matx overclocking

[songokussm]

after doing some research i have found that the " ABIT NF-M2 nView" is really my only choice for overclocking on an matx form factor. is this correct? has anyone had any success with other boards?

i personally prefer DFI but their only matx board, the " DFI C51PV-M2/G Infinity" only supports ddr533. not high enough for me.

i built me a htpc and i love the case so much i'm going to try to reclaim some desk space. with my tax return coming in the next few weeks my plan is to get ready for my new k8l baby with a x2 3600. (please recommend a cpu cooler as well)

I have personally had very, very bad luck with abit boards. my last was a "ABIT AT8 32X". i had many many issues with it. and well just leave it at that.

the case i will be using is a microfly. also in case i missed something is there a thin, or sff that supports full atx boards?

 

[WoodButcher]

The board in my sig has a "wall". 3150-3.2 Can"t see it but it is there. I love the Asus boards and I would reccommend this one but the OC wall pisses me off.

 

[jakefalcons]

I was in the same boat as you looking for a matx board for overclocking since the case i built cant hold anything else ; ). so i just ended up going for the nview so far ive only gone up to 280fsb but havent played around with the multipliers much on my cpu. right now i have my 3800+ sitting at 280x10 for 2800 @ 1.48v and have a 8800gts @ 560core 900memory. if you do get an nview watch out for the overvolting i have the core set to 1.45 in bios and its constantly around 1.5v actual, also take it up in small increments even with values you know will work i had to step my fsb up to 280 from 230 in 10mhz jumps after i failed to boot once messing with multipliers it seems the board wont boot if you change anything major or too much at once. im pretty happy with my set up but i wish they had a board comperable board to the abit nview for the core2 seeing as how that is the better choice to go with right now. Im just gonna wait for k8l since thats supposed to be a drop in replacement for am2 and be happy with my setup for now. oh and for the cpu cooler ive got a zalman 9500 am2 ed modded using silverstone fm121 it keeps my cpu around 50c even running my overclock at 1.5v and having the fan set to 1700ish which isnt too loud actually. Sorry for the lap ; ) hope this helps. pm me if you have any additional q's or just want some of my first had experiance with the nview.

 

[Skott]

I been doing alot of researching of mATX mobos as well. In fact I just ordered the Qmicra case yesterday for my SFF build. Anyway, from my research the best mATX OCing mobo currently appears to be the ABIT NF-M2 nView. Conroe mATX mobos arent as good as far as OCing goes (fine running stock though). The current best Conroe mATX mobo appears to be the ASUS P5LD2-VM Rev2. You can safely OC it to 300fsb but after that things can get real tricky. Top end I have heard stable is just shy of 350fsb(340something).

The lack of good PCI lock hampers most Conroe mATX mobos from what I been reading. The P5LD2-VM Rev2 has a partial PCI lock which allows it to get up a bit higher than 300fsb. Although there is no way to gurantee everyone will reach the same overclocks. The NF-M2 nView on the other hand can average overclocks of 2.8 and sometimes 3.0 depending on cpu and cooling setup.

ABIT has a new Conroe IB-90 HD mATX mobo due out sometime in near future thats based on the 965 chipset and hoped to finally be a good OCer. For right now AMD still holds the OCing crown for mATX systems.

 

[songokussm]

thanks for the replies. can you recommend me a cooler next?

@jakefalcons
how did you mod you zalman to be am2 compatible?

i have tons of 939 coolers laying around. the one i like using most is my heatpipe opty cooler. anyway to mod that?

 

[WoodButcher]

Originally posted by: Skott
I been doing alot of researching of mATX mobos as well. In fact I just ordered the Qmicra case yesterday for my SFF build. Anyway, from my research the best mATX OCing mobo currently appears to be the ABIT NF-M2 nView. Conroe mATX mobos arent as good as far as OCing goes (fine running stock though). The current best Conroe mATX mobo appears to be the ASUS P5LD2-VM Rev2. You can safely OC it to 300fsb but after that things can get real tricky. Top end I have heard stable is just shy of 350fsb(340something).

The lack of good PCI lock hampers most Conroe mATX mobos from what I been reading. The P5LD2-VM Rev2 has a partial PCI lock which allows it to get up a bit higher than 300fsb. Although there is no way to gurantee everyone will reach the same overclocks. The NF-M2 nView on the other hand can average overclocks of 2.8 and sometimes 3.0 depending on cpu and cooling setup.

