E2140 overclock help?

[quadomatic]

I think I'm finally going to get around to upgrading my PC. I'm trying to spend a really really low amount of money and try to get the most performance without spending a lot.

I saw that the E2140 goes for pretty cheap now. I saw the E2160 at $100 at Tigerdirect, but the E2140 is $65 OEM, so I figured I'd rather go with that. The reason I'm going with tigerdirect on this is because I have a retail tigerdirect store right by my house. I'm also going to keep an eye on Fry's Electronics since I have one of those nearby too.

I'm not really sure what motherboard I should look into getting. Of course, I'm looking to spend very little while getting the most performance possible. Any suggestions?

It looks as though everyone is going for DDR2-800 ram for this as well. Any suggestions as for what to get (keeping it cheap)?

Since it's oem, I figured I'd need a fan. The Freezer 7 Pro looks like a good buy. $20 on newegg doesn't seem like a bad price either. Any other suggestions?

Any other suggestions as to stuff I need, like a good cheap Power Supply?

Thanks

 

[o1die]

My local Fry's had the 2140 with ecs board for $70 on labor day. I'd wait for black friday ads. I'll be in line at 3 am. Ditto for the power supply. I've gotten either a case or ps for almost free after rebate nearly every year.

 

[quadomatic]

would the motherboards that are bundled with the pentium dual cores usually be good enough for overclcoking? As in getting 3.0 ghz at the very least?

That does sound like quite the deal though...Even if it wasn't a good enough motherboard, I could sell the motherboard and get another one, as the cost would only be $5 more than just buying the processor.

 

[o1die]

No. The ecs boards with the cheapest Fry's bundles aren't designed for overclocking. In some Friday ads, they include namebrand boards with their combo deals for more $$. Newegg also discounts a few $$ with some cpu combo specials. If you want Intel core2 duo, then the abit ip35-e is the best deal; it's just $65-75 after rebate at newegg or mwave. Fry's sometimes sells boards that won't even work properly with the cpu. You have to check the manufacturer's website before purchasing, especially if you're driving a long distance to get there. They sold the q6600 recently for $269 with ecs board, but the board didn't even list support for the quad on the ecs website.

 

[aiya24]

Serpent would say:
for mobo got with the abit IP35-E, its cheap, has the basic features and overclocks really well.
memory, stay away from OCZ ram. your best bet is kingston D5 value ram 2x1GB DDR2 800 or if can afford it, crucial ballistix 2x1GB DDR 800
can't go wrong with the freezer pro 7, if you can find a good deal on a thermaltake big typhoon, thats good too.

:beer:

 

[SerpentRoyal]

My favorite combo is E2160 with $10 HP DDR2 667 RAMs. No need to waste $ on Kingston N5 when $20 will get you 400MHz @ 5-5-5-15-2T. Did I mentioned $20 AR for 2GB of Crucial RAMs.

Why spend a lot more $ on fancy heat spreaders and bells/whistles that you will never use? Future proof is for the bird. Your best rig is junk after 9 months.

 

[itakey]

I just bought the recommended that SerpentRoyal said last week. I am just building the system now. So far, it seems like a good plan and setup. The mobo has tons of overclocking featured.
I went with the E2160 and IP35-E from Newegg, and 4-1GB Chips of the HP Ram. I managed to get a pretty sweet cpu heatsink for $1 after rebate too.

Am just loading up windows now, and am waiting for some guidance from SerpentRoyal on the exact OC settings.

I say go for it!

 

[itakey]

and oh yeah, I picked up the Antec Earthwatts 380 power supply from newegg for only $19.99 after rebate. they have the 430 version for $39.99 after rebate which came back in stock last week. I didn't have a choice when I ordered so I went with the 380. Antec power supplies rule, and at $20 after rebate the 380 fits the bill perfect!

 

[quadomatic]

Alright, thanks for the tips guys. I think I'm looking at this setup:

Pentium E2160 - $85 OR E2140 for $65
Freezer 7 Pro - $20
4-1GB Sticks of HP Ram - $40
Abit IP35-E Motherboard - $70
Antec Earthwatts 380 - $20

I still don't know where I can get the HP Ram for this cheap though. Any ideas?

There are sticks of ram at newegg for $10 and $5 each though

 

[jjmIII]

Ram deal is here.

The e2140 is fine. If you set the ram to 2.0v @ 400 (DDR2-800) you can run it 1:1 with your cpu OC'd to 3200mhz.

Here is a good HSF for $2 after rebate.
EDIT: The rebates are over after today......buy, buy, buy!

The mobo, and power supply look good.

 

[quadomatic]

I haven't got the money at the moment

I'll be buying the parts for the upgrade in a month or so. I'm sure there will be deals then though. Perhaps even better deals if I look around Black Friday.

 

[IEC]

E2140 is fine. I'm slowly working my way upwards to 3.0GHz on the OC. Currently at 2.75GHz with no hiccups @ 100% F@H SMP load. No crashes while gaming either. Going to push it up again tomorrow to 2.8GHz.

Using:
E2140 (L2 stepping)
IP35-E
2x1GB STT DDR2-667 (1:1.2 divider)
X850 XT

 

[jcenters]

I'm thinking about jumping on the RAM + MB rebates, as they expire tomorrow. However, I'm probably not going to build until the end of the year. Should I go ahead and get them or just wait?

 

[itakey]

I have that cooler, it rocks so far on my E2160!!! Got it for $1 after rebate.