is the 3.0 worth it ?

[ZL1]

Hi

guys I noticed that the 3.0 dropped in price and is more affordable now, still a stretch, but better than before
now Im wondering if its worth it, I was origianally planning on getting a 2.4 or 2.6 and OCing it to 3.5 or so, now would a 3.0 be worth the extra money ? because I was looking at the OCing database and the 3.0 doesnt look so good and if I only get 3.5 out of it then I will be loosing performace over a 2.4 at the same speed (fsb wise + money wise)

what do you guys say ?


please let me know


Thank you
Dan

 

[Ladybug7709]

whatever you do, dont get the 2.4C because the 2.6C is only $3 more after the last price cuts.

 

[Sunny129]

save $200 and go with a lower clocked, more overclockable CPU like the 2.4C or the 2.6C. but it doesn't matter that the 2.6C has dropped to the price of the 2.4C. both OC roughly the same, and the slight edge the 2.6C may have in overall system speed is pretty much made up for by the 2.4C w/ its higher overall fsb. so it all balances out. anyways you'll never see any real world differences between the two when OCing to within that close of each other. you really can't go wrong...same price, approximately same performance, either or...

 

[ZL1]

Originally posted by: Sunny129
save $200 and go with a lower clocked, more overclockable CPU like the 2.4C or the 2.6C. but it doesn't matter that the 2.6C has dropped to the price of the 2.4C. both OC roughly the same, and the slight edge the 2.6C may have in overall system speed is pretty much made up for by the 2.4C w/ its higher overall fsb. so it all balances out. anyways you'll never see any real world differences between the two when OCing to within that close of each other. you really can't go wrong...same price, approximately same performance, either or...

here is a thing, what if with some work I can get the 3.0 for the same price ?
Im still undecided because if it will only do 3.5 then it will loose to a 2.4 at 3.5



Thanks
Dan

 

[Shimmishim]

the nice thing about getting something like the 3.0C is that you'll be able to run 1:1 with your ram and use GAM or PAT or whatever it's called with the 875 chipset boards...

if you get a 2.4C and try to hit 3.5, you can use a 1:1 if get some really good pc4000 or pc4200 and oc that beast but GAM or PAT doesn't work at a fsb of 292 (which is what you'll need to hit 3.5)

2.6C same idea...

 

[Mardeth]

The 3.0C will go higher than the 2.4C. Probably 3.8?

 

[Nebor]

Originally posted by: Mardeth
The 3.0C will go higher than the 2.4C. Probably 3.8?

Unlikely, the P4C core used for all the chips seems to top out around 3.5-3.6ghz.

 

[Sunny129]

Originally posted by: Shimmishim
the nice thing about getting something like the 3.0C is that you'll be able to run 1:1 with your ram and use GAM or PAT or whatever it's called with the 875 chipset boards...

if you get a 2.4C and try to hit 3.5, you can use a 1:1 if get some really good pc4000 or pc4200 and oc that beast but GAM or PAT doesn't work at a fsb of 292 (which is what you'll need to hit 3.5)

2.6C same idea...

if you go with a 2.6C and OC it to 3.5GHz, your fsb will only be 269mhz, which is well under the point at which PAT stops working. or that same OC can most likely be accomplished w/ a 3.0C (i'm pretty sure the 3.0C's are hitting 3.5GHz without a problem) and you will never have to worry about PAT not working b/c a 3.0C will never hit a 292fsb, and thus slower rated (and less expensive) memory can be used. its truly a judgement call, and if you can get the 3.0C for the same price as a 2.4C, you'll obviously have to spend less on memory b/c it doesn't have to be clocked as high as a 2.4C setup w/ a 1:1 divider...i'd go w/ the 3.0C if i could get it for $180...

 

[jiffylube1024]

Originally posted by: Sunny129

Originally posted by: Shimmishim
the nice thing about getting something like the 3.0C is that you'll be able to run 1:1 with your ram and use GAM or PAT or whatever it's called with the 875 chipset boards...

if you get a 2.4C and try to hit 3.5, you can use a 1:1 if get some really good pc4000 or pc4200 and oc that beast but GAM or PAT doesn't work at a fsb of 292 (which is what you'll need to hit 3.5)

2.6C same idea...

if you go with a 2.6C and OC it to 3.5GHz, your fsb will only be 269mhz, which is well under the point at which PAT stops working. or that same OC can most likely be accomplished w/ a 3.0C (i'm pretty sure the 3.0C's are hitting 3.5GHz without a problem) and you will never have to worry about PAT not working b/c a 3.0C will never hit a 292fsb, and thus slower rated (and less expensive) memory can be used. its truly a judgement call, and if you can get the 3.0C for the same price as a 2.4C, you'll obviously have to spend less on memory b/c it doesn't have to be clocked as high as a 2.4C setup w/ a 1:1 divider...i'd go w/ the 3.0C if i could get it for $180...

2.6C's that can go to 3.5 GHz are rare (on air cooling and I'm talking 100% stable here).

If you're looking to spend extra money but not break the bank, why not look into a 2.8C instead? It's only a bit more than the 2.6C and it also overclocks a bit better than the 2.6C.

Someone suggested overclocking a 3.0C to 3.8 Ghz - not likely. This kind of o/c does not happen without Prometia/LN2/other extreme cooling.