ABIT has a new Conroe IB-90 HD mATX mobo due out sometime in near future thats based on the 965 chipset and hoped to finally be a good OCer. For right now AMD still holds the OCing crown for mATX systems.

Skott- This is a quicky but I can run relatively stable, 3.2 @ 357 fsb I prefer 340 fsb, memory 1-1, w/ the enhanced c1, thermal control and speedstep enabled. The system seems to perform better. My PCi is locked at 120 and sync 33MHz


songo- good luck in your quest, I gave up on the matx and have built a case to suit my needs that will allow me to use an ATX board. I will soon upgrade.

 

[songokussm]

meh, i've just been spoiled over the past few years with these brilliant companies making all of these killer products and the mind set of "settling" never even entered my mind.

I am still looking for two items though. One a good microfly cpu cooler for overclocking, and/or if they even exists a sff case that accepts atx mobo's.

 

[Skott]

Originally posted by: WoodButcher

Originally posted by: Skott
I been doing alot of researching of mATX mobos as well. In fact I just ordered the Qmicra case yesterday for my SFF build. Anyway, from my research the best mATX OCing mobo currently appears to be the ABIT NF-M2 nView. Conroe mATX mobos arent as good as far as OCing goes (fine running stock though). The current best Conroe mATX mobo appears to be the ASUS P5LD2-VM Rev2. You can safely OC it to 300fsb but after that things can get real tricky. Top end I have heard stable is just shy of 350fsb(340something).

The lack of good PCI lock hampers most Conroe mATX mobos from what I been reading. The P5LD2-VM Rev2 has a partial PCI lock which allows it to get up a bit higher than 300fsb. Although there is no way to gurantee everyone will reach the same overclocks. The NF-M2 nView on the other hand can average overclocks of 2.8 and sometimes 3.0 depending on cpu and cooling setup.

ABIT has a new Conroe IB-90 HD mATX mobo due out sometime in near future thats based on the 965 chipset and hoped to finally be a good OCer. For right now AMD still holds the OCing crown for mATX systems.

Skott- This is a quicky but I can run relatively stable, 3.2 @ 357 fsb I prefer 340 fsb, memory 1-1, w/ the enhanced c1, thermal control and speedstep enabled. The system seems to perform better. My PCi is locked at 120 and sync 33MHz


songo- good luck in your quest, I gave up on the matx and have built a case to suit my needs that will allow me to use an ATX board. I will soon upgrade.

Thats a nice OC for a Conroe mATX setup, Butcher. Congrats! Have you had any problems with sound or NIC going out? I hear those two are usually the first to go when overclocking a Conroe mATX mobo over 300fsb and past pci of 110 or so. I've heard some people use a seperate sound card and NIC to get around it. I've also heard of some losing their hard drives running at the settings you are at.

 

[WoodButcher]

Originally posted by: Skott
Thats a nice OC for a Conroe mATX setup, Butcher. Congrats! Have you had any problems with sound or NIC going out? I hear those two are usually the first to go when overclocking a Conroe mATX mobo over 300fsb and past pci of 110 or so. I've heard some people use a seperate sound card and NIC to get around it. I've also heard of some losing their hard drives running at the settings you are at.

Thanks. After 350 things get goofy sound , nic, and sata, hence the 3.0 340 fsb in my sig, nice and stable At 340 the north, south, cpu and memory voltages all must be bumped up slightly but you can still run the intel goodies like speedstep so your chip isn't smoking down the house. To get the 357 fsb I think the cpu voltage was 1.425
I quit drinking and drugging many moons ago so now I just smoke chips! almost!

 

[songokussm]

ok, whats the better choice. the 3600 for a total of 147 or a 4000 for 145 with a cooler. both brisbane. i am looking for the best overclocker. the 3600 i have yet to find a cooler the 4000 comes with a cooler.

