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Good MicroATX to Overclock 4300

R

RedWolf

Golden Member
I know overclocking and SFF don't generally mix but with the 4300 prices falling and the ease of overclocking them I was looking at building a SFF box built around one. There aren't a lot of options in the micro form factor to begin with and even fewer that will overclock.

Does anyone know of any that do have good overclocking ability for a 4300?
 
The ABit F-I90HD is the best mATX mobo for overclocking the Intel chips at the moment. Its had some problems though. Its overclock top out for a 4300 is around 360ish FSB. Read up carefully on this mobo before buying.

The next best mobo is probably the ASUS P5LD2-VM Rev 2.0. It can do 300+fsb but you have to use a seperate video and sound card to get that. It also has problems but only when OCing. Its rock stable in stock settings. You start pushing it over 300fsb it has a habit of components (SATA, Sound, NIC) conking out on it.




This thread has the most complete up to date info of the F-I90HD that I know of. Be forewarned its well over 1400 posts now and still growing.

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1157067
 
Too bad about all the problems of those two. Seems the Abit has problems with memory and dots. I'm planning on using a separate video card but would rather use onboard audio and free up the pci slot. Does that sound about right for the Abit problems?
 
Well, if that was all there was to it it wouldnt be a problem. Before the problems you mentioned it had a bit too many early deaths for my liking. Now its possible the latest BIOS helped but no one seems to know if it has or not. Just not enough thorough testing by well experienced people to know for sure. No one has been able to explain the rash of early deaths of past mobos and ABIT isnt saying anything publicly. We were hoping AT's mATX Roundup review would explain some things but its way way overdue. We know Gary said one of their F-I90HD mobos died after 168 hours of testing for some unknown reason. If they can solve the problems of the F-I90HD its going to be a sweet mATX. Right now its a gamble IMO. You'll either get a great mobo or one thats got problems of one sort or another. As far as the video dot problem goes a seperate video card should solve that.

If you do decide to get a F-I90HD mobo your best chances of problem free is a seperate video and sound card and choose RAM thats proven to work with it. Thats what I would do anyway if I were buying it.
 
Thanks for the info. I'm not sure I want to mess around too much right now with lots of problems. Maybe I'll go a cheaper route and pin mod, then do a mile overclock. I really want a small mATX case to go on the desk. I'd like to overclock some but getting the max overclock isn't as important as not having to mess around with the machine all the time.
 
Is abit replacing the boards that die? That would make a difference. I noticed there aren't many places selling them and sffstore.com has sort of a disclaimer on there about buying at your own risk.
 
Another option in lieu of the F-I90HD would be the Foxconn G9657MA-8EKRS2H. The ASUS P5LD2-VM, Foxconn G9657MA-8EKRS2H, and the Gigabyte DS2 are all pretty much alike in performance. Some features will be different. Overclocking on them all is about the same 300fsb top end although the ASUS has been known to get a little higher. Right now those three mATX mobos are about the best option to the F-I90HD near as I can tell.

AT is supposed to have a mATX Roundup soon. First part goes up this week according to Gary's last update on it. First the AMD mATX mobos, then the Intel mATX mobos, and then some Linux performance comparisons and such.
 
I hope they get that up this week. I've been looking at the AMD 3600 as well. Seems to be a good overclocker and super cheap.
 
He said the Intel mATX mobos section would follow a couple days after the AMD mATX mobos so in reality we're looking at next week I think for the Intel side of it. It kinda ticks me off. If the bloody thing is done then post it! AT likes to string these big roundups out which I dont like. Its already 3 weeks late.
 
Not sure why they'd wait but I guess it's their site. I'd love to see it sooner but I don't think things will change drastically in the next week. Hopefully they look at overclocking potential heavily.
 
Just saw this thread, I've got the P5LD2-VM rev2. Good board, 3.0 [340x9] rock solid stable on the 6600. beyond that,,, nada.
 
I recently got the FD-190-I refuse to call it fatality anything- and its been running very well. I have it at 2.5 stable on stock volts while still using onboard video. I am reluctant to OC higher with onboard video enabled an stock cooling. Its running very well and nice and cool with stock cooling and inside a cramped SG01. Its a HTPC so it looks nice and does everything I need in my living room with HDMI out. I am waiting for the HD2400s since I can still use the HDMI port onboard while using the add in card with sound to limit wires to my tv since its wall mounted over the fireplace.

This motherboard reminds of the 680i boards. A ton of people had a ton of problems and most of the problems are all over the internet enthusiast boards. Most of the people who are not having problems are simply enjoying their boards so the sample is skewed. I am a firm believer that a board this small needs better NB and SB cooling to OC really high.

 
"I am a firm believer that a board this small needs better NB and SB cooling to OC really high."

Thats true of all mobos these days. The NB especially runs hot on the Conroe mobos. Btw, top reported overclock I've seen for the G33M-DS2R is 466fsb. If it proves stable its going to be the next new mATX mobo king I think. Its official launch is June 4th. Already availble in Singapore and Europe. Early tests look very promising.
 
Yes its true of all motherboards these days but specifically with this motherboard. I monitored temps of the northbridge before I put it in the small case and even with a fan pointed at the motherboard outside of the case it still ran hot. I removed both NB and SB and applied as5 and found temps dropped by over 10 degrees under load. I didnt install an aftermarket hsf since I may still return the motherboard within the next two weeks to frys if it does not perform adequately.
 
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