Is It Worth It?

[Elfear]

I'm probably splitting hairs here but I'd like you guys' opinions. I currently have the Abit AV8 mobo and 3500+ Winchester. The highest I can stabily oc is 2.5Ghz (250x10) but to do so I have to run my Ballistix at 206Mhz. Is it worth it to sell my Abit and 3500+ proc and get a Neo2 Platinum and another 3500+? I've heard the MSI's oc better (can get higher than 270Mhz fsb) and it should be more compatible with my ram which can't go over 230 fsb on my Abit. Wouldn't 2.5Ghz be considered low for this chip?

**Disclaimer**- I know that no oc is guaranteed, but I'm wondering if I might have better luck with a different combo.

 

[nealh]

I personally doubt you will notice much improvement running ram at a higher speed see Zebo's very nice thread

As for add'n cpu speed is it worth the hassle to get a new cpu/mobo for maybe 100-200 mhz....I personal think the performance increase will not be noticable enough and worse what if you dont get what you want..you will be very unhappy

I have 3200 week 44 winny..that maxes out at 2550...running it at 250 or 285 fsb I see little difference

so I vote no ..save $$ and aggravation and wait for the next corerevisions or new mobos that will be your interest in 6mo....

 

[Rip the Jacker]

No.

 

[Icepick]

No way. I have the setup you're thinking about getting and maxxed out at 2607MHz. I have to jack the voltages way up to get this stable too. I'll probably back off and just run it at 2585, which I already found to be stable. I doubt you'll get much higher than 2600 with another processor no matter which mobo you have. If you did you'd be extremely lucky. I have yet to get 240MHz HTT to run stable on this motherboard with the 3500+.

 

[BW86]

Thats what I call wasting money.
(Of course not)

 

[Loki726]

The whole point of ocing a 3500 is to get higher performance without having to pay for it. If you don't mind paying for more performance, just buy a higher rated cpu.

 

[Dadofamunky]

No, doesn't make sense to me.... if nothing else, just buy the new mobo and keep the CPU. The 3500 flies whether you have the Winnie or the older 130nm chip (as I do). I like the MSI board a lot, runs like a tank.

In either case, be careful. OC'ing that much you run some real risks. I'm ***very*** happy with what I have and really don't want to risk having to buy another CPU/RAM because I got greedy.

 

[Elfear]

Thanks for the advice guys. I'll just be happy with what I have and wait for something significantly faster to come along for a decent price.

 

[perdomot]

Only thing that would be better is getting a socket 754 3000+ and pairing it with the DFI mobo. The results you can get with this combo are incredible and the cost is barely $250. The dual channel that the 939 offers only seems to make a difference in benchmarks and not real world results. At least, I have yet to see someone who went from 754 to 939 say the DC memory made a big difference. Anandtech has their own review on this mobo/cpu combo and Madshrimps did two reviews, one on the mobo and one on memory paired with the mobo. With one stick in the system, you could OC past 300 fsb. This is my next rig for sure and you can't beat the price.