 

[songokussm]

 

[WoodButcher]

Sorry man I'm not to familiar with AMD but Frozen CPU had this listing for AM2 compatible. I hope this helps. Newegg ang the other biggies can be rather vague in their listings. Possibly you can find the correct mounting or conversion from the 939.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: songokussm
a good microfly cpu cooler for overclocking

This heatsink is a nice one that will work with socket 754/939/940/AM2 and will fit in the MicroFly/X-Qpack cases (here's a pic of one installed in a MicroFly). The fan is an 80x20mm unit, but can take anything that can bolt to it. In another case I have a 92mm fan on one of these with an adaptor. However, anything more than 20mm total thickness may not fit in the MicroFly without mods, unless you're really lucky and the CPU spot is in the "open" area (will have to install after sliding mobo in). Some have claimed that these HSFs work about as well as a Thermalright XP90.

Note that I have no connection to the seller listed.

Originally posted by: songokussm
a sff case that accepts atx mobo's.

The smallest you can get is just above the height of the motherboard and just over the width of the video card. After that is the depth, and that would be the width of the ATX motherboard plus... PSU? Try these on for size:

DYNAPOWER USA Titan C05.N63.M158 Black SGCC Steel ATX Mini Tower Computer Case 430W Power Supply
$37+12ship
I have one of these... still haven't found a use for it so it's just sitting in my garage, new in box.

DYNAPOWER USA Titan C05.N17.M158 Black SGCC Steel ATX Mini Tower Computer Case 430W Power Supply
$40+13ship
Same chassis as above, slightly different look.

nMEDIAPC HTPC 300BA Black Aluminum/Plastic/Steel ATX Slim Tower Computer Case
$50+12ship

nMEDIAPC HTPC 300SA Silver Aluminum / Plastic ATX Slim Tower Computer Case
$50+16ship
Same chassis as above, different color. Someone I know from LAN parties has this case, and he really likes it. He wanted to use standard ATX, but have it as compact as possible for traveling. He's taken this on a plane as carryon.

Athenatech A3701BB Black Aluminum Face Plate / Steel Chassis ATX Desktop Computer Case
$70+16ship-20rebate
Looks interesting because can take 2x80mm rear fans instead of 2x60mm like other cases. Also, this one was meant to be oriented as a desktop (or HTPC) while the other ones seem to be okay oriented either desktop or tower.

Athenatech Evo A3701BB.500 Black Aluminum / SECC Steel ATX Media Center Computer Case 500W Power Supply
$120+14ship-20rebate
Same as above but with a power supply.

 

[songokussm]

those atx cases wont work. thanks for the info though. 1.) i read a few views and my videocard is too thick and 2.) the cases are just to big i want small
again thanks though.

@WoodButcher
many thanks. thats what i was looking for.

 

[Skott]

I went with the Qmicra case because its fits a full size ATX psu, a 8800GTX and a Zalman 9500, and the thing is still reasonably small. Also its highly moddable. Its one big downside is price. $300 is expensive but I plan to use it for many years to come. Right now I got my fingers crossed ABIT releases that IB-90 HD mobo soon.

 

[songokussm]

can you post me a link?

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: songokussm
those atx cases wont work. thanks for the info though. 1.) i read a few views and my videocard is too thick and 2.) the cases are just to big i want small
again thanks though.

You aren't going to get any case that is smaller than what I linked if you want to use multiple full height cards and a regular ATX motherboard. Anything smaller and you have to do one or more of the following:

- smaller motherboard

- half height cards

- risers to put cards parallel to motherboard

Anyways, my listing was based on your post (which you deleted) stating a small case that still accepted ATX motherboards. Anyways, Lian Li also has some smallish cases that take full ATX boards:

LIAN LI PC-G50A Silver Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
$80 shipped

LIAN LI PC3077A Silver Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
$90 shipped

These put the power supply over the CPU area so cooling may be affected, plus makes the case wider. Benefit is more drive bays since the PSU isn't in a spot normally reserved for drives.

Another option besides the MicroFly would be a slim tower like this. It takes a mATX motherboard (and the Abit NF-M2 nView is a great choice BTW) and can handle full sized video cards. The power supply isn't ATX, but is SFX which is a standard and you can get reasonably decent ones. It comes with one that puts out 16A on the +12v, and you can buy replacements that put out as much as 24A on the +12v. These cases are good if you don't want to take up much desk space. While the MicroFly is good for being small in volume, it actually is pretty wide so can take up quite a bit of desk space.

 

[songokussm]

thanks again zap. your indepth responses simply amaze me.