Increasing the FSB stresses the mobo and cpu right? While just playing with the multiplier stresses the cpu only?

[Hajpoj]

Is that the benefit of an unlocked cpu? You can theoretically have a crappy mobo as no additional stress is put on it by playing with the multi?

 

[krotchy]

Increasing FSB affects RAM, CPU and Mobo. Just changing the multiplier affects only the CPU.

So yes that is essentially what you are saying.

However a Core 2 6600 is 330 bucks. A X6800 is 1000 dollars.

Upgrading your Ram to DDR2-1066 and Mobo to a P965/975 High End Mobo or 680i is no more than 300 bucks from DDR2-533 and a a low end 945/965 chipset.

 

[cubeless]

additional stress is put on the mem controller, the power system, etc... since u r going 'above spec'... maybe your cheap mobo can handle it, maybe it can't... it's just like the old k7s5a and xp chips... u can wire the pins and cut the traces, etc... but sometimes u just couldn't get higher without more voltage...

 

[aka1nas]

If you increase the multiplier of an unlocked CPU and have an overall increase in clockspeed, you will be putting more stress on all components. The motherboard still has to deliver enough power for the CPU to run at that clockspeed.

Even decent motherboards sometimes have trouble with higher-clocked CPUs. A great example of this was the old Dual Athlon MP systems. The first-gen boards could handle all the models available when they were released. When higher-clocked models came out(think XP 2800+ type stuff) some motherboards would actually sometimes melt their ATX power connectors from the added power draw until new board revisions were released.