 

[DarkFudge2000]

sorry to sound like an idiot but what actually is GAM or PAT and why would I want it???

 

[ZL1]

Thanks guys !
I'll think about it a bit more, but it looks like 2.4 is indeed a winner


Thanks
Dan

 

[ZL1]

Originally posted by: jiffylube1024


2.6C's that can go to 3.5 GHz are rare (on air cooling and I'm talking 100% stable here).

If you're looking to spend extra money but not break the bank, why not look into a 2.8C instead? It's only a bit more than the 2.6C and it also overclocks a bit better than the 2.6C.

Someone suggested overclocking a 3.0C to 3.8 Ghz - not likely. This kind of o/c does not happen without Prometia/LN2/other extreme cooling.

thing is I heard the 2.8 is pretty much the same as the 3.0 when it comes to OCing, meaning it wont go very far


Thanks
Dan

 

[jiffylube1024]

Well geez don't go for the 2.4C when the 2.6C is cheaper!!!

 

[ZL1]

Originally posted by: jiffylube1024
Well geez don't go for the 2.4C when the 2.6C is cheaper!!!

see and thats weird right ?
well Im waiting for those prices to level off and the 2.4 to be even cheaper


D

 

[Sunny129]

Originally posted by: ZL1

Originally posted by: jiffylube1024
Well geez don't go for the 2.4C when the 2.6C is cheaper!!!

see and thats weird right ?
well Im waiting for those prices to level off and the 2.4 to be even cheaper


D

the 2.4C was the only P4 cpu the remained unchanged when the intel price cuts occurred because it was intel's most profitable CPU. so i doubt it will come down in price anytime soon. i think now is the time to buy either a 2.4C or a 2.6C if you're interested.

 

[lxie123]

Here's why I think you should get 2.6 over 2.4

1) Even if you get a complete DUD for cpu and can't oc for shiet, 2.6 is still a respectable speed and better thant 2.4.

2) when it's time to sell your system, you will get more money for a 2.6 gig system then a 2.4. Normal people don't buy/ pay more for overclocked speeds so you will have to sell it as a 2.6 or 2.4 system not as 3.5 overclocked system.

 

[lxie123]

Here's why I think you should get 2.6 over 2.4

1) Even if you get a complete DUD for cpu and can't oc for shiet, 2.6 is still a respectable speed and better thant 2.4.

2) when it's time to sell your system, you will get more money for a 2.6 gig system then a 2.4. Normal people don't buy/ pay more for overclocked speeds so you will have to sell it as a 2.6 or 2.4 system not as 3.5 overclocked system.

 

[jiffylube1024]

Originally posted by: Sunny129

Originally posted by: ZL1

Originally posted by: jiffylube1024
Well geez don't go for the 2.4C when the 2.6C is cheaper!!!

see and thats weird right ?
well Im waiting for those prices to level off and the 2.4 to be even cheaper


D

the 2.4C was the only P4 cpu the remained unchanged when the intel price cuts occurred because it was intel's most profitable CPU. so i doubt it will come down in price anytime soon. i think now is the time to buy either a 2.4C or a 2.6C if you're interested.

Exactly - there was just a price cut and the P4 2.4C missed the boat.

I would advise getting a 2.6C.

 

[ZL1]

Thanks for the advise guys !

my paycheck comes in on the 15th, if the prices are unchanged I'll probably go 2.6



Thanks
Dan

 

[Sunny129]

Originally posted by: DarkFudge2000
sorry to sound like an idiot but what actually is GAM or PAT and why would I want it???

PAT (performance acceleration technology) is part of intel's 875 chipset. its a way to tweak certain timings to get some extra performance out of your system. although i don't know exactly what's being tweaked when playing w/ the settings, its a similar concept to memory latencies in that you tweak them to increase the performance of your memory.

GAT and GAM are software emulations of intel's PAT for the 865 chipset. because intel never incorproated PAT into the 865 chipset, some mobo manufacturers such as Abit and ASUS (and maybe others that i don't know about) have found a way to decode the way PAT works, and thus used it on their 865 chipset products. PAT/GAT/GAM settings are reached from within the BIOS.

 

[loco21]

I don't want to open a new topic so I will post in here so what about the 3.2 is it worth it? or is the same thing as the 3.0? any suggestion this ?

 

[Sunny129]

Originally posted by: loco21
I don't want to open a new topic so I will post in here so what about the 3.2 is it worth it? or is the same thing as the 3.0? any suggestion this ?

ewll like people have said before, the limit of the northwood core seems to be about 3.4 - 3.5GHz. knowing this, expect the lower clocked P4s to OC better than the higher clocked P4s. and they should all end up in the same neighborhood of 3.4 or 3.5 GHz, assuming they are good chips that OC to their theoretical limits. maybe you can squeeze 400mhz out of the 3.2C, putting it at 3.6GHz, but you shouldn't expect big OCs like you would w/ a 2.4C. i'd say its OCing limits are more restricted than the 3.0C, if not as good.

 

[0roo0roo]

the extra mhz adds 1" to your wee wee well worth the money!

 

[pspada]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
the extra mhz adds 1" to your wee wee well worth the money!

But I hate tripping over the damn thing all the time!