
Click to expand...

Thanks.
Click to expand...
Keeleysam is not entirely correct.

E6300 and E6400 have a shared 2MB L2 cache
E6600 and E6700 have a shared 4MB L2 cache

Sorry, had to point that out😉
 
Ah, so rather than separate L2 caches dedicated to each core, they share a single L2 Cache?

Would the E6300 have as much headroom as a E6600 - could they both hit 3.5 GHz?
 
Originally posted by: inspire
Ah, so rather than separate L2 caches dedicated to each core, they share a single L2 Cache?

Would the E6300 have as much headroom as a E6600 - could they both hit 3.5 GHz?
Click to expand...

Of course both could hit 3.5 Ghz. But it would be way harder to do so with the E6300 and you are more likely to do so with the E6600 because of the higher multiplier (9x vs. 7x). Therefore for 3.5 Ghz you would need a FSB of 389 (doable for good Mobos) for the E6600 and a FSB of 500 (hmm, I think even the best mobos will have trouble hitting this) for the E6300.
 
Yeah, the main difference between the Conroes is that they have a differenct multi. IMO the best two for the money are the E6600 with a 9X multi and the E6300 with a 7X mulit. If you have a budget of $750, you will probably want the E6300 which is going to be around $180.
 
Originally posted by: inspire
Great answer, thanks! I assume that the multipliers won't be unlocked at any point...
Click to expand...
Yes, all the regular parts that begin with model number "E" parts (E6300, E6400, E6600, E6700) will be multiplier locked at least upwards (not sure about downwards).

The top end part, the X6800 is multiplier unlocked upwards and downwards.
 
Originally posted by: tanishalfelven
BUY AMD.
why. cuz amd rocks. cheap highly OCing mobos easily found for <70 bucks.
S939 is a tried and tested platform and hasd most of its issues solved. where as conreo is not even out yet.
buy conroe next year.

besides next we'll have kentsfield that will blow away any conroe you buy. and from the previews its aleady been OCed to 3+ GHz.

mmm 4 cores of conroe, at 3 GHz
Click to expand...
Any instability issues will likely be fixed with BIOS updates. Do you know what Kentsfield will cost?
 
Originally posted by: theprodigalrebel
Google and Forum Search are both your friends😉
Click to expand...

w/e.

I'll be getting a used 6600GT from a friend for $50, and the rest of my components are already picked out - it should come out to around $900 if I get an E6600. I don't plan on spending much on a gfx card because I'm planning to upgrade when the G80s settle down. I'm looking at either a 1 GB or 2GB Dual Channel 800 MHz Corsair XMS for the memory.

Now, I suppose I'll go search for whether or not Conroes are 64 bit...
 
I wasn't trying to be a smart ass...there has been a backlash here against new "Help my with my new Conroe-build threads...is it really that much better" threads.

Which is weird because every tech site worth two dimes has a Conroe review on it's front page and every forum has like a hundred Conroe threads at the bare minimum.
 
Originally posted by: inspire
Originally posted by: theprodigalrebel
Google and Forum Search are both your friends😉
Click to expand...

w/e.

I'll be getting a used 6600GT from a friend for $50, and the rest of my components are already picked out - it should come out to around $900 if I get an E6600. I don't plan on spending much on a gfx card because I'm planning to upgrade when the G80s settle down. I'm looking at either a 1 GB or 2GB Dual Channel 800 MHz Corsair XMS for the memory.

Now, I suppose I'll go search for whether or not Conroes are 64 bit...
Click to expand...

It would cost you even less if you waited to do your whole system by the time G80's settle down. Why spend the extra bucks now?

And yes. Core 2 Duo CPU's are 64-bit. Core Duo's are not.

 
Supposedly you aren't even supposed to be able to get the Conroes by the second week of August at the earliest, and the prices might skyrocket because of too little supply. But that's just what I heard.
 
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