HELP!!! P4 w/ 400MHz bus or 533MHz bus? advice please!

[Sunny129]

i want to build a new system using a P4 CPU. knowing that the P4 1.6A is generally the best P4 overclocker, what will give me overall better and faster system performance (assuming i have a good video card, sound card, etc.)? the P4 1.6A CPU at a higher percentage overclock, or one of the new P4 CPUs that run on a 533 MHz bus at a lower percentage overclock? obviously i'm saving money getting the 1.6A and a 440MHz fsb mobo. but if it needs anything better than stock cooling to OC it significantly, i would rather buy the faster, more expensive CPU. noise is a very important factor in my decision. i would like it to make almost no noise at all, like a Dell system. i'm having trouble finding out what kind of fans they use in their systems b/c tech support is always so busy and i have to sit in an hour long phone queue to talk to tech support. and on top of that, they make it more difficult to get such information b/c i dont have a dell under warrantee anymore. anyways, i'll be asking a number of questions concerning my upgrade over the next few weeks or so, but i'll just start with these for now. any help or advice will be appreciated...thanks, eric.

 

[THUGSROOK]

1.6A = 16x multiplier - kicks butt and is cheaper (800 to 1100mhz OC)
2.26B = 17x multiplier - almost twice the price (500 to 900mhz OC)

another cheap alternative is still the 1.8A = 18x multiplier - only a few $ more than a 1.6A (600 to 1000mhz OC)

HTH 🙂

 

[Sunny129]

the P4 1.8A runs on the 400MHz fsb like the 1.6A, right? even though the 533MHz fsb and P4 2GHz or higher is almost twice the price, is the performance gain significant? and is it worth the extra money? once i have decided on an fsb, then i can worry about which CPU to choose for that specific fsb. but the deciding factor in choosing an fsb is going to be a combination of which is the more efficient and better performing CPU/fsb combination. thanks for the P4 1.8A suggestion...that is also an option i'm looking into since that CPU has proven to be the next best P4 OCer. also, i'm not looking to push the CPU to its OCing limits, b/c i dont want to have to worry about using something other than stock cooling methods and quiet fans...

 

[BuddyAtBzboyz]

Personally I would go for the 400 mhz 1.6A. Its way better for the money and you can easily reach a 133 mhz fsb. If you are really really lucky you will reach 166 mhz but 150 is about average which would give you 2.4Ghz

 

[Sunny129]

so if i got the P4 1.6A to run using the 166MHz fsb, i would be @ 2.656GHz, which is roughly a 60% OC (almost 1.1GHz above the rated clock speed). but i would be lucky to get that, so i'm assuming that there is little or no chance of that happening using the stock cooling methods and fans i prefer. is there a good chance, if any, to have a successful OC @ 150MHz, or even 133MHz fsb without above average cooling?

 

[Mikki]

I agree with Thugsrook and BuddyAtBzboyz. And I'll add to it: 1.6A @ 2.4 150fsb quad pumped to 600fsb vs. 2.2B stock 133fsb quad pumped to 533fsb, the 1.6 will smoke the 2.2. For a lot less money. Browse some of the threads here and see what people are doing with these things. I don't know what you have now, but if you are going from an older system, the difference will be fantastic however you decide, so why not go the cheaper and arguably better route?

HTH 🙂

 

[Sunny129]

i am definitely leaning toward the P4 1.6A. in fact, i'm almost sure that's what i'm going to get. now i just want to know how much will i be able to OC it with standard cooling?

 

[Mikki]

My 1.6A @ 2.4 is running at 38c with the stock hsf, which is totally acceptable for a P4. I just got a new 1.6a, and if it oc's higher than my current one, I may upgrade the hsf, but I'm gonna wait and see what my temps are first. 🙂

 

[Sunny129]

sweet...sounds like the P4 1.6A is the way to go for the money i could save by not buying one of the new P4s that run on the 533MHz fsb. if you can raise the fsb from 100 to 150MHz using stock hsf, thats a decent OC and a great OC%. i would be happy with OCing the fsb to 133MHz if 150MHz doesn't work for me. anyways, thanks for all the advice on the CPU/fsb issue. my next question will be about chipsets/mobos, but i am going to start a new thread in the mobo forum. so look for it if you think you can help me out there too. thanks guys...;-)

eric

 

[BuddyAtBzboyz]

Yes you should be able to get a very good overclock with the stock cooler. You will prob not reach 166 withou some serious cooling like watercooling or peltiers. However many people are reaching 2.4Ghz @ 150. Its kinda what you should aim for as 150 fsb seems to be the most stable between 133 and 166. Good luck!

 

[Mikki]

Originally posted by: BuddyAtBzboyz
You will prob not reach 166 withou some serious cooling like watercooling or peltiers. Good luck!

No watercooling needed, all the people in this forum with fsb speeds that high are using upgraded hsf's. Heat is not really a problem with P4's reaching those speeds anyway, it's mostly voltage....🙂

 

[BuddyAtBzboyz]

I stand corrected. Im used to overclocking Athlons not p4s 😉

 

[incallisto]

I'd go with the P4 w/533.

 

[BuddyAtBzboyz]

To play it safe yeah but if you wanna take your chances that you will get a good overclock, and yoru chances are good, I would go with the 1.6A

 

[Sunny129]

hey guys check out my new thread in the mobo forum...i'm trying to decide between the i850E chipset and the SiS648 chipset. i need as many opinions as i can get from those who know a thing or two about chipsets for the P4...