Mobo for OC'ing an e6300! Help!

[toto4398]

Hi all,

First off, I'm a TOTAL newbie at overclocking (actually, make that a total newbie PERIOD !) and I just want to get some clarifications before I go ahead with this system I'm planning to build. [I'm on a VERY tight budget!]

This is the system I have in mind as far as components go:

Processor: Core2Duo e6300 @ 1.86 GHz (Allendale)

MoBo: ASUS P5B or ASUS P5B-E

Memory: Transcend DDR2 667MHz
(CAS 5, v@1.8v)

[This is the memory that is available to me. At the most, I might be able to get Kingston memory but it might not be available. This sucks I know, but there's not too much of an option left to me really]

Graphics: BFG Tech 7600GT 256MB(OC)

I've been doing a bit of reading and research about overclocking and this is my question:

[NOTE:All cooling will have to be done with the stock HSF that comes with the processor! Cannot afford any aftermarket cooling right now!]

If I go with the vanilla P5B, according to the manual, the FSB maxes out at 400MHZ. Keeping the RAM ratio at 1:1 and the multiplier at a default of 7 for the e6300, theoretically I should be able to get a core speed of 2331 MHz=2.3GHz right? This ofcourse will have to be adjusted with the vCORE settings but lets assume for the moment that the vCORE is not a problem. My question is this: assuming that the RAM ratio is kept at 1:1 (DDR2 667MHz = 333MHz), and that the max I will go to on the FSB of the e6300 is 333MHz (from 266MHz), will I have to do any adjustments to the vDIMM settings? I would really like to avoid mucking about with the memory because it is 'value' (read cheap) RAM and I would like to avoid making any adjustments with the vDIMM. I've assumed that because it is DDR2 667Mhz (FSB=333MHz), it will be running underclocked at the core FSB of 266MHz and this assumption makes me believe that I can overclock to its rated FSB of 333MHz without making any adjustments to the voltage being supplied to it. (I might be mistaken, but from what I understood from this site, the RAM supports a max. voltage of 1.9v). If you're still here and reading this, what I REALLY want to know is this:

From what I've explained above, will the vanilla P5B do for my requirements or should I go in for the P5B-E which goes up to an FSB of 650 MHz and by all accounts overclocks better than the plain P5B? I would really like to avoid going in for the P5B-Deluxe. I don't really need all the bells and whistles it comes with and more importantly compared to my options, its way too expensive. Just to give you a rough idea, the best price I got for the Deluxe where I live translates to about 260$ USD when it's going on Newegg for 182$!!

Although getting to 2.3GHz from 1.8GHz seems very sweet to me, any tips or suggestions to get further will obviously be welcome!

Any help will be much appreciated!!!

 

[Markfw]

I would try for some DDR2 800. My OCZ EL 667 will only go 365. Also, a lot of people seem to like the P5B, but then there are those of us running 500 FSB (with DDR 1000) on the Gigabyte S3. I have 2 and Duvie has 2, all at that speed.

 

[toto4398]

Originally posted by: Markfw900
I would try for some DDR2 800. My OCZ EL 667 will only go 365. Also, a lot of people seem to like the P5B, but then there are those of us running 500 FSB (with DDR 1000) on the Gigabyte S3. I have 2 and Duvie has 2, all at that speed.

Hi Mark,

First of all thank you for that super speedy response! The screw up here is that I will NOT be able to get my hands on any DDR2 800 memory. Not available where I live and the time and expense and headache involved in tracking some 800 mem down just ain't worth it for me. Not looking at big time OC'ing...This rig will be my first build and my first attempt at OC'ing and I'm content with baby steps for now! And I'm kinda fixed on ASUS motherboards!

 

[mgacam2]

My system is almost exactly the same as your spec list that you have there except i did go with the OCZ memory. Let me tell you that that memory is amazing for the price. Anyway the main issue is your motherboard. I went with the asus and i have been completely unsuccessful getting my fsb past 387. This is very unfortunate for me since my CPU can easily go much farther. I have read everything and am not new to overclocking. THe simple truth is that this ASUS board is horrible for overclocking compared to the gigabyte. I deffinitly suggest moving to the gigabyte board instead.

 

[mgacam2]

by the way you can reach around 3 ghz on stock cooling no problem so get the gigabyte. Its cheaper then the P5B as well

 

[toto4398]

Originally posted by: mgacam2
by the way you can reach around 3 ghz on stock cooling no problem so get the gigabyte. Its cheaper then the P5B as well

Ah well, since you put it like that, I guess it will make sense to look at the Gigabyte as well. Could you tell me the model of your board please?

 

[Markfw]

Here is the S3 that I got 2 of.

 

[toto4398]

Mark and mgacam2,

Thank you...will definitely take a closer look at the S3...Just wanted y'all to know that this rig will take about four weeks or so to materialise. I just want to make sure that I don't make any wrong purchases and regret them later, hence all the lurking around forums and review sites! This thread is a case in point! I had (for no logical reason) limited myself to the ASUS boards but I'm going to explore the Gigabyte as well now. I'm also very impressed at the speed with which my admittedly noob questions are being answered! I put up exactly the same thread at another site two days ago and so far no replies. Zilch. Zip. Nada. Anyways...
what I want to know now is this:

How much of an increase in the FSB of the RAM (667MHz @cas5, default voltage rating of 1.8v and a maximum voltage rating of 1.9v) can i hope to get if I up the vDIMM by 0.1v? If I've got my facts right, this can help in upping the FSB of the CPU. Every MHz helps!

 

[mgacam2]

it really depends on the memory but i was able to get my ocz ddr2 to run at 1300mhz yes thats right 1200mhz in cas 4 timing. I was pretty impressed with that actually. I did raise my dram to 1.812 which helped signifcantly.